Papers by Grace Liang
Journal of Research in Education, 2014
The study of ethics and moral development of college students is an important issue. Knowing and ... more The study of ethics and moral development of college students is an important issue. Knowing and understanding the ethical behavior of college students can lead to changing and increasing appropriate behavior among graduate and undergraduate students. Such changes in ethical behavior and moral development during the college experience can strengthen the foundation for appropriate adjustments and foster a greater awareness for positive ethical behavior throughout a lifetime. This research study examined the perception of what students and faculty believe is academically dishonest behavior by identifying different types of scenarios. Given the cheating behavior by students, it is important to know what students and faculty actually believe is academically dishonest behavior. The research question was "What do students and faculty perceive as cheating?" Students and faculty were surveyed and the findings indicate a clear discord between perceptions of cheating and actual cheating as determined by students and faculty.
Gender and Education, 2016
ABSTRACT Little is known about Asian American women administrators in the public schools. The stu... more ABSTRACT Little is known about Asian American women administrators in the public schools. The study sought to understand the pathways of Asian American women to school leadership. In-depth interviews and researcher reflective memos were the primary data sources. The participants included 15 Asian American female school administrators in two states. We found that the women's career trajectories were similar yet unique; they were manifestation of the women's intersected experiences of gender, race–ethnicity, and age, situated in particular time and place. Often than not, the women had to negotiate their leadership aspiration and advancement through raced and gendered expectations. Others' encouragement and mentoring were instrumental for the women's development of self-knowledge and demystification of the leadership process. Most women taught at least 10–15 years before entering leadership. The women of earlier generations had far less career mobility and slim, if not absent, mentoring opportunities.
Using surveys and focus group interviews, this study explored the perspectives of new school supe... more Using surveys and focus group interviews, this study explored the perspectives of new school superintendents and their mentors on goal setting in relation to national leadership standards in a formal mentoring and induction program. While the two groups shared certain views, statistically significant differences were found. The mentees displayed a contextualized understanding of advocacy--more related to local community values and beliefs than those of national or international views. The issue of goal setting, or lack thereof, and the engagement of national leadership standards to mentoring are most prominent and novel in this study.
2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
Kulesza is a graduate of the American Society of Civil Engineers Excellence in Civil Engineering ... more Kulesza is a graduate of the American Society of Civil Engineers Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEED). She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in geotechnical engineering.
Historically, Asian American school administrators’ experiences leading the K-12 educational syst... more Historically, Asian American school administrators’ experiences leading the K-12 educational system have been under-researched and under-theorized. Today, as the fastest growing population in the United States, Asian American educators’ experiences and contributions can no longer be ignored in educational policy and research. Drawing on the traditions of critical race theory in education, this qualitative study underscores the leadership experiences of four Asian American women school administrators in one Southern U.S. state and seeks to identify their self-concept and expectations as school administrators. This vantage point provides the basis for investigation into their sense of responsibility for equity and leadership practices in diverse educational settings.
Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, Mar 20, 2015
Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 2015
This article presents distributed leadership as a framework for analysis, showing how the phenome... more This article presents distributed leadership as a framework for analysis, showing how the phenomenon complements formal higher education structures by mobilizing leadership from various sources, formal and informal. This perspective more accurately portrays the reality of leading engaged institutions. Using the application data from 224 Carnegie-classified communityengaged institutions from the 2008 and 2010 cycles, this study investigated leaders responsible for institutional community engagement; their ways of leading and institutionalizing engagement; and the structural, contextual, and developmental elements in the distribution of leadership for engagement in classified engaged institutions. The findings suggest that the engaged institution as a holistic system locates, aligns, and coordinates tasks, processes, and resources along lines of expertise, and not necessarily in alignment with institutional lines of command. The collectivism involved in community engagement provides space for coexistence of planned and spontaneous performance as well as the alignment of leadership functions across various sources of leadership.
