Date of Award
Fall 9-17-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Organizational Leadership
First Advisor
Lisa Simon
Second Advisor
Doug DeVore
Third Advisor
George Giokaris
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe Title I middle school principals’ perceived impact of the seven servant leadership constructs developed by Patterson (2003) on establishing a culture of high performance.
Methodology: The qualitative phenomenological method was used to describe and explore the middle school principals’ perceived impact of the seven servant leadership constructs developed by Patterson (2003) on establishing a culture of high performance. This method was selected by a thematic team of eight peer researchers to best examine the core meanings of K-12 leaders lived experiences. The sample for this study was middle school principals serving in Title I public middle schools located in San Diego County, California.
Findings: The findings from this study show that middle school principals leading Title I schools that modeled and applied Patterson’s (2003) servant leadership constructs supported a culture of high performance. The semi-structured interviews, observation, and artifacts yielded 393 total references, 23 major findings, and two unexpected findings.
Conclusions: The findings and literature support that principals leading Title I middle schools model and use the seven servant leadership constructs to develop the foundation for establishing a culture of high performance. Additionally, the findings of the study indicate that middle school principals’ application of Patterson’s (2003) seven servant constructs created optimal conditions in their school community centered on love, relationships, and serving others.
Recommendations: The researcher recommends college and universities offering clear administrative services credential programs require school administrators to complete leadership course work focused on servant leadership and the seven servant leadership constructs. The San Diego County of Education and professional educational organizations should include professional learning in their school leadership Institutes and conference workshops that build administrators’ understanding of servant leadership and its impact on a culture of high performance. Furthermore, superintendents should participate in professional development on servant leadership and then advocate for districtwide professional development on servant leadership for all school staff.
Recommended Citation
Chavarria, Freddie, "The Phenomenological Study on the Impact of Servant Leadership for Establishing a Culture of High Performance as Perceived by Middle School Principals of Title I Middle Schools" (2022). Dissertations. 472.
https://digitalcommons.umassglobal.edu/edd_dissertations/472