Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Don Jones

Abstract

Current administrators at a Northeast metropolitan area Catholic school have not formally identified the needs that support leadership development for their future and novice administrators. Compounding this problem, an increasing number of Catholic school lay administrators are taking on leadership roles traditionally held by members of religious communities whose membership is steadily declining within the United States. This case study examined the experiences of current administrators to identify leadership development needs for novice and future administrators at a Catholic secondary school. The study's framework was derived from the concepts of leadership succession planning and mentoring. A purposeful sample of 10 current lay administrators at a Catholic secondary school was used to provide interview data in response to standardized questions designed to elicit their perceptions. An inductive approach was used to analyze the data through the identification and coding of common themes that emerged from the range of participant responses. The findings demonstrated that active leadership planning, purposeful mentoring, and prioritizing the continuity of religious identity were critical needs for the development of novice and future administrators at the particular metropolitan Catholic school in question. The findings may be used to codify the leadership development process at the research site and to provide a model for other Catholic secondary schools to develop administrator preparation programs that address common leadership requirements for the future.

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