Dissertation Approved By

DISSERTATION APPROVED BY _7-7-2020________________ ____________________________________ Date Scott Walker, Sc.Ed.D., Chair __________________________________________ Eileen Burke-Sullivan, S.T.D., Committee Member Jennifer Moss Breen, Ph.D., Director _______________________________________ Gail M. Jensen, Ph.D., Dean LAY SECONDARY TEACHERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE IGNATIAN CHARISM ___________________________________ By NICHOLAS E. ARGENTO ___________________________________ A DISSERTATION IN PRACTICE Submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of Creighton University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership _________________________________ Omaha, NE June 29, 2020 Copyright (2020), Nicholas E. Argento This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no part of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. iii Abstract There was little research about the experiences of lay teachers working in Jesuit secondary schools from the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus. The purpose of this phenomenological investigation was to understand Jesuit lay secondary school teacher discernment of the Ignatian charism and whether lay teachers make the Ignatian charism part of their work. There was no research about the experiences with and recognition of the Ignatian charism by lay secondary teachers. This literature review examined charisms of four Roman Catholic religious orders currently advanced by lay teachers. Explanations of each charism clarified complexity and related them to authentic, transformational, and servant leadership types. There were university studies about lay college professors’ manifestation of the Ignatian charism into their work. The aim of this study created an evidence-based set of data to guide Jesuit secondary school administrators in their planning of lay teacher induction and mentor programs in Jesuit schools. This study included interviews with 26 lay teachers who worked in six Jesuit secondary schools located in the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus. The study showed a robust intentionality by lay teachers to understand the Ignatian charism. Lay teachers conveyed a developed understanding of the Ignatian charism after at least eight to ten years of teaching in a Jesuit school. They communicated an inconsistent experience with Jesuit school induction programs. Creating a two-stage mentor program and a recorded archive of iv experienced lay Ignatian educators expressing awareness of the Ignatian charism can become a teaching tool for new lay Jesuit school teachers. Keywords: cura personalis, Graduate at Graduation, Ignatian charism, Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, Jesuit educator, lay teacher, mission v Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to all lay teachers in Jesuit secondary schools. Their prayer-filled work carries forth the mission established by the many Jesuit priests who preceded them. Lay teachers nurture the students under their care in the pedagogical spirit of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. They personify these words from the Book of the Prophet Micah 6:8, “The Lord asks of you only this: to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.” vi Acknowledgements My family is incredibly generous and loving. I am most thankful to my parents, Nick and Barbara Argento, for their love and encouragement. Moreover, Paula Argento, Maria Argento Perkins, and Walt Perkins provided me with cherished counsel, support, and care during the writing of this dissertation. My two loving aunts, Kathleen Kelleher and Sister Paula Kelleher, SSJ, listened, advised, and reminded me to persist as I navigated the various stages of the dissertation process. All of them are wonderful people and I am fortunate that they are my family. I want to thank my dissertation committee Dr. Scott Walker and Dr. Eileen Burke Sullivan. Dr. Walker’s guidance, criticism, and dry wit made me a better doctoral dissertation student who enjoyed this process. Dr. Burke Sullivan’s advice about my research study brought forth an enriching amount of data from the participants. I am grateful to the Creighton faculty, particularly my faculty advisor, Dr. Candace Bloomquist whose legendary curiosity helped me frame the aim and purpose of this study. Likewise, Dr. Michael Wardlaw’s heartening advice nurtured the exploration of my research topic. Creighton University has extraordinary people who work there. The people at Creighton University’s Reinert Library and the Interdisciplinary Leadership Doctoral Program were immensely helpful and kind during my doctoral journey. Reverend Vincent Lapomarda, SJ was my undergraduate advisor at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA. He sent me Ignatian vii education materials for my consideration during the dissertation process and I am grateful for his lifetime of advice and counsel. I am grateful to the late Reverend Raymond J. Callahan, SJ as well as Reverend Charles Allen, SJ who hired me to teach in a Jesuit secondary school when I was young and inexperienced. The administration at Boston College High School (BC High) has backed my work in this doctoral journey in many supportive ways. I am grateful to my colleagues there for their encouragement and opinion. In particular the BC High Social Studies Department members, there now and when I began this program, gave me much salient advice and suggestions. They are an extraordinarily talented group of lay teachers whose good humor, knowledge of the subject, and demanding nature makes me a better teacher each day. I extend my gratitude to all of the BC High students who I have taught, coached, and moderated while studying during this program. Their patience and uplifting spirit helped me to persevere. Finally, I am most grateful to all of the lay teachers from Jesuit secondary schools who generously agreed to share the details about their work and their spiritual understanding of the Ignatian charism. Their candor permitted this research study to occur. viii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................... iii Dedication ....................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ........................................................................ vi Table of Contents ......................................................................... viii List of Tables ............................................................................... xiii List of Figures .............................................................................. xiv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................. 1 Introduction and Background ......................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................ 2 Purpose Statement ........................................................................... 3 Research Question .......................................................................... 3 Aim Statement ................................................................................ 4 Proposed Methods ........................................................................... 4 Definition of Relevant Terms ......................................................... 5 Delimitations, Limitations, and Personal Biases ............................ 8 The Role of Leadership in this Study ........................................... 10 Significance of the Dissertation in Practice Study ........................ 13 Summary ....................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................... 18 ix Introduction ................................................................................... 18 The Graduate at Graduation: A Lantern for Ignatian Educators ... 20 Catholic Educator and Ignatian Educator as Minister .................. 24 Calling and School Programs........................................................ 26 The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm ............................................. 29 Jesuit Charism and Other Catholic Religious Order Charisms ..... 35 Jesuit Charism ............................................................................... 37 Sisters of St. Joseph Charism ........................................................ 40 Xaverian Brothers’ Charism ......................................................... 43 Christian Brothers’ Charism ......................................................... 45 Lay Person as Minister .................................................................. 47 Leadership Literature and Charism ............................................... 48 Leadership Types and Charism Expectations of the Lay Educator50 Authentic Leadership .................................................................... 51 Transformational Leadership ........................................................ 54 Servant Leadership........................................................................ 60 Leadership Examples of Other Belief Systems ............................ 65 Protestant Schools ......................................................................... 65 Islamic Schools ............................................................................. 68 Characteristics of a Lay Ignatian Educator ................................... 72 Spirituality....................................................................................

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