I Have a Feeling We re Not in Kansas Anymore: A Reflection on My Journey Over the Rainbow. Christina C. Johnson

Transcription

1 Running head: WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 1 I Have a Feeling We re Not in Kansas Anymore: A Reflection on My Journey Over the Rainbow Christina C. Johnson Reflective Paper submitted as part of the Qualifying Assessment for Admission to Candidacy at Marshall University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dr. Bobbie Nicholson, PhD, Chair Dr. Michael Cunningham, EdD, Committee Member Dr. Feon Smith, PhD, Committee Member Dr. Beverly Jo Harris, EdD, Committee Member Graduate School of Education and Professional Development South Charleston, West Virginia 2015 Copyright 2015, Christina C. Johnson

2 Running head: WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 2 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Dorothy: Dazed and Amazed. 3 Follow the Yellow Brick Road. 6 Unexpected Leader. 6 Leader or Manager. 8 Other Adventures Along the Way 9 If I Only Had the Nerve If I Only Had a Brain 12 If I Only Had a Heart Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.. 16 Conclusion 17 References 19 Appendices.. 20 Appendix A: Co-Teaching Acknowledgement 20 Appendix B: 2014 Doctoral Student/Faculty Seminar Booklet Cover Page 21 Appendix C: 2014 Seminar Recognition and Thanks 22 Appendix D: 2014 SRCEA Proposal Acceptance Appendix E: 2013 SRCEA Program. 25 Appendix F: SRCEA Presentation Title Slide.. 27

3 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 3 I Have a Feeling We re Not in Kansas Anymore: A Reflection on My Journey Over the Rainbow Introduction It's always best to start at the beginning -- and all you do is follow the Yellow Brick Road. ~ Glinda the Good Witch of the North When I was in elementary school, I remember watching The Wizard of Oz every September. No matter how many times I watched, I was captivated by the beauty, music, and the adventures of Dorothy, Toto, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion. I chose The Wizard of Oz as the theme of my portfolio reflection because of an epiphany I had about courage while driving to class one evening in the spring of When I chose The Wizard of Oz as the theme for this reflection, I was quickly taken back to the anticipation and joy that I felt when I watched The Wizard of Oz as a child. Reflecting on my journey through the doc program brings me similar feelings of anticipation and joy, along with feelings of exhaustion and writer s block. I had no idea that writing a reflection of my experiences in an education program would be such an emotional journey. In the words of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, It s always best to start at the beginning. Take a journey with me down the yellow brick road as I reflect on my journey over the rainbow. Dorothy: Dazed and Amazed Wait a minute, fellows. I was just thinking. I really don t want to see the Wizard this much. I d better wait for you outside. ~ Cowardly Lion As I think back, deciding to go back to school to earn a doctoral degree was like being swept away by a cyclone. One minute I was weighing the benefits and risks of going back to school and doing a little research into Marshall University s EdD program requirements. The next thing I knew, I was stumbling out of a cyclone-ravaged house that had landed in a strange

4 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 4 new place. I had landed smack-dab in the middle of the doc program, and I definitely was not in Kansas anymore. And so, my journey begins. In the fall of 2012, I found myself in my first doctoral class. We were in a small room with a big table, and there were about 10 or 12 other students in the room. The class was Dr. Nicholson s LS 707 ethical theory course. I came into the class oblivious as to how a doctoral level college class was run. It wasn t until after the class had started that I realized that a reading assignment had already been assigned and posted on a strange new magical being called Blackboard. Dr. Nicholson walked into the class with a bowl of candy and acknowledged most of the people in the room by their first names, but I was a newbie and at that moment felt like an outsider. The topic of discussion for that night was The Nature of Morality. The discussion quickly began to focus on religion and the power and responsibilities of deities. I remember sitting in the room and not understanding much of what was being discussed. The words omnipotent, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient were being tossed around the room as if they were as commonplace as everyday dinner conversation. I had NO IDEA what they were talking about. It was at that moment that I began to question my choice to take this journey. I thought that the cyclone may have gotten the best of me. In the words of the Cowardly Lion, Wait a minute, fellows. I was just thinking. I really don t want to see the Wizard this much. I d better wait for you outside. During that same semester, I was also taking Dr. Cunningham s LS 703 research design course. Already questioning my decisions, I went to the first night of class a little battered and with a heavy heart. I made sure to confer with the all-knowing and all-powerful Blackboard before attending the first night of my second class of the doctoral program. I did not want to make the same mistake twice. As the night progressed, Dr. Cunningham discussed the

