Perceptions and Practices of Administrators and Teachers In

The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects 2017 Perceptions and Practices of Administrators and Teachers in Jesuit Secondary Schools in the Hazaribag Province of India Regarding Ideal Ignatian Educators Vincent Hansdak Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Hansdak, Vincent, "Perceptions and Practices of Administrators and Teachers in Jesuit Secondary Schools in the Hazaribag Province of India Regarding Ideal Ignatian Educators" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations. 330. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/330 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of San Francisco PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS IN JESUIT SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE HAZARIBAG PROVINCE OF INDIA REGARDING IDEAL IGNATIAN EDUCATORS A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education Department of Leadership Studies Catholic Educational Leadership Program In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Vincent Hansdak San Francisco May 2017 THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Dissertation Abstract Perceptions and Practices of Administrators and Teachers in Jesuit Secondary Schools in the Hazaribag Province of India Regarding Ideal Ignatian Educators The growing number of complex learning contexts and needs of students has challenged the quality of education at all levels. The need to offer the most satisfactory and meaningful education to all students consistently attracts researchers, policymakers, and educators to comprehensively understand what comprises successful learning, and in particular, what qualities do effective teachers have around the world. Though some developed countries have made significant progress toward quality education, many developing countries experience numerous obstructions to guaranteeing quality education to students. Most importantly, India, due to its economic, cultural, and social divides, still grapples with equity and the quality of education. In particular, Jharkhand State, which has predominantly an indigenous population, due to its social and educational backwardness, greatly requires teachers with skills and qualities that ensure effective learning of all students in every school. In this endeavor, Jesuit schools network, a private Catholic school network in the State of Jharkhand, India, too still battles with the challenges of low-quality teachers in their schools. Jesuit schools experience the challenging task of upholding success for all students. Thus, to respond to the need of Jesuit schools, this study attempted to investigate the perceptions and practices of administrators and teachers in Jesuit secondary schools in the Province of Hazaribag, India, to discern the ideal for Ignatian secondary educators. This study used works by Stronge (2002, 2007), and Jesuit ii Secondary Education Association (JSEA, 2011), and the Jesuit Schools Network (JSN, 2015a) as the two conceptual lenses to examine the topic. A mixed-methods approach was adopted to thoroughly investigate the topic. The researcher-constructed survey data comprised the major component of the study, and to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the topic, it was further examined from semistructured interviews and classroom observational data. Results showed that the majority of participants upheld teaching qualities enumerated in Stronge, the Jesuit Secondary Education Association, and the Jesuit Schools Network as important for quality teaching and learning in Jesuit schools. Additionally, results indicated that qualities such as “teacher as a caring person,” “teacher as a competent person,” “teacher as a committed person,” “teacher as a student-centered person,” and “teacher as a collaborative person” are important to ensure quality learning for all students in Jesuit secondary schools in Hazaribag, India. iii This dissertation, written under the direction of the candidate’s dissertation committee and approved by the members of the committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. The content and research methodologies presented in this work represent the work of the candidate alone. Vincent Hansdak May 18, 2017 Candidate Dissertation Committee: Dr. Patricia Mitchell, Ph.D. May 18, 2017 Chairperson Dr. Monisha Bajaj, Ed. D. May 18, 2017 Committee Member Dr. Michael Duffy, Ed. D. May 18, 2017 Committee Member iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The debt of gratitude owed for the completion of this thesis is immense. For its intellectual origins and sustenance, I am grateful to Dr. Doreen Jones, whose stimulating conversations at the beginning of the doctoral program at USF challenged me to identify the educational needs of my context and put that into a study. Also, I am grateful to her for her guidance in academic planning, and particularly, in providing reading materials to gain depth in knowledge and to streamline the topic. For excellent academic guidance, I am grateful to Dr. Patricia A. Mitchell for serving as the chair of my dissertation committee. Particularly, I am indebted to her for her insightful supervisory support, overwhelming encouragement, and patient understanding that enabled me to stay on the work despite various ups and downs during this journey. During this journey, Dr. Mitchell always offered me all academic supports with her gentle and caring personality. Thank you Dr. Mitchell. In deep gratitude, I am indebted to Dr. Monisha Bajaj for serving as one of the members of the dissertation committee and for her assistance in viewing the topic from the Indian perspective. Also, I thank Dr. Bajaj for providing and guiding me with reading materials that were relevant to this topic. I am also grateful to Dr. Michael Duffy for serving on my dissertation committee, and specifically, for his academic suggestions on church and Jesuit documents. Exclusively, I am thankful to Dr. Duffy for his conversations around the importance of Catholic education and for his advice on how to grow institutionally to reach out to the people most in need. Along the dissertation journey, I greatly benefited from numerous conversations with Fr. Daniel Kendell, S.J., Fr. Robert Slattery, S.J., Fr. Thomas Renshaw, S.J., Fr. P. J. v James, S.J., Fr. Jose Messa, S.J., Fr. Tarimo, S.J., and many other Jesuit companions and scholars in United States and in India. Their conversations consistently guided me in this research and encouraged me to progress. In particular, I am grateful to all professors of USF who accompanied and guided me through different coursework during the past 3 years. Most notably, I thank the ICEL community of staff and students for being part of this important journey and for supporting me to grow in life academically, spiritually, socially, and personally. I am immensely grateful to Fr. Stephen Nduati, S.J., for his tireless support in proofreading my work. He most brilliantly accompanied and supported me in my writing this thesis, from it’s beginning to finish. Steve, I salute your companionship and generous heart to help others. Also, I am grateful to Fr. Daniel Kendell, S.J. for proofreading the first three chapters of the thesis and for providing valuable suggestions to improve it. I greatly acknowledge the professional editing work done by Mrs. Sue Morris. She most willing accepted to edit my entire thesis in a very short notice. Sue, thank you very much. On a grateful note, I also acknowledge the help and supports of Dr. Benjamin Baab on the statistical work of the thesis. Lastly, on a practical note, I could not have put in all the work that this thesis demanded if not for the kind contributions of Jesuit brothers at the Jesuit community of USF and in the Province of Hazaribag, India. Specifically, I thank Fr. Timothy Godfrey, S.J. (USF Jesuit Community Rector) and Fr. Paul Fitzgerald, S.J. (USF President) for their brotherly caring and for offering academic support during my study here at USF. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ II SIGNATURE PAGE ........................................................................................................ IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ V LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ XI LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... XIV CHAPTER I THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ......................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................1 Background and Need for the Study ........................................................................4 An Overview of Jesuit

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