Date

7-21-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Alex Oldham

Keywords

School consolidation, school consolidation, rural education, institutional change, Lewin’s theory, qualitative research, phenomenology, teacher retention

Disciplines

Education | Educational Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of faculty members of a consolidated secondary public school within a rural district in the southeastern United States. The theory guiding this study was Lewin’s theory on institutional change as it explains how individuals experience the unfreezing, changing, and refreezing phases during organizational transitions. The Central Research Question was, what are the lived experiences of secondary public school faculty during and following the consolidation of their secondary public school in rural Southeastern United States of America? This qualitative research study utilized a transcendental phenomenological approach to investigate and interpret the phenomenon of secondary public school consolidation in rural areas from the perspective of faculty. Purposeful sampling was used to identify participants who were faculty who have worked at a consolidated secondary school within the last five years. Data collection took place in the form of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and letter writing. Data analysis was completed in order to identify and interpret themes from the collected data. The results of this study provided a descriptive phenomenological view of the perceptions of faculty in order to help leaders and future policies that impact rural education.

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