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need for Christian school administrations to carry out proper leadership practices for their success

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need for Christian school administrations to carry out proper leadership practices for their success

Introduction

Any form of education must have a specific perspective on life. Through this perspective, students understand and interpret things. Christian education seeks to help learners to see life’s through the lens of the biblical. Parents with Christian values prefer to have their children enroll in a Christian school. According to Maddix & Riley Jr. (2017), Christian schools are education institutions run by Christian principles or a Christian organization. In other words, these are schools with Christian foundations, teachers, Christian goals, and provides a moral environment for a child’s growth (Maddix & Riley Jr, 2017). The school provides learners with the greatest reward of accepting Christ and his ways.

The Christian schools have witnessed an increase in enrolment over the years, attributed to the religious foundation and the unique approach to learning. The attraction of Christian schools over public schools is due to their values. Although Christian school has achieved a 46-percentage increase in the enrollment of children, due to public schools being expensive, violent, and drug-ridden (McFarland et al., 2017); The number could be on the decline if the school’s leadership does not carry out the correct administrative practices and procedures. Therefore, this paper examines the need for Christian school administrations to carry out proper leadership practices for their success.

Historical overview

 The history of Christian education traces back to the early church, where the apostles went to teach the gospel. For instance, apostles Barnabas and Saul taught the gospel for a whole year. The teaching of the gospel was to compliment the proclamation of the bible. Christian schools date back to 1700 with the influence the catholic run schools in England. Early churches in America, such as Quakers, Catholics, and Baptists, educated their children in schools started for religious purposes (Freathy, 2017).  Most of these early settlers had left England to seek religious freedom in America. They sought to have their children access full religious education. Moreover, during colonial America, education was an arsenal for biblical and social teaching.

The 1647 school law passed in Massachusetts provided a foundation for Christian education. The law required the teaching of the children in a school setting, reading, teachings, and writings of the scripture. These laws led to the establishment of Christian schools, universities, and colleges. The early churches used Christian schools to eradicate the pagan culture around them.  The introduction of Evangelism to the community was through schools. Consequently, early schools attribute their formation to leaders such as Martin Luther, who was a great education and church reformer. He saw education as a tool to further reformation, and Christian schools were for the sake of Evangelism.

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In the mid-19th and 20th centuries, Dewey’s progressive education and Mann’s common school are some of the foundations for the schools today. Although Christian schools tend to differ from public school, education in the United States have a common structure. Mann’s and Dewey’s goals of schools promoting physical and mental activity and development continue to drive America Christian education. Over the years, Christian schools not only provide religious education but a diverse curriculum. Most of the early colleges and universities were started by the Christians, for instance, Harvard University. Today, Christian colleges, private schools, and universities are widespread all over America.

Most churches set up their schools to escape the secularism of current public schools.  Likewise, these schools are formed to provide students with an education, transforming them into wholly transformed Christians, providing students with a solid understanding and theology from the bible. The purposes of these churches today differ from those of the past. Currently, there exist more public schools than private Christian schools. Consequently, with the government control and regulation of public schools, the dominance of Christian churches is diminishing.

Future of Christian schools

In the future, it is highly likely that Christian schools may downsize as the issue of having a school and church coexisting continues. The Christian churches have failed to meet some of their expectations. Already, 25% of Christian schools have closed (McFarland et al., 2017). In the next ten years, the number is highly likely to diminish further.  The future of Christian education in America appears black ad bleak. There is a promise that the schools will continue to grow because of the priesthood of believers, greater divert and individualization of teaching curriculum and the tolerance of culture and expressions of faith.

However, there is great antagonism to the Christina ethical codes and moral standards. The secularism and pluralism in American history are worrying.  There is a serious eroding of authority with irresponsibly and hedonistic attitudes (Anthony, & Benson, 2011). In the future, there will be the use of Individualized instructions and mass history.  Moreover, resource consultants and specialists will be used more in Christian education.

