The purposes of the study were to identify leadership styles of principals as perceived by teachers in selected Catholic schools of Indiana, and to determine if leadership styles of principals were correlated with achievement of seventh-grade students. Participants were selected from a population of 140 elementary schools of the Diocese of Ft. Wayne-South Bend, the Diocese of Gary, and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. The instruments used to collect data were the Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD-Other), and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). The LEAD-Other was used to measure teacher judgments of principal leadership style, and the ITBS was used to measure academic growth of seventh-grade students.The sources of data for the study were 22 principals, 135 teachers and 2,134 students of the 22 schools. The distribution of leadership styles of the 22 principals was: 2 principals as Style 1 (Telling); 13 principals as Style 2 (Selling); 6 principals as Style 3 (Participating), and 1 principal as Style 4 (Delegating). The 2,134 students, with their respective grade equivalent means, were distributed among the four styles of principal leadership as: Style 1, 193 students with a mean of 9.04; Style 2, 1,261 students with a mean of 8.98; Style 3, 602 students with a mean of 8.86; and style 4, 78 students with a mean of 9.42. An ex post facto research design was used for the study. A single classification analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a multiple comparison procedure were used to analyze data. Seventh-grade students differing on independent variables of leadership styles of the principal, gender of student, and enrollment size of school were compared on the dependent variable of student achievement scores. Analysis of variance findings indicated significant differences existed between comprehensive score gains for seventh-grade students and leadership style of principals, based on an F value of 5.69 that was significant at the .05 alpha level. Data from the Newman-Keuls procedure indicated the Style 4 mean of 9.42 was significantly higher at the .05 level than the means for Style 1, Style 2, and Style 3 respectively. Analysis of variance findings indicated significant differences did not exist between comprehensive score gains for seventh-grade students and size of enrollment, based on an F value of .41 that was not significant at the .05 alpha level. Analysis of variance findings indicated significant differences did not exist between comprehensive score gains for seventh-grade students and gender of students, based on an F value of .07 that was not significant at the .05 alpha level.These data indicated seventh-grade students in schools where the principal was perceived by teachers as being Style 4 (Delegating) have significantly higher mean test scores than dostudents in schools where the principal was perceived by teachers as being Style 1, Style 2, or Style 3. Neither size of enrollment nor gender of student revealed a significant relationship upon the achievement of students. / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (MArts(ReligionStudies))--University of South Australia, 2001.

Thesis (EdD) -- Australian Catholic University, 2006. / Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. Bibliography: p. 180-192. Also available in an electronic format via the internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Iowa, 2009. / Thesis supervisor: Christine A. Ogren. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-221).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

No description available.

No description available.

Until the era of Vatican Council II in the mid-1960’s, Catholic elementary and secondary schools functioned within a clearly established authority structure. Parochial schools operated under the authority of the pastor of the parish and diocesan or central schools under that of the bishop of the diocese or his priest delegate. Vatican Council II called for active lay participation in the life of the church and encouraged bishops to consult with the laity and value their contributions to the church. However, there is no evidence that the decrees of this Council altered the authority structure of the church. The Roman Catholic church is a hierarchical organization in which the bishop has final authority within his diocese. In many states, he also has complete civil authority in the tenure of church property. Following Vatican Council II, the proponents of a renewal Catholic school board movement urged that these boards be constituted as jurisdictional with complete authority for Catholic schools. The model for these boards was based on the public school board model. Since the authority structure of the Roman Catholic church is significantly different from that of the state which receives its authority from the people, the organizational systems including boards of education for Catholic and public schools must reflect these different authority sources. This dissertation studies the authority structure of the Roman Catholic church, the reasons for the development of a separate Catholic school system in the United States, the development of central Catholic high schools, and the Catholic school board movement before and after Vatican Council II. It concludes by making recommendations for alternative models for reorganizing non-private Catholic schools within the authority structure of the church and for constituting diocesan and local school boards in a manner which gives parents a voice in the operation of their children's schools. / Ed. D.

This qualitative case study begins with the reasoning that a central concern and mission of the Catholic Church is social justice. Catholic schools, as institutions of the Church, are intentional in responding to this central concern and mission. This study attempted to explore how schools fulfill this mission, and in so doing, how students experience three identified principles of Catholic social teaching. This qualitative case study suggests that the school's response to mission will be found in the students' experience. This qualitative case study conducted a thorough review of the literature and research pertaining to Catholic social teaching, the history and purpose of inner city Catholic schools, and the Catholic school as a community. The researcher employed the use of observations, focus group interviews, and document review to investigate the research question: How do students in an inner city Catholic elementary school experience three essential principles of Catholic social teaching: Life and dignity of the person; Call to family, community, and participation; and Preferential option for the poor and the vulnerable? The methodology for this study was designed as socially committed research, to provide a way of knowing for both researcher and participants.

published_or_final_version / English / Master / Master of Arts