This study traces the development of the system of Catholic systemic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney from early colonial times to the present, and analyses the perceptions and expectations that a sample of secondary school principals in the System had of the systems level administration in 1985. The development of Catholic schools in the penal colony of New South Wales was extremely slow. The first Catholic school was opened in 1817, and from 1833 to the 'free, secular, and compulsory' education act in New South Wales in 1880, denominational schools received some government grants. When 'state-aid' was withdrawn in 1880, the wonder of education history in Australia was that a separate Catholic school 'system' emerged. This was brought about in large measure by the ability of the Bishops and Clergy to activate the Catholic community, which had been generally apathetic religiously and educationally, and by their recruiting teachers who were members of Religious Congregations both from abroad and locally. The Religious carried the Catholic Schools 'system' in Sydney for some seventy-five years (1880-1955). However, the recruiting of Religious teachers declined from the 1950s. This, together with rapid increases in school population, widening of the curriculum, decreased class sizes and lighter teaching loads brought on a crisis of survival for the Catholic schools. It was averted by the reintroduction of 'State-Aid' and the recruiting and training of lay teachers. Following the Karmel Report of 1973, Commonwealth Government grants and programs grew many fold. In order to cope with the new organisational complexities, including both financial and educational accountability requirements of the government, many of the Catholic schools, which had previously been organised on an individual parish or Religious Congregation basis, joined together to form systems. These Catholic Education Office systems (or CEO systems) rapidly developed administrative bureaucracies. The Sydney CEO System is the largest in Australia with nearly 6000 teachers and over 110,000 pupils. In this process of building an organisational system, the vital role of the school principal is changing. This study examines the responses of twenty-four secondary school principals, in the interview situation, to questions on their perceptions and expectations of the systems level administration. The researcher has analysed the data in the light of some of the literature on motivation theory and theories about complex organisations and has suggested some facets of the systems level administration that need to be addressed if the system is to grow in effectiveness.

The Catholic Education Office (CEO) Sydney is a large non-government education authority which administers the systemic, Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia. The system consists of 148 primary and secondary schools with an enrolment of some 62,000 students. The major research question was: What characteristics of a learning organization can be identified in the Catholic Education Office (CEO) Sydney and are these perceived to raise standards in systemic schools of the Archdiocese of Sydney? Like all western education systems the CEO Sydney is immersed in constant change and is expected to account for improving educational standards within the system. The learning organization with its emphasis on adaptability and continuous improvement was considered an appropriate framework within which to conduct this research. The study consisted of two main parts the first investigated the CEO Sydney as a learning organization using a survey questionnaire distributed, using a dedicated web site, to a sample of primary and secondary principals in the system and a smaller number of senior CEO Sydney personnel. The response rate was 91%. This was complemented by examination of relevant CEO Sydney documentation and policies. The definition of the learning organization adopted for the study consisted of eight characteristics each of which formed a scale in the questionnaire. The eight characteristics adopted were: ‘Systemic Thinking and Mental Models’, ‘Continuous Improvement of Work’, ‘Taking Initiatives and Risks’, ‘Ongoing Professional Development’, ‘Trusting and Collaborative Climate’, ‘Shared and Monitored Vision/Mission’, ‘Effective Communication Channels’ and ‘Team Work and Team Learning’. This part of the study was essentially a quantitative one, with the data subjected to descriptive, statistical analysis complemented by some clarifying and contextualising qualitative data. The second part of the study investigated the perceived relationship between the CEO Sydney and its learning organization characteristics and the standards in three curriculum outcome areas (religious education, literacy and numeracy). This part of the study was also quantitative using descriptive statistics complemented by Pearson correlation, multiple regression and canonical correlational analyses. Once again some relevant contextualising qualitative data was gathered. Five demographic groups (gender, role, region (principals only), years of experience as a principal and age) were examined to see if there were any differences in the extent to which the various learning organization characteristics and curriculum outcomes were identified by each group. The results of this study indicated that the CEO Sydney exhibited many of the characteristics of a learning organization with particular strengths in ‘Continuous Improvement of Work’, ‘Systemic Thinking and Mental Models’ and ‘Shared and Monitored Vision/Mission’. The weakest characteristic was ‘Taking Initiatives and Risks’. Demographic group analysis of this data revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the responses of the different demographic groups. The results also indicated that there were correlations between the CEO Sydney as a learning organization and raising standards particularly in religious education and literacy and less so in numeracy. Finally, the study made a number of recommendations for the further development of the CEO Sydney as a learning organization and ways that it can further raise standards in the schools of the system.

