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  • Breaking the Cycle: Examining the Effectiveness of Administrative Strategies for Empowering High School Students with Diverse Ethnic Backgrounds

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    Keyword:
    transformative learning theory, educational leadership, administrative strategies, student empowerment, equity, diverse ethnic backgrounds, minority student success
    Creator:
    Iaiennaro, Trisha
    Depositor:
    jonathanmajors64@webster.edu
    Publisher:
    Webster University
    Language:
    English
    Date Uploaded:
    04/14/2026
    Date Modified:
    04/15/2026
    Date Created:
    2025
    Rights:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Other
    File Format:
    PDF
    Abstract:
    This dissertation, Examining the Effectiveness of Administrative Strategies for Empowering High School Students with Diverse Ethnic Backgrounds, investigates how school leaders may spearhead transformative and inclusive strategies for empowering students by cultivating equity and long-term success. Informed by Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory, the researcher examines the ways in which administrative practices can create opportunities for critical reflection, personal growth, and active participation for high school students from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. This study will identify and explore the effectiveness of administrative strategies that lead to the creation of school environments where students from all walks of life are valued, supported, and able to reach their full potential. It adopts a qualitative research design and investigates, through interviews, focus groups, and document analysis, how school administrators interpret, design, and apply the practices promoting transformative learning experiences among ethnically diverse students. By giving voice to both students and educators, the research seeks to uncover challenges and opportunities within the implementation of inclusive leadership strategies at the high school level. This dissertation contributes to the literature on educational leadership by applying and extending Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory to a secondary education context, which is less regularly examined in the literature. The findings have implications for refining theoretical conceptions of transformative learning and generating actionable insights for administrators working to close opportunity gaps and promote more equitable outcomes. At its core, this work stems from a deep commitment to educational justice and the belief in the power of inclusive leadership to bring about transformation. This integration of rigorous scholarship with practical application will hopefully support educators and administrators in the creation of learning environments that empower minority students to achieve academic success and develop as confident, reflective, and socially aware individuals ready for postsecondary and lifelong success. [author provided]