Date of Award

12-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

Department

Educational Leadership

First Reader/Committee Chair

Louque, Angela

Abstract

This paper delves into the complexities of performance evaluations within community college settings, aiming to inform a more effective approach specific to the unique characteristics of staff attracted to this work. Grounded in the understanding of validity in psychometric measurement and management theories, it seeks to identify evaluation criteria that prioritize enhancing the working environment which is known to impact overall organizational performance over traditional results-driven metrics to measure individual staff performance. Key theoretical underpinnings include discussions on validity, highlighting that measuring validity against the underlying goal of the performance evaluation (i.e., increased organizational performance) has been largely ignored in previous research (DeNisi & Pritchard, 2006; Dasanayaka, et al., 2021) which has instead primarily focused on reliability and concurrence with existing evaluations (e.g., Cox, et al., 1998; Martin, Bartol, & Kehoe, 2000; Catano, et al., 2007; Kline & Sulsky, 2009).

The present study explores whether a shift toward criteria that foster organizational effectiveness, such as autonomy, respect, and work-life balance, may serve as better evaluative measures for more direct impact on overall effectiveness. Through research questions and hypotheses, the study aims to investigate unintended consequences of existing performance evaluation processes, which may be perceived as punitive rather than supportive, and examine the moderating effect of the perceived emphasis on performance metrics compared to focusing on supporting staff in their work. The present study explores whether the execution of existing performance evaluations are in contradiction to the organization’s best interests as they overlook the “big picture” organizational context by prioritizing quantitative measures over more qualitative indicators of an engaged and effective workforce that contribute to the college mission. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the ongoing discourse on performance evaluations by proposing a more holistic and tailored approach for community college settings.

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