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What I Overheard in the Sesquicentennial Conversation
Una M. Cadegan
University of Dayton
(pp. 61-75) Volume 10, Number 1; Sept 2006
Catholic higher education is in many ways still responding to the challenge first articulated by John Tracy Ellis in his 1955 essay. In efforts to promote both a unique Catholic identity and a culture of excellence on par with secular institutions, Catholic universities can learn much from their historical context, founding religious communities, and contemporary experience. This essay suggests some practical applications for campus life and governance that might be culled from a university’s religious history.
“You Love All That Exists… All Things Are Yours, God, Lover of Life…”
A Pastoral Letter on the Christian Ecological Imperative
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
(pp. 34-43) Volume 8, Number 1; Sept 2004
The Quiet Revolution in Catholic Schooling in Australia
Kelvin Canavan, fms
Catholic Education Office, Sydney, Australia
(pp. 46-54) Volume 2, Number 1; Sept 1998
In the public policy discourse about vouchers, many Catholic school advocates have been aligned with the new conservative critics of public schools. A review of the Dayton, Ohio, area Catholic schools reveals that need-based student subsidies, which are a variation on vouchers, might reverse the declining urban enrollment in Catholic schools and continue their tradition of educating poor and disadvantaged students. This brief overview of changes in Catholic schooling in Australia over the past 30 years identifies four key factors—the smooth transition from religious to lay staff, the reintroduction of government financial assistance, the development of strong Catholic Education offices, and the steady increase in enrollments—to explain the robust state of Catholic schooling in Australia. However, the case suggests that choice schemes can alter the educational aims of schools in unexpected ways.
Leadership Succession in Catholic Schools: Planned or Unplanned?
Kelvin Canavan, fms
Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Sydney
(pp. 72-84) Volume 5, Number 1; Sept 2001
The management of leadership succession at various levels of the enterprise is something every organization faces; but in recent times education researchers in the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia have all reported an increasing difficulty in attracting principals for Catholic schools. The problem is not restricted to Catholic schools. This article details a flexible 12-phase process designed to ensure that when a vacancy occurs the organization has available people who have received some preparation for the position. A framework for the development and induction of leaders in Catholic education is provided. The strategy, developed and implemented by the author in recent years, is both practical and appropriate for use at various levels, from faculty coordinators and principals to superintendents.
Building Strategic Leadership and Management Capacity to Improve School Effectiveness
Kelvin Canavan, fms
Catholic Education Office, Sydney, Australia
(pp. 150-164) Volume 7, Number 2; Dec 2003
The building of leadership and management capacity with a focus on teaching and learning effectiveness has been a defining characteristic of the Catholic schools in Sydney, Australia, during the past decade. During the 1990s, the leaders of the 150 parish primary and regional secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney adopted a common leadership and management framework that incorporates long-term strategic planning with an annual implementation cycle characterized by a sharp focus on teaching and learning outcomes. Principals and senior staff are involved in an ongoing performance management plan that is linked to the schools’ annual curriculum goals and targets. This case study provides evidence of a culture of high level managerial leadership that utilizes recent developments in Europe to give validity to “the Sydney cycle.”
Sector Differences in Student Learning: Differences in Achievement Gains Across School Years and During the Summer
William Carbonaro
University of Notre Dame
(pp. 219-245) Volume 7, Number 2; Dec 2003
Public and private schools have been the focus of considerable research, comparing student achievement, attendance, dropout rates, graduation rates, disciplinary incidents, and a variety of educational and prosocial outcomes across sectors. Comparative studies of student achievement have tended to concentrate on the high school years and without any effort to measure gains or losses during specific years. This study concludes that sector differences in learning vary across grade levels and that summer learning rates vary by school sector. More study of sector differences in learning is recommended, especially longitudinal studies that examine seasonal gains across school sector over the entire span of a student’s
academic career.