5 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 5 requirements of the class and reflected on his own time as a doctoral student. He began to discuss the doctoral process and the components or chapters included in a dissertation because we would be writing a research proposal, which would include mini-versions of chapters one, two, and three. As he reflected on his own dissertation topic, he began to discuss how our research should fill or address a lacuna in the literature. He paused briefly and asked, Does anyone know what the word lacuna means? I perked up and said, I know what lacuna means. I proceeded to tell him and my fellow classmates, many of whom had the same deer-in-the-headlights look that I had had the night before, that the word lacuna means gap or space. A feeling of selfconfidence rushed through me. I thought, Maybe I can do this, and maybe I do belong here. Upon completion of my first semester, I had gained a little confidence in my abilities as a doc student, time manager, and multitasker. In addition to learning the difference between morals and ethics, and how an ethical dilemma is not a dilemma unless two or more morally acceptable or equally unacceptable choices exist, Dr. Nicholson also made me ever aware of my comma deficiency through her continual reference to my random acts of comma. I still have not conquered my comma deficiency (my term, not Dr. Nicholson s); however, I have been made aware of my shortcomings and I will continue to make a concerted effort to recognize and correct my comma- related mistakes. It may sound as though I am being a little witchy (pun intended), but I am not. I truly appreciate all the time that Dr. Nicholson spent not only pointing out my comma deficiency, but also making an effort to explain how the commas were being used incorrectly and how I could fix them in the future. Dr. Cunningham, on the other hand, was not as hard on me and my writing, thank goodness!! He did, however, empathetically introduce me and my fellow classmates to the doctoral process, program requirements, the importance of APA guidelines, and the differences among qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research. It

6 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 6 was at the end of my first semester that I asserted, There is no maybe about it; I do belong here, and I can do this. Not this time, Witch!! Follow the Yellow Brick Road Unexpected Leader Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my! ~ Dorothy Gale Dorothy was a leader, albeit an unexpected one or possibly a leader by circumstance. She was a leader nonetheless. In Dr. Watts LS 710 Principles of Leadership, I learned about a variety of different leadership styles. Dorothy, in my mind, was a transformational leader. The theory of transformational leadership espouses the idea that leaders affect the behavior of followers by motivating their followers to work beyond individual self-interests and to work for the collective good of the group, organization, or company. The theory suggests that when followers feel trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect toward a leader, they will be motivated to work beyond the traditional expectations of employment obligations (Bass, 1996; Bass, 1985; Burns 1978; Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert, 2011; Yukl, 1999). Dorothy motivated Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion to face their fears head-on by taking part in a mysterious journey with her to see the Wizard. Thinking about Dorothy s leadership style made me begin to think about my personal leadership style. As part of Dr. Watts class, we were asked to identify our individual leadership style(s). Although at that point in my professional career I had not had any formal leadership opportunities, I indicated that I identified with at least three theoretical contexts on leadership using the term theoretical loosely. The three leadership models I identified with most were transformational, transactional, and the path-goal theory.

7 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 7 I, in much the same way as Dorothy was able to do, want to motivate people and be a transformational leader. I want to motivate people to do better and be better. I realize, however, that sometimes it takes a carrot and sometimes it takes a stick to provide motivation. That is why the second theoretical context of leadership that I identify with is transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is a leadership style in which leaders promote compliance through both reward and punishment, which typically leads to or results in expected performance outcomes (Wang et al., 2011). Rewards and punishments are contingent upon the performance of the followers. The leader views the relationship between leaders and followers as an exchange you give me something for something in return. Although I and most leaders, in general, will take part in some type of transactional leadership, I do not believe that this approach could be completely effective as a sole leadership style or on a continual basis, especially at postsecondary academic institutions. Using the carrot-versus-the-stick approach can motivate followers to be better and to do more; however, if there is a continual threat of the stick, I believe this approach can adversely affect follower motivation and even employee turnover. I also determined that I identify with the path-goal theory because it reminds me of another theory, the theory of natural selection. The theory of natural selection, by Charles Darwin, involves the gradual, nonrandom process by which biological traits become either more or less present in a population or species. The theory is commonly associated with the idea of survival of the fittest ; however, I describe the idea of survival of the fittest as survival of the most adaptable. The organisms whose variations best fit them to the environment are the ones that are most likely to survive, reproduce, and pass those desirable variations on to the next generation. I believe that path-goal theory allows a leader the ability to adapt to individual leadership environments by allowing her to modify leadership styles based on which best fits a

