Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Religious Leadership'

Although typically not responsible for leadership decision-making that impacts the spiritual growth of the entire organization, youth ministers play a vital leadership role in congregational health as leaders of smaller communities within greater communities of faith. This leadership role is threatened by numerous challenges facing youth ministers of all denominations. Specific to this study, the vital role of youth ministry in Churches of Christ is threatened by high turnover rates of those within the profession. The purpose of this study was to determine leadership practices and strategies that are employed by long tenured youth ministers in Churches of Christ, identify the challenges those youth ministers have faced in implementing leadership practices, discover how they measure successful youth ministry leadership strategies and practices and ascertain their recommendations for implementing leadership strategies and practices within their profession.

Data were collected from 15 full time youth ministers in Churches of Christ from throughout the United States. The qualitative, phenomenological study utilized a 12-question semi-structured interview format to gather the lived experience of subjects. Key study findings identified 70 themes that answered four research questions. Specifically, self-awareness was the top trait study participants used to describe themselves as leaders. Additionally, participants identified creating an others-focused environment as the top strategy or practice as a contributor to long tenure at the same church. The findings of this study have substantive implications for men and women considering youth ministry as a career or calling, and for institutions of learning that train those preparing for the youth ministry profession.

The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the question: What would constitute an effective strategy for training and developing holistic small group leaders, specifically at Renaissance Community Church? To begin the process of answering this question the author identified four specific steps that were necessary to assist in the development of holistic small group leaders at RCC.

Prior to the project design, the author, working with Dr. Bobby Hill of Hill Consulting, and using the NCD assessment tools, discovered that small groups were the minimum factor. It was at that point that RCC began transitioning from a church with small groups to a church of small groups.

This led to the first step of the ministry project, which involved recruiting twelve potential leaders and administering a pre-test designed to gauge the participant’s current level of understanding and confidence to explain the following concepts: understanding God’s purpose for small groups, understanding a leader’s personal development, understanding and developing new leaders, understanding the dynamics of spiritual development, leading small group meetings, comprehending group progress, understanding the role of a shepherd, and with these competencies impact their world.

For the second step, using a Modeling/Turbo group model, the author developed an eight-week small group setting using the Leading Life-Changing with Small Groups as the leadership curriculum for the twelve participants. The author then used a post-test to measure the participants’ development in their abilities to explain and implement the material.

The third step consisted of the turbo launch in which the participants led six groups for eight weeks using the material ReGroup: Training Groups to be Groups, specifically designed by the author in order for the participants to implement their new skills.

This eight-week process ended with the fourth step, an exit interview with questions (see Appendix F) designed to measure the qualitative efficacy of the Leading Life-Changing with Small Groups training program. The participants’ showed signs of significant increase in both the understanding of the material during the eight week modeling/turbo group.

The purpose of this study was to determine how pastors of autonomous church congregations of 1,000 members or more describe the impact of biblical principles on their leadership in the areas of visionary leadership, communication, problem solving and decision making, personal/interpersonal skills, character/integrity, collaboration, creativity and sustained innovation, diversity, team building, and political intelligence. In this study, qualitative research methods that included interviewing pastors were used. Interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed, analyzed, and coded for the purposes of comparison to the Transformational Leadership Skills Inventory (TLSi). The study produced data that showed alignment to pastor leadership traits and transformational leadership skills as measured by the TLSi. Results from the study can be used for training and curriculum in transformational leadership for pastors, as a tool for selecting and monitoring pastors, and to create church action plans that align to transformational leadership principles.

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand and describe key factors contributing to the success of Taiwanese women leaders in the predominantly male context of contemporary churches in Taiwan. Participants included five effective female senior pastors and fourteen followers from these leaders' churches. Data were collected using in-depth, semi-structured interviews and participant observations. Data analysis yielded six major leadership characteristics in three dimensions: (a) Interactive dimension—spiritual leadership, relational leadership, team-building leadership, (b) Task dimension—organizational leadership, productive leadership, and (c) Change dimension—visionary leadership.

There is no rigid, linear, step-by-step progressive relationship among the six characteristics; rather, the linkage is reciprocal. Further, despite individual differences, all six major leadership characteristics were present in all leader participants. Also, while all leaders clearly saw spiritual leadership as the most essential, all the qualities were deemed important.

