The purposes in conducting this study were threefold: (a) To extend the research on school mission statements previously conducted at the elementary school level (Slate et al., 2008) and at the college levels (Wang, Gibson, Solis, Selinas, & Slate, 2007) to the high school level; (b) To begin exploration of the ways in which school mission statements differ as a function of the demographic composition (e.g., student characteristics) of the schools; and (c) To identify differences between the mission statements of predominantly Hispanic schools and predominantly White schools to determine whether differences in academic achievement might be related to differences in espoused missions. To accomplish these purposes, we examined the mission statements of large Texas high schools that were comprised of either predominantly Hispanic students or predominantly White students using a multi-stage mixed analysis. This analysis allowed us to describe the characteristic themes in the school mission statements and identify similarities and dissimilarities related to student body composition. A single state was analyzed to prevent confounding by geographical variables. Texas was selected in particular because its sizable Hispanic population allowed identification of a sufficient number of high schools predominantly comprised of Hispanic students for analysis.

The following research questions were addressed: (a) What are the themes that can be identified in the mission statements of high schools comprised of predominantly Hispanic students and in the mission statements of high schools comprised of predominantly White students? and (b) What are the similarities and dissimilarities in the mission statement themes of high schools comprised of predominantly Hispanic students and in the mission statement themes of high schools comprised of predominantly White students??

The largest high schools in the State of Texas receive a 5A designation indicating a minimum enrollment of 1,985 students (University Interscholastic League, 2007). Individual campus information on the White and Hispanic populations of all 247 5A high schools in Texas was obtained through the Academic Excellence Indicator System (Texas Education Agency, n.d.). Once each high school was identified as being comprised either of predominantly Hispanic students (i.e., more than 50% of the student enrollment being Hispanic) or of predominantly White students (i.e., more than 50% of the student enrollment being White), a search was conducted for the website of each school. Once each school’s website was identified, the mission statements of each school were identified.

Initially 163 5A high schools were identified as meeting the criteria as being comprised either of predominantly Hispanic students or of predominantly White students. Out of this list, 90 high schools, 43 White and 47 Hispanic, had mission statements that were readily located on the schools’ websites. Once located, the mission statement of each of these high schools was printed and placed into a notebook for analysis. Each mission statement was read by the first three researchers and the presence of words and/or phrases related to the central purpose or goals for the high school were coded. This coding process identified 127 such words and phrases used in the mission statements. These words and phrases were reviewed for consistencies using the constant comparison method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Following the method of constant comparison, these 127 words and phrases were determined to fit into 17 themes. For all 17 themes, researchers reached 100% agreement.

Seventeen dominant themes were identified by the constant comparison analysis. Each of these themes is listed below with key words describing the theme and examples of representative statements from mission statements.

Theme 1 Achievement. Achievement was coded when wording related to academically competent or academic effectiveness was included in a mission statement. For example, Simon Rivera High School’s mission statement specified that the school will “develop individuals who are academically competent.” Similarly, Round Rock High School’s mission statement specified that the school provides “a strong foundation for future academic achievement.”

Theme 2 Citizenship. Citizenship was coded when wording related to promoting citizenship was included in a mission statement. This theme included statements about having the duties, rights, and privileges of citizenship status. For example, Harlingen High School’s mission statement specified that, “Educators must teach the six pillars of character,” with citizenship being listed as one of these six pillars. Similarly, the mission statement of Sam Houston High School included the statement that it graduates “well informed citizens prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

Theme 3 Collaborative. The theme of Collaboration was noted to be present when wording related to collaborative or partnership was used in a mission statement in the context of joint interest or association. For example, Kingwood High School included a statement that their purpose was to “create a collaborative learning environment.” Similarly, Magnolia High School asserted the school was a “partnership with the home” and that it was a “richly diverse community.”

Theme 4 Commitment. When words such as committed or commitment were used in a mission statement, the theme of Commitment was noted as being present. For example, Keller High School included a statement that the school mission was to inspire students to have “the commitment to serve.” Similarly, Klein Collins High School stated that it was “committed to provide all students educational opportunities.”