8 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 8 work environment in order to achieve goals. As a leader, I want to be adaptable and transformational, and if that requires an occasional transaction, then I will also be transactional. Leader or Manager Before beginning this program, I had never really thought about being a leader. I have always been what I consider a manager -- an organizer and a planner. I never thought of myself as a leader. I can imagine that if Dorothy were asked, she would probably say that she too never envisioned herself as a leader. This program has made me realize that there is a very distinct difference between being a leader and being a manager. My second year in the program began in the fall of During that semester, I decided to join the Doctoral Seminar Planning Committee. Jessi Hanna was the 2013 committee chair, and Jessi and I had become friends as a result of our overlapping course schedules during the previous fall, spring, and summer semesters. It was during this semester that I volunteered to be the planning committee co-chairperson. By volunteering for the co-chair role, I was also accepting the responsibility of being the 2014 planning committee chairperson. My duties as the co-chair were limited. I attended meetings, provided input, completed a few minor tasks, but primarily I was able to learn the planning process while in this role. My role as the seminar planning committee chairperson formally began in January I volunteered for this role because it was a leadership opportunity, and as part of the EdD residency portfolio requirements students are required to seek leadership opportunities. Being the planning committee chairperson occupied a great deal of my time and energy over about a ninemonth period. I quickly became aware that this role was about being more of a manager than an inspirational leader, and I found this role to be very challenging. While I had accepted the lead role of the planning committee and the responsibilities that accompany that role, I felt as though

9 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 9 the idiom too many chiefs and not enough Indians was a more accurate description of the committee make-up. I believe I was an effective committee chairperson, and I feel a sense of pride in the success of the 2014 seminar. I also believe that the success of the seminar was due in part to my leadership and managerial abilities; however, by the time the 2014 Annual Doctoral Student/Faculty Seminar was held, I was more than ready to relinquish my role to the next the flying monkey. Other Adventures Along the Way All right, I'll go in there for Dorothy. Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear them apart. I may not come out alive, but I'm going in there. ~ Cowardly Lion In the spring of 2013, Dr. Nicholson asked me to run some statistical analyses on Advanced Placement data from a high school in Jackson County, although I was not able to begin working on them until the summer. I had taken Dr. Meisel s EDF 517 statistical methods course during the spring of 2013, so I was familiar with the tests that Dr. Nicholson wanted performed; however, in order to perform the data analyses, I had to give myself a crash course in SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Based on my SPSS crash-course experience, let me just say that YouTube is a beautiful thing. Once the analyses were complete, I presented the data as part of a round-table discussion at the 54th Annual Southern Regional Council on Educational Administration Conference (SRCEA) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I enjoyed attending and presenting at the conference, as well as the camaraderie with the faculty and other doc students. It was nice to get a sense of who the faculty are outside the confines of the classroom. In addition to taking on the seminar and presenting at a conference, I was able to co-teach the LS 690 leadership capstone course with Dr. Cunningham during the spring 2014 semester.

10 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 10 Even though I have been teaching as a full-time faculty member for the last five years, I was a little ambivalent about critiquing the work of graduate-level students. Dr. Cunningham divided the class up to help ease our grading burden. Each time I would grade an assignment, I would send my comments to Dr. Cunningham for confirmation. As the class progressed, I began to realize that Dr. Cunningham trusted my opinion. His trust helped to build my confidence in my abilities. At one point, I began to worry that I was being too critical. I began to critique the students as I critique my own work, and I am very critical of my work. I was rather surprised, however, at the lack of writing abilities for several of the students in the class. I was under the misinformed impression that the students would, at the very least, have known APA. I was quite surprised by the poor writing skills (e.g., grammar, formatting, citations, etc.) of several of the students in the class. I was also surprised by the blatant disrespect that the students were willing to express through communications in an online course. A few of the students were more than willing to express their dissatisfaction with my assessment of their poor performance. My only thought was, If you don t like it, then do better. In my opinion, this was a capstone course the culmination of these students educational experience in a graduate-level program. Their writing was to some degree, in my opinion, a reflection of the program. Maybe I am just being too critical, but I think that in order to be successful in an educational endeavor, a student needs to be pushed out of her comfort zone and into a higher level of expectation. That is what this program has done for me. This program has pushed and at times has shoved me out of my comfort zone. I may be in the minority, but I appreciate being held to a higher standard. As an instructor, I hold my students to a high standard. I expect more of them and, in turn, they expect more of themselves. If I lower my expectations, so will my students; I expect no less of myself.

