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

Abstract

Focus [groups conducted with .students, parents, teachers, and alumni (J\/=54()) 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 mectning i^iven hy both parents and teachers, students and alumni articulated a meanini^ replete with itnages 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 the mission und the meaning of life in these schools is discussed. V ery few large studies of Catholic high schools have been conducted. In 1993 Bryk, Lee, and Holland published their well-recognized study of seven Catholic high schools. Catholic Schools and the Common Good. Coleman, Hoffer, and Kilgore (1982) and Greeley (1982) also published national studies of Catholic high schools. Less well-known quantitative studies, such as Gamoran's 1988 comparative study of achievement among public magnet schools. Catholic schools, and private schools, also exist. For the most part these studies were attempts to examine learning outcomes among Catholic school students in comparison to students in public schools.

An Analysis of School Culture from the Symbolic Perspective: An Ethnographic Study

“…Besides there are some qualitative studies analyzing school culture in a holistic way (Aslan, Özer & Bakır-Ağıroğlu, 2009;Ajaheb-Jahangeer & Jahangeer, 2004;Brady, 2008;Cravey, 2013;Kent, 2006;Negiş-Işık, 2010;Ridenour, Demmitt & Lindsey-North, 1999;Silman, Özmatyatlı, Birol & Çağlar, 2012;Şahin, Silman & Özenli, 2009). There are also some studies focusing physical, verbal or functional symbols such as organizational stories (Çelik, 2004), language (Abawi, 2013) in analyzing school culture.…”

Urban Catholic High Schools and Disadvantaged Females

“…Catholic high schools meet academic needs by providing (a) strict academic structure (Bryk, Lee, & Holland, 1993); (b) an emphasis on high academic achievement (O'Keefe & Murphy, 2000); (c) curriculum content that refl ects the culture of students (Kelly-Stiles, 1999); (d) sensitivity to differences in learning styles (Russo, Adams, & Seery, 1998); and (e) support and encouragement from teachers (Bempechat, 1998;Bryk et al, 1993;Ridenour, Demmitt, & Lindsey-North, 1999). Bempechat (1998) found that Catholic school teachers "focused on establishing appropriately high expectations for their students, holding each to a high standard, and providing the academic support that [would] enable students to meet the school's standards" (p. 56).…”

“…Catholic school teachers perform many roles in the school-instructor, coach, counselor, advocate-and describe their work as ministry (Bryk et al, 1993;Ridenour et al, 1999), suggesting that teachers view themselves as more than instructors of a specifi c subject. Teachers are also concerned with the kind of person each student will become, resulting in teachers seeing themselves as role models to their students (Bryk et al, 1993;Ridenour et al, 1999). In addition, Catholic school teachers receive lower salaries than public school teachers.…”