Biblical foundations

biblical principles are the foundation of Christian education. The Bible teachings provide Christians with an opportunity to know God (Taylor & Wesley, 2017). Plus, it is one way through which Christianity is passed from one generation to another. In the Old Testament, the home was the center of education. In Hebrew education, it was the responsibility of both the parents to educate their children and shape the lives of their children (duet. 6:6-9).  Therefore, Christian education must be upheld for the youths to continue to respect civil authority.

The knowledge of God is the key to Christian education. Through the knowledge of God, humans understand how to make things better Frame, J. (1987). In Deuteronomy 6; 6-9, God highlights the importance of educating his children. Therefore, putting children in anti-Christian-public schools undermines and destroys their religion. Furthermore, all Christian educations teachings are against secular education in public schools.  The public schools stand on the confrontations God was against in the bible. Public schools are not pro-bible, and they follow the humanist religion.  The bible is clearly at war with the humanist enemy, and thus Christians with children in public schools are abetting and aiding the enemy.

In both the old and the new testament, the Bible commands us to teach. The disciples of Jesus were sent out to galilee to go and teach. Moreover, the bible states that the fear of God is the begging of wisdom; thus, the foundations of teaching children should begin at home. The bible is the cornerstone of Christian education through theological teachings. The scripture is the primary lens for educators to prescribe and perceive Christian education. The reason for the emphasis of the bible as the foundation of teachings is that it’s God’s revelation for Christian educators to build a model consistent with it (Rom15:4).

Christian education relies on its significance to the family. The home was the center of education among the Jews. According to Deuteronomy 29:29, it is the responsibility of the parent to teach their children to satisfy the law of God. Likewise, the parent and children have to follow the laws of God (James, 1976).  Through Christian education, parents give their children the word of God and continue the gods-human covenant.

 

 Evaluation of Christian Schools vs. Public Schools

Christian schools, as private schools, offer students spiritual nourishment inform of prayers.  According to a study, religious schools spend around 3% to 13% of the school day on spiritual activities (McFarland et al., 2017). Moreover, a Christian course may be offered to the students associated with the church affiliation of the school. Students from religious schools form stronger spiritual identities as they grow up. Parents are assured that the school environment and values are consistent with those back at home.

The core emphasis of public education is to educate the student for the benefit of the state and society. The students are taught on the foundation of being better citizens for their states and community. Besides, the core emphasis of public schools is on principles of living within the boundaries of the laws. Christian education institution uses religious doctrines as there part of teaching.  The word of God is embedded in education’s curriculums.  On the other hand, public schools use a structured approach to teach students, including reading, writing, and arithmetic. The curriculum focuses on the human and their values as they do not adhere to a particular religious perspective.

The state controls and regulates public schools within their educational mandate.  Therefore, it implements rules and regulations for educational system improvement. For instance, the state rules require mandatory School attendance for all children, licensing of teachers, and subject standards for how subjects are taught.  The administration and the church-affiliated to Christian’s school regulate it (Jones & Watson, 2017).  The parents have the choice to enroll their children in the school of their choice.

The state does not regulate church schools; hence they offer curriculum focusing on the school goals. In other words, students who want to study specific subjects such as art, music, or any other are the better fit for Christian schools.  On the other hand, the state regulation on mandatory testing and ever-changing budgets, public schools are obligated to offer only sustainable core subjects. However, since Christian schools are not state-regulated, some may hire full unlicensed teachers (MILLS, 1992).  Thus, Christian school students may receive substandard services, misconduct, or any other violation from their teachers. Public school teachers are legally required to be licensed to teach. The state regulates the conduct and the quality of education the students receive.

Public schools offer students diversity on a larger scale. The students interact with others from different religious backgrounds and denominations such as Muslims, Christians, and more.  The diversity score for public schools is o.78 compared to that of Christian schools to be around 0.32 (McFarland et al., 2017). However, Christian school leans towards a specific faith; thus, there is less adversity in these schools. The public schools are advantageous because of their affordability. Taxes from parents cover the cost of education and other services in the school, such as special education services and transportation for the students (Urquiola, 2016). Plus, the students get to enjoy their extra-curricular activities. Contrastingly, Christian schools come with tuition fees, and the transportation cost is extreme depending on school preference and location.

