Catholic parochial elementary schools in the United states are normally governed by the pastor of the local parish and under a local-executive governance model. Despite pastors’ paramount role in the governance of Catholic parochial elementary schools they often lack the training, interest, or time to fulfill their roles. This qualitative study explored pastors’ perspectives on the local-executive governance model, where governance of the school is local and the pastor is the sole executive of the school. This dissertation included interviews with nine pastors in a diocese on the west coast of the United States. The study explored how pastors’ view their roles at their parochial schools. The pastors were asked about their views on their spiritual, education, and managerial roles at their parochial schools. Findings indicated that pastors enjoyed their spiritual roles at their schools but chose to delegate many of their financial, human, and academic responsibilities to the school principal. The findings supported the need for Catholic schools to explore other options in school governance beyond the local-executive governance model and to shift more authority from pastors to qualified laypersons.

Though women are overrepresented in education as classroom teachers, they continue to be underrepresented in decision-making leadership positions in education administration (Bynum, 2016; Coleman, 2003; Fuller, 2013; Grogan & Shakeshaft, 2011; Moorosi, 2018; Robinson et al., 2017; Torrance et al., 2017). The cause of the low representation of women in decision making has been attributed to a wide range of reasons spanning from ingrained patriarchal mindsets, societal biases, lack of professional networks, misconceptions of women in leadership, and the lack of leadership opportunities. Other causes of gender inequality in educational leadership are linked to a lack of a systematic mentorship ecology and infrastructure within institutions. Instead, there are hegemonic structures of White males in power who mentor other White males to continue the cycle (Robinson et al., 2017; Shakeshaft, 1989). It is a challenge in the Catholic church because traditional beliefs rooted in conservative Biblical interpretation may support and reinforce male domination in leadership contexts. The steady shift of society’s values and understanding of women, however, has revealed the growing acceptance of women as leaders in other industries beyond education, which contributes to a deeper understanding of leadership styles and how leadership can be androgynous. This study analyzed the experiences of current assistant superintendents or superintendents in a Catholic diocese. Experiences ranged from participants’ early days as teachers, administrators, and assistant superintendents or superintendents. This phenomenological study explored participants’ lived experiences with faith, spirituality challenges and barriers, and navigating relationships and accomplishing goals through transformational leadership.

No description available.

This research study investigated the professional development of teachers as they integrate learning technologies into classroom practice. In particular, the study was concerned with the specific role of the learning technology coordinator in this professional development process. The views of classroom teachers were sought concerning factors in their professional development which they found useful together with the relevance of the role of the learning technology coordinator. So too, the views of the learning technology coordinators and principals were sought regarding effective professional development as teachers integrate learning technologies into classroom practice. Two processes were used to ascertain these views. Focus groups and interviews were conducted at the LaTTiCE (Learning and Teaching Technologies in Catholic Education) and Navigator schools. The Navigator and LaTTiCE school were specially funded pilot schools for the integration of learning technologies into classrooms. These technology rich schools provided detailed data from a specific group of people. A survey was also sent to randomly selected primary schools in Melbourne to see if similar responses would be gained from the general population of schools less privileged in terms of learning technologies and the associated professional development. Analysis of this data led to some important insights related to the professional development of teachers as they integrate learning technologies into classroom practice and to the specific role of the learning technology coordinator in this process. This study found that the main reason why teachers integrated learning technologies into classroom practice was to benefit their students and to improve their own skill levels. The important factors in the professional development of teachers integrating technology were that it was collaborative, embedded in practice, ongoing over time, had the support of the principal and was supported by a learning technology coordinator. This study focused on the role of the learning technology coordinator and found that the most important aspect of this role was related to the professional development of teachers and the coordination of the school’s technology program. These findings led to recommendations that priority be given to funding at a system level for a school based learning technology coordinator to be appointed in each primary school and that principals provide for this coordinator to focus on the professional development of teachers integrating technology into classroom practice.