Theme 5 Develop. The theme ofDevelop was coded when the words such as develop or make stronger were used in a mission statement. That is, Mary Carroll High School stated that the school provides a comprehensive curriculum to “develop students’ abilities.” Similarly, Americas High School stated that the school “exists to develop within students the[ir] individual promise.”

Theme 6 Educate. When words such as teach, show, guide, and instill were used in a mission statement, the theme of Educate was recorded. For example, Weatherford High School indicated that the school had “a team of qualified, dedicated, passionate educators” whose job “is to teach.” Similarly, Johnny G. Economedes High School is committed to “instilling a sense of student self-worth.”

Theme 7 Excellence. Excellence was coded when words such as excellence or excel were used in a mission statement, or when the words superior, transcend, high-quality, or outstanding were used. For example, Moises E. Molina High School used the phrase “Pride and Excellence in Education.” Similarly, Winston Churchill High School stated that it would “challenge and encourage each student to achieve and demonstrate academic excellence.”

Theme 8 High Expectations. High Expectations was noted to be present when words such as challenge, difficulty, demanding task, extreme hardship, or rigor were used in a mission statement. For example, Martin Raymond and Tirza Martin High School stated that it would provide a course of study that “challenges students to develop problem solving, and decision-making skills.” Similarly, Spring Woods High School expressed this as “engaging students in a rigorous curriculum.”

Theme 9 Life-Long Learners. When the words life-long learner or life-longlearning were used in a mission statement, the theme of Life-Long Learners was used. For example, McNeil High School stated that its purpose was to develop students who “pursue life-long academic, cultural, and physical learning.” Similarly, Flower Mound High School indicated that it would “empower all students to become life-long learners.”

Theme 10 Nurturing. Nurturing was noted to be present when mission statements contained words such as nurture, care, attend, or support. For example, San Marcos High School specified that it “would support each student in academics.” Similarly, Bryan Adams High School specified that they “Prepare, Attend, Work, Succeed.”

Theme 11 Positive. The theme of Positive was coded when words such as solid, guaranteeing, and insuring were used in a mission statement with the meaning to make a definite contribution. For example, James Pace High School stated that it would “provide its students with a solid educational foundation to insure that the individual becomes a self-sufficient, productive member of society.” Similarly, San Benito High School stated that it would prepare “graduates who are life-long learners by guaranteeing a quality education.”

Theme 12 Prepare. When phrases such as to make ready or to equip with necessary provisions were used in mission statements, the theme of Prepare was noted. As described above, Bryan Adams High School indicated that it would “Prepare, Attend, Work, Succeed.” Similarly, the Rowlett High School mentioned that it “will prepare students to lead a successful life.”

Theme 13 Productive. Productive was coded when mission statements contained words such as productive or productivity. For example, United South High School mentioned that its mission included “enhancing their [students’] ability to become productive members of society.” Similarly, Katy High School stated that the school “seeks academic excellence for each student to pursue a productive and fulfilling life.”

Theme 14 Provide. In cases where mission statements contained words such as provide, contribute, or enrich, the theme of Provide was noted to be present. For example, Woodlands High School specified that it “is dedicated to providing a safe environment.” Similarly, Plano West Senior High School included in its mission statement that it prepares students to “contribute with compassion and integrity to a diverse society.”

Theme 15 Responsible. Responsible was noted to be present when words such as responsible or responsibility were used in a mission statement. For example, Joseph W. Nixon High School stated that “teachers, administrators, parents and students must assume responsibility for the educational purpose.” Similarly, Georgetown High School mentioned that students should “develop academically, normally, and socially as responsible citizens in a changing society.”

Theme 16 Safe and Secure. The theme of Safe and Secure was noted to be present when mission statements contained words such as safe, secure, or safe environment. For example, Simon Rivera High School specified that their mission was to assist students in “a safe and secure environment.” Similarly, John B. Alexander High School stated that “our school must provide a positive and safe climate.”

