ERIC Number: ED523419
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 146
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: ISBN-978-1-1243-7181-8
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Quantitative Study of Differences in Leadership Frames of Community College Presidents of the Baby Boomer and Generation X Generations
Hall, Richard A., Jr.
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Capella University
Literature has warned of an impending leadership crisis for American community colleges (Amey, Vanderlinden, & Brown, 2002; Shults, 2001). At the present time, the majority of community college president positions are held by members of the Boomer generation. These individuals will soon be retiring and members of the Xer generation will be called upon to replace them. Recruiting and developing this generation as presidents will be important to the future vitality of community colleges. This quantitative study used sections I, II, and III of Leadership Orientations Instrument (LOI) developed by Bolman and Deal (Bolman, n.d.) to find out if there was significant difference in preferred leadership styles of community college presidents of the Boomer and Xer generations. A nationwide survey resulted in 203 completed surveys by Boomer presidents and 30 by Xer presidents. Friedman's non-parametric statistical test was used to analyze the results. The survey also included 4 open-ended questions for Boomer presidents and 6 open-ended questions for Xer presidents. An analysis of these responses assisted in discovering how community colleges can prepare members of the Xer generation for presidential positions. These responses also helped unveil possible changes to the duties and responsibilities of the position that might make it more attractive to members of the Xer generation. Major findings of this study were that: (a) the human resource frame was the primary leadership frame of the Boomer generation, (b) the symbolic frame was the primary leadership frame of the Xer generation,; and (c) there was significant difference of leadership frames related to leadership behaviors but no significant difference related to leadership style. Xer presidents have a strong desire to serve others and make a difference in the lives of students and in their local communities. Developing the next group of presidents as fundraisers and managers of change will be important. This group will also need to be trained for participation in: (a) political affairs, (b) accreditation matters, (c) conflict resolution, and (d) program development. Better salaries and compensation packages will help attract Xers to future positions as community college presidents. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Community Colleges, Leadership Styles, Baby Boomers, Leadership Qualities, Human Resources, Leadership, College Presidents, Generational Differences, Qualitative Research, Surveys, Comparative Analysis, Administrator Characteristics
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A