Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Education

Major

Educational Practice

Date of Defense

4-6-2026

Graduate Advisor

Dr. Melinda Bier

Committee

Dr. Thomas R Hoerr

Dr. Melinda Bier

Dr. Fatima Salas Rodriguez

Abstract

Although character education has been widely studied, limited research has examined the specific leadership strategies building administrators use to implement and sustain comprehensive character initiatives. This qualitative study investigated the leadership practices of building administrators whose schools were designated as National Schools of Character (NSOC) in order to better understand how character education is institutionalized and maintained over time. Guided by an exemplar model and informed by constructivist grounded theory methods, the qualitative study explored (a) the leadership strategies administrators identified as essential to implementation and (b) the challenges they encountered, and the responses used to address them.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten NSOC administrators representing public elementary, middle, and high schools across multiple states. Thematic analysis revealed five interrelated leadership themes: (1) establish and anchor a clear moral purpose, (2) build collective ownership and commitment, (3) institutionalize character through structures and systems, (4) model and cultivate relational trust and positive culture, and (5) sustain implementation through continuous improvement and data use. This study also identified common leadership strategies, a set of methods and tactics, within each of these themes.

Findings suggest that while implementation is dynamic rather than strictly linear, moral purpose and collective commitment function as foundational conditions that precede structural alignment. Leaders embedded character education into master schedules, professional learning systems, schoolwide routines, and assessment practices to ensure sustainability. Additionally, challenges, including staff turnover, limited buy-in, and parent misconceptions, mirrored gaps in implementation strategies, indicating that effective responses required reinforcing foundational leadership practices.

This study contributes a developmental leadership conceptual model demonstrating that sustained character education emerges through values-driven organizational coherence rather than program adoption alone. The findings offer common leadership strategies and practical guidance for school administrators and inform leadership preparation and professional learning efforts aimed at cultivating schools characterized by belonging, relational trust, and continuous growth.

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