The transition from a usually autocratic to generally participative style of leadership has been a process full of frustration, anxiety, and concerns for Nigerian immigrant pastors in The Apostolic Church (TAC) North America. These pastors have brought the values, concepts, practices, and behavior which they learned in Nigeria to lead the American church, but their inability to identify differences between the two cultures and make the necessary changes for easy adaptation has often led to conflict and power struggle between church authorities, pastors, and members in TAC North America. Thus, this study examined how Nigerian pastors in TAC North America are adapting the leadership style they learned in Nigeria to the North American context.

The study used the mixed method approach and data was gathered through self-reported questionnaires and semi-structured in-depth interviews. A purposeful sampling method was used in conjunction with snowball sampling. Ten churches with congregations of 100 and above were purposefully selected. The participants included the pastor, an elder, and a member. A total of three participants from each church representing an overall total of thirty participants contributed to the study. The self-report questionnaires provided information on the demographic characteristics of the respondents as well as their cultural dimension and perception of leadership style. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were also used to provide a more thorough understanding of the pastor’s life history, experiences, and leadership styles.

The results obtained showed that most of the participants scored low on power distance, but scored high on uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, and long-term orientation. On the perceived leadership behavior scale, a greater number of the elders and members perceived their pastor’s behavior as being high on Instrumental Leadership (IL), supportive leadership (SL), and participative leadership (PL). The pastors interviewed expressed some of their frustrations which includes their accents preventing them from reaching out to people who are not Africans, lack of funds to finance church projects, seemingly lack of respect for pastors as well as the congregation’s lack of commitment, and poor attendance to church services. Some doctrinal challenges include men and women sitting together in church, women not covering their hair and wearing pants/trousers to church, allowing unmarried couples to partake in holy communion and even be ordained as church officers, and tithes and offering were concerns for the pastors.

Despite all the hindrances and challenges, the pastors expressed their determination to fulfill their calling and in their efforts to adapt and accept the democratic and participatory style of leadership, as opposed to the generally hierarchical and autocratic approach used in TAC Nigeria. Nigerian pastors in TAC North America and the executives in Nigeria need to examine these challenges and formulate better policies for sending and supporting missionary pastors in TAC North America.

The purpose of this quantitative multiple regression study was to examine the relationship between per capita giving and church size, annual stewardship emphasis, stewardship training, offering envelope distribution method, time of receiving offering, frequency of distributing contribution statements, membership orientation, and electronic options of giving among churches affiliated with the Baptist Missionary Association (BMA) of America. Through a simple random sample, 600 BMA of America churches were chosen to participate in the study. Data collection involved a survey instrument validated through an expert panel and pilot study. The data was analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The study found none of the independent variables to be statistically significant predictors of per capita giving, R² = .06, F(8, 164) = 1.33, p = .234. Through an exploratory measure, the researcher replaced per capita giving with total undesignated receipts. The church size variable was omitted due to high correlation with the criterion variable. The exploratory measure testing the relationship between total undesignated receipts and the seven congregational practices resulted in a valid regression model, R² = .34, F(7, 163) = 11.71, p < .005. Individual predictors that were statistically significant included stewardship training, offering envelope distribution method, and frequency of distributing contribution statements. Three primary conclusions evolved from the study. First, per capita giving is not a good standard of measurement when comparing across churches. Second, there is a relationship between congregational stewardship practices and increased income. Third, unidentified factors beyond stewardship practices serve as a major impetus to giving among members of BMA of America churches.

Keywords: Baptist, determinants, giving, leadership, stewardship.

The purpose of the current study was to understand the ways that heads of evangelical Christian schools exercise pastoral leadership in order to enrich the culture and community of their schools, promote student outcomes, and enhance the Christian ethos of their institutions. The current study filled the gap in previous literature through a qualitative multiple case study method examining and describing the means and modes by which three heads of evangelical Christian schools led their school communities, as perceived by the heads, board members, senior leaders, faculty members, students, and parents within the school. What emerged from the research is that the heads provided pastoral leadership for their schools through: (a) proclaiming God’s word–communicating the mission, vision, and values of the school’s distinctively-Christian character to the community, living those values incarnationally, and connecting Scripture to the daily context of the school; (b) demonstrating genuine pastoral soul care and concern for staff, students, and parents, care that connected school family members with the school and allowed them to internalize and reflect school values themselves; and, (c) equipping senior leaders, faculty, students, and parents to serve the school community and each other, stewarding the resources of the school. The heads’ pastoral leadership created cultures of authentic Christian care and community, flourishing climates in which faculty felt free to collaborate, work as a team, and share craft knowledge. Students felt cared for and safe to take academic risks, ask questions, and try harder, all of which provided healthy media for learning. Keywords: pastoral leadership, head of school, evangelical Christian school, Christian educational leadership, pastoral care.

