Perceptions of Four Sacred Heart Heads of School Relative to The
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 2015 Perceptions of Four Sacred Heart Heads of School Relative to the Utilization of the Goals and Criteria and Specific rP ocesses in Decision Making Andrea Shurley University of San Francisco, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Shurley, Andrea, "Perceptions of Four Sacred Heart Heads of School Relative to the Utilization of the Goals and Criteria and Specific Processes in Decision Making" (2015). Doctoral Dissertations. 291. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/291 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 OF FOUR SACRED HEART HEADS OF SCHOOL RELATIVE TO THE UTILIZATION OF THE GOALS AND CRITERIA AND SPECIFIC PROCESSES IN DECISION MAKING A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education Leadership Studies Department In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Andrea von Sternberg Shurley San Francisco December 2015 THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Dissertation Abstract Perceptions of Four Sacred Heart Heads of School Relative to the Utilization of the Goals and Criteria and Specific Processes in Decision Making The Network of Sacred Heart Schools advances its education mission through a pivotal document entitled Goals and Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools in the United States (Society of the Sacred Heart, U.S. Province, 2005). The Heads of school are the leaders and key decision makers who ensure that their leadership meets the expectations articulated in the five goals and criteria and that other personnel within their schools demonstrate an understanding of these pivotal guidelines in the process of their daily work. No research exists to date regarding the extent to which the Heads of school apply the five goals and criteria during decisions critical to the school mission, and no empirical evidence regarding the manner in which these leaders render their decisions has been advanced. Consequently, this current study explored the extent to which Heads of school within the Network of Sacred Heart Schools engage with the overarching goals and criteria when rendering decisions and whether they implement a consistent process for decision making. This study applied qualitative research methodology. After inviting 21 Heads of school within the Network of Sacred Heart Schools to participate, four agreed to volunteer for the study. Two semistructured, one-hour interviews were conducted with each participant, the first in person and the second by telephone. The data collected from these interviews suggest that these leaders apply the five goals and criteria to all aspects of their leadership including decision making. They were not applied in any predetermined systematic manner throughout the process of making decisions, although ii each Head was able to identify a general system or process implemented. The findings of this study suggest that the Heads of Sacred Heart schools place appropriately high value on the five goals and criteria mandated by the Network mission because they permeate all aspects of their leadership including decision making. It was also noted that these leaders may benefit from an introduction to the current research, as it relates to methods of decision making, in order to ensure that they are aware of optimal methods. 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. Andrea von Sternberg Shurley November 30, 2015 Candidate Date Dissertation Committee Dan McPherson, Ph.D. November 30, 2015 Chairperson Date James Everitt, Ed.D. November 30, 2015 Doreen Jones, Ed.D. November 30, 2015 iv DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my loving and supportive family, especially my husband, my children, and my parents, to the countless ones who have helped me understand the importance of Catholic education, and to the teachers and administrators who bring their schools’ missions to life every day in Catholic schools everywhere. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful for the work and time shared with me by my dissertation Chairperson, Dan McPherson, Ph.D., and committee members, James Everitt, Ed.D. and Doreen Jones, Ed.D. I appreciate the instructors and administrative supporters who worked with me throughout my years at the University of San Francisco. My years in this program have shown me the true gift of a loving, Catholic school community, and I would like to offer thanks in particular to Raymond Vercruysse, CFC, Ed.D., Timothy Cook, Ph.D., Gini Shimabukuro, Ed.D., Stephen Katsouros, S.J., Ed.D., and Ms. Thanh Ly. I am grateful for the open doors at many Sacred Heart schools, the kind support of Ursuline Academy of Dallas, and the commitment of the Jesuit community at University of San Francisco, who allow the Catholic Education Leadership program to thrive and flourish. I offer special thanks to the ones who walked this path before or with me and shared a kind word at just the right time, especially Michael, Lois, Eileen, and Ann. Finally, I thank my husband for encouraging me throughout this long experience and accepting that there were times when I had to close the door and burrow into my work, and I thank my mother who made sure my little boys never felt neglected or bored while I worked. Above all I thank Knox and Gibson for simply being. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Dissertation Abstract........................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION.....................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x CHAPTER I: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM .....................................................................1 Statement of the Problem.........................................................................................1 Background and Need..............................................................................................3 Conceptual Framework............................................................................................8 Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................13 Research Questions................................................................................................13 Significance of the Study.......................................................................................14 Definition of Terms................................................................................................15 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...........................................................18 Restatement of the Problem...................................................................................18 Overview................................................................................................................18 Catholic-Education Mission...................................................................................19 Charism..................................................................................................................24 Society of the Sacred Heart....................................................................................27 Education Mission .....................................................................................29 U.S. Schools...............................................................................................30 Goals and Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools .............................................32 Decision Making....................................................................................................33 Organizational ...........................................................................................33 School Process ...........................................................................................36 Summary................................................................................................................39 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................41 Restatement of Purpose..........................................................................................41 Research Design.....................................................................................................42 Population Sample .................................................................................................45