The main purpose of this study was to examine the roles that college supervisors perform in the Field Experience programme with particular reference to the Field Experience programme in a Catholic College of Education. Through clarification of the roles it was expected that the effectiveness of college supervisors would be improved resulting in a more efficient and productive Field Experience programme at the institution concerned. The overall aims of the study were: (1) to clarify the roles of college supervisors (2) to improve the quality of the Field Experience programme (3) to give the programme more meaning in the teacher education course at the College concerned and (4) to make it clear to participants in such a programme that there is an important role for college supervisors to play. The study involved the co-operation of 62 student teachers, 45 classroom teachers (country and city) and 10 college lecturers (totalling 117). A questionnaire was designed on the basis of discussions with Field Experience participants, on a survey conducted the previous year, and on an open-ended survey conducted immediately after the mid-year Block Practicum. The final questionnaire was then distributed to 82 student teachers (75.5% return), 76 classroom teachers (58.5% return) and 11 college lecturers (90% return). The study made use of earlier work by Waters (1973) and also by Duck and Cunningham (1985). In the study, student teachers, classroom teachers and college lecturers were surveyed by means of a questionnaire to rate the frequency with which specific supervisory tasks (already identified in a pilot study) were performed. This involved rating each of the supervisory tasks twice; firstly rating , the 'actual' occurrence of the task and secondly by rating the 'ideal' occurrence of the task. Results of the study showed that there are differences of perception surrounding role expectations for college supervisors and that these roles require clarification. What were perceived to be the roles for and the behaviour of college supervisors contrasted with what was actually exhibited. Students and teachers (country and city) perceived college supervisors to be actually performing an Evaluator role; while lecturers perceived a Manager role. The 'ideal' role for college supervisors was perceived by all respondent groups to involve the functions and tasks of Manager. The degree of role conflict present indicates that follow-up measures deserve consideration and clarification and that orientation and learning programmes need to be conducted for all Field Experience participants in order to give the Field Experience programme more significance and to improve its overall effectiveness. A result of the study and one which could be emphasised in order to improve the quality of the programme was the indication of 'desirable' and 'undesirable' characteristics of college supervisors who were involved in the Field Experience programme at the College concerned. These results were similar to the earlier work of Beer et al. (1983) and were indicated by' the use of openended comments being included at the conclusion of the questionnaire. These comments concerned the personal and professional characteristics of college supervisors and together with this author's work could form the basis of further study as a step towards increasing the efficiency of Field Experience programmes.

Petitions to reject controversial speakers from college campuses would have little effect unless administrators were willing to formally disinvite speakers. So, why are administrators responsive to some movements to exclude certain perspectives from campus and not others? This paper attempts to answer this question through an empirical study of 349 speaker disinvitation attempts on 218 U.S. colleges and universities from 2000 to 2017. I use an original data set with information sourced from the Foundation for Individual Rights and U.S. News and World Report to determine what factors predict a successful formally rescinded invitation. My findings suggest that the forum of the speech, the petitioner type, and speaker type may predict the success of an attempt to disinvite a speaker from college campuses. My empirical results showed that conservative protests are better predictors of success than liberal protests. This paper addresses class bias and complacency with the academic culture in religious institutions as the main influencers causing pundits to ignore free speech politics at less selective, non-secular American colleges and universities.

Thesis advisor: Hosffman Opsino / Women Religious founded more than half of the current two hundred and sixty institutions of Catholic higher education in the United States. Rooted in a distinct mission to women’s education in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, these colleges and universities have demonstrated a strong commitment to educate the politically, economically, educationally, and ecclesially marginalized, with particular emphasis on the empowerment of women. For nearly a century, these colleges and universities have creatively adapted to various changes in the educational and cultural landscape and have navigated and negotiated the complex relationships between the Church, the university, and the larger U.S. society. Ironically, their experiences and stories remain widely unknown compared to those of similar institutions founded by and for men. Using a historical and theological lens, this dissertation demonstrates how the deep stories that sustained the life and identity of many Women Religious in the United States inspired the foundation of colleges and universities that distinctively saw these stories in unique ways. In doing so, they modeled new and creative ways of education women, and others, that remain to be genuinely studied and incorporated into the larger narrative of U.S. Catholic higher education. At a time of major cultural, demographic, and ecclesial transitions, this dissertation proposes ways for those deep stories to continue to give life, even in the absence of the women who embodied them. It does so by focusing primarily on the example of the Sisters of Mercy and one of their universities. This work proposes practical approaches for leaders in Catholic higher education to embrace the deep stories grounding their institutions in order to cultivate practices and commitments that prophetically advance the identity and mission of their institutions in the twenty-first century. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.