A Phenomenological Study of Community College Leaders Navigating Change in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis PDF Download

Author: Tykesha K. Reed
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In February 2020, the United States faced an unexpected crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. Without warning, community colleges and universities were mandated to close their facilities and move to online classes and services. With little to no knowledge about how to address the pandemic, community colleges' middle and senior-level leaders developed strategies, including adopting requisite changes and technology adoptions required to transform college operations into remote work environments. Moreover, these leaders helped employees navigate change during the initial and ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of middle and senior-level leaders to understand the leadership strategies they used, navigated, and supported their teams' transformation into a remote environment. Change and adapting to change emerged as the main theme in this study. With the college closing and employees working remotely, some employees had changes in responsibilities, technology, and communication. The three main findings of this study are servant leadership, mental health and well-being, and technology adoption. Each of the themes captures servant leaders in the study. Some leaders had to change their leadership style and strategies to help their team navigate the change due to the COVID-19 crisis. All employees had to adjust to the change of transitioning to a remote work environment. The intended audience for this study is administrators, managers, supervisors, and human resource and leadership development professionals. The administrators, managers, and supervisors can gain knowledge from this study about how leaders can help employees to remain productive while working remotely during a crisis or change. The leaders' experience and strategies can be implemented when developing leadership courses for new, aspiring, and seasoned leaders. Professionals can use the leadership strategies in this study as a leadership framework and training resource for leaders.

Author: Deborah L. Floyd
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000630935
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
In 2021, community college practitioners, scholars, researchers, and leaders documented the challenge of what worked, what did not work, and lessons learned during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. This book summarizes the works of 39 authors who collectively wrote 14 peer reviewed papers in areas of leadership, curriculum, funding, social and racial tension, technology and digital access, self, family and community, and health and safety. Readers are challenged to embrace this era with innovative zeal and to continue to document community colleges’ evolutionary changes during this pandemic era. The book will be useful to higher education practitioners, scholars, and leaders, as well as individuals in organizations who are interested in how community colleges responded to challenges of change during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Community College Journal of Research and Practice.

Author: George R. Boggs
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119094887
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
Anticipate, manage, and overcome the complex issues facing community colleges Practical Leadership in Community Colleges offers a path forward through the challenges community colleges face every day. Through field observations, reports, news coverage, and interviews with leaders and policy makers, this book digs deep into the issues confronting college leaders and provides clear direction for managing through the storm. With close examination of both emerging trends and perennial problems, the discussion delves into issues brought about by changing demographics, federal and state mandates, public demand, economic cycles, student unrest, employee groups, trustees, college supporters, and more to provide practical guidance toward optimal outcomes for all stakeholders. Written by former presidents, including a past president of the American Association of Community Colleges, this book provides expert guidance on anticipating and managing the critical issues that affect the entire institution. Both authors serve as consultants, executive coaches, and advisors to top leaders, higher education institutions, and leadership development programs throughout the United States. Community colleges are facing increasingly complex issues from both without and within. Some can be avoided, others only mitigated—but all must be managed, and college leaders must be fully prepared or risk failing the students and the community. This book provides real-world guidance for current and emerging leaders and trustees seeking more effective management methods, with practical insight and expert perspective. Tackle the college completion challenge and performance-based funding initiatives Manage through economic cycles, declining support, and calls for accountability Delve into the issues of privatization and employee unionization Execute strategies to align institutional goals and mission Manage organizational change and new ways of thinking that are essential in today's competitive environment Manage issues involving diversity, inclusiveness, and equity Prepare adequately for campus emergencies Community colleges are the heartbeat of the nation's higher education system, and bear the tremendous responsibility of serving the needs of a vast and varied student body. Every day may bring new issues, but effective management allows institutions to rise to the challenge rather than falter under pressure. Practical Leadership in Community Colleges goes beyond theory to provide the practical guidance leadership needs to more effectively lead institutions to achieve results and serve the students and the community.

Author: Beatrice E. Thompson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This qualitative phenomenological study explored district and school-level leaders' communication and related decision-making experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilized Bridges' (2017) Managing Transition model, Grissom and Condon's (2021) phases of crisis management life cycle in schools and districts, the CDC's COVID-19 Information Metrics for Response Leadership's Decision Making in non-U.S. settings (2021), and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.'s National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness (2021) as differentiated lenses to focus the study's analysis of results. The research was guided by the following questions: What COVID-19-related guidelines and protocols did districts and school leaders use to identify and disseminate crisis-related information and directives to their stakeholders? How did district and school administrators perceive and communicate the effectiveness of COVID-19 crisis information from outside agencies to their stakeholders? What levels of understanding of existing crisis management models for disseminating and interpreting information related to the COVID-19 pandemic did school and district leadership identify when making crisis-related decisions? The study included (20) district and school-level leaders from suburban public school districts in New York State. The study's findings indicate that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the study's participants were overwhelmed by the volume, urgency, severity, and different iterations of pandemic information and directives. As a result, the study's district and school-level leaders were unprepared for school closures mandated by governing agencies. The study will have implications for school and district leaders by determining the effectiveness of current school district guidelines and protocols related to communication in the event of future system-wide health crises and catastrophic events.

