Educational Leadership Commons^™

Forming And Supporting Lay Catholic Elementary School Principals As Spiritual Leaders, Erin C.O. Barisano

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The role of a Catholic school principal is complex and includes promoting Catholic faith and spirituality throughout the school community. The additional job requirements of spiritual leadership are intentional formation for prospective and novice principals and efforts to sustain spirituality for experienced principals. This qualitative study explored the perceptions held by experienced lay elementary principals of their role as spiritual leader as well as how prepared they felt to serve in this role. Additionally, the study explored suggestions for sustaining principals in their role as spiritual leader. Participants were six lay Catholic elementary principals working in the Archdiocese of Los …

Book Review: Indelible Leadership: Always Leave Them Learning, William Loose

Journal of Catholic Education

Review of Indelible Leadership: Always Leave Them Learning by Michael Fullan

Book Review: Reclaiming The Piazza: Catholic Education As A Cultural Project, Anthony Sabatino

Journal of Catholic Education

Review of Reclaiming the Piazza: Catholic Education as a Cultural Project (2014) by Ronnie Covery, Leonardo Franchi, and Raymond McCluskey

Vision, Mission, And Technology Implementation: Going One-To-One In A Catholic School, Vincent Cho

Journal of Catholic Education

As one-to-one computing initiatives become commonplace, some Catholic school educators might find themselves wondering what, if anything, such technologies might have to do with Catholic identity. This case study drew upon survey and interview data to explore the intersection of Catholic vision and mission with the implementation of a one-to-one (BYOD) initiative. The study finds that Catholic values informed the school’s support of teachers, as well as its efforts to help students navigate the personal and social issues associated with devices. In the end, teachers were positive about one-to-one. Many teachers had experimented with devices in their classrooms, and some …

Seminarian Perspectives On Catholic Schools And The New Evangelization, Thomas A. Simonds S.J., Barbara L. Brock, Timothy Jay Cook, Max Engel

Journal of Catholic Education

Recognizing that pastors of parishes with a Catholic school play a vital role in Catholic education, and that the seminarians of today will be the parish pastors of tomorrow, this study sought to provide a better understanding of the perceptions held by Catholic seminarians about parish schools. Fourteen seminary students from 12 seminaries and 14 different dioceses from across the United States participated in focus group interviews to discuss their thoughts and perceptions about parish schools. Themes that emerged from focus group discussions included the reinterpretation of the New Evangelization, the understanding of the value of Catholic schools, mixed feelings …

Lived History Of A Transformative Leader With A Disability: An Evocative Autoethnography For Social Justice, Sofia Vergara

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Despite legal advancements recognizing the rights of individuals with disabilities, societal barriers are still arising from the medical model of disability. These obstacles have resulted in marginalizing and isolating practices, in turn leading to the underrepresentation of individuals with disabilities in the workforce and, by extension, in leadership positions.

Grounded in the frameworks of critical pedagogy and critical disability studies, this autoethnographic study examines, using my personal experiences as contextual evidence, the determining factors underlying the struggle for equity and leadership, within the hegemonic society that people with disabilities must navigate. The study further explores the issue of empowerment and …

Listening To The Experts: Correctional And Community College Administrators’ Perceptions Of How Collaboration Contributes To The Public Value Of A Postsecondary Correctional Education Partnership, Luis S. Garcia

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This research examined correctional and community college administrators' perceptions of collaboration and the public value impact of a PSCE partnership through a systems thinking conceptual framework. Through interviews, observations, and document reviews, I determined how these perceptions aligned with the public value of a PSCE partnership. This was a basic qualitative study involving six participants from two public agencies. Findings from this study indicate that administrators recognized:

• Public Safety Realignment legislation contributed to the viability of a PSCE partnership in a county jail system.
• Public safety improvements in the county jail system promoted a jail environment to facilitate the success …

Ii International Colloquium On Languages, Cultures, Identity, In School And Society, International Colloquium

Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Languages, Cultures, Identity in School and Society

The influx of immigrants in countries worldwide, coupled with the challenges associated to the schooling of their children in host countries' schools, makes it more necessary than ever to broaden our knowledge of the linguistic, ethnic, and cultural realities derived from this phenomenon. This is the rationale for the present Colloquium, which revolves around the following topics:

• Individual, school, and societal bilingualism/multilingualism-related issues
• Multi/Transculturalism-related issues in families, schools, and society
• Impact of bi/multilingualism on individuals' and societies' language, culture, and identity
• Impact of multi/transculturalism on individuals' and societies' language, culture, and identity
• Language ideologies, policies, and practices
• Promotion, maintenance, and …

Book Review: Francis Of Rome & Francis Of Assisi: A New Spring In The Church, Ronald R. O'Dwyer S.J.

