Factors That Contribute to Healthy Professional Relationships and a Positive Perception of School Climate in Christian Schools

Several Christian schools are becoming insolvent due to competition from larger private and charter schools. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to determine teacher and administrators’ perception of school climate in the dimension of “Professional Relationships” in two accredited secondary Christian schools in South Florida, identify factors that contribute to healthy interpersonal relationships between the two groups, and determine how each group’s Christian faith influenced their actions. This study was unique because it included the administrators. The Organizational Climate Descriptive Questionnaire Revised for Secondary Schools (OCDQ-RS) survey was administered and results indicated that the participants’ perception of school climate was strongly influenced by their interpersonal relationships with their leaders, and positive interactions with one leader balanced out negative interactions with another leader. The survey results determined that School B’s participants scored above average in all five behaviors, and in “Teacher Engaged Behavior” their high score was an outlier, but the qualitative strand proved the score was appropriate. A t-test proved there was a significant statistical difference between the two research sites. Both schools scored above average in their openness scores, supporting the literature that Christian schools tend to have healthier school climates than public schools. An intrinsic case study was used for the qualitative strand, and the results indicated that teachers appreciate “Intentional Compassionate Leaders” who demonstrate healthy communication skills and compassion, and administrators appreciate “Professional Teachers” who demonstrate healthy communication skills and reciprocal compliance. Teachers appreciate administrators who demonstrate humility, Christian leadership, collaboration, accessibility, and visibility. These findings are significant for all educators because they identify concrete actions that teachers and administrators can take to improve their professional relationships. Christian school leaders could consider conducting a school climate study with a qualitative strand and following the Christian Transformational Leadership style, which encourages leaders to develop professional relationships with teachers, provide teachers with growth opportunities, develop a shared vision with their staff, and incorporates the three R’s, which stand for Christian school leaders who are “responsible” to secure “resources” and implement “reform” to keep their school in business.