Journal of School Administration Research and Development, 2020
Using surveys and focus group interviews, this study explored the perspectives of new school supe... more Using surveys and focus group interviews, this study explored the perspectives of new school superintendents and their mentors on goal setting in relation to national leadership standards in a formal mentoring and induction program. While the two groups shared certain views, statistically significant differences were found. The mentees displayed a contextualized understanding of advocacy--more related to local community values and beliefs than those of national or international views. The issue of goal setting, or lack thereof, and the engagement of national leadership standards to mentoring are most prominent and novel in this study.
Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 2019
The perspectives of both teachers and principals are valuable in understanding to what extent rec... more The perspectives of both teachers and principals are valuable in understanding to what extent recent graduates from formal educator preparation programs are ready to take on teaching roles and tasks as a teacher. The understanding gained may contribute to bettering initiatives targeted on teacher retention, particularly in those critical beginning years of practice. This study examined the perceived effectiveness of first-year teachers' preparation from the perspectives of the teachers and the principals, utilizing three-year survey data of 644 first-year teachers who graduated from a higher education institution and 497 hosting principals in a Midwest state. The findings note that the first-year teachers and principals, in general, had similar views regarding the preparation of the teachers. Significant differences were found related to certain competency domains as identified in the state's teaching standards. Also discussed in the article are longitudinal trends and recommendations for addressing noted challenges faced by first-year teachers.
Journal of School Leadership , 2019
This qualitative research investigated the applicability of teacher leadership, a notion
mostly g... more This qualitative research investigated the applicability of teacher leadership, a notion
mostly grounded in the Western literatures, to the educational settings in China. The
current research focused on the Chinese lead teachers, backbone teachers (BTs),
their experiences, and perspectives of teacher leadership. As a program designed to
increase school capacity, the BT system has left its delivery of the promises largely to
the local context. The BTs’ boundary expanding into other leadership domains
traditionally considered as remote from the core of teaching and learning was at the
mercy of the principal’s leadership and support.
Despite growing international attention to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), there is little syste... more Despite growing international attention to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), there is little systemic information available regarding the process of adjusting to divorce after leaving violent marriages among Iranian women. Despite the strong religious discouragement and social stigma associated with divorce in Iran, divorce has always been recognized as a possible outcome of marriage. This qualitative study was conducted to understand the process that nine Iranian women who left violent marriages went through after divorce. The data came from two interviews with each participant and interviewer's notes that were taken during the interview. The data were analyzed using phenomenology and themes related to adjusting to divorce after experiencing IPV were identified. The process of adjusting to divorce seemed to occur in phases, that is, " initial experience after divorce, " " searching for stability/ challenges/resources, " and " the process of developing new identity but still not being at peace. " Each phase consists of subthemes and boundaries between these phases were fluid and adjustment was an ongoing process. This process was a journey for these Iranian IPV victims, which was dependent on their financial situation, emotional support, having a child or not, and their
Leadership and Research in Education, 2018
Historically, Asian American school administrators’ experiences leading the K-12 educational syst... more Historically, Asian American school administrators’ experiences leading the K-12 educational system have been under-researched and under-theorized. Today, as the fastest growing population in the United States, the experiences and contributions of Asian American educators can no longer be ignored in educational policy and research. Drawing on the traditions of critical race theory in education, this qualitative study underscores the leadership experiences of four Asian American women school administrators in one Southern state and seeks to identify their self-concept and expectations as school administrators. This vantage point provides the basis of investigation into their sense of responsibility for equity and leadership practices in diverse educational settings.
Gender and Education , 2017
Little is known about Asian American women administrators in the public schools. The study sought... more Little is known about Asian American women administrators in the public schools. The study sought to understand the pathways of Asian American women to school leadership. In-depth interviews and researcher reflective memos were the primary data sources. The participants included 15 Asian American female school administrators in two states. We found that the women’s career trajectories were similar yet unique; they were manifestation of the women’s intersected experiences of gender, race–ethnicity, and age, situated in particular time and place. Often than not, the women had to negotiate their leadership aspiration and advancement through raced and gendered expectations. Others’ encouragement and mentoring were instrumental for the women’s
development of self-knowledge and demystification of the leadership process. Most women taught at least 10–15 years before entering leadership. The women of earlier generations had far less career mobility and slim, if not absent, mentoring opportunities.