Journal of Catholic Education

Book review of Francis of Rome & Francis of Assisi: A New Spring in the Church (2014), by Leonardo Boff.

Nurturing A Heart For The New Evangelization: A National Study Of Catholic Elementary School Principals In The U.S., David D. Spesia

Journal of Catholic Education

The Catholic Church calls school principals to serve not only as educational leaders and ecclesial ministers, but also as agents of the New Evangelization. Given the Church’s ongoing call for a New Evangelization, it is essential to establish how the principals themselves perceive this missionary mandate; it is also important to explore what elements of the principals’ own faith formation have best equipped them for this unique role and what areas for ongoing growth they themselves identify. This mixed-methods study collected both quantitative and qualitative data through a survey of over 600 Catholic elementary school principals across the U.S.; personal …

Catholic School Principals’ Decision-Making And Problem-Solving Practices During Times Of Change And Uncertainty: A North American Analysis, Walter Polka, Peter Litchka, Rosina Mete, Augustine Ayaga

Journal of Catholic Education

The authors of the article outline a historical review of Catholic education and student enrollment in North America and a recent perspective of Catholic school principals’ decision-making and problem-solving preferences. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an understanding of events which impacted the evolution of Catholic school boards and their administrators in America and Canada as well as current leadership practices. The authors utilize a survey instrument derived from Wayne Hoy’s decision-making and problem-solving research. Their quantitative findings come from 121 principals of K-12 schools situated across the United States and the province of Ontario. …

An Investigation Of The Attitudes Of Catholic School Principals Towards The Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities, Michael J. Boyle, Claudia M. Hernandez

Journal of Catholic Education

Catholic school principals typically serve as the prime decision-makers in admission and enrollment issues. A key factor in this decision-making can be the principals’ perceptions and attitudes about servicing students with disabilities within a Catholic school context. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of Catholic school principals toward inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools. Overall, a majority of surveyed principals reported a positive attitude toward including students with disabilities. Some significant relationships were found between principal’s pervious experiences with students with disabilities and the principals’ willingness to enroll students with disabilities. …

Latino And Latina Urban Elementary Principals’ Entry Into Educational Administration, José Montaño

LMU Theses and Dissertations

As school enrollments across the United States include increasing numbers of students of color, the number of administrators of color remains disproportionate. In California school districts, where a large percentage of students are Latino and Latina, Latino and Latina principals remain rare. While studies have suggested why Latinos and Latinas do not enter educational leadership, fewer have examined why they do elect to enter the field. This ethnographic exploratory study examines factors that led Latino and Latina educators to enter administrative leadership preparation programs with the goal of becoming school principals. The sample includes interviews with seven Latino and Latina …

Teacher Professional Capital: The Relationship Between Principal Practice And Teacher Job Satisfaction, Christine Annette Burke Adams

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Criticism of the public school system tends to be aimed squarely at teachers in the classroom (Karpinski, 2012). As school principals lead in this current educational climate, it is incumbent upon them to provide their teachers an environment that is conducive to job satisfaction, emphasizing teacher retention, and mitigating the deleterious effects of teacher turnover on students’ academic achievement. To understand the practices of the principal, this study investigated teachers’ perceptions of their principals’ practice, asking the following questions: What is the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of their principal’s practice of building professional capital and teachers’ job satisfaction? What are …

The Virtual Classroom And Catholic School Leadership Preparation: The Lmu Certificate In Catholic School Administration (Ccsa) Program, Anthony Sabatino

Journal of Catholic Education

Catholic Extension and Loyola Marymount University (LMU) have engaged in a partnership to offer a graduate level, virtual classroom-based Certificate in Catholic School Administration (CCSA) program for novice and prospective leaders in Catholic schools in mission dioceses throughout the United States. This synchronous online Catholic School Leadership Development Initiative is designed for those who currently hold leadership positions in Catholic elementary and secondary schools and those who have been identified for a leadership role in the future. Although leadership development is often identified as a strategic concern for Catholic schools in mission dioceses, these schools often lack opportunities for professional …

The Leadership Challenge: Preparing And Developing Catholic School Principals, Michael J. Boyle, Alicia Haller, Erika Hunt

Journal of Catholic Education

The increasing emphasis on the myriad of leadership preparation standards have caused university principal preparation programs to necessarily focus on the more secular aspect of leading schools. For the Catholic school principal, this has left little focus on the development of critical strategies to lead for Catholic Identity and faith formation. This article suggests using the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools as a framework for Catholic principal preparation programs to address this issues. Additional suggests for program development are also offered.