Mother Stephanie Mohun, OP
Ruth Caspar, OP & Rosalie Graham, OP
Dominican Sisters, St. Mary of the Springs
(pp. 346-359) Volume 9, Number 3; March 2006
It is often stated that Catholic schools in the US were built on the foundation of the poverty of the vowed women religious. Dozens of communities fit this description, none more so than the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs. Sister Stephane Mohun’s service as mother general spanned a period of tremendous growth in Catholic education at every level. Seeing to the ongoing education and professional preparation of the sisters, Mother Stephanie founded colleges, staffed schools, established missions, and provided leadership for Catholic education that continues to have an enduring legacy today.
Independent Christian Day Schools: The Maturing of a Movement
James C. Carper & Jack Layman
University of South Carolina & Columbia International University
(pp. 502-514) Volume 5, Number 4; June 2002
Independent Christian day schools have always played a prominent role in American education. This article provides a brief historical overview of the origin of independent Christian schools; examines some of the research on their composition, success, and enrollment trends; and draws some preliminary conclusions about the ethos of such schools following a field-based observation. Catholic educators will recognize the primary challenges these schools face: financial stability and spiritual vitality.
An Ignatian Analysis of the Walt Disney Company: Lessons for Jesuit Higher Education
Michael P. Caruso
Loyola Marymount University
(pp. 373-400) Volume 5, Number 3; March 2002
Love it or leave it, the Walt Disney Company is widely regarded as a model organizational culture, a multinational corporation with theme park, movie, and entertainment interests all over the world. Disney has experienced unequaled success in promoting its vision and mission. This article, the first of a two-part series, examines the lessons of Disney for Catholic higher education, particularly in the Jesuit tradition.
An Ignatian Analysis of the Walt Disney Company: Lessons for Jesuit Higher Education
Michael P. Caruso, SJ
Loyola Marymount University
(Part II; pp. 454-487) Volume 5, Number 4; June 2002
How do directors of mission and identity at the 28 Jesuit institutions of higher education in the United States perceive campus culture? This article reports the findings of a survey of 27 chief administrators responsible for mission and identity and seeks to use the data obtained to identify similarities and differences in advancing mission and identity between Jesuit higher education and the Walt Disney Company. Based on the survey results, suggestions are made to enhance mission and identity programming, hiring and orientation practices, and the campus culture at Jesuit institutions of higher education. Part One of this study was published as An Ignatian Analysis of the Walt Disney Company: Lessons for Jesuit Higher Education (Caruso, 2002) in Volume 5, Number 3.
The Second Epiphany: Program Design for African American Leadership of Catholic Schools
Gerald M. Cattaro
Fordham University
(pp. 213-224) Volume 2, Number 2; Dec 1998
Using the biblical experience of Christ’s epiphany as a root metaphor, the author discusses the historical development of African American participation in Catholic schools with a view towards a program design for African American leadership in school administration. Through an analysis of various levels of culture, African American Catholics are shown to be well-suited for emerging leadership roles in Catholic schools and dioceses.
Operational Paradoxes: Vouchers and Catholic Elementary Schools
Gerald M. Cattaro
Fordham University
(pp. 342-351) Volume 6, Number 3; March 2003
This article presents the results of a study of teacher education practices at 80 Catholic colleges and universities. The impetus for this work was the many Church documents in support of Catholic schools and the cooperative work of diocesan superintendents and educational leaders in the matter of teacher education. The goal of the study was to investigate questions fundamental to the role of Catholic higher education in the preparation of teachers: From where will the next generation of teachers to serve Catholic schools come? How does the preparation of teachers in Catholic institutions of higher education relate to the unique opportunities Catholic schools afford their communities? Do these programs serve Catholic schools? Given the dearth of research and professional literature specific to these questions, the study and data analysis were exploratory with the goal of identifying themes and issues for continued The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in support of the constitutionality of the Cleveland voucher program. Will urban Catholic schools soon become filled with voucher students? Catholic school leaders have some important decisions to face, decisions which can be clarified by taking a historical view. research, dialogue, and professional action.
