Date
11-11-2026
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Daniel Thompson
Keywords
Mentoring, leadership development, Christian education, spiritual formation, organizational sustainability
Disciplines
Education | Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
Hardin, Richard Eric, "Cultivating Leadership in Christian Educational Organizations Through a Three-Module Mentoring Framework: A Dissertation-in-Praxis Study" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 9087.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/9087
Abstract
This Dissertation-in-Praxis project examined a brief, biblically grounded leadership-development framework at Woodland Christian School (WCS). The project addressed the lack of a consistent process for developing current and emerging leaders within a Christian educational organization. Although the original strategic plan proposed mentor–mentee relationships, the implemented intervention consisted of three electronic leadership-development modules focused on leadership identity and mission alignment, communication and decision-making, and leadership growth, reflection, and mentoring. Quantitative evidence consisted of an anonymous 15-item pre-project survey completed by eight respondents and a post-project survey completed by seven respondents. Qualitative evidence consisted of participant reflections submitted through the three modules. Descriptive analysis showed that participants entered the project with strongly positive perceptions of leadership and mission alignment. Post-project responses remained mostly positive, although one response set was markedly negative and several items received Neutral responses. The qualitative review identified recurring themes related to communication, mission alignment, servant leadership, accountability, mentoring, reflection, and intentional growth. The electronic intervention was feasible to deliver, and most post-project responses were positive. However, the small single-site sample, anonymous and unpaired responses, self-reported perceptions, and brief implementation period did not support conclusions about causal improvement, lasting behavioral change, or long-term organizational outcomes. The findings supported continued refinement of the module-based framework and future implementation and evaluation of the originally proposed mentor–mentee model.