AIMS:The project examines the perceptions of significant stakeholders in the Catholic Education system concerning the nature, outcomes and effectiveness of the implementation of the Quality Assurance Processes developed by the Catholic Education Office (CEO), in the Archdiocese of Sydney. The study identifies factors that were assisting or hindering the effective implementation of these processes as they existed in 1996. It offers suggestions and recommendations for a future and more effective implementation of these processes. SCOPE This research is qualitative in nature, and uses interview as the main source of data collection. The Catholic schools selected for this study are those that have been involved in the implementation of the first Cycle of the Quality Assurance Processes of the CEO, Sydney. Care was taken to select two schools from each of the three Regions under which the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney are presently organised. CONCLUSIONS The achievement and maintenance of quality outcomes has always been an integral part of Catholic Education. Through the brief historical background, this study has revealed that leaders in Catholic Education in Sydney have always sought to achieve and maintain quality outcomes since the establishment of the first schools, up until the implementation of the current quality assurance processes. This study found that the current form of Quality Assurance Processes is a most effective means of achieving and maintaining quality outcomes in the present-day Catholic education system. The Processes are professionally articulated in context with current practices, and have the potential to enhance accountability, credibility and development of both the personnel and the schools system. The implementation of the Quality Assurance Processes, to a great degree, has been effective and successful, the present study has shown that, stakeholders are becoming more and more aware of the actual nature and outcomes of these processes. The study also found great optimism among in the key player about the future of the Processes and has concluded that they well received and appreciated across the system. There were a few concerns about the clarity of aims and objectivity, the link between the different processes, and the apparently high and technical terms involved in naming/describing these Processes. The study has, therefore, concluded further that the Processes need streamlining, regular reviews and training programs to strengthen the practice and consolidate the gains and achievement. The implementation of Cycle 2 with appropriate modification is desirable.

Holy Cross College, Woollahra, was established in the newly formed parish of Holy Cross by Cardinal Moran and the Parramatta Sisters of Mercy in 1908 as a select high school for middle class Catholic girls in the northern section of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Moran made it clear, and it was obvious that the sisters agreed, that the primary purpose of the College was the imparting of the Catholic Faith integrated with a suitable middle class education equal to, but preferably excelling, that provided by the secular state schools. This thesis is informed by two questions: Why did Holy Cross College close in 2001? Did the College achieve the objectives of the founding pioneers of the school, including Cardinal Moran? This strongly contextualised thesis demonstrates that for almost a century Holy Cross College was a microcosm of a complex world, one which was influenced by many factors, at local, state, federal and international levels. These factors, in the early days, included the rapid response of Catholic educators to Peter Board’s ‘New Syllabus’, the first wave women’s movement; and the dubious rationalising argument of Cardinal Moran to extract aid for Catholic schools from the state, which remains an ongoing problem for Catholic education in Australia. While the College in the 1920s was enjoying a growing reputation for highly successful music and academic tuition, it was challenged, through to the 1950s, by such factors as: Pope Pius XI’s call to Catholic Action as interpreted for the Archdiocese of Sydney by Archbishop Kelly; participation in the various public displays of Catholic faith; the rigours of the Great Depression; and the dangers of being in an especially vulnerable location during World War Two. The community of the College which inhabited this complex ‘mini’ world was strongly bonded by common goals and values for the first fifty years of the school’s existence. This was a community which aspired to the fullest possible development of the spiritual, intellectual, cultural and physical attributes of girls through a Catholic education inspired by the Mercy Vision, but always constrained by the reality of finances, staffing, physical resources, and imposed authority. The somewhat idyllic existence of the College with its relatively small numbers and homely atmosphere was disrupted in the 1960s when Holy Cross was selected by the Sydney archdiocesan educational authorities to be a regional school. This study reveals the increasing complexity of the various levels at which authority was exerted over Holy Cross College as a regional school. Regionalisation was a central element in the Sydney Archdiocese’s wide ranging plan to cope with the enormous strains on the Catholic educational system caused by such post-war challenges as the influx of Catholic migrants and the implementation of the Wyndham comprehensive secondary education scheme. There followed the success of the state aid campaigns and the challenges of Vatican II Council, movements which impacted upon the personal and communal lives of the women religious who staffed the College, as well as their students. Also impacting upon the College was the cultural revolution and the second wave women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Throughout this study the geographical setting of the school in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and the region’s socio-economic characteristics are explored and emerge as significant factors in both the creation and maintenance of a unique school culture and the decline of Holy Cross College in the 1990s. Finally this decline is mapped in terms of the erosion of the College’s unique identity, which was forged by religious, cultural, geographical, political and pedagogical forces, and eroded by a complex of factors including demography, centralised authority, class, and international economic downturns. It is concluded that the founding sisters and Moran would have mixed and nuanced responses to the question: Did the College achieve the objectives of the founding pioneers?