Dissertation Proposal Defense by Michelle Zive

Dissertation Proposal Defense by Michelle Zive

Date and Time

Thursday, March 31, 2016

This event occurred in the past

  • Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.

Location

Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, 141

5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110

Cost

Free*

Sponsor(s)

Details

AN EXPLORATION OF THE USE OF PHOTOVOICE TO FACILITATE NARRATIVE LEADERSHIP IN A SMALL GROUP OF MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN

Committee:

Robert Donmoyer PhD, Chair
Mary B. McDonald, PhD, Member
Helen Eckmann, EdD, Member

Abstract

     Over the last two decades, narrative leadership has received a great deal of attention in the Leadership Studies field. Narrative leaders are leaders who use stories to impact others in both large-scale political and social movements and in organizations. Most of the literature on narrative leadership focuses on an individual narrative leader with formal or informal positional power to influence others. Yet, there has been movement away from associating leadership with the actions of a single individual and toward a view of leadership practice that emphasizes group-level processes, such as shared leadership, an approach to leadership in which two or more members of a group jointly attempt to influence what happens. Unfortunately, we have no images of what narrative leadership looks like in shared leadership situations or of the techniques that can be used to foster narrative leadership in small-groups.
    The purpose of the study is to examine whether a strategy called photovoice can be used to facilitate the effective implementation of narrative leadership within a small group of middle-aged women. Photovoice encourages group members to take photographs and, then, to use the photographs to prompt storytelling oriented toward transforming the individual, the collective, and the community. The proposed study will explore whether photovoice can be used to promote narrative leadership within a small group and whether any narrative leadership that gets enacted facilitates or inhibits shared leadership among group members.
     The study will be guided by the following overarching research questions: 1) What evidence, if any, supports or refutes claims that the storytelling engendered by the use of photovoice techniques influenced the thinking, behavior, and/or actions of group members; in other words, is there evidence that photovoice facilitates the exercise of narrative leadership by the group members? 2) Does narrative leadership appear to contribute to the development of group characteristics associated with the concept of shared leadership?
To explore these questions, a small group of middle-aged women will be recruited to participate in a photovoice project. Sessions will be videotaped and participants will be interviewed at specified points during the process. Polkinghorne’s strategy of narrative analysis will be employed.

* Free and open to current USD Students and Faculty Only