The purpose of this qualitative study is to expound upon the research conducted by R.L Brown (2004), W. Dygert (2000), J.T. James (2009), M. Daniels (2013) and B. Regan (2015). Their focus was to look carefully at the President-Principal Model (PPM) in order to better understand the efficacy of introducing this administrative team structure to…

On average 66% of high school graduates in the United States enroll in some form of post-secondary education after high school graduation. However, less than half of students sitting for the ACT in 2019 were deemed college ready in evidence-based reading, writing and math and as many of two thirds of first year college students enroll in at least…

Over the past five years, the national average college persistence rate for low-income students was 16%. Compared to the national rate of 60%, this number presents a significant gap in college persistence rates between low-income and the overall persistence rate. However, the college persistence rate for low-income students from Cristo Rey Boston…

Our intent was understanding the impact of spirituality on student resilience among race/ethnicity groups within the context of a parochial education. Students with high levels of resilience in high school and college settings experience academic persistence and school completion (Eisenberg, Lipson & Posselt, in New Directions for Student…

This qualitative follow up study sought the impressions of students after a two year program. The analysis of this data involved grounded theory qualitative methods. The primary means of data collection for the qualitative portion of this study was through digitally-recording and transcribing of participants' voices in response to individual…

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting quarantines around the globe have required social justice educators to respond to the unprecedented challenges and the needs of the communities they serve more than ever before. This article explores how educators in a Catholic University conducted community-based justice work in response to the challenges of…

This mixed-method study examined the impact of the implementation of a new multi-tiered intervention program at a private, Catholic, college preparatory high school in the Midwestern United States with a 95% Latinx population. The researchers examined the impacts of a multitiered system of support (MTSS) on various student academic achievement…

Historically, low-income Catholic secondary schools have provided opportunities for underrepresented students to receive quality education and matriculate to community college and four-year universities. This trend continues today, yet for schools like one in this study who identify as college preparatory schools, what happens to students once…

While the preference for university by school leavers has been researched extensively, this article seeks to explore if religious influence might also come to play when selecting a university, with particular reference to Australia, a country whose higher education environment is largely made up of public, secular universities. The data used is…

This study explored the mathematics course placement process for incoming students in an all-boys Catholic high school. The sequential nature of mathematics significantly impacts students' opportunity to learn; moreover, the mathematics course taken by a student during ninth grade can have far-reaching effects. Previous studies have found that…

This ethnographic study of an urban Catholic high school examines its college culture, particular in regard to the Catholic School Advantage (CSA). We collected and critically analyzed multiple forms of data (archival, interviews, observations) at St. Peters High School (SPH) and its adjoining parish. We found a caring and holistic approach to…

Private high schools are often viewed as bastions of scholastic and social opportunities, but the cost of tuition has rendered these sites predominantly white and more segregated than public schools. However, with the ability to recruit, Black boys have become prime targets of predominantly white private Catholic high schools seeking promising…

Teaching sensitive histories in post-conflict societies makes particular demands on educators to understand students' identities and their relationships to the past. This paper expands our understanding of post-conflict youth identities and experiences of history education through a small-scale study of students' life stories in Northern Ireland…

This qualitative case study identifies the systemic and explicit barriers that impede the progression from high school to college for first-generation college students (FGCS) at a Small Catholic Secondary School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Evidence indicates that FGCS experience more barriers in progressing from high school to college than their non-FGCS…

Research is needed on rural, first-generation college students and what supports them in attending and persisting at a private Catholic university. Specifically, this dissertation sought to understand participant experiences for those who attended Gaspar University, a Catholic university in the Northeast. Analysis of qualitative interviews,…