Personal observations and anecdotal accounts attest that some of the young people in U.S. Latino churches are developing as leaders within their congregations. This seems to come as a result of the organic or less-formalized leadership development dynamics and practices present within Latino congregations, where leaders often develop by being actively involved in leadership actions without necessarily first following a curriculum of study, completing a training program, or fulfilling a set of theological education requirements. In this way, many are acquiring roles and responsibilities by which they actively contribute towards local congregational and community life, and by which they develop as leaders through hands-on experiences. This less formalized leadership development dynamic in Latino congregations has yet to be empirically studied, as a means to further understand and learn from this unique characteristic that can be helpful to the church at large in our search for how to develop the next generation of leaders. Thus, there is a need to identify, describe, and empirically analyze some of the specific phenomena involved in these observed dynamics within Latino congregations that seem to be contributing towards youths’ leadership development.

Method: Therefore, this descriptive and explanatory ex post facto study examined key congregational practices within Latino churches and the level of participation young people have in these as a means of analyzing the association of both with leadership development. The study drew on existing data collected through the Chicago Latino Congregational Study – Youth Survey (CLCS–YS) of 63 randomly sampled Latino congregations in different Christian denominations: Catholic, Evangelical, Mainline, and Pentecostal. The sample population consisted of 307 Latino youth ages 13 to 19.

After examining the 104 questionnaire items of the CLCS–YS for applicability, 23 were selected to analyze youth’s religious participation, social service involvement, and engagement in leadership tasks, while controlling for demographic characteristics. Aspects of Positive Youth Development (PYD) theory pertaining to youth leadership development provided a means to select and create the variables studied, which were derived from socioreligious descriptions of Latino congregations that are linked to the aforementioned organic leadership dynamics.

Results: The data analysis revealed that youth in Chicago Latino congregations have a high aggregate score for both Religious Participation and Engagement in Leadership Tasks, and both scores increase with their age. Although their aggregate score for Social Service Involvement was found to be low, the frequencies of the reported habits, actions, and behaviors regarding Social Service Involvement indicate that a high percentage of youth are involved in volunteering or social service in and out of their local congregation. A significant relationship was also found between youths’ level of Religious Participation and their level of Social Service Involvement and Engagement in Leadership Tasks, with both scores increasing as their scores in Religious Participation increased.

The results of the individual survey frequencies served to create a contextual description of socioreligious phenomena present in Chicago Latino congregations, as well as a wider reference into the religious habits of Latino youth. The findings support the observations and anecdotal accounts regarding the level of engagement youth have with organic dynamics for leadership development in Latino congregations. Based on PYD theory, the study also provided a proposed set of variables and measurements by which to approach future studies on this topic. Youth congregants are involved in hands-on experiences such as social service projects and exercising leaderships tasks, and they are also engaging very frequently with their supportive religious community. These are all characteristics of ecological contributing contexts which PYD postulates can potentially contribute towards the leadership development of youth, and their continued contribution as leaders in adulthood (Avolio & Vogelgesang, 2011; Murphy & Reichard, 2011).

With the many challenges that Chinese American churches are facing, together with the ever-changing needs of their members, Chinese American churches need to look for ways to nurture their members and to develop them into mature leaders. This thesis project is designed to explore the leadership development strategies of selected Chinese churches in North America that have demonstrated certain effectiveness and success in developing leaders, in hopes of discovering some common effective leadership development strategies. This author has interviewed eleven large Chinese American churches, with Sunday attendance ranging from 500 to 2600, regarding the strategies they use and the challenges they face in developing leaders. Using qualitative analysis, this author has discovered some common principles that have been used by these churches to develop leaders and has formulated some practical pointers that may be applicable to other Chinese American churches and beyond.

The findings reveal that faith and character development precedes skill training. Likewise, Christ-like character, spiritual maturity, and a willingness to serve are more important than a person's natural abilities and talents. In addition, the pastoral staff should be highly involved in designing and executing the leadership development programs. Moreover, the church should create a learning atmosphere by publicizing and offering life-relevant and need-based trainings through classrooms, small groups, or other venues. Outside resources such as guest speakers, seminars and conferences should also be utilized. Furthermore, opportunities should be provided for lay people to participate in service with the help of on-the-job training and ongoing support.

