EFFECTIVE CATHOLIC SCHOOLING: AN ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS

The primary purpose of this study was to identify the organizational characteristics of Catholic schools that discriminated the highly effective schools from the effective schools. Catholic school effectiveness included both religious atmosphere and academic performance. The secondary purpose of this study was to determine and compare the perceptions of groups within the Catholic educational community regarding the religious atmosphere of their Catholic schools. The materials used in the study were (a) Likert\u27s Profile of a School which was adapted for this study, (b) Religious Atmosphere Questionnaire which was a combination of Fox\u27s School Climate Profile and Liguori\u27s Religious Dimension section of the Catholic School Questionnaire, and (c) reports from the diocesan testing program which included actual achievement scores and anticipated achievement scores from the California Achievement Tests as interrelated to The Short Form Test of Academic Ability. Discriminant analysis was used to find the organizational characteristics that best discriminated the highly effective schools from the effective schools. The bases for discrimination were the casual and intervening variables that Likert\u27s research demonstrated are important in determining the organizational performance of schools. The major findings of the study were (1) Team cooperation, decision making, and the principal\u27s administrative style were the causal variables that discriminated the highly effective schools from the effective schools. (2) Goal emphasis, students\u27 influence, teachers\u27 support to others, and communication with students were the intervening variables that discriminated the highly effective schools from the effective schools. (3) The organizational system operative in highly effective schools was a consultative-participative model of organization while the organizational system operative in effective schools was less a consultative model. (4) In highly effective schools, a strong correlation existed between principal and teacher perceptions of the organization of the school that did not exist in effective schools. (5) Statistically significant mean differences were found between groups in the Catholic educational community regarding perceptions of religious atmosphere. The means of the group responses ranked from highest to lowest were principals, clergy, parents, teachers, and students. (6) Generally religious affiliation did not influence perceptions of religious atmosphere. (7) Church attendance did influence student but not adult perceptions of religious atmosphere. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.