STUDENT PREFERENCES FOR ACADEMIC ADVISORS AS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS A ...

84 Pages·2010·1.55 MB·English

STUDENT PREFERENCES FOR ACADEMIC ADVISORS AS
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS

A Record of Study
by
DEBORAH SUZANNE DROZD

Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of
Texas A&M University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December 2010

Major Subject: Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications
STUDENT PREFERENCES FOR ACADEMIC ADVISORS AS
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS

A Record of Study
by
DEBORAH SUZANNE DROZD

Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of
Texas A&M University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
Approved by:
Co-Chairs of Committee, Christine D. Townsend
Barry Boyd
Committee Members, Alvin Larke, Jr.
Fred Bonner
Head of Department, John Elliott

December 2010

Major Subject: Agricultural, Leadership, Education and Communications
iii

ABSTRACT

Student Preferences for Academic Advisors
as Transformational Leaders. (December 2010)
Deborah Suzanne Drozd,
B.S., Texas A&M University;
MEd., Texas A&M University
Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Christine D. Townsend
Dr. Barry Boyd

A quantitative study was conducted to determine the preferences of
undergraduate students for academic advisors as transformational leaders. A
questionnaire was developed and distributed to undergraduate students enrolled in
leadership classes at a major land grant university to determine importance ratings based
on the variables including non-traditional and traditional students’ ages, classification,
gender, number of times advised, number of visits to an academic advisor, membership
in a collegiate military organization and athletics, and current leadership activities.
Results indicated that undergraduate students preferred their academic advisors to use
transformational leadership activities. There was no significant difference in the degree
of preference of transformational leadership in their academic advisor based on gender,
participation in athletics, traditional and non-traditional ages, classification, membership
in a military organization and participation in a leadership position or number of times
advised. However, inadequate representation of all groups within the number of times
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advised category prevented a comparative analysis. As a result of this study, a leadership
education workshop was developed as a component for academic advisor training,
academic advising activities were identified that corresponded to transformational
leadership constructs and similarities were found between the developmental advising
model and transformational leadership.
v

To God and the blessings He has given me
My wonderful family:
Husband Moose
My children, Heather, Joe, Michael, and Penny
My daughters in law, Ericka and Varonica
My son in law, Travis
My grandchildren, Dru, Landon, Holden and Jayden
……. I dedicate this work
vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would first thank God, for it is by His grace that I am writing this.
I want to thank my family and friends who stood beside me, believed in me and
tolerated my insanity for the last three years. Moose, you held the fort down and
understood my need to see this through, thank you. Heather, Joe, Michael, and Penny,
you were my inspiration to start this and my motivation to finish. Collectively you were
my strength. I hope that through my journey, you can pursue your own life journey with
hope, strength, and faith and a belief that your dreams can come true. You and your
children, my precious grandchildren, Dru, Landon, Holden, and Jayden, kept the joy in
my heart and were a constant reminder of how blessed I am.
To my daughters in law, Ericka and Varonica, thank you for your understanding
and support and being such an important part of our family. To my Dad, for never
giving up on me and continuing to believe in me, it only took me 35 years. To my sister
Sande, you kept me centered with your brutal honesty and faith in me, thank you for
that. You have helped me learn to “dance in the rain”. Candy, Monetta and Peggy, in my
huge fog of insanity, you stood by me, thank you.…….. a “toast” to you.
I would also like to thank my committee co- chairs, Dr. Chris and Dr. Boyd, and
my committee members, Dr. Larke and Dr. Bonner, for their guidance and support and
most of all for their patience and encouragement throughout the course of this research.
Thanks also go to my friends and colleagues and the departmental faculty and
staff for making my time at Texas A&M University a great experience. I owe a special
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thanks to Summer Odom, who so generously offered her time and expertise to this paper
and the development of a training workshop. Lexi and Katie, thank you for your advice,
help and most of all patience, your contribution to this research was invaluable. Billy,
thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to help me through this. To all of my
fellow graduate assistants, I thank you for your friendship. Kelly, Amy, Jody, Tiffany,
John, Reagan, Meagan, and Patrick, thank you for showing me an entire new “field of
energy”.
And last, but certainly not least, Rebecca and Hurley, thank you for your
friendship and support and for never letting me give up….. I now pass the “baton” to
you!
viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii
DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... viii
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER
I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1
Introduction and Background ............................................................ 1
Statement of Problem ........................................................................ 2
Purpose of Study ............................................................................... 3
Objectives .......................................................................................... 3
Theoretical Base for Study ................................................................ 5
Research Questions ........................................................................... 6
Need for Study .................................................................................. 8
Limitations ........................................................................................ 9
Basic Assumptions ............................................................................ 9
Definition of Terms ........................................................................... 10
II REVIEW OF LITERATURE .............................................................................. 12
Importance of Academic Advising ................................................... 12
The Transformational Leadership Style ............................................ 17
Transformational Leadership and Advising .......................................... 22

III METHOD OF INVESTIGATION ................................................................ 24
Population and Sample ...................................................................... 24
Instrument Development ................................................................... 26
Collection of Data ..................................................................................... 30
ix

CHAPTER Page
IV FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............. 31
Findings .............................................................................................. 31
Conclusions ........................................................................................ 46
Recommendations .............................................................................. 50

V SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 52

REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 52
APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................... 64
APPENDIX B ........................................................................................................... 67
APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................... 69
APPENDIX D ........................................................................................................... 71
VITA ......................................................................................................................... 73
x

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE Page

1 Transformational Leadership Theorist Comparison Chart ......................... 21

2 Developmental Advising and Transformational Leadership Models
Comparison Chart ...................................................................................... 23

3 Transformational Leadership Activity Scales – Reliability ....................... 28

4 Construct 1 – Influence: Frequencies and Standard Deviations................. 34

5 Construct 2 – Motivation: Frequencies and Standard Deviations .............. 35

6 Construct 3 – Stimulation: Frequencies and Standard Deviations ............. 37

7 Construct 4 – Consideration: Frequencies and Standard Deviations ......... 38

8 Summary of comparative Analyses of Differences of Importance of
Transformational Leadership in Academic Advisors by Gender ............... 39

9 Summary of Comparative Analyses of Differences of Importance of
Transformational Leadership in Academic Advisors by
Leadership Positions Held .......................................................................... 41

10 Summary of Comparative Analyses of Differences of Importance of
Transformational Leadership in Academic Advisors by
Membership in collegiate Military Organization ....................................... 41

11 Summary of Comparative Analyses of Differences of Importance of
Transformational Leadership in Academic Advisors by
Involvement in Student Athletics ............................................................... 42

12 Summary of Comparative Analyses of Differences of Importance of
Transformational Leadership in Academic Advisors by Classification ..... 43

13 Summary of Comparative Analyses of Differences of Importance of
Transformational Leadership in Academic Advisors by Age .................... 44