EFFECTIVE CATHOLIC SCHOOLING: AN ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS
Abstract
The primary purpose of this study was to identify the organizational characteristics of Catholic schools that discriminated the "highly effective" schools from the "effective" schools. Catholic school effectiveness included both religious atmosphere and academic performance. The secondary purpose of this study was to determine and compare the perceptions of groups within the Catholic educational community regarding the religious atmosphere of their Catholic schools. The materials used in the study were (a) Likert's Profile of a School which was adapted for this study, (b) Religious Atmosphere Questionnaire which was a combination of Fox's School Climate Profile and Liguori's "Religious Dimension" section of the Catholic School Questionnaire, and (c) reports from the diocesan testing program which included actual achievement scores and anticipated achievement scores from the California Achievement Tests as interrelated to The Short Form Test of Academic Ability. Discriminant analysis was used to find the organizational characteristics that best discriminated the "highly effective" schools from the "effective" schools. The bases for discrimination were the casual and intervening variables that Likert's research demonstrated are important in determining the organizational performance of schools. The major findings of the study were (1) Team cooperation, decision making, and the principal's administrative style were the causal variables that discriminated the "highly effective" schools from the "effective" schools. (2) Goal emphasis, students' influence, teachers' support to others, and communication with students were the intervening variables that discriminated the "highly effective" schools from the "effective" schools. (3) The organizational system operative in "highly effective" schools was a consultative-participative model of organization while the organizational system operative in "effective" schools was less a consultative model. (4) In "highly effective" schools, a strong correlation existed between principal and teacher perceptions of the organization of the school that did not exist in "effective" schools. (5) Statistically significant mean differences were found between groups in the Catholic educational community regarding perceptions of religious atmosphere. The means of the group responses ranked from highest to lowest were principals, clergy, parents, teachers, and students. (6) Generally religious affiliation did not influence perceptions of religious atmosphere. (7) Church attendance did influence student but not adult perceptions of religious atmosphere. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
MUTSCHLER, MARY JO, "EFFECTIVE CATHOLIC SCHOOLING: AN ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS" (1985). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8600098.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8600098
