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Life as a Southeast Asian American leader: a phenomenological study
Dissertation   Open access

Life as a Southeast Asian American leader: a phenomenological study

Sunny Le
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Dec 2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/na9k-9953
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Abstract

Educational leadership Asian Americans--Education Career development--Research Mentoring in education Transformational leadership Education
This was a study to investigate the disparity in the number of Asian Americans who ascend the career ladder into positions of leadership. This is a growing concern for Southeast Asian Americans entering the workforce who hope to become leaders in their professions. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences and challenges faced by Southeast Asian Americans as they sought career advancement and attained leadership positions in a professional work environment. To this focus, the research questions explored were as follows. 1. How do Southeast Asian Americans describe the essence of their experiences in attaining positions of leadership? 2. What are the motivational forces of Southeast Asian Americans to attain positions of leadership? 3. What strategies and sources of support have Southeast Asian Americans used to overcome barriers and challenges on their pathways to positions of leadership? The key literature to this qualitative study focuses on Asian American social identity, career development, and transformational leadership. The research questions are answered through a phenomenology approach that utilized interviews, journals, and field notes. The study results showed that participants had childhood challenges in education and well-being, long-term employment in an organization or field that provided success, systems were learned and participants created positive changes, and all participants exhibited plural identities. Additionally, significant people shaped the participants' leadership styles and abilities to grow professionally. Recommendations for individuals and future research are provided

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