There is an abundance of research concerning diversity issues in American classrooms. However, researchers have not provided enough attention to religious goals of Muslim parents and their experiences with educational institutions. For this qualitative study, the researcher interviewed 15 Muslim parents, eight females and seven males, to explore how participants’ experiences and expectations influence the way they negotiate their religious needs with schools/preschool in Southern California. The results showed that cooperation and negotiations were key strategies adopted by Muslim parents to maintain relationships with educational organizations. Schools accommodated religious practices when requested and parents negotiated their needs when necessary. Findings also showed that participants connected the school’s role with academic learning and that teachers lacked accurate knowledge of Islam. There was a sense of restraint among participants. Participants did not want to share the name of their child’s school/preschool or materials shared by the school.

The purpose of this exploratory research study was to investigate leadership experiences of teacher leaders in American PK-12 Christian schools. An overarching research question guided the study: How do principal-identified teacher leaders in PK-12 faith-based Christian schools experience leadership in a distributed leadership environment, as told from the teacher leaders' perspectives? As researcher, I chose a distributed leadership practice conceptual framework as the lens for the research study. The literature review focused on three areas: (a) Christian school structure and culture, (b) teacher leaders, and (c) distributed leadership. The research design consisted of purposeful sampling using semistructured interviews and a constructivist epistemology (Merriam, 2009). The research study involved 24 participants from PK-12 American Christian schools; 16 were principal-identified teacher leaders and 8 were heads of school or principals. Through the data analysis, six intangible themes emerged from the teacher leaders that proved to be central tenets of the research. The emergent themes constituted (a) an unconditional love for the school community, (b) a global school perspective, (c) an influencer, (d) a leader by example, (e) a mentor to other teachers, and (f) a desire to improve their schools. Then, using a comparative analysis, four themes emerged from the heads of school and principals. The themes converged with those of the teacher leaders, with two exceptions. First, a dichotomy occurred in the definition of teacher leader among the teacher leader participants; respectively, this dichotomy occurred between the teacher leader participants and the heads of school and principal participants. Second, with regard to human capital, a talent management and leadership succession theme for identifying and developing teacher leaders emerged from the heads of school and principals. Interestingly, the data analysis revealed that the study's findings have implications for PK-12 public and private schools in theory, practice, and policy.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to provide insight to the perspectives of leaders and individuals in authority within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles system of Catholic parochial schools regarding current models of governance, levels of authority, and decision-making processes. There is a lack of clearly-defined levels of decision-making authority from the bishops to the Archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools down to the individual schools.

The pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel shared their perspectives of current governance structures and elements of three emerging alternative governance models. Data were analyzed through a factor analysis of the survey items to explore the strength of the three categories of the governance models represented by the three groups of questions. Next, the descriptive statistics of the specific questions relating to each of the three governance models and community voice were compiled. A Cronbach's alpha was calculated for each group of questions to measure internal consistency.

In order to explore relationships between perceptions among the three independent variable groups (pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel), a Chi-square analysis was run for each of the questions on an ordinal scale.

The study showed significant differences in participant responses between the three groups surveyed. However, there was agreement that community voice must be incorporated into governance, but only in a consultative manner. There was also agreement that a strong governing presence at the central office would be beneficial.

As Christian faith-based institutions of higher education strive to uphold Christian values, there is a need to be intentional in identifying and developing future leaders. This study was viewed through the lens that women are underrepresented in senior-level positions in Christian institutions, they have unique leadership attributes to offer, and learning more from their lived experiences might increase the number of women in senior-level roles in Christian institutions of higher education.

This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological research design. The researcher interviewed 8 Christian women leaders who serve as Deans in institutions that are full members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The interviews were conducted face-to- face and virtually using a semi-structured interview protocol comprising of 11 questions. The questions explored the lived experiences and perceptions of these Christian women leaders.

Three conclusions resulted from this study. First, prayer, study, and meditation were the most influential of the 12 spiritual disciplines. Second, spiritual disciplines may have a transformative effect on the character and leadership practices of women leaders in Christian higher education. Third, faith was integrated into the identity and daily practices of these Christian women leaders.

