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Eastern Michigan University DigitalCommons@EMU Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations Graduate Capstone Projects 2006 The evolution of Catholic schools in the diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan: A case study Bernard T. Stanko Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.emich.edu/theses Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Stanko, Bernard T., "The ve olution of Catholic schools in the diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan: A case study" (2006). Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. 93. http://commons.emich.edu/theses/93 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses, and Doctoral Dissertations, and Graduate Capstone Projects at DigitalCommons@EMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@EMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EVOLUTION OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN THE DIOCESE OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN: A CASE STUDY By Bernard T. Stanko Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Leadership and Counseling Eastern Michigan University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Dissertation Committee: James Barott, PhD, Chair David Anderson, PhD Elizabeth Broughton, PhD John Palladino, PhD May 19, 2006 Ypsilanti, Michigan DEDICATION This doctoral dissertation is dedicated to the greater glory of God in memory of Helen Gelsavage, my grandmother. Although she never attended college, she understood the value of education and encouraged me to never stop learning. She also instilled in me the notion that teaching is a noble profession. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank the members of my doctoral dissertation committee for the guidance and support they have shown throughout the planning, analysis, and development of this research study. I am particularly grateful to Dr. James Barott for his patience and perseverance with me. He helped me to better understand what I was studying so that I could also conceptualize what I learned. I also thank Dr. Kevin Brandon for his support and mentorship through this process. Writing this dissertation has been a lot of work for me as well as for those who have helped me. A special thank you to Bishop Emeritus Robert Rose for providing me with historical insights into what I wrote. Thank you also to Fr. Dennis Morrow, Diocesan Archivist and friend, for providing me with time and the resources I needed to conduct my research. Jacqueline Zbikowski and Susan Kettle provided me with graphs and tables and also moral support when it seemed that this project would get the most of me. Thank you James O’Donnell, Diocesan Superintendent, for your special support and friendship. My friend Marc Olejniczak; my mother Christine; and Fr. Edward Hankiewicz provided me with many hours of proofreading: a necessary evil. My wife, Diane, has been a constant source of support throughout this project for which I am grateful. She, too, helped in proofing this. Finally, I wish to thank my children- - Mary, Frank, Christopher, and Nicholas - -for being patient with me and supporting my work with encouraging words and prayers. ABSTRACT This longitudinal case study examined the origins, growth, and development of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The purpose of this study was to understand how the Catholic schools evolved over time. Four eras between 1833 and 2005 were investigated and described. Each era corresponds with changes to the physical size of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. These periods also correspond to sociological events that were also occurring. Data on Catholic schools were collected for each era. A conceptual framework was applied that considered the institutional environment in which the schools were founded and the task environment that affected how the schools functioned within the institutional environment in each era. The institutional environment reflects the dominant culture and gives the organization legitimacy or the right to exist. The institutional environment consists of elements called pillars, which describe the regulations, norms, values, language, and symbols, as well as affective elements, of the dominant culture. The Catholic school organization consists of three levels of organizational responsibility: institutional (leadership), management, and the technical core. The interpretive approach was followed to examine organizational core values. Data collected included various historical documents. Findings indicated that given a hostile environment, Catholic schools were organized in order to ensure that Catholic children would be instructed in their Catholic faith. As Catholic immigrants from Europe came to Michigan, Catholic schools persisted because their emphasis became to promote and protect the ethnic cultures of those immigrants. As immigration was curtailed in the early 20th century, Catholic schools became a means to promote and protect a Catholic culture that emerged in the United States and remained strong until the 1960s. As Catholics became assimilated into the dominant culture, the need for separate schools that promoted a separate culture for Catholics lessened. The study concluded that Catholic schools continue to evolve because they provide the communities in which they are found with something those communities need. The community in return provides the schools with the resources they need to survive. It shows that Catholic schools, as an organization, are both market-driven and value-driven. Implications for future research include investigating resource-based decision- making on organizational identity, successful leadership in relationship to organizational values and resource dependencies, and the impact of environmental influences on the organizational effectiveness of Catholic schools. CONTENTS DEDICATION .............................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT ........................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................. iv CONTENTS .............................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................... ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATION .......................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ......................... 1 Background of Study .................................................................................. 1 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................. 2 Research Setting ........................................................................................... 2 Significance of the Study ........................................................................ 3 Research Questions .................................................................................. 3 Definitions of Relevant Terms ............................................................... 4 Limitations of the Study ......................................................................... 5 Research Design ............................................................................................ 5 Summary ..................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE AND METHODOLOGY ........................ 8 Design .................................................................................................... 8 Polity .................................................................................................... 10 Instrumentation ........................................................................................... 11 Data .................................................................................................... 13 Validity and Reliability ................................................................................. 16 Research Tradition ................................................................................. 17 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 3: HISTORY OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION ............................... 41 Part A. The History of Catholic Education prior to the founding of the United States ................................................................................................. 41 Part B. The History of American Catholic Education during the 18th Century... 51 Summary .......................................................................................................... 53 CHAPTER 4: THE DEVELOPMENT OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN THE DIOCESE OF GRAND RAPIDS ................................................................... 61 Forming of a Diocese: 1833-1900 (Era I) ......................................................... 61 The Early 20th Century: 1900-1938 (Era II) ................................................ 85 The Boom Period: 1938-1970 (Era III) ......................................................... 111 Crisis and the Struggle for Survival: 1971-2005 (Era IV) ............................ 128 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 150 Purpose of the Study .....................................................................................

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