Hiring for Mission, Religious Formation, and the Catholic Elementary School Lay Principal's Spiritual Leadership

This study examined the extent hiring for mission and personal religious formation play a role in a Catholic parochial elementary school lay principal's spiritual leadership. This study also examined the relationship between a principal's personal and professional demographics and a principal's spiritual leadership. Ciriello (1993) was used to form the spiritual leadership framework and Breslin (2000), Caruso (2002), and Murray (2011) were used to form the hiring for mission framework. The personal religious formation framework was formed using Nuzzi (2012), and Smith and Nuzzi (2007), and D'Antonio et al. (2007) and Smith and Nuzzi (2007) formed the demographic framework. The study's data was obtained from 191 Catholic parochial elementary school lay principals from randomly selected (arch) dioceses from each of the seven National Catholic Educational Association regions. Study participants completed an anonymous online 90 question survey that was created by the researcher. The survey data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlation coefficients, multiple regression, and analysis of variance. The study's major findings include: incorporating mission into the entire principal hiring process is a significant factor in the principal exhibiting spiritual leadership in the areas of faith development, building Christian community, moral and ethical development, and Catholic history and philosophy; principals who reported a strong personal religious formation manifested in faith beliefs and spiritual practices are likely to advance the school's religious mission through spiritual leadership in the areas of faith development, building Christian community, moral and ethical development, and Catholic history and philosophy; principals who take four or more theology courses in college or graduate school and/or study or major in Catholic educational leadership in college or graduate school are likely to exhibit spiritual leadership in the areas of Catholic history and philosophy and faith development. This study's information could be used by (arch) diocesan officials, pastors, and principal search committees to develop a Catholic parochial elementary school lay principal hiring process that will support hiring principals who are prepared to serve as the school's spiritual leader.