Keywords

Catholic schools, principal preparation

Les difficultés posées par le leadership : préparation et développement personnel …

Bearers Of Diverse Ecclesiologies: Imagining Catholic School Students As Informing A Broader Articulation Of Catholic School Aims, Graham P. Mcdonough

Journal of Catholic Education

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive, although not exhaustive, picture of the kinds of real concerns and concurrently inferred ecclesiological perspectives practicing Catholic students have. It reports findings from an interview study with 16 students at a private Catholic high school in Canada who self-identify as Catholic in order to demonstrate that it is in a Catholic school’s best interest not to rely on narrow or singular definitions of Catholic identity, especially insofar as these are tied to minimal and external markers of institutional affiliation. While the sample’s size and particularity do not generalizing to a …

Australian Catholic Schools Today: School Identity And Leadership Formation, Helga Neidhart Phd, Janeen T. Lamb Phd

Journal of Catholic Education

This article focuses on the challenge of faith leadership in Catholic schools. In particular, it reviews Australian research that aims to understand how principals conceptualize and enact their role as faith leaders. Consistent with American research, Australian research finds that principals see themselves as playing a leadership role in the evangelizing mission of the church by strengthening Catholic school identity and culture. At the same time, they are mindful of their limits in respect to their faith leadership capabilities. Moreover, the principals worried that the next generation of school leaders may lack the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to engage faith …

Teacher Understanding Of Curricular And Pedagogical Decision-Making Processes At An Urban Charter School, Rodolfo Cuevas Jr.

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study featured two research endeavors. The first was a narrative inquiry of six teachers at Weedpatch Charter School as they understood curricular and pedagogical decisionmaking. These teachers, along with the Weedpatch Charter School founder, participated in this study soon after the curriculum and instruction decision-making had undergone a democratization effort whereby a top-down administrative approach was replaced by a teacher-led effort. Ironically, WCS school leadership welcomed the latter effort, despite the antiteacher legacy of the charter movement, which has long featured “at will” employment and no collective bargaining. The second component of this study was critical discourse analysis …

Changing Mindsets: A Case Study Of A Community Of Practice Between Charter And Traditional Public School Leaders In The School Leaders Network, Manuel Nicolas Ponce Jr.

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the essential elements of a community of practice intended to increase communication and collaboration between traditional public and charter school leaders. Members of the Los Angeles Cohort of the School Leaders Network participated in this study.

This case study triangulated observation, interview, and document review data to identify the factors that were most beneficial to this particular community of practice. Drawing on the research of communities of practice, constructivism, and leadership theory, these factors were articulated into five domains with the hope that, with further research, this framework could influence the creation …

Perceptions Regarding The Use And Experience Of Information And Communication Technology From Female Students In A Catholic Middle School, Julio Cuauhtemoc Tellez

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Despite advancements in the search of equity, females still struggle to find acceptance in the field of information and communication technology. Research indicates that differences in perception of ability of ICT use begin to manifest in the middle school level. This mixed methods study explored the experiences and perceptions of 46 middle school females and males to expose possible influential factors about the use of ICT by females. The dissertation study occurred in two phases. The first phase involved a survey that was given to the entire middle school. Data from the survey provided participants for the second phase, which …

Engaging The Lived Realities Of Adult Immigrant English Language Learners: A Case Study Of Literacy For Consciousness, Todd Eckel

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study had two goals. The first goal was to understand how a critical, non-formal, adult literacy program addresses the challenges and successes, which the students and volunteers identify at Amanecer Adult School. The second goal was to explore the perception of the student Spanish-speaking immigrants on the extent to which this program contributes to their second language acquisition and critical citizenship. These goals were examined through studying a local nonprofit organization, Amanecer Adult School, (AAS) that espouses critical literacy as its main goal. Using qualitative methodology and an inductive analysis approach to the data, the findings of the …

The Impact Of Catholic High School Education: Catholic High School Young Adult Alumnae Perception And Engagement In Social Justice Related Activities, Antony John Joseph Gaspar

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods research investigated how young adult alumnae from a Catholic female high school perceive the impact of their high school service experience concerning their "beliefs" about the importance of service, current "engagement" in service, and their beliefs about and engagement with four Catholic Social Teaching principles (life and dignity, care for the poor, solidarity and common good, and rights and responsibilities) related to social justice.