The researcher recommended that Christian women leaders in higher education must prioritize, or “make time,” for regular practice of the spiritual disciplines, particularly prayer, study, and meditation. The practice of spiritual disciplines, or the Christian way of life, should be incorporated into professional development and mentorship opportunities for Christian women leaders.

As the continuous search for educational alternatives in Philadelphia intensifies, one only has to look at the current landscape, our surrounding communities, and fiscal pressures to appreciate the need for better alternatives to our public system. This study examines one such “alternative,” though long-standing education model, Philadelphia’s Catholic schools. Within these schools, perhaps we have leaders and a system that may be positioned to play an even greater role in providing a set of experiences that may impact the later life pathways of graduates, potentially predisposing them to community or civic service interests in their adult lives. I have completed an analysis of recollections of Catholic high school graduates across multiple graduation eras and collected insights from their narratives, to help illuminate those potential connection points. Further, unlike many previous longitudinal and correlational studies, in both Catholic and secular schools, I have conducted qualitative research to map earlier student experiences to current-day life practices and dispositions. Through surveys, one-on-one interviews and a focus group with graduates of Philadelphia’s area high schools, I am surfacing findings to determine if graduates are embracing certain values from their experiences and whether and how this may have helped shaped their civic and community interests years later.

Church affiliated Human Service Organizations (CAHSOs) are drastically understudied.Consequently, the experience of their executive leaders is understudied. Information on CAHSOs and the experience of their executive leaders is often blended into general faith-based organizational research. Yet, CAHSOs play a vital role in the United States and abroad. CAHSOs are responsible for the social welfare of millions of indigent people in suffering communities. These organizations provide housing to the homeless, food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and educational programing to at-risk youth, among many other things. These organizations, however, only function because of the expertise and work of executive leaders.

This research study used the phenomenological qualitative research method to interview executive leaders in CAHSOs. The goal of this research was to determine the challenges executive leaders face within CAHSOs and the strategies they use to overcome these challenges while gauging their definitions of success and documenting the advice these executive leaders have for others in their field. The analysis revealed various challenges including lack of financial, human, and real estate resources; unqualified staff; stressful work expectations; and strained relationships. Their strategies included measuring successes, building external networks, and leveraging religious practices. Executive leaders defined themselves by organizational performance and money. They encouraged other executives to leverage general business practices while evaluating their motives for working as an executive leader within a CAHSO. Generally, the results of this research offer insight into the challenges and celebrations of executive leaders of CAHSOs.

This grounded theory study explored the experiences of lay faculty, administration and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) to capture how the spirit of the CSJ continues in the organizational culture of their sponsored secondary schools. Since 1950, CSJ in the Los Angeles Province, have experienced a very similar decline as other orders of religious across the United States. In order to preserve the culture and history of the CSJ in their sponsored secondary schools, the researcher conducted twenty semi-structured interviews to capture the lived experiences of those currently serving, and those who have served, on the four secondary school campuses.

Utilizing the literature on preserving organizational culture from Edgar Schien, and Lee Bolman and Terrance Deal, the research seemed to conclude that this charism has been preserved even through transitions to lay leadership. A series of seven distinct themes emerged indicating that a CSJ school: consistently incorporates the gospel values into all aspects of the school community; seeks out opportunities to model service to the dear neighbor in how faculty, staff and students serve one another, and in turn impact the broader community; serves a diverse population of students and intentionally creates a culture of unity and support, and a sense of belonging, to cultivate a community of acceptance, love and sisterhood; fosters an environment of excellence through the intentional actions of teachers and leaders to be capacity builders, assisting all young women to become all of “which woman is capable”; recognizes the essential role that leadership plays in fostering a gospel-driven, nurturing environment, evidenced in the faculty, staff and sisters as models; is marked by a spirit of joy and fun that is tangibly felt among the students, the faculty and staff, and throughout the entire school community, and recognizes the challenges with living out the gospel values and being called to building a spirit of unity and love.

The results of the study suggest that the organizational school culture has been able to preserve the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, echoing their foundational spirituality dating back to 1650 Le Puy, France.

This study investigated leadership emergence and growth from the perspective of a purposeful criterion sample of Evangelical pastors in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Their description of their stories regarding how they emerged as leaders and how they grew as leaders was the primary source of data acquired through semi-structured interviews.