As a means of addressing observed inadequacies in school curricula, the Catholic Special Education and Guidance Service, Brisbane Catholic Education Office in 1980 established a partial withdrawal centre for counsellor-selected gifted children. The Learning Enrichment Centre (L.E.C.) aimed to - 1) meet the needs of enrolled gifted students by - a) providing appropriate learning experiences; and b) providing an administrative arrangement (partial withdrawal) which afforded them the opportunity to interact with like minds; 2) meet the needs of the system by - a) developing and evaluating units of work for gifted students; b) conducting workshops, seminars and in-service days for teachers. In 1984 the L.E.C. curriculum was designed and implemented in accordance with Maker's model of curriculum modification for gifted students (Maker, 1982). This model outlines a set of principles which Maker claims, recognize the characteristics and needs of gifted students and guide the development of a qualitatively different curriculum. In making decisions about design and implementation of Maker's curriculum modifications, factors related to the setting, the teachers and the students were considered. The overall purpose of the Study was to assist teachers in making rational decisions about future L.E.C. provision. In particular the Study was to collect information on the worth of the program - its relative strengths and weaknesses - and the influence on the curriculum of the administrative arrangement. The program was evaluated by ascertaining levels of satisfaction typically expressed by the students. Of secondary concern was whether the organisational arrangement of partial withdrawal had inhibited or enhanced the program's intentions. It was acknowledged that unfavourable attitudes of parents, classroom teachers or peers could conceivably alter students' receptivity of the program. In Term 4, two parallel questionnaires, one addressing the L.E.C., the other the regular classroom, were administered to the students. By comparing responses on matching items, levels of satisfaction with the L.E.C. curriculum were determined. Selected items on the L.E.C. instrument were further to reveal how students felt about the administrative provision and whether classroom teachers and peers were perceived to be supportive. Subsequent to program completion, a questionnaire was mailed to parents bo ascertain their support for the program by asking them how their child's emotional behaviour had changed as a result of LEC attendance. Also they were to indicate whether they preferred that enrichment occur in the regular classroom or partial withdrawal setting. To confirm the students' impressions of classroom teacher support and interest, parents were requested to comment on their understanding of it. Student responses indicated that they found their LEC experiences to be particularly interesting and enjoyable, and the LEC teachers to be kind, helpful, friendly and fair. These perceptions differed significantly from their perceptions of school. Elements of the Maker model which were consistently most valued by the group were the Process modifications, 'Freedom of Choice' and 'Higher Levels of Thinking'. Parents proved to be supportive of the LEC program. Although some would have preferred classroom enrichment to partial withdrawal, they felt that schools could not currently provide it. It was the students' viewpoint that interactions with peers and classroom teachers were not adversely affected by their LEC participation. Classroom teachers were seen to be generally supportive and interested - a perception incidentally not shared by parents and LEC teachers. Perceived positive attitudes towards their LEC involvement most likely enhanced student satisfaction with the program. The evaluation unequivocally indicated that the LEC program based on Maker's model appealed to the students. Though withdrawal from class possibly contributed to program satisfaction, the level of satisfaction was very high and could not be attributed solely to hidden curriculum efects (the organisational arrangement). The Study concluded that use of the Maker model as a guide for developing LEC curricula should continue but that parent and classroom teacher attitudes towards the administrative arrangement should be regularly monitored as they appeared to have the potential to enhance or reduce students' receptivity of the program. As a result of Study, various procedures for the conduct of future evaluations were recommended.

