Research interests
Michele Acker-Hocevar’s research interests are centered on broad areas of organizational behavior (leadership, decision making, and power, i.e., social justice) and theory (how organizations learn and adapt to change (e.g., school development and improvement). She has been particularly interested in how schools (and universities) as organizations address such issues as poverty, partnership power, and organizational learning, through their response to external mandates such as standards-based reform. Dr. Acker-Hocevar used action research to study the college through survey research, archival data, and reflective journaling while she was the president of the college faculty assembly. Her research is mainly collaborative as she believes research should not only contribute to the body of knowledge in her field, but engage her in socially constructing new knowledge with other colleagues in her field. She is leading a national study, co-sponsored through the University Council of Educational Administration, of how principals across the U.S. are addressing three areas: social justice, school improvement, and building democratic community.
Teaching/professional interests
Dr. Acker-Hocevar teaches classes in educational leadership such as the improvement of instruction, organizational behavior, and courses related to organizational theory and the study of organizations through qualitative inquiry. She teaches in the certification, M.Ed. and doctoral programs and is primarily involved in counseling doctoral students in educational leadership. Prior to coming WSU in 2008, she was a full professor in the Educational Leadership Department at Florida Atlantic University, where she taught the capstone doctoral course in the program called Action Learning. This course won a teaching in innovation award from the university, and was a recurring $5,000 annual award.
Recent accomplishments
- Snyder, K. J., Acker-Hocevar, M. & Snyder, K. M. (2008). Living on the edge of chaos: Leading schools into the global age. (2nd ed.).Milwaukee, WI: American Society for Quality (ASQ)
- Acker-Hocevar, M., & Cruz-Janzen, M. (2008). Teacher and principal preparation programs: Reforms that sustain high performance and learning in high poverty and diverse schools. International Learning Journal, 14(10), 87-95.
- Ivory, G. & Acker-Hocevar, M. (Eds.). (2007). Successful School Board Leadership: Lessons From Superintendents, Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield, Inc.
Educational background
- Ph.D., Interdisciplinary degree, with a cognate in Organizational Studies and a specialization in Educational Leadership, University of South Florida, 1994
- M. Ed. Administration, University of Idaho, 1982
- B. A. Psychology, Certification in Early Childhood Education, University of North Carolina- Asheville, 1974; Certification in Middle School Education, 1976; Certification in Gifted Education, 1976
