A Quantitative Study of the Formation of Spiritual Leadership in Catholic School Principals in the State of Missouri

Stuckenschneider, Linda Kay

A Quantitative Study of the Formation of Spiritual Leadership in Catholic School Principals in the State of Missouri

Public Deposited

Since the 1960s there has been a drastic transition from primarily religious to primarily lay leadership of Catholic schools. This study addressed some of the concerns about the proper formation of the laity to be the spiritual leaders of Catholic schools. The five research questions focused on the perceptions of Catholic school principals regarding their preparedness for the role of spiritual leadership of the school when they initially became Catholic school principals and after they gained some experience, the qualities they considered essential to be spiritual leaders, what had ignited their desire to become spiritual leaders, how spiritual leadership was formed in them, what they needed for ongoing growth in spiritual leadership, and the methods most beneficial for them. The researcher developed an original survey, which was piloted for validity and reliability. The researcher e-mailed the survey to every Catholic school principal in the state of Missouri, and the response rate was 43%. Overall, 82% of the subjects reported perceptions of preparedness for the role of spiritual leader of the school when initially beginning their ministry as Catholic school principals, and the laity reported statistically significant more self-confidence in their readiness to be faith leaders than the religious. When initially hired as Catholic school principals, those in rural settings reported statistically significant greater perceptions of preparedness for spiritual leadership than those in urban settings. Those who had previously served as public school principals also reported statically significant higher perceptions of readiness to assume the spiritual leadership role when they were first hired as Catholic school principals. After gaining experience, 97% of the participants reported perceptions of self-confidence in their spiritual leadership of the school, and there were no statistically significant differences in perceptions of preparedness in the demographic groups. The perceived journey of formation for spiritual leadership of Catholic school principals was not straight and narrow, but multifaceted and Spirit led. The data revealed the laity of Missouri are stepping up to the challenge of spiritual leadership of Catholic schools when needed.

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