Date of Award
2010
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
Toms, Forrest
Abstract
This research examines community partner perceptions regarding levels of readiness for engagement in partnerships with universities. Since its inception the American land grant university has been a cornerstone in preparation of people for the role of university partner and engaged citizen. Theories of collaborative and integrative leadership suggests that readiness for engagement on the part of the community partner is important to the success of sustainable partnerships with universities, and for civic engagement in the twenty-first century. This study seeks to understand the community partners‟ perspective by exploring common indicators of community readiness for engagement with universities, and community leader‟s perception of partner roles in such relationships. Built on a theoretical framework suggesting that collaborative leadership requires direction, alignment and commitment; this research attempts to explore two questions regarding community partners: Do community organization leaders believe they are prepared to be engaged partners with large land grant universities and their communities? What do community organization leaders expect from the university as an engaged partner? To answer these questions, a sequential mixed method design is employed that includes semi-structured interviews of leaders and the development of a quantitative survey administered to community organizational leaders who participated in partnerships with two land grant universities. These methodologies explore the existence of correlations between indicators of social capital, trust, collective efficacy, leadership energy, perceptions of university readiness by community leaders, and organizational readiness for engagement. Qualitative findings revealed community leader valued trusting relationships; opportunities to grown learn and acquire technical expertise and the development of collective efficacy in the relationships with university partners. Leaders perceive emerging concepts of spiritual capital and learning in public denote authentic engagement. Likert scales, reliable at assessing organizational readiness for engagement and individual levels of social capital were developed. These findings inform the research on community perspectives on sustainable civic engagement and practice oriented theory.
Recommended Citation
Lloyd, Cheryl LeMay, "Indicators Of Community-Land Grant University Readiness For Engagement From The Community Perspective." (2010). Dissertations. 6.
https://digital.library.ncat.edu/dissertations/6