11 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 11 If I Only Had the Nerve Read what my medal says: Courage. Ain t it the truth? Ain t it the truth. ~ Cowardly Lion As mentioned in the introduction, I chose The Wizard of Oz as my theme because of an epiphany I experienced while driving to class one evening in the spring of My epiphany was about courage. As I was driving, I was thinking about the impending intuitional merger at the community college where I work. Earlier that day, I had asked the vice president of the institution which department chair positions would be available as a result of the merger and whether I would be a qualified candidate for any of the positions. While driving, it hit me. If I had not started this journey, I would likely have never had enough courage to ask for a leadership role. It was at that moment that I realized that this program has given me courage. As a result of my inquiry and newly found courage, I was offered the position of General and Transfer Education Department Chair for Collaborative Studies and Program Coordinator of Science. I accepted and began these positions in the fall of Along with courage, this program has helped to build my self-confidence. As mentioned earlier, I performed some statistical analyses on data using SPSS for Dr. Nicholson in the summer of I was not scheduled to take the LS 767 SPSS-based data analysis course until the fall of 2014, but I did not let that stop me. When Dr. Nicholson asked me to help her with this research project, I jumped at the opportunity. Now that I am thinking about it, just saying yes to this project took courage. Even though I had never worked with SPSS before, I chose to accept this challenge as a learning opportunity. Prior to beginning the analyses, I met briefly only for about 15 to 20 minutes in the computer lab with Dr. Nicholson. She indicated that she wanted me to run correlations to test for relationships between variables and regression analyses to determine the strength of any identified correlations. As mentioned earlier, I had taken Dr.

12 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 12 Meisel s EDF 517 statistical methods course during the spring of 2013, so I was familiar with the statistical tests that Dr. Nicholson wanted performed. When I started working on the data, I quickly realized that I had to give myself a crash course in SPSS. To aid in this process, I searched and watched YouTube videos on how to perform both correlation and regression analyses using SPSS. After the analyses had been completed, I sent my data to Dr. Nicholson for review and approval. By her reaction, she was pleasantly surprised by my work. She was surprised not because I had completed the project or did the analyses correctly, but because I had completed the project and did the analyses with little direction from her and by teaching myself SPSS. Working on this project, teaching myself how to maneuver through SPSS, and receiving Dr. Nicholson s seal of approval for my work, gave me a much-needed boost in my confidence. This is but one example of how the faculty have made it a point to take a minute or two out of their day to let me know that I was doing a good job. With each word of encouragement and constructive criticism, my self-confidence grows. Both my self-confidence and courage to accept a challenge have grown as a result of this program. I believe self-confidence and courage go hand-in-hand. I can now see that the more self-confident I become, the more courage I develop. I am no longer a cowardly lion. If I Only Had a Brain Back where I come from we have universities seats of great learning where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts -- and with no more brains than you have... ~The Wizard of OZ As a result of this program, I have learned many things. I have learned things that will help me continue to grow professionally and things about myself personally. Trying to describe what I have learned is, I believe, the most difficult part of writing this reflection. As part of the

13 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 13 leadership program curriculum, I have learned about teaching (e.g., pedagogy vs. andragogy), learning (e.g., learner-centered vs. teacher-centered models), and leadership styles and theories (e.g. great man, situational, transformational, transactional, etc.). I have also learned about quantitative and qualitative research methods and statistical tests and programs used for data analyses. I can honestly say that I have learned something from every class that I have taken as a part of the leadership program, even if what I learned was not part of the curriculum. In a few of my classes, I learned lessons both inside and outside the classroom. In LS 725 Higher Education Finance, LS 745 Higher Education Law, and LS 747 Administration of Community Colleges, I found myself frustrated by how the courses were structured. Although these classes were considered face-to-face courses, I felt as though I was teaching myself more at home than as part of the face-to-face interactions. As I began to reflect on what I had learned from these courses, I realized that my frustration and struggle with the structure was part of my learning experience. These courses offered little formal structure in the way of course meetings and course assignments. For the most part, the classes met only once per month, and when they did meet there was usually a guest speaker scheduled for the session. What I learned from these courses, about education finance, education law or being a community college administrator, was based on my effort to complete required course assignments. Although I was frustrated while taking these courses, I can now appreciate the teaching method employed. These were definitely not teacher-centered courses. Now that I recognize my struggle as a learning experience, I can look back and see that I learned from the courses both inside and outside the classroom As part of the leadership studies program, each student is required to select an area of emphasis, and the one I chose is adult and technical education (ATE). I chose adult education as

