The design for a leadership academy for community college professionals based on transformational leadership

Graduation date: 1996Using meta-ethnography, this thesis analyzes the literature on transformational\ud leadership and related sources to identify the themes, patterns and connections that\ud describe transformational leadership. These findings were combined with findings from\ud an analysis of selected sources on adult learning theory and leadership training to\ud establish the basis for a design for a leadership academy for community college\ud professionals based on transformational leadership.\ud The problem addressed is the need for leadership training for community college\ud professionals. The difference between leadership and management is defined. The\ud emergence of transformational leadership as the dominant theory of leadership is\ud described. The lack of leadership training for community college professionals is\ud documented.\ud The research questions included: What leadership training design is most\ud appropriate for training community college professionals? What do we know about\ud transformational leadership? What content should be included in the design for the\ud leadership academy? What format(s) is(are) most appropriate for the leadership academy?\ud What form(s) of delivery is(are) most appropriate? What components of adult teaching\ud and learning theory are relevant? What leadership issues are facing community college\ud professionals that would provide an appropriate context for leadership training activities?\ud What are the expected outcomes? How can these be measured?\ud The recommended design includes three, week-long intensive trainings over three\ud years with interim follow-up and activities. The delivery methods include a wide variety\ud of dialogue-rich and interactive processes that build self-knowledge, skills and awareness.\ud Formative and summative assessments based on classroom research and other approaches\ud are included. The content includes material related to the major themes that emerged from\ud the meta-ethnographic analysis of transformational leadership: shared vision,\ud communication, relationships, culture, leader actions, leader characteristics and\ud leadership outcomes, as well as gender and diversity issues. The design recommends that\ud the content be framed in the context of community college issues.\ud The methodology met identified criteria for qualitative research and was\ud supplemented with triangulation with two expert reviewers