My proposed general field is American urban Catholic secondary schools.

Three Related Dissertations:

Gardiner, D. (2020). Sustainability of Catholic secondary schools in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area from 2003–2016 (Publication No. 2752) [Doctoral dissertation, Seton Hall University]. Dissertations and Theses (ETDs). https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/2752

Holyk-Casey, K. (2012). A qualitative study of three urban Catholic high schools: Investigating parent and principal expectations and realizations of parental involvement and the parent-school relationship (Publication No. 242) [Doctoral dissertation, Loyola Marymount University]. LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/242

Rolle, T. (2011). Identifying demand for private education at an urban Catholic college preparatory high school: a study of similarities and differences in parental motivation (Publication No. 165) [Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University]. Theses and Dissertations. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/165

Research genres and methodologies:

Gardiner, 2020 - Qualitative case study, 6 schools, interviews, and document analysis

Holyk-Casey, 2012 - qualitative; 3 schools, 15 participant interviews, observations, documents

Rolle, 2011 - quantitative, survey

General and special fields:

Gardiner, 2020 - U.S. Catholic schools enrollment trends; Baker’s framework for effective enrollment management

Holyk-Casey, 2012 - U.S. Catholic schools, parental involvement, Catholic school mission, social capital

Rolle, 2011 - U.S. Catholic schools, enrollment, Catholic school advantage, school choice

What I want to emulate in my literature review and why:

Gardiner, 2020 - What I like most about this work is that the research question is really interesting. The author wants to understand a local phenomenon that is at odds with a national trend.

Holyk-Casey, 2012 - I really like how this author organized the lit review. It’s easy to follow with descriptive subheadings. It synthesizes the available literature into themes. This author also cites many of the same sources I’ve been reading, which validates my research as well as gives me suggestions for additional authors/sources to add to my bibliography. This author includes social capital and cultural caring - two theoretical ideas that I’ve also spent a lot of time researching.

Rolle, 2011 - The lit review includes a brief historical background of Catholic schools, which I think is essential for this topic. I also like the clear breakout of reasons why parents might enroll their children in Catholic schools, with the corresponding research for each reason. But it did feel like the author’s methodology (survey) dictated the elements of the lt review rather than the lit review supporting the survey questions that were created.

What I want to emulate in the dissertation and why:

Gardiner, 2020 - I appreciate that the author looked at 6 schools. This allowed the author to look at trends and draw more generalized conclusions than if the author had only focused on one school. I liked the methodology of using interviews and document analysis.

Holyk-Casey, 2012 - This dissertation is well-organized and seems a good model for how I might proceed with my related research question. The writing is detailed yet concise. Reading this dissertation makes the process seem manageable because the scope and methodology are comparable to what I imagine myself doing.

Rolle, 2011 - The Table of Contents tells a story. The organizational structure is easy to follow and has a natural flow. The headings and subheadings are concise but specific. Another aspect I’d like to emulate is that the research question has meaning to the author; it’s a question that is integral to real-world circumstances. The author wants to understand enrollment trends or a seeming lack of trends. Why do families decide to either enroll or not? Understanding the answer has real-world implications: is there something the school can be doing? Although the question/problem is utilitarian in that sense, it also ties to deeper understandings and past research: what does a Catholic school provide, or what must it provide, to students and families? It’s not a question that has a pre-determined answer. The research and data matter. I think that choosing a compelling question can anchor a project. It ties professional responsibilities to thoughtful decision-making.

What I want to do differently and why:

Gardiner, 2020 - This dissertation didn’t seem to dive deeply enough into research on why Catholic schools’ enrollment is decreasing. There is so much research that I’ve encountered that isn’t addressed in this work, beyond school choice and the sex abuse scandal. The historical factors of shifting demographics with parishes aren’t addressed. Further what this author is calling the conceptual framework isn’t fully explained or validated. It felt a little bit like the author already had an answer to the research question and was trying to substantiate it with available data. Further, there were typos and grammatical errors, and not all the figures and diagrams were cited.

Holyk-Casey, 2012 - I chose to look at this dissertation because the topic is similar to what I’m researching for my general field. But the specific research question seems like a stretch to me, and I don’t find it interesting or compelling. This, in itself, is eye-opening, because it is a good reminder that there are so many angles to pursue when researching within a general field. I am extremely interested in Catholic school missions and whether or not they are key to understanding the existence of a Catholic school advantage. This doesn’t need to be tied to Catholic schools - any school can have a mission - but is there something substantial about a school and its fidelity to a mission that results in positive outcomes? Where this dissertation loses me is the focus on parental involvement. I think involvement is the wrong word. Respect. Partnership. Value. Collaboration. So what I’m taking away from this is the importance of asking the right research question. What can I ask that will keep me engaged and that is worthy of the time it takes to answer?

Holyk-Casey, 2012 - In addition, there are a lot of frameworks going on in this paper. It’s a little confusing. In the theoretical framework section, the author describes three conceptual frameworks, and then each branches off to more frameworks. It’s difficult to figure out which lens to use. Even the paper’s title: A qualitative study of three urban Catholic high schools: Investigating parent and principal expectations and realizations of parental involvement and the parent-school relationship - it’s too much. I think if the focus had been tighter, the work would be stronger.

Rolle, 2011 - In contrast to Holyk-Casey’s (2012) dissertation, Rolle (2011) doesn’t include any frameworks to serve as a lens for processing the data. Rolle is straightforward in laying out the historical background and summarizing the research, but it doesn’t feel connected to concepts or theories that help the reader understand why. For example, Rolle lists the reasons/factors that parents cite for why they choose to enroll or not, but Rolle doesn’t connect these reasons to anchoring concepts like belonging, social capital, Catholic school advantage, culturally relevant teaching - which is surprising as they are prevalent in literature related to this topic.