Author: George A. Baker
Publisher: American Association of Community Colleges(AACC)
ISBN: 9780871173126
Category : Community colleges
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Focusing on the process by which community college leaders influence and manage their institutions, this monograph presents the Core Values Model, an organizational design that shows the interaction of three main elements: external forces, college systems and processes, and outcomes. A brief introduction describes the model, asserting that external forces drive leaders, leaders in turn develop systems to produce individual and group responses, and these responses produce outcomes and accountability data. The three components of the model are then described, beginning with the "drivers," or the external environment and college leadership. Next, systems and processes commonly affected by leaders are discussed, including college mission and educational strategies, the college culture, and information technology systems. Two types of outcomes (i.e., responses to leaders' systems and accountability data) are described, highlighting issues and techniques for achieving adequate responses within the college community. Change strategies employed by 10 community colleges are briefly described: Alabama Southern Community College, Colorado's Community College of Denver, Hazard Community College (Kentucky), James Sprunt Community College (South Carolina), Texas' Laredo Community College, Macomb Community College (Michigan), Florida's Miami-Dade Community College, Midlands Technical College (South Carolina), Palomar College (California), and California's Santa Barbara City College. Finally, an overview of strategies used by colleges and recommendations for implementing best practices are presented. Contains 19 references. (BCY)

Author: Lori L. Hunke
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Although campus crises have been an ever-present aspect of college life, they have been increasing in number and intensity. While disasters prompted many colleges to prepare crisis plans, the COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges. Effective and timely crisis leadership can affect the crisis outcome. By understanding the leadership styles and behaviors used in a crisis, it can inform best practices for handling future campus crises. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore how the COVID 19 pandemic affected leadership styles and behaviors of Midwestern community college presidents. The study is primarily driven by one question, what are Midwestern community college presidents' perceptions of how their leadership and decisions had changed in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Study data were collected through semi-structured interviews and artifacts. The interviews were analyzed using thematic coding looking for common patterns and themes. The data were examined using a theoretical framework of interpretivism and symbolic interactionism. The conceptual framework incorporated crisis leadership styles, effective leadership competencies, and crisis leadership competencies within the context of community college governance and the COVID-19 crisis. The conceptual framework was to further understand how community college president's leadership style and behaviors had changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Community college presidents navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the study results, there are five recommendations for practice. The five recommendations are: prioritize safety of faculty, staff, students and the community; develop broad-based crisis management programs, encourage leaders to include mental health services in crisis planning, leverage crisis communications, and understand the criticality of connections.

Author: Janice Carello
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030838498
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
This collection presents strategies for trauma-informed teaching and learning in higher education during crisis. While studies abound on trauma-informed approaches for mental health service providers, law enforcement, nurses, and K-12 educators, strategies geared to college faculty, staff, and administrators are not readily available and are now in high demand. This book joins a conversation in place about what COVID has taught us and how we are using what we have learned to construct a new discourse around teaching and learning during crisis.

Author: Desna L. Wallin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470637773
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 91

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Book Description
In unstable times, effective leaders must not only be able to cope with the environment, they must also be able to shape it. Leaders in today's community colleges must fit that mold. Change leadership can be said to embody four essential characteristics that might be called the four "A's." These are Change leadership anticipates it is visionary and forward-looking and avoids reactionary thinking Change leadership constantly analyzes both the internal and external enviroment to gather reliable data upon which to make decisions; it engages in strategic and tactical planning to make the most of the moment Change leadership acts; with a vision and a plan, with accurate and current data, action is collaborative and inclusive Change leadership affirms; it is not enough to have a vision, a plan, and action. Once action is implemented, attention is given to reflection, to review, and to sustaining change. This volume focuses on change leadership at all levels. The authors bring unique perspectives--they are strong, recognized scholars in leadership studies as well as practitioners actively engaged in community college leadership. Both empirical studies and best practices are included to further our knowledge and understanding of effective leadership in the context of change. This is the 149th volume of the Jossey-Bass higher education quarterly report series New Directions for Community Colleges. Essential to the professional libraries of presidents, vice presidents, deans, and other leaders in today's open-door institutions, New Directions for Community Colleges provides expert guidance in meeting the challenges of their distinctive and expanding educational mission.

Author: Alexander W. Wiseman
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
ISBN: 1837535604
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
This volume chronicles changes and issues facing institutional and individual academic activities and norms following the Covid-19 pandemic, forecasting their impacts on the ways in which internationalization at the post-secondary level has responded in practice to new realities, exigencies, and possibilities.

Author: Carlos Nevarez
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000978907
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
This book presents leaders and aspiring leaders in community colleges with a theoretical and practical framework for analyzing their leadership styles, and determining the dimensions of leadership they need to improve in order to strengthen their capacity to resolve complex issues and effectively guide their institutions. It does so through presenting theories about leadership that are congruent with the notions of equity, access, diversity, ethics, critical inquiry, transformational change, and social justice that drive the missions of community colleges, and at the same time provides the reader with the strategic skills to prepare for and navigate the profound changes ahead.Readers will gain an understanding of how to use theory as a tool to guide their practice, better understand the intricacies of the issues confronting them, the power dynamics and organizational context in which they operate, predict potential outcomes, and develop processes to achieve desired outcomes. Utilizing theory in conjunction with case study analysis provides community college leaders with the tools needed to comprehensively interrogate and inform decision-making processes. The authors provide a number of rich and realistically complex case studies, all of which are situated in a community college environment, to which readers can apply the various theories and perspectives, develop their view about the principles and actions most likely to lead to satisfactory outcomes, and hone the approaches to leadership that are authentic to them, and effective. The authors aim to help readers develop the multi-faceted approach to leadership that is essential to running complex organizations. They aim to promote development of the “whole” leader through a three-fold framework of theory, practice, and introspection in context of institutional change. In doing so, leaders will be better equipped to lead community colleges in challenging times.The authors tie AACC’s competencies to the leadership theories they cover, as well as to the analysis of the case studies, and leadership inventories, as an essential framework for developing the skill sets to enact the community college mission.The book is suitable for personal reading and reflection, institutional leadership retreats and training, and as a text for higher education courses.