14 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 14 my emphasis because the leadership studies track that I am following is geared toward community college administration, and the concept of adult education plays a major role at community colleges. I think the topics go hand-in-hand. Adult students, both traditional and nontraditional, have unique needs that must be addressed by academic institutions and community college administrators. Studying critical aspects of the design and implementation of adult education programs as part of my emphasis allowed me to better understand and more appropriately interact with adult student populations and understand their needs. To that end, I chose to include the ATE 603 Introduction to Adult Education, ATE 656 Instruction Plans for Adults, and ATE 701 The Community and Technical College courses to satisfy the emphasis requirement. Along with courses like ATE 712 Classroom Assessment for Community and Technical College Students, included as part of the community college administration track curriculum, the additional ATE courses included for my emphasis helped me to understand the need to not only think about how to teach, but to take into consideration how students learn. Although I have learned many things as a result of starting this program, some of the most important things that I have learned have been about me. During the fall 2014 semester, I learned an important lesson about resilience. I do not know if this was an intended lesson of this program, but it is a lesson that I learned all the same. During this semester, I was signed up for LS 776 Computer Analysis, EDF 625 Qualitative Research, and LS 760 Politics. In addition to taking three classes, I was also teaching six classes and performing administrative duties as part of my department chair and program coordinator roles. This was a grueling schedule, and I did not know if I was going to survive the semester. Talk about being tossed around by a cyclone. There were times that I did not think I was going to come out of this semester with my sanity intact, but I did. After the last paper was submitted and last final taken, it was a proud moment

15 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 15 when I realized that I was two-and-a-half years into this program, and I was surviving. In my view, I was not only surviving, I was thriving. It was at that moment that I thought of the Wizard when he said, [B]y virtue of the authority vested in me by the Universitatus Committeeatum E Pluribus Unum, I hereby confer upon you the honorary degree of ThD. Because of this program I have discovered my resilience, and I do believe that I too am becoming a Doctor of Thinkology. If I Only Had a Heart A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others. ~ Wizard of Oz My husband, Andrew, and daughters, Sydney and Emily, are my heart. The level of support that they have shown me over the last two-and-a-half years has been more than I could have asked for or expected. I now understand what the Wizard meant when he said, A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others. My heart has grown. I know how much I am loved. My husband of 18 years is a true unsung hero. Andy has unconditionally supported me throughout my numerous educational endeavors. He has listened to me read and re-read assignment after assignment out loud (I am an auditory learner). He tolerated my taking homework with us out on the boat, to the beach, and everywhere else we went. He did not like but understood when date night was repeatedly postponed and eventually became non-existent. He has never questioned my decisions to go to college or to get another credential. He understands that I go to college not only to better myself but to better our family. He gives me strength! As I travel down the yellow brick road of the doc program, my girls are never far behind. In fact, they were often in front of me sitting on the futon in my office watching TV, doing

16 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 16 homework, and talking about their day. They never let me forget that in addition to being a teacher and a student, I am also a parent. Just as my instructors and employers had a level of expectation for my productivity, my children too had expectations of my time. I am their go-togirl when it comes to helping with homework. In between my homework assignments and grading homework and exams, I fixed hair, hosted birthday and slumber parties, survived spring formals, and even managed to help out Santa and the Easter bunny. For my girls, it was worth every second! Ding Dong the Witch is Dead! (or at least starting to melt) Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead! ~ Munchkins The Wicked Witch and her trusty band of flying monkeys tried their best to introduce every barrier they could think of to prevent me from reaching this point in the program. There were days that I thought about turning in my ruby slippers and admitting defeat. It was not until I began to write this reflection that I was able to assert that I have not given in to my fears, selfdoubt, exhaustion, or lack of self-confidence that the Wicked Witch symbolizes. Instead, I chose to stand up to the Wicked Witch and to tell her, in the words of Glinda the Good Witch of the North, You have no power here! Begone, before somebody drops a house on you, too! Between the fall of 2012 and fall of 2014, I survived many of the Witch s games and tricks. In addition to surviving and successfully completing my doctoral classes, overcoming self-doubt (at least a little), dealing with doc-student guilt, gaining confidence in my abilities, and feeling a level of exhaustion that I had never experienced before (Where is a field of poppies when you need it?), I also survived an institutional merger, became a department chair, taught a

