Exploring the Relationship Between Students' Perceptions of the Jesuit
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects 4-2018 Exploring the Relationship Between Students' Perceptions of the Jesuit Charism and Students' Moral Judgement Scott weS nson University of San Francisco, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons Recommended Citation Swenson, Scott, "Exploring the Relationship Between Students' Perceptions of the Jesuit Charism and Students' Moral Judgement" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations. 453. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/453 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 EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE JESUIT CHARISM AND STUDENTS’ MORAL JUDGEMENT 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 Scott Swenson San Francisco April 2018 ABSTRACT Jesuit education has long focused on developing leaders of conscience, competence, and compassion. There is a gap in the literature examining if aspects of the Jesuit charism influence moral development. The Ignatian Identity Survey (IGNIS), and the Defining Issues Test – 2 (DIT-2), were administered to seniors at an all-male Jesuit high school. The IGNIS was used to explore students’ perceptions of five aspects of the Jesuit charism: 1) Openness to growth and educational excellence (OGEE), 2) Religious education and formation (REF), 3) Collaboration (COL), 4) Faith and justice (F&J), and 5) Active Reflection (AR). The DIT-2 was used to determine students’ moral development and the ways in which they made moral decisions. SPSS was used to statistically determine if correlations between students’ perceptions and their moral development existed. This study found that students generally perceive OGEE, F&J, and AR as being present in campus life, while REF and COL were less perceived. It also found that the participants were highly developed morally, comparing favorably to students in graduate school. Additionally, two aspects of the Jesuit charism, REF and AR, had weak positive correlations with students’ moral development, while the other three aspects had no correlation to moral development. ii 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. Scott Swenson May 9, 2018 Candidate Dissertation Committee Michael Duffy, EdD May 9, 2018 Chairperson Jane Bleasdale , PhD May 9, 2018 Ursula Aldana, PhD May 9, 2018 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Jesuit priests who live and work at Bellarmine College Preparatory, for their generosity, their humor, and most importantly, for their unwavering example of servant leadership. They helped to form me when I attended Bellarmine as a student, and they continue to form me as a teacher and leader. I want to thank my first advisor in the ICEL program, Dr. Doreen Jones. Doreen was, and continues to be, an example of what a Catholic educator should aim to be. She shares he exuberant love with all who enter her presence, and her optimism and support kept me going on more than a few occasions. My second advisor, Dr. Michael Duffy, was kind enough to serve as my dissertation chair, and I could not be more thankful for him walking this journey with me. For me, he serves as an example of what thoughtful, caring leadership can be in Catholic education, and gives me something to strive for in my own teaching and administrative practice. I want to thank my parents, Gary and Laura Swenson, for their unconditional love and support. Making them proud has been a driving force for me and I am so happy they could share in celebrating this accomplishment. Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my wife, Amy Swenson. She supported me through the seven years it took me to complete the program at USF and the multiple “dissertation crises” I experienced. She kept me grounded and helped me dream big. She gave me two beautiful children and did the important work of parenting while I spent hours away at class and more hours writing. She did this with grace, humor, and incredible love. She is my hero. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii SIGNATURE PAGE ......................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv CHAPTER I: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM .....................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ...........................................................................................1 Background and Need for the Study ..........................................................................6 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................9 Conceptual Framework ..............................................................................................9 Research Questions ..................................................................................................11 Limitations ...............................................................................................................11 Significance..............................................................................................................12 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................13 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ....................................................................16 Overview ..................................................................................................................16 Saint Ignatius ...........................................................................................................16 School Culture and Climate .....................................................................................17 Jesuit Charism ..........................................................................................................23 Moral Development .................................................................................................38 Historical Perspectives ...................................................................................38 Contemporary Perspectives ...........................................................................42 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................53 Restatement of the Purpose of the Study .................................................................53 Research Design.......................................................................................................53 Population ................................................................................................................54 Sample......................................................................................................................56 Researcher Background ...........................................................................................58 Instrumentation ........................................................................................................59 Validity ....................................................................................................................62 Ethical Concerns ......................................................................................................64 Limitations ...............................................................................................................65 Data Collection ........................................................................................................66 Data Analysis ...........................................................................................................68 Research Question One ..................................................................................68 Research Question Two .................................................................................70 Research Question Three ...............................................................................73 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS .................................................................................................75 Restatement of the Purpose ......................................................................................75 Sample Demographics .............................................................................................75