Date of Award

Spring 5-11-2019

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Dr. Jonathan Bartling

Scholarship Domain(s)

Scholarship of Discovery

Abstract

Rapidly changing environments force organizations to adapt quickly to remain relevant. However, a given organization’s ability to adapt depends largely on its leaders’ ability to guide and direct their subordinates in the use of the organization’s resources. Research has identified self-directed professional development (SDPD) as a critical component of leaders’ ability to meet the challenges of adaptation, but notably absent from the literature are explorations of how leaders’ self-perception relates to the degree to which they engage in SDPD. The purpose of this quantitative study was to deepen current understandings of the interplay between self-perception and individual behavior in the organizational setting, specifically through administration of the Leader Efficacy Questionnaire and assessment of SDPD participation and attitudes of 120 organizational leaders with a view to exploring the relationship between leader self-efficacy and engagement in SDPD as well as any variables that could moderate such a relationship. Multiple regression analysis of participants’ responses produced the statistically significant finding that leader self-efficacy had no bearing on participation in SDPD activities, but that positive attitudes toward SDPD could predict high levels of leader self-efficacy. Highly efficacious leaders are thus more likely to believe in the value of lifelong learning, but self-reported participation in SDPD may fall outside the scope of individual behaviors that can predict perceptions of self-efficacy. Accordingly, the study’s findings call for further exploration of how leaders’ self-perceptions can be channeled for the benefit of their organization.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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