A DESCRIPTION OF THE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS OF THE DEANS OF THE TOP-RANKED SCHOOLS OF NURSING IN THE UNITED STATES (NURSING SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION).
Contributors: Miami University.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 139
Subjects: Education, Administration.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Higher.
Description: The purpose of this study was to describe the self-reported leadership behaviors of the deans of the top-ranked schools of nursing in the United States. A sample of 35 deans of the top-ranked schools of nursing in the United States was selected from the Chamings (1990) study that ranked the schools. The deans were surveyed using the Multifactor College Leadership Questionnaire (MCLQ) which identified transformative leadership behaviors and the Dean's Information Questionnaire (DIQ) which provided a demographic profile of the participants. Thirty-two of the 35 nursing deans responded to the questionnaires yielding a 94 percent response rate. Findings indicated that the nursing deans were between 50 and 60 years of age, had earned a Ph.D., had been in their current positions for less than five years, had held the positions of chairperson and faculty prior to their first deanship and worked an average of 59 hours per week spending most of their time in university and college related leadership activities. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to identify the transformative leadership behaviors identified from the MCLQ.

Mean scores computed for the MCLQ indicated that Values was the most important transformative leadership theme identified by the top-ranked nursing deans followed by the themes of Vision, People, Motivation and Influence. Leadership attributes were identified within each of the leadership themes for the nursing deans. The highest mean score on the leadership attributes identified that the nursing deans self-reported a commitment to a higher code of ethical behavior. High reliabilities were established for the MCLQ with Cronbach Alphas ranging from.61 to.79. Intercorrelations among MCLQ themes and MCLQ total revealed positive relationships between thematic areas with totals ranging from.54 to.76. Further analysis and results of a one-way analysis of variance indicate a significant difference at the p $<$.05 level for faculty size and the motivational and influence themes. This study adds to the research literature on the nursing deanship and has important implications for the identification, selection and training of exemplary leaders in nursing.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-04, Section: A, page: 1148.

Thesis (PH.D.)--MIAMI UNIVERSITY, 1991.

School code: 0126.