A study of the relationships among leadership, culture, and student achievement in Catholic schools

This study explores the relationship among leadership style, school work culture, and student achievement in Catholic elementary schools. The relationships (a) between the leader style and student achievement, (b) between the school's work culture and student achievement, and (c) among leaders' styles, school work culture, student achievement and contextual factors were explored. A descriptive design, primarily quantitative and correlational in nature, was employed. The sample population was drawn from 57 Catholic elementary schools and includes principals and third- and fourth-grade teachers within these schools. Data were collected through two questionnaire-type surveys: The Leadership Orientation Instruments (self and other) and archival student achievement data. Data analysis identified significant relations among the variables and reported predictive patterns for effective relationships among leadership, culture, and student achievement. Five major relationships were supported through the analysis: (1) Self-reported leadership style did not have a direct relationship to fourth-grade students' reading achievement scores for Fall 2002 and Fall 2003. (2) Leadership style judged by followers demonstrated a significant relationship with fourth-grade students' reading achievement scores for Fall 2002 and Fall 2003. (3) A significant relationship was found between school work culture and students' reading achievement scores for Fall 2002 and Fall 2003. (4) Leadership style and school work culture combined were directly related to fourth-grade students' reading achievement scores for Fall 2002, but not for Fall 2003. (5) The relationship between the combination of leadership style, school work culture, and students' reading achievement scores was not moderated by socioeconomic status or school size or class size and socioeconomic status combined.;It was concluded that school leadership had an indirect effect on student achievement in parochial schools in Florida. Furthermore, school work culture (school planning, program development, staff development, and assessment) directly impacted student achievement. The contextual variables of socioeconomic status and school size combined did not moderate the relationship among leadership style, school work culture and fourth-grade students' reading achievement scores.