A COMPARISON OF PRINCIPALS PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THEIR LEADERSHIP ROLES IN CATHOLIC AND NON-CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Considering that Public and Separate schools in Alberta have been funded equally since 1905, few studies have been done to compare aspects of Catholic and non-Catholic education, and even fewer to compare the roles of principals within these two dimensions. The literature indicates a perception that the role of the principal in administering schools within each of these school systems is similar. In this study a questionnaire was distributed to an equal sample of principals in both types of schools. The results of the data analysis of that questionnaire demonstrated significant differences between principals of Catholic and non-Catholic schools. Although some of the differences can be accounted for because there were no references to religious orientations on the questionnaire, some of these differences are very difficult to explain.