Date of Award

Summer 2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Education

Primary Advisor

Dr. Susan K. Stanley

Second Advisor

Dr. Thomas Gollery

Third Advisor

Dr. Lisa Coscia

Abstract

This study investigated the perceptions of heads of schools from accredited schools concerning whether the accreditation process, as prescribed by the League of Christian Schools (LCS), leads to improvement in leadership capacity and the impact of instruction on the learning environment. The League of Christian Schools has developed an accreditation process that is based in systems theory as espoused by Senge (2006), which contributed to the theoretical framework for this study. Administrators in LCS member K12 schools provided 25 responses to an anonymous online survey. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed to determine perceptions regarding increased organizational capacities in the years following initial accreditation. The major finding of this research study is the strong belief by Christian school administrators that the LCS accreditation process has improved the school over time. The mean score perceptions regarding the effect accreditation has on leadership capacity was 4.22, which was statistically significant (t (24) = 11.91; p < .001) with a huge effect (d = 2.38). Concerning Leadership Capacity, eighty percent (80%) responded that they agreed (50.9%) or strongly agreed (37.1%) that the accreditation process increased leadership capacity. Concerning Instructional Capacity, a one sample t test showed statistical significance (t (24) = 9.99; p < .001) of study participant mean score of 4.20 when asked about improved instruction. The effect was huge (d = 2.00). For perceptions of the impact of accreditation on the instructional program, over eighty-six percent (86.5%) either agreed (49.5%), or strongly agreed (37.1%) to instructional improvement.

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