Date of Award

Summer 8-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

First Advisor

Bryan McCoy

Abstract

This study used a biblical leadership theory theoretical lens and a qualitative single-case study design to investigate servant leadership in a Christian school. Data were collected from (a) 33 participants via interviews, (b) eight field observations, and (c) documents, and the data were analyzed using thematic coding via MAXQDA. I found that service was perceived as a fundamental component of a dual-domain paradigm of leadership consisting of a technical and a spiritual domain, and I found that descriptions of service as part of leadership included (a) motivations for service, (b) dispositions associated with serving, (c) acts of service, and (d) effects of being served. I developed a conceptual model to describe these findings and described implications of the model for practitioners in Christian schools, including using the model to inform (a) revisions to mission and vision statements, (b) professional development, and (c) student instruction in leadership. Additionally, I noted that practitioners in Christian schools could use the findings (a) to inform internal studies of spiritual development among staff and students and (b) to understand the complementary relationship between spiritual and technical domains of leadership. I proposed that future research could focus on (a) determining the degree to which Christlike leadership is espoused in Christian schools, (b) developing a comprehensive framework for Christlike leadership, (c) testing my conceptual model in other Christian schools, (d) studying Christian leadership paradigms using a grounded theory approach, and (e) studying the prevalence of and nature of a dual-domain paradigm of leadership in Christian schools.

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