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Making the Edmund Rice Ethos a Reality: a Case Study in the Perceptions of Principals in Christian Brothers' Schools in Queensland

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Making the Edmund Rice Ethos a Reality: a Case Study in the Perceptions of Principals in Christian Brothers' Schools in Queensland TITLE PAGE Making the Edmund Rice ethos a reality: A case study in the perceptions of principals in Christian Brothers’ Schools in Queensland Submitted by Kerrie Patricia Tuite T.Cert (JCU), BA (UQ), MEdL (ACU) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education School of Educational Leadership Faculty of Education Australian Catholic University Research Services Locked Bag 4115 Fitzroy, Victoria 3065 Australia Date of Submission: November 2007 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP AND SOURCES This thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the text of the thesis. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. All research procedures reported in the thesis received the approval of the relevant ethics committee (Appendix 1). Signed: Date: 11 May 2008 Kerrie Patricia Tuite ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the ongoing support of my family, my husband Peter, children, Anthony, Sarah, Benjamin and Amy and my grandsons, Jack, William and Harry. Now that this study is completed I will have more time to do something other than read about Edmund Rice and his educational vision. Thanks for your willingness to read endless drafts and format endless documents. I would also like to pay tribute to the Christian Brothers who supported and encouraged me in this study. Along with the Christian Brothers, the staff of Edmund Rice Education has shown understanding and support of this endeavour and I am grateful for this. My loyal community of St James College has offered untiring support and interest and I am indebted to you all, parents, staff, students and the College Board. To my supervisor, Associate Professor Denis McLaughlin, I am ever grateful for the support and insight you have provided; it has been a long journey but one that has taught me much about myself and about Edmund Rice and his particular educational charism. This journey has been significant for me both personally and professional and I have you to thank for this. I am indebted to Dr Gayle Spry and Dr Eugene Kaminski who assisted me throughout this journey as assistant supervisors. I am particularly appreciative of the support and encouragement of my fellow principals who participated willingly in this study in spite of the busy-ness that is the life of a principal. I am indebted to you for your honesty and willingness to assist me in this study. iii ABSTRACT This research concerns how lay principals are negotiating the nurturing of authentic Edmund Rice education in their schools within a period of organisational change in the 21st century. The context of this research is Queensland Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition, once more commonly known as Christian Brothers’ schools. These schools claim to carry on the educational charism of Edmund Rice (1762-1844), Founder of the Christian Brothers, who began schools in Ireland to provide a holistic education for boys, especially those who were marginalised by poverty and social stigma. Christian Brothers’ tradition purports that the Edmund Rice educational charism was handed on to successive Christian Brothers’ schools by Christian Brothers; however, research indicated that there were clear deviations from the original charism just prior to and following the death of Edmund Rice, raising questions of whether these schools remained authentic carriers of the original charism. Research also suggests that these deviations resulted in number of instances when the original charism of Edmund Rice was, at best, muted, or, at worst, distorted beyond recognition. Additional investigation also demonstrates that these departures from Rice’s charism resulted in a culture that differed from Edmund Rice’s original vision for education thus raising issues of authenticity for schools in the 21st century. Since Vatican II the Congregation of Christian Brothers has undergone significant changes. Most notable has been the reduction in Brothers in leadership positions in schools. Edmund Rice’s beatification in 1996 sparked renewed interest in his original educational vision, and The Congregation of Christian Brothers world wide began to explore what this charism might mean in contemporary times. In Australia, schools changed their name from Christian Brothers’ schools to iv Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition, as part of an attempt to develop an authentic educational vision for contemporary Australian schools. At the time of this research, there were ten schools in Queensland, all led by lay principals, within a subset of forty or more schools across Australia. In Queensland, these schools encompass a wide socio-economic spectrum and offer differing educational offerings ranging from a totally traditional curriculum, to a comprehensive curriculum, to more flexible offerings for disengaged and marginal youth; the majority of these boys’ schools are single sex schools. This researcher identified that there was lack of clarity as to what constitutes an authentic Edmund Rice school and that a lacuna existed between the organisational rhetoric and the reality of principals. Consequently, the purpose of this research was to explore what lay principals perceived to be the essential features or ethos of this educational vision and the ways they developed this ethos into an authentic Edmund Rice culture in order to determine whether these schools are authentic to the original vision of Edmund Rice. Because the purpose of this research was to explore perceptions, the epistemological position of Constructionism, using an interpretivist perspective was adopted for this research. The methodology of Case Study was utilised as it allowed for the exploration of the world of Queensland Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition from the perspectives of principals: nine current principals and one past principal were studied. The literature review generated the following research questions: 1. What do principals consider are the essential features of the Edmund Rice ethos? 2. How do principals ensure that the ethos of Edmund Rice is an integral element of school culture? 3. What aspects of leadership do principals consider important in ensuring that the Edmund Rice ethos is developed into an authentic culture? v The findings of this research indicated that principals perceived that the essential features of ethos were found in: providing values based education; ensuring that young people were liberated from factors which marginalised them; ensuring that their schools were places of Diversity and Inclusivity; undertaking the development of Right Relationships; and developing a strong sense of community. Principals ensured that the Edmund Rice ethos was authentically connected to school culture through: providing Social Justice Initiatives; developing spirituality and sense of the sacred; providing flexible options for a diverse range of students; and ensuring that structures and formation experiences were provided to support the development of ethos. Finally, principals articulated their leadership role: in ensuring the embedding of ethos in culture was one of cultural change agent; as a spiritual and prophetic leader; developing a student centred focus; and being a role model for leadership within the totality of the school community. The research concluded that, for these principals, the development of an authentic Edmund Rice school was embedded in these three issues: 1. Ethos: A Catholic education with values based on Edmund Rice and his educational mission; 2. Culture: A positive environment which enables and encourages the development of structures and formation experiences to support ethos; 3. Leadership: Leadership led by a principal who understands ethos and is committed to a role model of the development of an authentic culture. However, the research also concluded that, while lay principals were committed to the development of an authentic Edmund Rice school and were committed to the organisational change needed to achieve this goal, they were constrained by vi a variety of factors including: school context; school tradition and history; the traditions and expectations of the Christian Brothers; the financial situation of the school; support or lack of support from the college community and Edmund Rice Education. These factors make the realisation of authenticity a goal to be worked towards, rather than a concrete reality. In essence, this study concluded that, one overriding dilemma for principals was whether they were prepared to make the sometimes difficult decisions needed to ensure authenticity to the original Edmund Rice educational charism, or retain the status quo, with the knowledge that, in so doing, they may be militating against authenticity to the Edmund Rice educational vision. vii GLOSSARY OF TERMS AHERSA Association of Heads of Edmund Rice Schools Australia. Beatification A part of the process by which a person becomes a saint. Edmund Rice was beatified in 1996. CEO Catholic Education Office, the systemic organisation which coordinates Catholic schools in a particular diocese under the direction of the local bishop. Catholic Schools in From 2004, Christian Brothers’ schools have been renamed the Edmund Rice Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition. tradition Christian Brothers’ A group of schools
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