This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview …

Women Principals Of Jewish Secular High Schools In Israel: Access And Progress, Dana Michelle Lebental

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative investigation focused on women high school principals at Jewish secular schools throughout Israel. Despite challenges, Israeli women have succeeded in obtaining over half of the principal positions at Jewish secular high schools, but the degree to which there is equal gender access to leadership roles in the school system remains unclear. This study examined whether there was clustering of women in high school principal positions in certain geographical areas, the process by which these women obtained principal positions, what obstacles the women overcame, and an analysis if respondents differed by district in terms of their career paths, career …

A Study Of Teacher-Buy-In And Grading Policy Reform In A Los Angeles Archdiocesan Catholic High School, Christian Martín De Larkin Ii

LMU Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Schools Of Education In A New Era Of Accountability: A Case Study Of An Annual Report Process Used To Advance A Professional Learning Community, Manuel A. Aceves

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Institutions of higher education are entering a new era, one where cost, value, and quality are at the front of mind. To proactively ensure long-term viability, institutions must operate differently. This qualitative case study examined how the St. Alexander University School of Education’s Annual Report Process impacted institutional decision-making. Additionally, the study explored how the Annual Report Process could facilitate learning and improvement for a school of education.

Using the Professional Learning Community model as the conceptual framework, document analysis, process analysis, and semi-structured interviews were used as the primary methods for data collection. Using pattern analysis, four themes emerged …

Latinas’ Access To Advanced Placement Courses: A Case Study Of A Catholic Female Single-Sex High School, Jennifer Maria Pérez Aguilar

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine Latinas’ access to Advanced Placement/ Honors courses in a Catholic female single-sex high school and to examine their experiences and perspectives when they are granted or denied access into an AP/Honors course. This study also aimed to explore how the Catholic single-sex high school is aligned with the Catholic, single-sex, and Advanced Placement advantage for Latina students who have been granted or denied access to an Advanced Placement/Honors course. The case study focused on one Catholic all-female high school in the Western United States and participants included Latina current students and …

The Significance Of National Association For The Education Of Young Children Accreditation In Elevating Quality Of Early Childhood Education: Administrators’, Teachers’, And Parents’ Beliefs About Accreditation And Its Process, Kristine Vardanyan

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrators’, teachers’, and parents’ perceptions and attitudes related to an early childhood center/preschool accreditation experience. A qualitative case study of one preschool center focused on the influence that the decision to pursue accreditation and implement the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) self-study process had on administrators, teachers, and parents. Interviews with administrators, teachers, and parents explored (a) issues that motivated the pursuit of NAEYC accreditation; (b) the NAEYC guidelines and their experience of the self-study and quality-improvement process; and (c) their perception of outcomes following accreditation. Current NAEYC …

Physics First: Impact On Sat Math Scores, Craig Earl Bouma

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become a national priority and the call to modernize secondary science has been heard. A Physics First (PF) program with the curriculum sequence of physics, chemistry, and biology (PCB) driven by inquiry- and project-based learning offers a viable alternative to the traditional curricular sequence (BCP) and methods of teaching, but requires more empirical evidence. This study determined impact of a PF program (PF-PCB) on math achievement (SAT math scores) after the first two cohorts of students completed the PF-PCB program at Matteo Ricci High School (MRHS) and provided more quantitative data …

Transformational Leadership: A Qualitative Study Of Rural Elementary Schools In Fresno County, Xavier Piña

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Principal leadership is crucial to improving school effectiveness and positively affecting organizational culture in the midst of expectations from education reform mandates. Principals who provide direction and exercise influence can inspire commitment from organizational members to attain shared goals. Rural school principals face unique obstacles and situations as documented in the research and literature. This qualitative research study aimed to provide insight as to the perceived impact of transformational leadership behaviors and characteristics on organizational culture. This study also provided insight as to the transformational leadership behaviors and characteristics perceived to positively affect organizational culture. The protocols, which included interviews, …