Date of Award
2-24-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
Felice D. Billups, Ed.D.
Committee Members
Felice D. Billups, Ed.D.; Suzanne Buglione, Ed.D.; Angelina Medeiros, Ed.D.
Keywords
Educational leadership; Educational administration; Higher education; Business administration; Diversity, equity, and inclusion; Strategic planning; Stakeholders; Institutional support; Document analysis
Abstract
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives assume many forms in higher education (Morgan et al., 2021). Yet, research shows that institutions struggle with developing and implementing DEI initiatives (Leon, 2014; Scott, 2020). The unique structure, goals, and governance of colleges create complex conditions for DEI initiatives (Berry et al., 2018). A prominent model that monitors the development and implementation of DEI is reflected in strategic planning processes (Birdsall, 2018). Although multiple strategic planning models exist (Williams, 2021), there are inconsistencies in the ways DEI initiatives are defined and prioritized by various institutional stakeholders (Falqueto et al., 2020; Scott, 2020; Williams, 2021). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore stakeholder perspectives regarding institutional strategic planning as a vehicle for prioritizing, planning, implementing, and advocating for institutional DEI initiatives. The following research question guided the study: How do stakeholders involved in institutional strategic planning processes describe the way DEI initiatives are prioritized, developed, and implemented? The researcher employed a qualitative descriptive design involving research sites (n=3). Document analysis (N=19), semi-structured interviews (N=7) with institutional stakeholders representing comparable professional roles, and an interview with (N=1) an expert participant in the field of DEI in higher education were conducted. Document analysis applied Krippendorff’s (2004) content analysis strategy; interview data were analyzed using Rubin and Rubin’s (2012) thematic analysis. The findings on employing collaborative efforts as a means to build effective strategic planning processes may provide guidance for institutional stakeholders seeking systematic methods for developing DEI initiatives.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Jade M., "Exploring Higher Education Stakeholder Perceptions of Institutional Support for DEI: Prioritizing, Planning, and Implementing DEI Initiatives" (2025). JWU Dissertations & Theses. 20.
https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/jwu_etd/20
