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In-country: identification of transformational learning and leadership in human rights observers

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Date Issued:
2014
Summary:
Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, has suffered through centuries of disenfranchisement, poverty, slavery, environmental disasters, internecine racial prejudice, and foreign infringement. Its people won independence from France in 1804 but only at the cost of huge human and financial losses. Since then, Haiti has known little freedom or democracy. In 1991, the first truly democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was elected (with a 67% majority). Nine months later, he was deposed by a military coup d'état. During that time and the chaotic years that followed, groups of human rights observers traveled to Haiti in an attempt to record and report publically, officially, what was actually happening to the Haitian people and their institutions. Although much has been written about the country during that period, there have been no studies focused on the human rights observers who were intimately involved with the people and the country. These groups and other groups participating in similar situations have not been studied and, yet, research in that area might provide important insights in the field of social justice. It is important to identify what encourages individuals to become a part of the effort to make a positive difference in the lives of others, in the most adverse situations, the process by which human rights observers become engaged, and how that engagement affects their lives both during and after their in-country experiences. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to see if there are commonalities (e.g., socio-cultural influence, self-directed learning readiness, etc.) among the initial in-country experiences of several human rights observers and further to discover what, if any, effect those experiences had on their leadership styles. The study identified socio-cultural influences (self-directed learning readiness and familial, religious, educational impact); motivational factors; methods of processing the experience (immediate responses of connectedness/love and reasoned responses involving individual and group reflection); and multiple outcomes (spiritualty, social action, and creativity). The overarching findings included identification of transformational learning in the participants and the evolution of their leadership from the servant model into a transformational/chaos model, including reflection in and on action as an operating context.
Title: In-country: identification of transformational learning and leadership in human rights observers.
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Name(s): McDonald, Nancy D., author
Bryan, Valerie, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
College of Education
Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2014
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 404 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, has suffered through centuries of disenfranchisement, poverty, slavery, environmental disasters, internecine racial prejudice, and foreign infringement. Its people won independence from France in 1804 but only at the cost of huge human and financial losses. Since then, Haiti has known little freedom or democracy. In 1991, the first truly democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was elected (with a 67% majority). Nine months later, he was deposed by a military coup d'état. During that time and the chaotic years that followed, groups of human rights observers traveled to Haiti in an attempt to record and report publically, officially, what was actually happening to the Haitian people and their institutions. Although much has been written about the country during that period, there have been no studies focused on the human rights observers who were intimately involved with the people and the country. These groups and other groups participating in similar situations have not been studied and, yet, research in that area might provide important insights in the field of social justice. It is important to identify what encourages individuals to become a part of the effort to make a positive difference in the lives of others, in the most adverse situations, the process by which human rights observers become engaged, and how that engagement affects their lives both during and after their in-country experiences. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to see if there are commonalities (e.g., socio-cultural influence, self-directed learning readiness, etc.) among the initial in-country experiences of several human rights observers and further to discover what, if any, effect those experiences had on their leadership styles. The study identified socio-cultural influences (self-directed learning readiness and familial, religious, educational impact); motivational factors; methods of processing the experience (immediate responses of connectedness/love and reasoned responses involving individual and group reflection); and multiple outcomes (spiritualty, social action, and creativity). The overarching findings included identification of transformational learning in the participants and the evolution of their leadership from the servant model into a transformational/chaos model, including reflection in and on action as an operating context.
Identifier: FA00004216 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Educational sociology
Human rights -- Haiti
Human rights workers -- Haiti
Leadership
Leadership -- Psychological aspects
Social justice
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Links: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004216
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004216
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.