Theme 17 Succeed. Succeed was coded when words such as engaging, fulfill, or acquire were used in a mission statement to suggest achievement or accomplishing something planned. For example, Dr. Leo Gonzalez Cigarroa High School stated that its mission was to enable students “to fulfill their academic potential and learn for life.” Similarly, Bel Air High School stated that it will “prepare students to become engaged and productive members of our community.”

Once the 17 themes were identified a sequential mixed analysis was conducted to integrate qualitative and quantitative analysis (Onwuegbuzie & Teddlie, 2003; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). Data were entered into an Excel file for analysis with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Version 13.1). An inter-respondent matrix (Onwuegbuzie & Teddlie) was created with rows constituting schools and columns constituting mission statement themes. Dummy variables were created by assigning a value of 1 when the theme was present for a particular school and a value of 0 when the theme was not present for a particular school. In this sequential mixed analysis, qualitative data were analyzed first yielding the 17 themes already described. This procedure was followed by quantitative analyses that built upon the qualitative analysis. As such, five of the seven stages mixed data analysis process were used: data reduction, data display, data transformation, data correlation, and data integration (Onwuegbuzie & Teddlie).

Frequencies, calculated from the inter-respondent matrix for all 17 themes, are displayed in Table 1. The theme of Provide was the most frequent theme appearing in 45.6% of the mission statements. Life-Long Learning was the second most frequent theme appearing in 25.5% of the mission statements, followed by Develop which appeared in 24.4% of these statements. The themes of Educate and Excellence appeared least frequently being mentioned in only 11.1% of the mission statements.

Next, the database was split by group membership, predominantly Hispanic schools versus predominantly White schools, and the frequency of each theme was calculated separately for each group. Table 2 depicts the frequency of the themes by group membership. Provide was the most frequently appearing theme in both groups, appearing in the mission statements of 46.8% of the predominantly Hispanic high schools and 44.2% of the predominantly White high schools. The Citizenship theme appeared in 23.4% of the mission statements of the predominantly Hispanic schools but did not appear in the mission statement of any of the predominantly White schools.

To determine whether the themes identified in the mission statements could differentiate between predominantly Hispanic schools and predominantly White schools, an all possible subsets (APS) canonical discriminant analysis was conducted. Due to difficulties with the stepwise discriminant procedure created by the way variables are selected for entry into the equation, researchers have been strongly advised to use the APS procedure rather than the stepwise procedure (Onwuegbuzie & Daniel, 2003). In the APS procedure, the optimal combination of themes that discriminate between school types is determined by examining all possible models of the thematic variables. This process is accomplished by computing separate discriminant functions for all the variables by themselves, then in pairs, in triples, and so on until the best subset of thematic variables is identified.

The APS discriminant analysis revealed a statistically significant discriminant function, χ2(4) = 21.35, p < .001, that accounted for 22% of the between-groups variance (canonical R = .47). The group centroids were -0.50 for predominantly Hispanic schools and 0.55 for predominantly White schools. An examination of the standardized coefficients using a cutoff loading of 0.3 for inclusion in the analysis (Lambert & Durand, 1975), revealed four themes that made an important contribution to the discriminant function. The coefficient for Citizenship was negative (-0.80) indicating that this theme was associated with predominantly Hispanic high schools. The coefficients were positive for Achievement (0.47), Responsible (0.45), and Life-Long Learning (0.38) indicating that these themes were associated with predominantly White high schools.

Finally, the number of themes present in each school’s mission statement was calculated by summing the 1s and 0s across the inter-respondent matrix. The average number of themes present in the mission statements of predominantly Hispanic high schools was 3.19 (SD = 2.09), compared with an average of 3.23 (SD = 1.92) for predominantly White high schools. An Analysis of Variance indicated that the two types of high schools did not differ in the number of themes present in their mission statements, F(1, 88) = 0.009, p = .923. Thus, differences in the thematic content of the mission statements of predominantly Hispanic and predominantly White high schools could not have been due to differences in the length of these statements.