Traditional and Progressive Schools: Identifying Two Models of Educational Practice
Louis A. Chandler
University of Pittsburgh
(pp. 293-305) Volume 3, Number 3; March 2000
Two broad approaches to contemporary education have evolved in recent decades: the traditional and the progressive. The purpose of this study was to survey public, Catholic, and independent elementary schools across the state of Ohio with the aim of finding out: (1) the extent to which various educational practices associated with those two approaches have reportedly been adopted in schools; and, (2) if the types of schools differ along a continuum of traditional to progressive educational practices. It was found that most schools report a balanced mix of practices, with Ohio’s elementary schools ranging along the traditional to progressive continuum in the following order: independent nonchartered, independent chartered, public, and Catholic. All schools tend to be more traditional in the approach they adopt to reading and to assessment. Assessment is influenced by state mandates regarding proficiency testing in selected grades. A better understanding of the practices reported to be in place in today’s schools will help inform the current debate on school reform and focus the discussion of choice by providing a framework with clear alternatives.
Teacher Induction in Catholic Schools
Greg Chatlain & Brian Noonan
Saskatoon Catholic School Division & University of Saskatchewan, Sackatoon
(pp. 499-512) Volume 8, Number 4; June 2005
The purpose of this study was to examine the induction process for beginning teachers in Catholic schools. Data were collected from 100 teachers using a survey that addressed teachers’ level of confidence in the pedagogical, religious, and managerial dimensions of teaching. The results of the study indicated that the induction experiences of beginning teachers in Catholic schools were similar to those of beginning teachers elsewhere. However, there is a need for the development and implementation of a systematic process of teacher induction that consciously meets the needs in the religious dimension for beginning teachers.
A Favorable Legal Environment for Voucher Programs
Mark E. Chopko
National Conference of Catholic Bishops
(pp. 87-96) Volume 3, Number 1; Sept 1999
A pressing legal issue at the close of the millennium is the use of public tax dollars to assist parents, especially lower income parents, with the rising tuition at private schools. The idea of vouchers, as they have been commonly named, has been argued in legal circles for decades. However, the 1990s have seen a particular urgency on this issue as several states have passed legislation implementing pilot programs. This article summarizes the current state of the debate, reviews significant legal cases, and highlights the differences among individual states in their interpretation and application of the law. While maintaining that a properly designed voucher program could pass constitutional review by the U.S. Supreme Court, the author argues that broader public policy and justice issues are at stake.
The Lack of Consensus Among Catholics for Establishing New Elementary Schools
Michael J. Cieslak
Diocesan Research and Planning Office, Catholic Diocese of Rockford, Illinois
(pp. 139-157) Volume 10, Number 2; Dec 2006
For a century Catholic schools have formed the basis for a strong system of acculturation into Catholic identity and values. Catholic schools provided a low-cost basic education and served as a common school for all social classes of Catholics. This system has weakened considerably in the last decades. Between 1970 and 2000 there was a net loss of 3,595 Catholic schools in the United States, a 29.9% decline. In addition, the nature of these schools seems to be changing as the percentage of total Catholic school enrollment made up by non-Catholics has increased ten-fold in 30 years. Many Catholic Schools seem to have pursued increased academic excellence at the expense of religious acculturation. This paper examines diocesan data to determine the extent to which Catholics still consider Catholic elementary schools to be important. Findings include survey data on school importance from 55,000 diocesan Catholics. I addition, parishioner survey results are presented from two suburban parishes, each of which is considering establishing a parochial elementary school. If new elementary schools are going to be established, a way must be found for Catholics to arrive at a consensus on this issue.
Love or Money: Vocational Attitudes of the Catholic School Teacher
Carol Cimino, SSJ
Catholic School Administrators Association of New York State
(pp. 181-205) Volume 5, Number 2; Dec 2001
Public and private schools experience teacher shortages today, but the problem is acute in Catholic schools. Reasons given for the shortage in Catholic schools include salaries and benefits. Have teachers’ views of teaching in a Catholic school changed from teaching as ministry or vocation to teaching as merely a job? This study discusses the sense of teaching as vocation among a sample of Catholic high school and elementary school teachers in the state of New York. It ascertains the sense of vocation among these teachers; correlates financial considerations with the sense of vocation; and illustrates that religious preference and practice, years of teaching and ownership, and presence of religious men and women affect how teachers see their job as ministry.
