Thesis (Ph. D.)--Saint Bonaventure's college. / At head of title: Saint Bonaventure's college. Vita. "Bibliography-list of references": p. 63-68.

Thesis (M.T.S.)--Catholic Theological Union, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-57).

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-58).

The Catholic Diocese of Lismore is situated in the north-east coastal area of New South Wales, Australia. Catholic education in this diocese is based on the premise that school and parish work together in partnership for the personal and spiritual development of students. This premise relies on the assumption that teachers and clergy share a common view of the mission of Catholic schools. However, some recent studies highlight a lack of shared vision and indicate that teachers and clergy frequently have different expectations of what Catholic schools should be. This study examines similarities and differences in perceptions of the religious dimension of the mission of Catholic schools among the teachers and clergy in the Lismore Diocese. It identifies areas in which there is a significant lack of congruence. The study also explores the relationships and the quality of partnerships between teachers and clergy and identifies issues that are potential sources of tension. Furthermore, it considers implications for change. Self-completion questionnaires were given to the target population which consisted of all the full time teachers in Catholic schools and all the clergy on active duties in the Lismore Diocese at the beginning of 1997. Subsequent semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the clergy in the group and with thirty two teachers chosen through random sampling. Data yielded little evidence of sustained dialogue between teachers and clergy on issues related to the religious orientation of Catholic schools. Although there were some similarities in the teachers' and priests' perceptions of the religious dimension of the mission of Catholic schools, there was a considerable variation in their perceptions of priorities for these schools. Some of these differences could be linked to teachers' individual relationships with the institutional Catholic Church. Teachers and priests were found to differ significantly in their understanding of the effectiveness of Catholic secondary schools. The study also found that ecclesiastical language used to describe the mission of Catholic schools is not always understood by teachers who work principally out of an educational context. Moreover, the study found that relationships between teachers and clergy were often hindered by poor communication, lack of clarity with regard to roles and expectations and very different perceptions of the structures and practice of authority. Many teachers believed that clergy were 'out of touch' and unrealistic in their expectations of schools and teachers. Many priests, on the other hand, considered that teachers had generally lost a sense of 'vocation' and religious motivation for their involvement in Catholic schools. Priests were generally more interested in forming partnerships with schools than were teachers in forming partnerships with parish communities. The perception that secondary school communities did not relate to parishes as well as their primary counterparts was widespread among clergy. This study makes several recommendations for the improvement of communication and dialogue between teachers and priests. It also recommends that similar research be carried out in dioceses where the parish-school authority structure differs. As part of this study the initial findings were presented to a significant gathering of clergy and school principals. The resulting discussion led to the proposal of strategies for improvement in communication and partnership. In this way the applied research in the study became an agency of change itself, working in the direction of a better culture of communication and collaboration regarding the religious mission of Catholic schools.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1994. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Douglas M. Sloan. Dissertation Committee: William B. Kennedy. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 308-323).

Thesis advisor: LAURI JOHNSON / This qualitative case study explored stakeholders' perceptions of Catholic identity in one suburban parish school in Massachusetts. Over a three-month period, data was collected from semi-structured interviews with the pastor, principal and five teachers, an online parent survey, document analysis, and observations of school events. Five major themes emerged from the data about Catholic identity: the role of service, the connection between the parish and the school community, the role of prayer and spiritual formation, the focus on academic excellence and its tension with inclusivity, and the principal-pastor relationship. All participants also voiced concerns about how the school's Catholic identity would be affected by the transfer of the pastor and the formation of a new parish collaborative. While the responses of participants reflected many of the characteristics of Catholic identity identified in the literature, service to others and the spiritual leadership of the principal were most closely identified with a strong Catholic identity. The presence of the pastor was also linked to Catholic identity, although participants desired more involvement of the pastor in the school. Finally, no one associated this Catholic school with the evangelizing arm of the Church. Recommendations for further research include the effect of the parish collaboratives on parish schools, the role of the Catholic school in the "New Evangelization," and the role of special education and service in Catholic identity. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

In this thesis I analyze the presence of difference in the nomadic feminist theologizing of a group of eight Catholic women from an Australian diocese. This small christian community named Sophia-of which I am a member-has been meeting since October 1993 to support one another and share stories of our experiences as marginalized Catholics. In attempting to name and understand the various levels of rejection we had encountered, group members reflected on the performances of Catholic Church leaders, and we theologized on church leadership as well as other ecclesial and doctrinal issues. Participants readily agreed to be involved in the research project I was proposing, and they became interactive partners with me during the period that produced the theological discourses analyzed in the thesis. This production stage involved four phases: firstly, open or non-directed theologizing on issues raised by participants; secondly, a guided study-with myself as facilitator-of five traditional Matthean leadership texts; thirdly, a guided study of five Matthean women's leadership texts-again facilitated by me; and fourthly, a return to open or non-directed theologizing. My analysis of the group's theologizing focuses on d~'erence. Using Rosi Braidotti's work on embodied sexual difference which identifies three coexistent levels of difference, I explore and account for difference as it occurs: between women (Sophia) and men (the male representative voice of the institutional church); among women (in the seemingly homogeneous Sophian group); and within individual women (in Sophia). The analysis identifies signifiers of difference that signal Sophia ~s nomadic feminist renegotiations of dominant canonical Catholic discourses. Moreover, I account for the resisting readings mobilized by various Sophian members by exploring ideologies and key elements of interest-specifically power, conflict, desire, agency-that underpin Sophia 's theologizing. In doing this, difference, as evidenced in the multiple voices/perspectives that constitute the Catholic tradition and that feature in Sophia ~ theologizing, is valorized. The designing and de-signing of Sophia ~s nomadic feminist theological discourses in this thesis demonstrates that Sophia 's theological 'acts of going' intensified difference and engendered for participants multiple, transformative pathways and kaleidoscopic rainbows of ever so beautiful theological possibilities.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-63).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 252-274).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1993. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-158).