17 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 17 full load of courses (15-18 contact hours per week per semester), volunteered to be the chairperson of the 2014 Student/Faculty Doctoral Seminar Planning Committee (What was I thinking?), and became the mother of a teenager. That s a whole different cyclone! When I think about all of the challenges that I have overcome over the last two years, even I am amazed at my resiliency. I, like the scarecrow, deserve to go to a spa and have my straw re-stuffed. As previously stated, the fall 2014 semester was my most stressful semester to date. I honestly didn t know if there were enough hours in the day to complete all of my tasks, but somehow I did complete them, one by one. I guess Friedrich Nietzsche was right when he said, That which does not kill us makes us stronger ; at least I believe that he was correct in my case. I am stronger because of this program, and happily exclaim, Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead! Conclusion [I]f I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! ~ Dorothy Gale Just as Dorothy, upon awakening from her magical adventures in Oz, realized that she did not need to leave home to find her heart s desire, I too had a realization. The summer of 2014 marked my sixth semester in the Leadership Studies program. The first two years of my doctoral program experience had come and gone as quickly as the winds of a cyclone blow across Kansas. The time to begin writing my portfolio reflection paper was quickly approaching. As I began to organize my thoughts and reflect on my experiences, I realized that the doctoral program was not going to make me a leader. It was at that moment that I had to answer for myself what I believed is the true purpose of the Leadership Studies Program. According to Bogdan and Biklen (2007), [I]nterpretation is not an autonomous act, nor is it determined by

18 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 18 any particular force, human or otherwise, and individuals interpret with the help of others but others do not do it for them (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007, p. 27). My interpretation of the Leadership Studies Program is that the program has not made me a leader. It has, however, given me the tools to learn to lead, to understand learning and leading styles, and to allow me to envision what type of leader I want and hope to be. The program taught me theoretical perspectives of leadership that will allow me to develop and determine my individual leadership style or styles. The program has also given me opportunities to lead, and given me courage to seek leadership opportunities. I now understand that the doctoral program was not designed nor intended to make me a leader. I do believe, however, that what the program has given me are the brains, the courage, and the heart to become a leader. As one phase of my journey ends, I am mindful of the next phase the dissertation. I find myself antsy once again for what lies ahead. As I continue to reflect on my journey down the yellow brick road, I cannot help but think Dissertation beware! I ll get you, my pretty

19 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 19 References Bass, B. M. (1996). Anew paradigm of leadership: An inquiry into transformational leadership. Alexandria, VA: U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York, NY: Free Press. Bogdan, R. & Biklen, S. (2006). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods, 5th Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York, NY: Harper & Row. Doctoral Programs in Education Student and Faculty Handbook. (2011). Marshall University Graduate School of Education and Professional Development. [Brochure]. Huntington, WV: Publisher. Leroy, M. (Producer), Freed, A. (Producer), & Victor, F. (Director). (1939). The Wizard of Oz [Home video]. United States: MGM. Wang, G., Oh, I., Courtright, S., and Colbert, A. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management, 36(2), Retrieved from Yukl, G. (1999). An evaluation of conceptual weaknesses in transformational and charismatic leadership theories. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), Retrieved from

20 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 20 Appendix A: Co-Teaching Acknowledgement Appendices

21 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 21 Appendix B: 2014 Doctoral Student/Faculty Seminar Booklet Cover Page Marshall University Doctoral Student/Faculty Seminar September 27, 2014 College of Education and Professional Development

22 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 22 Appendix C: 2014 Seminar Recognition and Thanks

23 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 23 Appendix D: 2014 SRCEA Proposal Acceptance

24 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 24

25 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 25 Appendix E: 2013 SRCEA Program

26 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 26

27 WE RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE 27 Appendix F: SRCEA Presentation Title Slide