Abstract
American political polarization threatens accessibility to equal educational opportunitiesand challenges the work of school leaders. This Dissertation in Practice examined affective
political polarization held by Nebraska’s public high school administrators and the association of
geodemographics.
This study asked if there were any associations between the affective political
polarization held by Nebraska’s public high school administrators in the past year and the
geodemographics of the communities in which they lead. With the results of this dissertation in
practice, the aim was to improve administrators’ collective awareness of the challenges political
polarization presents to Nebraska’s public-school leaders and provide a springboard for
discussion of future professional development needed for leaders to increase awareness of how
their apperceptions translate to leadership action.
Using quantitative descriptive association design representing a cross-sectional analysis,
data were collected through an affective polarization survey tool, and publicly available
Nebraska Department of Education geodemographic records. Nebraska High School
administrators serving grades 9-12 participated. Descriptive and inferential statistical procedures
were used to examine associations between affective polarization and geodemographic variables.
A practitioner recommendation plan addressed challenges political polarization presents
to educational leaders, outlining a professional learning and coaching framework grounded in
transformational leadership principles intended to increase administrator awareness of how
personal apperceptions form a prism in which leaders’ views influence leadership actions.