Date of Conferral

2014

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Salvatore Sinatra

Abstract

Despite more than $1 trillion spent annually on poverty remediation, impoverishment in the United States persists unabated. With a U.S. poverty rate greater than 10% for more than 4 decades, economics are neither poverty's cause nor cure. As such, non-economic poverty remedies require exploration and expansion. Linking greater leadership and poverty theories, this non-experimental, cross sectional, quantitative, survey-based research effort correlated individualized consideration's (IC) practice with collegiate athlete graduation rates in order to identify and isolate possible leadership based social poverty remediation measures. Leveraging a two-stage random sample, this research effort correlated student athlete Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (form 5X) responses with educational attainment. An ANOVA of 210 participants (rs = .77) indicated a strong correlation between IC practice and athlete matriculation rates. Strong correlational relationships indicate transformative leadership may serve to advance educational attainment and power poverty remediation. Results further suggest developmental leader actions (rs = .68) were significantly more integral to follower progression than supportive leadership behaviors (rs = .37). Research effort findings offer comprehensive individual, communal, institutional, and societal modification opportunity while promising advancement for society's most disadvantaged members. Finally and most importantly, this research supports positive social change through human forward progression, improving life-conditions for society's most disadvantaged members.

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