Educational Administration Quarterly, 2017
Purpose: Little research exists that examines the leadership experiences of Asian American women ... more Purpose: Little research exists that examines the leadership experiences of Asian American women in public schools. This study sought to understand the meanings Asian American women school administrators have constructed out of their professional lives given the intersection of gender, race-ethnicity, and leadership.
Research Method/Approach: Data collection primarily relied on semistructured in-depth interviews and informal observations with 11 building-level administrators in two demographically contrasting states in the United States. Data were analyzed through constant comparative methods, using three iterations of initial codes/surface content analysis, pattern variables development, and application to data set.
Findings: The Asian American women’s paths to leadership were to a large degree emergent and personal. The women embraced a lifetime mission as to make a difference on their students’ lives and uplift the social groups embodied in their identities. They struggled with gender, racial-ethnic, and cultural discrimination. Critiques and resistance to racism were often tempered, particularly in their professional lives, as evident in their careful usage of agentic behavior and balanced communal practices. Their agency to fully assume leadership and fight against the oppressive system was a cooperant process of survival, the “I have to,” and resistance, the “I want to and can.”
Conclusion: By centering on the lived experiences of Asian American women, this study adds a new intersectionality, positionality, and voice to the established knowledge about women of color and educational leadership.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present findings from an initial year of mentoring and ... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present findings from an initial year of mentoring and induction provided to new assistant principals (APs) served by the Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI) and to identify program characteristics that support leadership development for first year APs.
Design/methodology/approach – The current research utilized surveys and interviews for data collection. The participants included 12 new AP mentees and five mentors currently participating in the KELI program. Two comparable questionnaires are designed to examine perceptions of both groups on the effectiveness of the program in general, mentoring/induction approaches used, and the appropriateness of the intensity of engagement required. The semi-structured interviews provide contextualized understanding of the same aspects examined in the surveys.
Findings – The findings reveal that mentees found mentoring/induction experiences with KELI highly valuable. The mentor-mentee matching mechanism together with other structured components in the KELI program such as mentor coaching training and multiple professional learning opportunities was instrumental for promoting a trustful relationship, reciprocal learning, and personalized and growth-based assistance that are key to successful mentoring/induction experiences.
Research limitations/implications – The study findings will inform the research-based
requirements in KELI’s model and further define effective components in serving the unique and varied responsibilities inherent in the AP position.
Originality/value – There is a need to identify elements in effective mentoring and induction support for new APs and to encapsulate best practices to further develop skills and dispositions for this important leadership position.
Keywords Professional development and mentoring, Educational leadership, Assistant principals, Multi-districts/professional organizations and university partnership
Paper type: Research paper
This article presents distributed leadership as a framework for analysis, showing how the phenome... more This article presents distributed leadership as a framework for analysis, showing how the phenomenon complements formal higher education structures by mobilizing leadership from various sources, formal and informal. This perspective more accurately portrays the reality of leading engaged institutions. Using the application data from 224 Carnegie-classified communityengaged institutions from the 2008 and 2010 cycles, this study investigated leaders responsible for institutional community engagement; their ways of leading and institutionalizing engagement; and the structural, contextual, and developmental elements in the distribution of leadership for engagement in classified engaged institutions. The findings suggest that the engaged institution as a holistic system locates, aligns, and coordinates tasks, processes, and resources along lines of expertise, and not necessarily in alignment with institutional lines of command. The collectivism involved in community engagement provides space for coexistence of planned and spontaneous performance as well as the alignment of leadership functions across various sources of leadership.
The report reveals what the field of Higher Education has learned about community engagement, par... more The report reveals what the field of Higher Education has learned about community engagement, particularly as represented in the applications of AASCU institutions who have applied for the voluntary Carnegie Classification on Community Engagement. The report is based on an analysis of 2008 and 2010 applicants.