Christian schools are safe for children with high-security levels.  The security includes check-in and check-out procedures, approved list of students and visitors, camera, and buzzers systems.  With extra security measures, it’s difficult for child endangerment (Price et al., 2018). Besides, additional security measures are provided during outdoor school activities such as chapels, assemblies, and more. Unlike Christian schools, the security of public schools is not guaranteed. Over the years, an increase in gun shootings in public schools has been on the rise. The implication of an unsecured educational environment is parents worrying about their children’s safety. In 2018, alone, more than 90 school guns were shooting incidents-the highest number (Bergen-Cico et al., 2018). Furthermore, with the already stretched budget, it is difficult for the public school to maintain high-security levels.

Although the teacher faculty ratio is quite similarly-16:1, the quality of education in Christian schools is high.   According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 87% of Christian schools have fewer students; thus, the teachers give children the required attention (Snyder et al., 2019). The teacher-student interaction guarantees the performance of the child improves drastically.

How leadership affects the school system

Leadership is an important aspect of enhancing the performance of an educational institution. It shapes and directs the vision of a school’s defined goal. Therefore, with a strong leadership foundation, the goal of a school is organized, transformed, and improves (Bush et al., 2019). A Christian school with a strong leadership system positively impacts teachers’ satisfaction, school’s effectiveness, and productivity. According to Blakemore (1979), the school board’s traditional policy-making and leadership roles are compromised by the division and tendency to micromanage schools by special interest groups. Moreover, without clear leadership from teachers, principals, and church leaders who are board members, the school is bound to fail. The church-related school boards act as the quasi executive, legislative and judicial arm of any school. Good governance from the school ensures accountability, ethical behavior, and transparency in the school system.

A strong leadership identifies underperforming areas in the school.  The areas have to align with the institution’s defined goals. In doing so, underperforming areas improves over time (Urquiola, 2016). For instance, a Christian school with poor student performance improves through setting up targets and improving the teacher’s motivation. Christian schools are not required to adhere to federal policy reforms. Thus, the school’s leadership style differs compared to public schools (Jones & Watson, 2017). The pubic school’s leadership roles revolve around leadership management, such as managing curriculum. The lack of leadership guidance in any School system results in the reduction of educational performance and a lack of success in the school.

High-quality leaders set a direction for the institutions, set a clear course for everyone in the education system, uses data to track the performance and progress in the school, and establishes high expectations for success. The fundamental problem Christian schools face is the lack of clear leadership to guide them to success. The leadership roles for these institutions rely on instructional leadership rather than management leadership (Bush et al., 2019). These faith-based schools should strive to have high-quality leaders that give directions to the institutions.

Besides, high-quality leaders in the institutions develop all the staff and everyone in the institution. Every teacher and student are offered the necessary support and training to achieve the foundations of the schools. Effective education leadership improves learning in any education set up (Boerema, 2011).  The affiliated Christian schools suffer from internal interference from the church, which at times inhibits the learning and teaching due to a lack of strong leadership goals. A clear leadership structure and personnel restricts poor decisions, such as hiring unlicensed teachers.

Additionally, they ensure the conditions and incentives in which these schools exist fully support teaching and learning practices (Boerema, 2011). Evidently, for the success of an education system, specifically Christian schools, a clear leadership structure, and personnel ensure success. Leadership impacts learning, and there is room to harness the benefits of leadership in schools.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the growth of Christian schools should continue in the present and the near future.  The biblical foundations provide the basis for which Christian must adhere to.  The laws of God require Christians to continue teaching their children in His ways. In doing so, they respect the covenant made with God. However, poor leadership affects the growth of Christian churches. Leadership is a critical ingredient in the success of the running and management of these schools. Without proper leadership, the downsizing of Christian schools will continue. Leaders should be equipped with the right skills and attitude to continue the expansion of Christian schools. Emphasis should be on a change in administrative practices and policies.

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