The Sacred and the Secular: Aligning a Marianist Mission with Professional Standards of Practice in an Educational Leadership Doctorial Program

This inquiry was conducted to explore how the characteristics of our university’s religious mission are interwoven into our educational leadership doctoral program and are manifest in the structure and learning experiences that our students encounter. We examined how these characteristics might correspond to or relate to the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards that resulted from national reform initiatives in educational leadership in the mid 1990s. We concluded that the foundations of the PhD program are built solidly on the distinctive characteristics and identity of our founders and are aligned with these professional standards as well. Implications for universities include our conclusion that when the distinctive mission of a university aligns with the professional standards of a field, more effective leadership preparation will result

Frequency of Principal Turnover in Ohio\u27s Elementary Schools

One remedy for Ohio schools that fail to meet the state’s test score criteria for “effectiveness” is to force a change in the principalship. Concerns have been raised that such a remedy may simultaneously undermine the organizational stability of the school. The researchers in this study examined the frequency with which elementary building principals in 109 southwest Ohio schools changed during the 7-year period of 1996-1997 (FY 1997) through 2002-2003 (FY 2003). The researchers found that urban and rural schools had a significantly higher turnover frequency than did suburban schools. Ways to counter frequent principal turnover while, at the same time, generating improved principal leadership, pose great challenges for those at the helm of many Ohio districts

The Experience and Meaning of a Marianist Education Today: A National High School Study of Mission and School Culture

Focus groups conducted with students, parents, teachers, and alumni (N=540) at 13 Catholic Marianist high schools provided rich insights into the experience and meaning of the education provided at these institutions. While academic excellence was a common thread woven across meaning given by both parents and teachers, students and alumni articulated a meaning replete with images of belonging. That these schools valued persons holistically (rather than solely academically) permeated most groups. Using theories of organizational culture as the foundation, the relationship between missions and the meaning of life in these schools is discussed

Detecting Low Incidents Effects: The Value of Mixed Methods Research Designs in Low-N Studies

Many important educational situations such as traumatic brain injury among preschoolers, school gun violence, preadolescent eating disorders, and adolescent suicide happen relatively infrequently. In this article, the authors explain why mixed methods research designs offer more meaningful empirical results than do qualitative or quantitative designs alone when asking research questions about low incident situations. The authors present and explain three mixed methods models applicable to low incidents situations

Served Through Service: Undergraduate Students’ Experiences in Community Engaged Learning at a Catholic and Marianist University

Students participating in sustained community service at an urban Catholic and Marianist university were volunteer informants in this qualitative exploration of the meaning they make of their service experiences. A PhD student research team (nine members) interviewed fourteen undergraduate students (eleven of whom were seniors). Findings were organized as themes constructed within three domains: background, experience, and meaning. Within “background,” students who had prior work in faith-based service before college deepened their meaning of service. Within “experience,” there were social and cultural dynamics of navigating on and off campus life, including the roles students played as well as the challenge of time management. Within “meaning,” building relationships was central to community service. Students built strong personal relationships with and deep commitments to city residents; the meaning of their own identities grew and developed. Experiencing the roots of social injustice led students both to confirm and to reconsider their life vocations. Estudiantes que participaban en servicios continuados a la comunidad en una universidad católica marianista urbana participaron como encuestados voluntarios de esta exploración cualitativa del significado que le dan a sus experiencias de servicio. Un equipo de investigación de estudiantes (nueve) de doctorado entrevistaron a catorce estudiantes de licenciatura (de los cuales 10 eran de último curso). Los resultados se organizaron en temas englobados en tres dominios: antecedentes, experiencia y significado. En “antecedentes”, los estudiantes que habían realizado trabajo previo en servicios religiosos antes de la universidad profundizaron su significado de servicio. Dentro de “experiencia”, hubo dinámicas sociales y culturales que navegaban dentro y fuera de la vida en el campus, desde el papel de los estudiantes hasta el reto de la gestión del tiempo. En “significado”, la construcción de relaciones resultó central para los servicios a la comunidad. Los estudiantes cultivaron fuertes relaciones personales y compromisos profundos con los residentes de la ciudad. El significado de su propia identidad creció y se desarrolló. Experimentar las raíces de la injusticia social orientó a los estudiantes a confirmar y reconsiderar su vocación y elección de vida. Palabras clave: servicio, aprendizaje a través del servicio, aprendizaje-servicio, aprendizaje comprometido con la comunidad, liderazgo estudiantil, estudiante de licenciatur

Girl Talk: A Qualitative Study of Girls Talking About The Meaning of Their Lives in an Urban Single Sex Elementary School

The suburban–urban achievement gap (diminishing until the 1980s) has stopped its narrowing trend, and single-sex schools are proliferating as a reform model, especially in urban areas. In this study researchers interviewed eight elementary school girls (in an all-girls school) three times over 2 years, and the resulting 23 transcripts were analyzed with focused and axial coding. Themes were constructed from these girls\u27 meaning-making, including the challenge of gender stereotypes, an enthusiasm about math, a vision of unlimited futures, a sense of justice and personal ethics in relationships, presence of uncertainties in their lives, their reflections on the “good” teacher, and the strong influence of family belonging. The authors draw implications from the meanings these girls make of their lived experiences to teachers\u27 understanding and classroom practice; and they also connect the themes to contemporary culture, including the field of girls\u27 studies

The Sacred and the Secular: Aligning a Marianist Mission with Professional Standards of Practice in an Educational Leadership Doctorial Program

This inquiry was conducted to explore how the characteristics of our university’s religious mission are interwoven into our educational leadership doctoral program and are manifest in the structure and learning experiences that our students encounter. We examined how these characteristics might correspond to or relate to the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards that resulted from national reform initiatives in educational leadership in the mid 1990s. We concluded that the foundations of the PhD program are built solidly on the distinctive characteristics and identity of our founders and are aligned with these professional standards as well. Implications for universities include our conclusion that when the distinctive mission of a university aligns with the professional standards of a field, more effective leadership preparation will result