An examination of parent perceptions of the quality of school practices and their relationship to parent support for the school

This research examined parent perceptions of: (a) the level of quality of 14 dimensions of educational practice employed by the school their children attend, (b) the level of school quality, (c) the level of parent support for the school, and (d) the likelihood of parents providing specific types of support for the school. Also examined was the relationship between attendance level, gender, family status, and income and parent perceptions of the quality of the school and their support for the school; and the relationship between the quality of 14 dimensions of educational practice and school support;Forty-two schools from two states and 12 school districts, including twenty-five elementary schools, seven middle level schools, seven high schools, and three multi-level schools provided the data for the study. Most schools (28) were from rural and small to mid-size towns in Iowa, eight were from a wealthy suburban area in Iowa, one school was from a middle class suburban district in Iowa. The remaining five schools were from a mid-size city in Colorado;The instrument used to collect the data was developed by the researcher. Specific dimensions of educational practice and school support examined in the study were: (a) school climate, (b) communication, (c) accessibility, (d) responsiveness, (e) parent involvement, (f) monitoring and assessment, (g) student equity, (h) physical environment, (i) school program, (j) curriculum, (k) support services, (l) student activities/athletics, (m) teacher behavior, (n) leadership, (o) moral support, (p) financial support, and (q) support through participation;The analysis revealed parents generally feel positive about the quality of specific school practices and the overall quality of their children\u27s school. Parents indicate a strong level of support for the school and are likely to provide moral support, financial support, and support for the school through their participation. Analysis of variance and the Scheffe post hoc test for complex comparisons revealed attendance level, gender, family status, and income are related to parent perceptions of the quality of selected school practices and their support for the school. In addition, stepwise multiple regression revealed communication, support services, and accessibility account for over 60% of the variance in parent support for the school

Not Peace But the Sword: Violence in Contemporary American Catholic Literature

In this dissertation, I argue that violence is a consistent theme in contemporary (post-1945) fiction written by American Catholics, and that these authors employ violence as an aesthetic strategy that is best, and perhaps only, understood when approached through the philosophical and imaginative discourses of their Catholic faith. While the violence in contemporary fictions can be viewed as a product of the power dynamics at work in the modern age, I contend that these power dynamics are not a central concern for Catholic authors. Rather, in Catholic fiction, violence functions as a catalyst that leads characters toward a moment of insight or self-reflection, which is often tied to the notion of an existential encounter with the transcendent. The violence in this fiction is also an integral part of the aesthetic strategy employed by the author to shape the reader\u27s experience of the work. Drawing on the literary theories of Paul Ricoeur and William Lynch, I demonstrate that Catholic authors use violence in order to unsettle their audience and force their readers to ask questions about the ontological nature of existence. In addition, I investigate the ways in which Vatican II altered the Catholic literary imagination; through an examination of fictions written before and after the council I demonstrate that as Catholic authors enact the `turn toward the world\u27 depictions of faith within their fiction become increasingly ambiguous. Despite these ambiguities, contemporary Catholic literature continues to manifest a sacramental worldview that recognizes the challenges, and rewards, of a life of faith in a secular age. I discuss the work of Flannery O\u27Connor, Walker Percy, Tim Gautreaux, Alice McDermott, Annie Dillard, David Foster Wallace, and Christopher Beha