University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation
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EXPLORING THE ROLE OF TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING IN DEVELOPING UNDERGRADUATE LEADERSHIP LEARNERS’ CAPACITY FOR SOLVING COMPLEX PROBLEMS By CAMERON JAMES OUTLAW A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2019 © 2019 Cameron James Outlaw To Barbara “Nanny” Knight ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Through this arduous journey, I have been struck by the overwhelming belief and support I have felt from friends, family, and faculty. I am reminded of how great things take time and how it takes a village to do anything well. It is my privilege to offer heartfelt gratitude to these dear champions in my life. I am moved by God’s mercy and grace upon my family – my mom and dad have been incredibly supportive and helpful. Jim and Sandy Outlaw have challenged me to become the best I can be. Even though we do not see eye-to-eye on certain things, I am ever learning of your abundant love for me. Thank you for never giving up and always being patient. I love you, Emily. You are a strong big sister who sacrifices to love and serve her family. What a cool experience for both of us to be pursuing master’s degrees at the same time. I am glad we could spur one another on (and commiserate) during the process. Thanks for always championing me. I hope to one day return all the sacrificial love you have given me. I believe in you. A big thank you to my advisor, Dr. Nicole Stedman. I enjoyed every meeting as we would talk business then branch into life and faith. You know me well – after seven years together, I can say I am a better version of Cam. Thanks for drawing out what I did not see in myself. Thank you, Dr. Grady Roberts for serving on my committee and helping me consider the deeper implications of education. Your wisdom and humor was always appreciated. Thank you, Dr. Tony Andenoro. Without you, I could not have become who I am today. You taught me many things, but what I most treasure is how you taught me how 4 to listen, to hear the hearts of others. Your creativity and energy have indelibly imprinted in my teaching philosophy, and I am tremendously grateful for that. Thank you to Dr. Matthew Sowcik and Dr. CC Suarez for teaching me so much about leadership, education, mentoring, and love. I am sharper because of your investment in me. Thank you for taking all my crazy questions and helping me grow into the most humble leader we know (jk). Thank you to my friends that feel like family. I could not have made it without you, and if I did, it would not have been worth it. While an exhaustive list would add hundreds of pages to this document, I want to attempt to shout-out some of the best support system I have: James, Paul, Ross, Nathan, Saneh, Austin, Val, Jenn, Nick, Jake, Gabe, Dylan, Daniel, Chad, Nate, Daniel, Laura, Morgan, and more. People are people’s medicine – thanks for being mine. The ultimate thank you is to Jesus Christ, the perfect leader. Thanks for saving me by grace to live a life poured for others – it is all for You. Onward + Upward! 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... 11 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 14 Overview ................................................................................................................. 14 Learning .................................................................................................................. 16 Transformative Learning ......................................................................................... 19 Leadership Education ............................................................................................. 24 Critical Competencies for Complex Problem-solving .............................................. 25 Methods to Develop Critical Competencies for Solving Complex Problems ........... 27 Problem .................................................................................................................. 28 Purpose and Objectives .......................................................................................... 30 Significance ............................................................................................................ 30 Definition of Terms .................................................................................................. 31 Limitations ............................................................................................................... 33 Assumptions ........................................................................................................... 33 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................... 34 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW ............................... 36 Chapter Introduction ............................................................................................... 36 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 36 Learning ........................................................................................................... 36 Transformative Learning................................................................................... 39 Supporting Literature for Transformative Learning ........................................... 40 Transformative learning in general ............................................................. 41 Adversity .................................................................................................... 43 Intersectionality .......................................................................................... 43 Opportunity ................................................................................................ 44 Leadership Education ....................................................................................... 45 Supporting Literature for Leadership Education ............................................... 46 Student Learning .............................................................................................. 49 Supporting Literature for Student Learning....................................................... 50 Conceptual Model ................................................................................................... 51 6 Summary ................................................................................................................ 53 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 54 Chapter Introduction ............................................................................................... 54 Research Foundation.............................................................................................. 55 Research Design .................................................................................................... 56 Context of the Study ............................................................................................... 57 Sample and Population ........................................................................................... 61 Researcher Subjectivity Statement ......................................................................... 64 Measurement Procedures and Instrument .............................................................. 66 Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 67 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 69 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................... 70 4 RESEARCH FINDINGS .......................................................................................... 71 Chapter Introduction ............................................................................................... 71 Findings .................................................................................................................. 72 Research Objective One .................................................................................. 72 Adversity .................................................................................................... 73 Intersectionality .......................................................................................... 77 Opportunity ................................................................................................ 80 Research Objective Two .................................................................................. 83 Critical thinking ........................................................................................... 84 Emotional intelligence ................................................................................ 89 Research Objective Three