Department

Leadership

Date

2021

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Leadership (Ed.D.)

Type of Paper/Work

Dissertation

Advisor

Eleni Roulis

Second Advisor

Susan Huber

Third Advisor

Fr. Jean-Pierre Bongila

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Parental involvement is an important aspect of the educational environment, and school administrators, educators, and staff are challenged to find creative and innovative ways to increase familial involvement. Given the recognition of the importance and challenges to parental involvement, researchers and educators have long studied how parental engagement can be facilitated and sustained. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how transformational leadership can be applied by school principals in an educational setting, as a useful and effective strategy toward increasing parental involvement in an elementary school setting. Data were collected from three observations and 10 interviews, as well as review of nine communication documents related to teacher, parent, and principal communication. In applying Epstein (2001) and Burn’s (1978) theory, the dynamic nature of power-sharing and bi-directional communication was elucidated and guided identification of the core themes of a successful transformational leader, by way of increasing and sustaining parental involvement. Data were analyzed using grounded theory procedures of initial coding, focused coding, and theoretical coding (Charmaz, 2006). Four major themes were identified and illustrated in a new model: Influence of Transformational Principals on Bi-Directional Relationships and Familial Involvement. This theoretical model depicts an environment where the transformational principal and families through bi-directional relationships, encourages reciprocal communication flow that maximizes the likeness of a school environment that exudes familial involvement.

Keywords: Familial Involvement, Transformational Leadership, Bi-Directional Relationships

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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