East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2021 If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It: Walt Disney’s Hero’s Journey to Professional Identity Charles McCoin East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Other Education Commons, and the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons Recommended Citation McCoin, Charles, "If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It: Walt Disney’s Hero’s Journey to Professional Identity" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3882. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3882 This Dissertation - unrestricted is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It: Walt Disney’s Hero’s Journey to Professional Identity ________________________ A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership ______________________ by Charles M. McCoin May 2021 _____________________ Dr. Virginia Foley, Chair Dr. John Boyd Dr. Pamela Scott Keywords: identity, storytelling, Walt Disney, Hero’s Journey ABSTRACT If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It: Walt Disney’s Hero’s Journey to Professional Identity by Charles McCoin The purpose of this multi-method single-case study was to examine the application of Joseph Campbell's Heroic Journey model as a means of professional identity creation in the life of Walt Disney. Walt Disney was an entrepreneur, cartoonist, filmmaker, inventor, studio head, and family man whose career stretched through the first half of the 20th century. Walt used his imagination and creativity to establish industry norms in the animation, film, television, and amusement park industries. Walt Disney's legacy and vision continue to be a viable influence within the Walt Disney Company today. Campbell's Heroic Journey model was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The Heroic Journey model is rooted in folklore but is used as a means of personal self-discovery and self-construction (Murray, 2009). In the model, Campbell (2008) suggested that the world's myths were not a series of differing myths but one myth, the monomyth, played out differently across cultures. The monomyth is broken into three parts (separation, initiation, and return), with 17 stages dispersed across the parts. 2 The Heroic Journey model states that all heroes leave their familiar world, progress through trials, and return home with new learning for change. This framework was applied to Walt Disney's life to look at the narrative influence on his professional identity. The expansion of narrative scholarship and its influence on creating personal and professional identity using historical research, document review, and observational data was the purpose of this qualitative study. The Heroic Journey model acts as a lens to create and discover one's identity by using stories as a vehicle of understanding. All of life's experiences must be viewed as narrative experiences to use the Heroic Journey model. This study found that narrative cannot be separated from the human experience. It is one's life and lived experiences that create the story of their existence through separation, initiation, and return. Every experience from one's birth to death contributes to whom they will become both personally and professionally. By looking at life as a series of stories and narratives, one realizes the depth of their identity through reflection and examination. 3 Copyright 2021 by Charles M. McCoin All Rights Reserved 4 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my mother and grandmother. Respectively, they have encouraged me to reach for the stars and settled for nothing less than the best. They have been the living testament to the power of faith, hard work, and resilience. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation began in the late 1980s. I was four, and my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and I traveled to Walt Disney World for the first time. Since then, I have made many trips, but that moment began my enchantment with the magic of Walt Disney. If I learned anything from this in-depth study of Walt Disney's life is that nothing is possible alone. It takes faith and dedication to those that believe in you to make your dreams come true. My success in this step of my education resulted from a supportive community and the love of a gracious, merciful, creative God. I cannot possibly thank and express my appreciation and gratitude to all those that have guided me. For some, I may not know the depth of their influence until much later down the road, but I hope they know how much they mean to me. ● Thank you to my mother for instilling in me the desire to travel and a sense of adventure. ● Thank you to my grandmother for supporting all of my ideas despite how crazy they can be or have been at times. ● Thank you to Dr. Foley, Dr. Boyd, and Dr. Scott for taking an interest in my project and making it a reality. ● Thank you to East Tennessee State University, Cohort 181, and all the friends I have made on this journey. Shared group texts, phone calls, and laughs with Dedra Lamb, Gina Pavlovich, Mary Smith, Kate Hall, Heidi Campbell, Whitney Pearson, Jennifer Green, Andrea Lowery, and April Sims enriched the journey. ● Thank you to Allen Dyer for being a mentor and teaching me the importance of time management, but more importantly, thank you for being a friend. The laughs and the journeys have been immeasurable. 6 ● Thank you to Mr. David Woods, Mrs. Kim Meadows, Ms. Alva Hall, and PHS Staffulty for supporting and encouraging me through this process and affording me opportunities to lead at Portland High School. ● Thank you to Lauren Grant, Amanda Stubblefield, and Alyson Wheeler for their friendship and willing ears as I have expressed excitement, frustration, and remorse on this journey. ● Thank you to the principals and school leaders that allowed me to shadow and learn from them: Mrs. Selena Elmore, Mr. Lance Taylor, Mrs. Phyllis Gillman, Mr. Cam MacLean, Mrs. Rachel Wright, and Mrs. Joyce Pais. ● Thank you to Dr. Lena Hegi Welch for encouraging me to pursue higher education. ● Thank you to Dr. Lisa Speer for editing my project. I know that I have left people off this list, but that does not mean they are any less important. I hope that I can be as supportive to others as they have been to me through all of this. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 6 LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 13 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 13 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................. 14 Heroic Journey Model: A Theoretical Framework ............................................................... 15 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 15 Definition of Terms .............................................................................................................. 15 Narrative ............................................................................................................................... 16 Myth ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Hero ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Identity .................................................................................................................................. 20 Professional Identity ............................................................................................................. 21 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................. 21 Chapter 2. Review of Essential Literature ................................................................................ 23 Models of the Communication Process ................................................................................ 23 Transmissional Model of Communication ........................................................................... 24 Interactional Model of Communication. ..............................................................................