GOAL FULFILLMENT, SCHOOL CLIMATE AND JESUIT PRESENCE IN JESUIT HIGH SCHOOLS OF THE UNITED STATES

This investigation sought to determine and compare the perceptions of administrators, teachers and students in selected Jesuit high schools of the United States, with a high percentage and with a low percentage of Jesuits in the school, with respect to the fulfillment of the revised goals of Jesuit education and the organizational climate of the school. The subjects in this study included 89 administrators, 318 teachers and 378 students from 28 U. S. Jesuit high schools; 14 schools with a high and 14 schools with a low Jesuit presence. The schools with median Jesuit presence were not included in the study. Two instruments, the Fox, School Climate Profile, Part A, and the Achievement of Jesuit School Goals Questionnaire, which was developed by this investigator, provided the data essential to the investigator. Statistical techniques employed included frequencies, percentages and means, two-way analysis of variance, Pearson\u27s product moment of correlation coefficients, and the asymmetrical Lambda coefficient of relationship (0.05 level of significance). Based on the findings, these conclusions seemed justified: (1) The percent of Jesuit presence had no significant effect on the perceptions of the achievement of the goals of Jesuit education nor on the openness of the school climate. (2) Administrators perceived a significantly more open school climate, when their responses were compared to the perceptions of teachers and students. (3) There was a significant relationship between the perceptions of school climate and the openness of the school climate. Some of the major recommendations of this study were: (1) The Jesuit high schools should continue the collaboration between the Jesuits and non-Jesuits as is evidenced by the lack of significant differences between schools with a high and low Jesuit presence. (2) Administrators should consider whether they are being significantly influenced by the traditional Jesuit role of a school administrator and if this is affecting the dimension of opportunities for input in decision-making. (3) Further research should be initiated to investigate if the administrative role of Jesuits and the type of governance in the schools affect the perceptions of goal fulfillment and climate