The study of ethics and moral development of college students is an important issue. Knowing and ... more The study of ethics and moral development of college students is an important issue. Knowing and understanding the ethical behavior of college students can lead to changing and increasing
appropriate behavior among graduate and undergraduate students. Such changes in ethical behavior and moral development during the college experience can strengthen the foundation for appropriate adjustments and foster a greater awareness for positive ethical behavior throughout
a lifetime. This research study examined the perception of what students and faculty believe is academically dishonest behavior by identifying different types of scenarios. Given the cheating behavior by students, it is important to know what students and faculty actually believe is academically dishonest behavior. The research question was “What do students and faculty perceive as cheating?” Students and faculty were surveyed and the findings indicate a clear discord between perceptions of cheating and actual cheating as determined by students and faculty.
Book Chapters by Grace Liang
Partnerships for Leadership Preparation and Development: Facilitators, Barriers and Models for Change, 2020
In this chapter, we utilize micropolitics (Johnson, 2001) as the theoretical underpinning to expl... more In this chapter, we utilize micropolitics (Johnson, 2001) as the theoretical underpinning to explore two partnerships between two universities and local educational agencies, one for superintendent interns and the other for first-year superintendents. The research teams across two states relied on reflective narratives and documents to engage in this examination (Moon, 2013). The findings suggest that the partnerships, though benefiting from established structures, remained a ground for constant power negotiations. Positioned as bridge-builder, the program directors/supervisors, with extensive district leadership experience before becoming a faculty, found the boundaries rarely apparent along the entity lines. Several strategies were found to be instrumental for bridge-building; yet, boundary-spanning was required in such partnerships.
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Papers by Grace Liang
mostly grounded in the Western literatures, to the educational settings in China. The
current research focused on the Chinese lead teachers, backbone teachers (BTs),
their experiences, and perspectives of teacher leadership. As a program designed to
increase school capacity, the BT system has left its delivery of the promises largely to
the local context. The BTs’ boundary expanding into other leadership domains
traditionally considered as remote from the core of teaching and learning was at the
mercy of the principal’s leadership and support.
development of self-knowledge and demystification of the leadership process. Most women taught at least 10–15 years before entering leadership. The women of earlier generations had far less career mobility and slim, if not absent, mentoring opportunities.
Research Method/Approach: Data collection primarily relied on semistructured in-depth interviews and informal observations with 11 building-level administrators in two demographically contrasting states in the United States. Data were analyzed through constant comparative methods, using three iterations of initial codes/surface content analysis, pattern variables development, and application to data set.
Findings: The Asian American women’s paths to leadership were to a large degree emergent and personal. The women embraced a lifetime mission as to make a difference on their students’ lives and uplift the social groups embodied in their identities. They struggled with gender, racial-ethnic, and cultural discrimination. Critiques and resistance to racism were often tempered, particularly in their professional lives, as evident in their careful usage of agentic behavior and balanced communal practices. Their agency to fully assume leadership and fight against the oppressive system was a cooperant process of survival, the “I have to,” and resistance, the “I want to and can.”
Conclusion: By centering on the lived experiences of Asian American women, this study adds a new intersectionality, positionality, and voice to the established knowledge about women of color and educational leadership.
Design/methodology/approach – The current research utilized surveys and interviews for data collection. The participants included 12 new AP mentees and five mentors currently participating in the KELI program. Two comparable questionnaires are designed to examine perceptions of both groups on the effectiveness of the program in general, mentoring/induction approaches used, and the appropriateness of the intensity of engagement required. The semi-structured interviews provide contextualized understanding of the same aspects examined in the surveys.
Findings – The findings reveal that mentees found mentoring/induction experiences with KELI highly valuable. The mentor-mentee matching mechanism together with other structured components in the KELI program such as mentor coaching training and multiple professional learning opportunities was instrumental for promoting a trustful relationship, reciprocal learning, and personalized and growth-based assistance that are key to successful mentoring/induction experiences.
Research limitations/implications – The study findings will inform the research-based
requirements in KELI’s model and further define effective components in serving the unique and varied responsibilities inherent in the AP position.
Originality/value – There is a need to identify elements in effective mentoring and induction support for new APs and to encapsulate best practices to further develop skills and dispositions for this important leadership position.
