dc.contributor.author	Handley, Elizabeth Blain	en_US
dc.coverage.spatial	South Georgia, United States	en_US
dc.coverage.temporal	2004-2007	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2010-09-22T16:20:24Z	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2011-03-02T17:29:01Z
dc.date.available	2010-09-22T16:20:24Z	en_US
dc.date.available	2011-03-02T17:29:01Z
dc.date.issued	2007-05	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10428/447	en_US
dc.description.abstract	School leaders today are faced with many challenges as a result of the changing role of leadership in our country. This ethnographic case study provides an in depth view of Dr. Ruth O Dell, one elementary school principal in south Georgia. I examined her leadership qualities and investigated her leadership style and its impact on school effectiveness. To conduct my study and collect data, I used the process of ethnography, an interpretive, qualitative form of research. I spent 3 years gathering information using interviews, focus groups, and a survey. In addition, I shadowed Dr. O Dell during an entire school day, a shared decision team meeting at her school, and at a Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals meeting. I visited the school in which she was a principal on nine separate occasions. I observed Dr. O Dell at a teacher convocation meeting where she was a keynote speaker. I audiotaped interviews, focus groups, and shadowing experiences. I transcribed each tape and used member checking techniques to check for accuracy and validity. Additionally, I used field notes and journals to record my personal observations and questions throughout the study. Six main topics were prevalent during interviews and focus groups when discussing Dr. O Dells leadership skills. These included (a) work environment, (b) shared decision making, (c) she listens, (d) its hard to say, No,(e) support for the teachers, and (f) communication. While analyzing data to determine the emergent commonalities, 9 themes emerged: (a) caring leadership, (b) building community, (c) relationships, (d) professional development, (e) school culture, (f) effective leadership, (g) programs, (h) parental involvement, and (i) energy.	en_US
dc.description.tableofcontents	CHAPTER PAGE List of tables ............................................................................................... vii List of figures ........................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements .................................................................................... ix Dedication ....................................................................................................x Prologue ..................................................................................................... xi I INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 Overview of the study ..................................................................................1 Purpose of the study .....................................................................................2 Relevance of the study .................................................................................5 Research considerations ...............................................................................6 II CONTEXTS OF STUDY ............................................................................8 Personal context ...........................................................................................8 Legal context ................................................................................................9 Ethical context ...........................................................................................10 Literary context ..........................................................................................11 Shortage of principals ......................................................................11 At risk student population................................................................14 Failing schools .................................................................................19 III METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................25 Research design .........................................................................................25 Setting ........................................................................................................27 Participants .................................................................................................35 Research questions .....................................................................................37 Subjectivity ................................................................................................39 Data collection ...........................................................................................40 Data analysis ..............................................................................................42 IV A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DR. O DELL ..................................................47 At school ....................................................................................................47 In the community .......................................................................................68 V DR. O DELL AS SEEN BY OTHERS .....................................................71 Work environment .....................................................................................71 Shared decision making .............................................................................74 She listens ...............................................................................................77 Its hard to say, No .................................................................................78 Support for the teachers .............................................................................79 Communication ..........................................................................................82 Results of survey ........................................................................................83 In the future ................................................................................................84 VI DR. O DELL INTERPRETED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LITERATURE ON LEADERSHIP....................................................................................85 Caring leadership .......................................................................................85 Building community ..................................................................................88 Relationships ..............................................................................................88 Empowerment ............................................................................................92 Professional development ..........................................................................94 School culture ............................................................................................94 Effective leadership..................................................................................102 Programs ..................................................................................................107 Parent involvement ..................................................................................109 Energy ......................................................................................................111 Relationship between effective leadership and school improvement ......112 Conclusions..............................................................................................113 VII IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND FURTHER RESEARCH .....115 Reflections on leadership .........................................................................116 Recommendations for administrators ......................................................120 Need for further research .........................................................................122 EPILOGUE ..............................................................................................123 REFERENCES ........................................................................................125 APPENDICES .........................................................................................139	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Elementary School	en_US
dc.subject	Dr. O'Dell	en_US
dc.title	Mrs. Dr. O'Dell: An Ethnographic Case Study of an Elementary School Principal	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Cirriculum, Leadership, and Technology	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Schmertzing, Richard W.	en_US
dc.description.committee	Clevenger-Schmertzing, Lorraine	en_US
dc.description.committee	Leech, Donald W.	en_US
dc.description.committee	McDonald, J. Scott	en_US
dc.description.degree	Ed.D.	en_US
dc.description.major	Education	en_US