The purpose of this study was to examine how secondary Catholic school teachers perceived problem behavior exhibited by students with or without disabilities based on their theological philosophy. Using the methods identified in grounded theory, seven secondary Catholic school teachers were interviewed to gain an understanding of the extent to which a theological philosophy was reflected in their perceptions, responses, and policies towards behavior challenges/problems. In order to conceptualize and contextualize the notion of a "theological philosophy," this study utilized three tenets of Catholic Social Teaching (dignity of the human person, common good, and preferential option for the poor and vulnerable) and the notion of hospitality to the stranger. The majority of teachers perceived behaviors showing a lack of respect towards themselves or peers as what they considered to be a behavior problem with few teachers discussing incidences of behavior that were exhibited by students with disabilities. Many teachers responded to behavior verbally as well as believed they had a role in providing interventions or support for behavior problems, and while this was the case, not all teachers differentiated behavior consequences for students with disabilities. School policies were found to inform more how secondary Catholic school teachers responded to behavior challenges/problems with teachers citing factors that affected how they implemented the school policies. The notion of a theological philosophy was found to be reflected in these teachers' perceptions and responses in relation to the dignity of the human person and common good tenets of Catholic Social Teaching with teachers believing the notion of a theological philosophy was not reflected to a great extent within school policies. Findings from this study point to the individuality of the teacher. While these seven teachers taught within the context of a secondary Catholic school, each brought to their practice their own beliefs, expectations, and faith. Consequently, this affected not only how they perceived and responded to behavior challenges/problems, but the extent to which a theological philosophy was reflected in their perceptions and responses towards behavior challenges/problems.

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?

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T15:08:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 parte1.pdf: 2405368 bytes, checksum: 249ff9241c8257fd4cec2848c7fbf9c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Considering the omnipresence of women in education, specially in the catholic girls schools, and its almost invisibility in official registers of Paraíba s Education History, this study has as objective to understand the game of relations established in the project of catholic education developed for the Franciscan of Dillingen nuns in the Colégio Santa Rita (catholic high school), in the city of Areia, from 1937 to 1970, and its implications in the constitution of genre and professional identities of the girls who studied there. The research is based upon Michel Foucault ideas as theoretical references, articulating the categories catholic education, genre and identity, choose to guide this study. The work was developed from the applied genealogical inquiry to the analysis of the bibliographical and documental sources (documents of the Catholic Church, the Franciscan order and Colégio Santa Rita; memories and memorabilia of former-pupils; Franciscans nuns and former-pupils interviews, and also local newspapers). In that way, in six chapters the text treats on the Catholic Ultramontane thought, the Order of the German Franciscans Sisters of Dillingen, the city of Areia (Paraíba State, Northeast Brazil), the German pioneers nuns, and the Colégio Santa Rita in its architectural arrangement, its pedagogical and disciplinary aspects, by the concept of panopticism. The text also analyzes the memories of six former-pupils from that educational institution, from the Foucault s concepts of technologies of the self and governmentality. The thesis of this work is that the Education developed in the Colégio Santa Rita, based upon the Catholic canon, was an important aspect in Paraíba s educational context from 20th century 30 s to 70 s and had a main role in the ordering of local society and also in the process of identity constitution of girls who studied submitted to that pedagogical model. / Considerando a ubiquidade da mulher na educação, mormente na educação católica feminina, e a sua quase invisibilidade nos registros oficiais da história da educação paraibana, este estudo tem como objetivo compreender o jogo de relações estabelecidas no projeto de educação católica desenvolvido pelas franciscanas de Dillingen no Colégio Santa Rita, situado na cidade de Areia Paraíba, no período compreendido entre 1937 e 1970, e suas implicações na constituição das identidades de gênero e profissão das alunas submetidas àquele modelo pedagógico. O trabalho se alimentou do referencial foucaultiano, articulando-o às categorias educação católica, gênero, e identidade, que elegemos para nortear este estudo. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida a partir da investigação genealógica aplicada à análise dos referenciais bibliográfico e documental (documentos da Igreja Católica, documentos da Ordem Franciscana, documentos do Colégio Santa Rita, escritos de ex-alunas, entrevistas a irmãs franciscanas alemãs e brasileiras e a ex-alunas do Colégio). Neste sentido abordamos, em seis capítulos, o pensamento católico ultramontano, a Congregação das Irmãs Franciscanas de Dillingen, a cidade de Areia, as alemãs pioneiras e o Colégio Santa Rita em seu arranjo arquitetônico, em seus aspectos pedagógicos e em sua dimensão disciplinar, a partir dos conceitos de dispositivo e panoptismo. Apanhamos e analisamos também as memórias de seis ex-alunas da referida instituição, que foram analisadas a partir dos conceitos foucaultianos de tecnologias do eu e governamentabilidade. A tese que nos conduziu no percurso investigativo é a de que a educação desenvolvida no Colégio Santa Rita, apoiada no cânon católico, foi relevante para o contexto educacional paraibano e cumpriu um papel no ordenamento da sociedade e no processo de constituição da identidade das alunas submetidas àquele modelo de educação.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:36:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PaulaSB.pdf: 4017176 bytes, checksum: 3e9bf09cf9937b18eb0476e2a7783505 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-07-16 / The socioeducational program of actions developed by Dom Jos? de Medeiros Delgado, first Bishop of Diocese of Caic? city in Rio Grande do Norte, from 1941 to 1951, is analyzed by the present work in a historical perspective, based upon the school culture refecence.Through this reference point, the general and peculiar school culture proper of catholic schools founded by Dom Delgado was learned.The schools are: the Gin?sio Diocesano Seridoense (1942), the Escola Dom?stica Popular Darci Vargas (1943, the Prevocacional School of Caic? (1944) and the Santo Cura d ars Seminar (1946). The socioeducational actions of Dom Delgado Bishop affected seven other towns surrounding Caic?. Places where catholic schools were founded and named after Escola do Pobre . In fight for schools for all social segments of city and rural natures, Dom Delgado founded four rural schools in the surroundings of Serra Negra, S?o Jo?o do Sabugi, Jardim do Serid? e Lagoa Nova. It is also part of his beneficial work the creation of rural cooperatives for the parents of the students from such schools / O programa de a??es socioeducacionais empreendido por Dom Jos? de Medeiros Delgado, primeiro Bispo da Diocese da cidade de Caic?-RN, no per?odo de 1941 a 1951, ?, nesta disserta??o, analisado numa perspectiva hist?rica, com base no referencial da cultura escolar. Por meio desse referencial, tratou-se de apreender a cultura escolar geral e peculiar dos estabelecimentos de ensino cat?lico fundados por Dom Delgado, quais sejam: o Gin?sio Diocesano Seridoense (1942), a Escola Dom?stica Popular Darci Vargas (1943), a Escola Prevocacional de Caic? (1944) e o Semin?rio Santo Cura d Ars (1946). As a??es socioeducacionais do Bispo Dom Delgado ainda se estenderam para sete cidades circunvizinhas a Caic?, localidades onde fundou escolas cat?licas cognominadas de Escola do Pobre . Na luta por escolas para todos segmentos sociais citadinos e campesinos, Dom Delgado fundou ainda quatro escolas rurais nos arredores dos munic?pios de Serra Negra do Norte, S?o Jo?o do Sabugi, Jardim do Serid? e Lagoa Nova. Tamb?m ? parte de seu trabalho benfeitor a cria??o de cooperativas rurais para os pais das crian?as alunas dessas escolas cat?licas

In order to effectively teach students how to critically consume media it is paramount for teachers to be media literate (Ian & Temur, 2012; Keller-Raber, 1995; Schmidt, 2012). Using Freirean critical literacy as a theoretical framework, this case study investigated how a 60-hour teacher training program in media literacy promoting Catholic Social Teaching and how undergoing this training has influenced teachers’ perceptions of media literacy, Catholic Social Teaching, and the link between the two. As the researcher, I performed participant-observation as a trainee in the program. Five teachers, alumni of the program, participated in this study: one middle school teacher, three high-school teachers, and one college professor, all of them taught at Christian private schools. I recorded how participants applied the Media Mindfulness—a faith based media literacy strategy—in their practice as a response to the Church’s call for Catholic teachers to engage in media education (Benedict XVI, 2008; John Paul II, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2005). Findings show how the Media Mindfulness method helped teachers integrate media literacy in their practice, promoting student empowerment and character education. A follow up action research at a Catholic high school where teachers are trained in Media Mindfulness is recommended to find out: a) how the training influenced teachers’ confidence in integrating media education into their practice? b) to what extent students’ assimilation of Catholic Social Teaching concepts resulted from the teacher training program? c) and how training teachers in the media mindfulness model influenced the school’s culture in addressing social justice issues?