First Advisor

Rodriquez, Katrina L.

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

5-2019

Department

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Leadership Policy and Development: Higher Education and P-12 Education, LPD Student Work

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how community college conduct administrators make meaning of their experience. This is a qualitative, constructivist, narrative study utilizing multiple methods of data collection (semi-structured interview, focus group, reading list elicitation, and researcher journal). The setting was multiple community college campuses in one western state that are part of a larger state system of community colleges. The data revealed that to these five administrators, the work is always more than the title reflects. Those who do the work are unique and altruistic, and the institutions at which the participants work had a lack of awareness of what these conduct administrators do each day. The navigation of the work each day takes skill in compartmentalization and crisis calibration as well as empathy and a need to engage in safety planning. Ultimately, each participant felt that they were in the work that they were meant to do. Implications for practice include prioritized training for administrators in these unique positions, an attempt to understand and support the difficult work these administrators do, and an acknowledgment of their need for self-care when working with students of concern.

Extent

356 pages

Local Identifiers

Crawford_unco_0161D_10715

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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