There is a need for greater clarify regarding the processes by which a person emerges and comes to embody the virtues and attributes needed for leadership. Leadership is culturally contingent, but there is a lack of specificity in understanding how the Latin American culture influences leadership emergence and growth.

Three research questions guided this study: (1) How do Evangelical pastors describe how they emerged as leaders?; (2) How do Evangelical pastors describe how they grew as leaders?; (3) What Latin American cultural elements can be observed in the Evangelical pastors' descriptions of how they emerged and grew as leaders?

The literature discussed caudillismo, a prototype of leadership in Latin America, which includes elements of high-power distance, machismo, and paternalism.

Using snowball sampling, twenty-five pastors were chosen and the interview data revealed twelve processes by which these pastors emerged as leaders. For instance, the accompaniment of others was key as was having firsthand experiences in ministry, which moved them to compassionate, on-going action. They emerged because someone saw something in them, named it and opened up spaces (opportunities) for "acts of leadership." Contrary to expectations, training played almost no role in emergence but did in leadership growth.

Seven processes were identified that promoted their growth, like being self-taught, sharing interdenominationally, and keeping an open mind. Six cultural dimensions were observed as having a direct influence (both positive and negative) on leadership emergence and growth: (1) High tolerance for uncertainty; (2) Diffuse culture; (3) Image of limited good; (4) Caudillismo; (5) Ascribed status; (6) Self-effacing (modesty).

This study meets the need for academic inquiry on leadership in Latin America, in Spanish, in the hope that it stimulates Latin Americans to analyze their own leadership, and informs expatriates who serve Latin Americans how to better participate with God in helping leaders emerge and grow.

This mixed methods research investigated how young adult alumnae from a Catholic female high school perceive the impact of their high school service experience concerning their "beliefs" about the importance of service, current "engagement" in service, and their beliefs about and engagement with four Catholic Social Teaching principles (life and dignity, care for the poor, solidarity and common good, and rights and responsibilities) related to social justice.

This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview (n=9), and school documents review. Catholic theology of the human person, and Catholic social teaching principles served as the conceptual framework for data analysis.

The quantitative data revealed that Catholic high school service program experience positively impacts participants' "beliefs" about the importance of service (65%), and the importance of four Catholic social teaching principles (73%). The qualitative data corroborates with the quantitative findings. However, participants lacked translating their beliefs in to action with only 42% reporting as "engaged" in service. Although a majority of participants (60%) reported as engaged in activities related to four CST principles, in reality only 25% are significantly engaged in service in the past 12 months. Catholic educators are invited to examine their service pedagogy and address factors that contribute to low level of service engagement. Further research is suggested to identify factors that would raise the level of service engagement in alumnae's young adult life.

The purpose of this study was to explore personal and organizational values, their influence and alignment, in the ethical decision-making of Catholic school principals. Semi-structured interviews allowed the 12 participants to explore personal and school values, areas of congruence and dissonance, methods for resolving dissonance, the process of values alignment, and the influence of the Catholic school culture. Site observations and analyses of mission statements provided insight as to community values for each of the participating schools.

The review of the literature yielded a means by which to connect values of the principal with those of the school community. The individual level examined the formation of the school leader through personal values, professional preparation programs, and ongoing self-reflection. The communal level analyzed the nature of school culture, namely the Catholic school framework, and how community members perceived their organizational climate. The process of ethical decision-making through multiple paradigms formed the active connection relating individual and communal value sets.

The conceptual framework depicted the aforementioned values relationship. Values alignment and values congruence formed the theoretical framework, exploring how to bring personal and organizational values into alignment and the resulting congruence or dissonance between them. Although prevalent in the business sector, this study’s application of the theory in education suggested ramifications for decision-making, job satisfaction, and professional success.

Findings showed salient values across participant responses, observations, and documents and highlighted concepts of organizational fit, prayer as process of reflection, and individual versus communal goods. Further, values awareness and values negotiation were found to be layers in the dynamic process of alignment by which an appreciation of pre-existing stakeholder values could be brought to bear in discerning potential success or failure of change through ethical decision-making. The Catholic school culture, consisting of a seemingly unified values framework, provided a common sense of mission, vernacular, and expression through artifacts and décor. Recommendations were posited for “match” programs that could connect aspiring principals with schools of similar values. Delving more deeply into values awareness and negotiation by further examining principal motive and collecting broader stakeholder feedback could stimulate additional research.