Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
4-2025
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3891-2940
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
John McIntyre
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Deardra Hayes-Whigham
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Karen Maxwell
Abstract
This phenomenological study utilized motivating language theory to explore the experiences that K–12 district office staff had with internal communication. The purpose of the study was to find how these experiences impacted an employee’s feelings of safety, value, and positive emotions in the workplace. The lens of motivating language allowed for a view of how empathetic language, meaning-making language, and direction-giving language shaped experiences for employees. Communication is an integral part of the culture of an organization; yet it is often overlooked as an influencing factor in job satisfaction and well-being. In fact, poor internal communication can lead to negativity that can spread throughout an organization. K–12 school districts have an inherent purpose to provide quality education for students, and the culture that is present at the district office level can set the tone for a school district. The researcher explored K–12 district office staff experiences through semistructured interviews and a focus group. Interview and focus group data were analyzed using a holistic approach to explore the full experiences and allow the phenomena to present themselves. Through the qualitative coding process, four themes arose that reflected back to the lens of motivating language and the research questions. The implications of this study provide relevant information for leaders about the impacts of their communication methods and how they impact employees. K–12 district leaders can utilize strategic aspects of communication to create a positive culture and promote wellbeing for employees as they find clarity and purpose in their work. The design of this study provides a framework for future research in other school districts and organizations. Keywords: organizational culture, internal communication, communication climate, organizational communication
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Scogin, Jessica Coleman, "Internal Communication and Organizational Culture: A K–12 District Office Phenomenological Study" (2025). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 878.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/878
Included in
Educational Leadership Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, Other Communication Commons, Other Educational Administration and Supervision Commons