Keywords Professional development and mentoring, Educational leadership, Assistant principals, Multi-districts/professional organizations and university partnership
Paper type: Research paper
appropriate behavior among graduate and undergraduate students. Such changes in ethical behavior and moral development during the college experience can strengthen the foundation for appropriate adjustments and foster a greater awareness for positive ethical behavior throughout
a lifetime. This research study examined the perception of what students and faculty believe is academically dishonest behavior by identifying different types of scenarios. Given the cheating behavior by students, it is important to know what students and faculty actually believe is academically dishonest behavior. The research question was “What do students and faculty perceive as cheating?” Students and faculty were surveyed and the findings indicate a clear discord between perceptions of cheating and actual cheating as determined by students and faculty.
Book Chapters by Grace Liang
mostly grounded in the Western literatures, to the educational settings in China. The
current research focused on the Chinese lead teachers, backbone teachers (BTs),
their experiences, and perspectives of teacher leadership. As a program designed to
increase school capacity, the BT system has left its delivery of the promises largely to
the local context. The BTs’ boundary expanding into other leadership domains
traditionally considered as remote from the core of teaching and learning was at the
mercy of the principal’s leadership and support.
development of self-knowledge and demystification of the leadership process. Most women taught at least 10–15 years before entering leadership. The women of earlier generations had far less career mobility and slim, if not absent, mentoring opportunities.
Research Method/Approach: Data collection primarily relied on semistructured in-depth interviews and informal observations with 11 building-level administrators in two demographically contrasting states in the United States. Data were analyzed through constant comparative methods, using three iterations of initial codes/surface content analysis, pattern variables development, and application to data set.
Findings: The Asian American women’s paths to leadership were to a large degree emergent and personal. The women embraced a lifetime mission as to make a difference on their students’ lives and uplift the social groups embodied in their identities. They struggled with gender, racial-ethnic, and cultural discrimination. Critiques and resistance to racism were often tempered, particularly in their professional lives, as evident in their careful usage of agentic behavior and balanced communal practices. Their agency to fully assume leadership and fight against the oppressive system was a cooperant process of survival, the “I have to,” and resistance, the “I want to and can.”
Conclusion: By centering on the lived experiences of Asian American women, this study adds a new intersectionality, positionality, and voice to the established knowledge about women of color and educational leadership.
Design/methodology/approach – The current research utilized surveys and interviews for data collection. The participants included 12 new AP mentees and five mentors currently participating in the KELI program. Two comparable questionnaires are designed to examine perceptions of both groups on the effectiveness of the program in general, mentoring/induction approaches used, and the appropriateness of the intensity of engagement required. The semi-structured interviews provide contextualized understanding of the same aspects examined in the surveys.
Findings – The findings reveal that mentees found mentoring/induction experiences with KELI highly valuable. The mentor-mentee matching mechanism together with other structured components in the KELI program such as mentor coaching training and multiple professional learning opportunities was instrumental for promoting a trustful relationship, reciprocal learning, and personalized and growth-based assistance that are key to successful mentoring/induction experiences.
Research limitations/implications – The study findings will inform the research-based
requirements in KELI’s model and further define effective components in serving the unique and varied responsibilities inherent in the AP position.
Originality/value – There is a need to identify elements in effective mentoring and induction support for new APs and to encapsulate best practices to further develop skills and dispositions for this important leadership position.
Keywords Professional development and mentoring, Educational leadership, Assistant principals, Multi-districts/professional organizations and university partnership
Paper type: Research paper
appropriate behavior among graduate and undergraduate students. Such changes in ethical behavior and moral development during the college experience can strengthen the foundation for appropriate adjustments and foster a greater awareness for positive ethical behavior throughout
a lifetime. This research study examined the perception of what students and faculty believe is academically dishonest behavior by identifying different types of scenarios. Given the cheating behavior by students, it is important to know what students and faculty actually believe is academically dishonest behavior. The research question was “What do students and faculty perceive as cheating?” Students and faculty were surveyed and the findings indicate a clear discord between perceptions of cheating and actual cheating as determined by students and faculty.