The Role of Emotional Intelligence in the Work of School Leaders
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Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Spring 2018 Emotionally Connected: The Role of Emotional Intelligence in the Work of School Leaders Tanzy Lewis Mason Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Mason, Tanzy L., "Emotionally Connected: The Role of Emotional Intelligence in the Work of School Leaders" (2018). This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE WORK OF SCHOOL LEADERS by TANZY MASON (Under the Direction of Kymberly Harris) ABSTRACT During this era of accountability and standardized testing, school leaders have been inundated with reform models that seek to increase student achievement. However, without effective leadership at the school level, most of these reform efforts will likely fail. The purpose of this study was to examine the practices of school leaders and the role of emotional intelligence in their work in establishing a school culture. Qualitative methods were used to gain insight into the events, processes, and structures that school leaders encountered as they enacted leadership practices. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with four school leaders. Teachers who worked with each school leader also participated in focus group interviews. Participants were asked to communicate their lived experiences and reflect on how emotional intelligence impacted the practices of school leaders. In this study, triangulation occurred using multiple streams of data, such as documents and interview transcripts, as well as member checks, which allowed participants an opportunity to read their transcripts for accuracy and to determine if these displayed accurate depictions of their lived experiences. Findings from the study could provide valuable insight regarding the preparation and training of educational leaders. INDEX WORDS: Emotional intelligence, School leaders, School leadership practices, School leadership performance, Emotions in school leadership EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE WORK OF SCHOOL LEADERS by TANZY MASON B.A., Dillard University, 1998 M.B.A., University of New Orleans, 2008 Ed.S., Lincoln Memorial University, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA © 2018 TANZY MASON All Rights Reserved 1 EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE WORK OF SCHOOL LEADERS by TANZY MASON Major Professor: Kymberly Harris Committee: Yasar Bodur Juliann Sergi McBrayer Electronic Version Approved: May 2018 2 DEDICATION To God be the glory for all that he has done in my life. When I reflect on my life’s journey, I cannot help but see the overwhelming evidence of His presence through grace, mercy, and favor. He continually blesses me above measure in ways that I could not have imaged. I pray that my life is a living example of His love, for without Him there is no me. I cannot thank my Father enough for the life he has blessed me to live. This work is dedicated to the many individuals who make up my clan and whose many sacrifices made it possible for me to fulfill my dreams. My grandparents, Evelyn Carmouche, Hayes Carmouche Sr., and Helen Eaglin, have poured into me and shown me unconditional love. To my uncles and aunts, know that I cherish every memory, all of the support you have provided, and the many words of wisdom you have spoken into my life over the years. This work is also dedicated to my parents, Gabriel and Waver Eaglin. Your self- sacrificing love serves as an example of God’s heart on earth. You have prayed over me and interceded on my behalf for as long as I have been breathing. Thank you for your belief in me and instilling in me to seek after God’s heart. I love you both! To my sister and brother, Desiray and Marquell Eaglin, I am blessed to have you in my life and love you more than you know. To my mother-in-law, Sonja Mason, you welcomed me into the fold and I will be forever grateful for you loving me like your own. To my children, Ramsey Lewis, Patrick Mason, Jalen Mason, and Trevor Rose, always seek to leave the world a better place than what you have found it. I love you all so very much! Finally, to the love of my life, Akil Mason, thank you for your patience, unwavering support, and for loving me just the way I am. You are my calm in the storm and my refuge. It amazes me that God saw fit to bless me with you. I look forward to writing the rest of our story together! 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My heartfelt gratitude is extended to my dissertation committee members who offered valuable feedback and assisted me in accomplishing this goal. I would like to thank my supervising committee member, Dr. Kymberly Harris, for being a constant source of inspiration and encouragement. Your guidance helped me to connect the pieces of the puzzle. Dr. Bodur, your feedback helped me to ensure I conducted a study with sound methodology. Dr. McBrayer, thank you for asking thought provoking questions. I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to the educators who participated in this study. Witnessing the passion you all exhibited was inspirational. Collectively, you all are proof of the power of positive relationships. Dr. Tonisha Johnson, Dr. Clifton Nicholson, Ms. Cheryl Jenkins, Dr. Uma Subramanian, Mr. Vincent Tolbert, and Ms. Merisa Fruge, thank you for being my sounding boards. You all have discussed my study with me so much that you could probably defend it. To Riki and Crystal Gilliam, thank you for being some of the best Godparents on this side of heaven. I will never forget the many babysitting adventures and weekends you two kept Ramsey while I traveled the highway going to and from class. A warm thank you is also extended to Erika Drake who also participated in the babysitting adventures of Ramsey Lewis. To the other half of my co-parenting team, Damany and Kiana Lewis, thank you for always being willing to go the extra mile and showing that teamwork does indeed make the dream work. To my co-hort members, I believe I might be the last of the Mohicans. I am glad to have experienced this journey alongside you. You all proved yourselves to be some of the most supportive people around. May we all go out and continue to be the change we want to see! 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................3 LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................8 Background ..................................................................................................................................9 Impact of School Leadership ...................................................................................................9 Emotional Intelligence in Leadership ....................................................................................10 Statement of the Problem ...........................................................................................................11 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................14 Research Question 1 ..............................................................................................................14 Research Question 2 ..............................................................................................................14 Research Question 3 ..............................................................................................................14 Significance of the Study ...........................................................................................................14 Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................................................15 Research Procedures ..................................................................................................................20 Research Design.....................................................................................................................20 Participants .............................................................................................................................21 Instrumentation ......................................................................................................................22 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................22 Data Analysis .........................................................................................................................23 Limitations .............................................................................................................................24