Examination of the Consultation and Development Process for the
Scottish Catholic Religious Education Guidelines
Roisin Coll
University of Glasglow
(pp. 233-250) Volume 6, Number 2; Dec 2002
This paper examines the construction of the Religious and Moral Education 5-14 Draft Guidelines in Scotland and the Catholic Church’s response to these guidelines. The content and background of this document are explored by examining the process followed by the Review and Development Group for religious education. The reasons for the rejection of this document and the process by which a new document was created are also investigated. Particular attention is paid to the roles played in this process by the laity and the clergy within the Catholic Church through an examination of the perceptions held by individuals involved in the process.
Faith Schools and State Education: Church-State Relations and the Development of the 5-14 Religious Education Program in Scotland
Roisín Coll & Robert Davis
University of Glasgow
(pp. 67-82) Volume 11, Number 1; Sept 2007
Public policy questions such as public funding for Catholic schools, the extent of government involvement in private education, and church-state relations in general are not unique to the United States. This article discusses Catholic education in Scotland, which a view to explaining the ongoing need for cooperation and goodwill in church-state relations concerning schools.
Confession in the Movies: The Transmission of Sacramental Tradition Through Film
Eileen M. Condon
University of Toledo
(pp. 42-56) Volume 4, Number 1; Sept 2000
Not unlike confessional role-playing among seminarians or pre-sacramental practice sessions between parents and children, cinematic confession scenes re-present Penance as a traditional performance, making a teachable cultural moment out of a rite which, when performed in solemnity, cannot be observed or examined directly by a third party. For this reason, movies can be a useful tool for introducing Catholic penitential belief and practice to students in the secular education classrooms, as the author discovered in working with Catholic and non-Catholic students at the University of Toledo. Confession scenes from six films can be related to themes in medieval exempla, church teachings, and folklore related to the Sacrament
of Penance.
The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium
Congregation for Catholic Education
(pp. 4-14) Volume 2, Number 1; Sept 1998
John Tracy Ellis and the Figure of the Catholic Intellectual
Brian Conniff
University of Dayton
(pp. 76-88) Volume 10, Number 1; Sept 2006
Fifty years after John Tracy Ellis challenged the quality and character of Catholic intellectual life, much work remains to be done. This essay explores Ellis’s original assertions and places them in an overarching historical context that involves Flannery O’Connor and Thomas Merton.
The Challenge to Catholic Teacher Education in Scotland
James C. Conroy & Douglas McCreath
St. Andrew's College, Scotland
(pp. 312-327) Volume 2, Number 3; March 1999
Maintaining a strong sense of religious purpose is a challenge facing private education. Institutions of higher learning confront special challenges when addressing issues of religious identity, governance, and mission. Scotland’s Catholic community encountered a major challenge when the only teacher education college for those aspiring to teach in Catholic schools, St. Andrew’s College, began merger talks with the University of Glasgow, an institution with historical ties to the Church of Scotland. After reviewing the historical context of the merger discussions, the authors provide a helpful analysis of the process and offer a four-fold model of analysis for other institutions in similar transitional stages.
Factors Affecting the Views of Bishops and Priests About Catholic Schools
John J. Convey
The Catholic University of America
(pp. 248-264) Volume 2, Number 3; March 1999
The attitudes of bishops and priests toward Catholic schools are critical for the school’s success. This article discusses a recent nationwide survey of Catholic clergy that measured the support of bishops and priests for Catholic schools, with a special emphasis on determining factors that affect such support. Overall, a high level of support for Catholic schools is reported by the majority of the clergy surveyed. Factors influencing that support include type and location of ministry, number of years ordained, and one’s own Catholic school background.
Building the Kingdom: School Leaders as Architects of Catholic Culture
Timothy J. Cook
Creighton University
(pp. 133-150) Volume 2, Number 2; Dec 1998
This essay synthesizes the research on organizational culture and applies that research to the Catholic school setting. Using an architectural metaphor, the author offers a framework and design for school leaders as cultural architects to use in building Catholic culture in their schools.
The Next Generation: A Study of Catholic High School Religion Teachers
Timothy J. Cook
Creighton University
(pp. 115-121) Volume 4, Number 1; Sept 2000
The Next Generations: A Study of Catholic High School Religion Teachers is a McGivney Grant-funded study that will examine the critical and growing shortage of credentialed high school religion teachers. Using survey research, this study will assess the national situation and attempt to forecast what the future holds. Ultimately, the study will make recommendations regarding the future recruitment, preparation, and retention of religion teacher candidates.
Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention of Catholic High School Religion Teachers
Timothy J. Cook
Creighton University
(pp. 530-564) Volume 4, Number 4; June 2001
In September 2000, this journal announced an important national study, funded by grants from the Lilly Endowment, the Knights of Columbus McGivney Fund, and the Chief Administrators of Catholic Education, on the impending shortage of religion teachers in Catholic high schools. This article reports the findings of that study in three important areas: recruitment, preparation, and retention. The study summarizes the results of surveys to nearly 200 Catholic high schools and 1000 religion teachers throughout the United States. Extensive recommendations are offered for each area studied, with a view to securing a stable future pool of highly qualified high school religion teachers.
The Upper Room:
A University-Archdiocesan Partnership to Develop Leaders for Catholic Schools
Timothy J. Cook & W. Patrick Durow
Creighton University
(pp. 355-369) Volume 11, Number 3;March 2008
In Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB; 2005) calls on Catholic colleges and universities to work with diocesan educational leaders to prepare leaders for Catholic schools. In response, the Creighton University Education Department and the Archdiocese of Omaha’s Catholic Schools Office formed a task force that held a series of meetings in the “Upper Room” on Creighton’s campus to create a framework for leadership in Catholic schools and develop a preparation program that fulfills the framework. This article describes the task force process, framework development, and the Catholic School Leadership graduate certificate that resulted. The article concludes with observations related to the Omaha experience and thoughts about what comes next.
Toward the Professionalization of Catholic High School Religion Teachers:
An Assessment of Religion Teaching as a Profession
Timothy J. Cook & William J. Hudson
Creighton University & Totino-Grace High School
(pp. 399-424) Volume 9, Number 4; June 2006
This article assesses religion teaching as a profession in terms of selected characteristics that scholars agree are common to all professions. The characteristics that are addressed include essential service, call to serve, special knowledge and skills, specialized and advanced university training, public trust and status, code of ethics and performance standards, and professional organization. The research suggests that religion teaching satisfies two of the seven selected characteristics, namely the essential service and call to serve, but does not fully satisfy the other five. The main conclusion drawn is that steps must be taken to professionalize religion teaching. To that end, recommendations include the further development of a professional association for religion teachers, credentialing standards, and a certification/licensing scheme.
School Choice Among Competing “Catholic” Philosophies
John E. Coons & Patrick M. Brennan
University of California, Berkeley & Arizona State University
(pp. 286-296) Volume 5, Number 3; March 2002
Is there an identifiably Catholic position on school choice? As pilot programs proliferate in the United States, serious consideration of some philosophical issues seems in order. This article explores two competing moral philosophies and their relationship to parental sovereignty in the public sector. The authors conclude by articulating a Catholic position on the question.
The New Jewish Community, New Jewish Schools: Trends and Promises
Bruce S. Cooper & Marc N. Kramer
Fordham University & The Jewish Community Day School Network
(pp. 488-501) Volume 5, Number 4; June 2002
While representing a small percentage of all private, religious schools, Jewish schools are nonetheless a significant presence on the religious landscape. This article analyzes the rapid growth of Jewish schools over the past three decades and examines possible future directions for Jewish schools.
To Remember, Repent, Renew
David L. Coppola
Sacred Heart University
(pp. 196-202) Volume 2, Number 2; Dec 1998
The National Catholic Educational Association (1998) reports that 13.6% or 359,146, of all students in Catholic elementary, middle, and secondary schools are non-Catholic, manifesting the importance of educating Catholic school students to understand and appreciate the diversity of cultures and religions other than their own. This article examines some ways that Catholic schools can educate students about the Jewish Holocaust, or Shoah, and through its study embrace a truly Catholic approach.
Supporting Children With Disabilities in the Catholic Schools
Abby L. W. Crowley & Shavaun Wall
The Catholic University of America
(pp. 508-522) Volume 10, Number 4; June 2007
Many children with disabilities attend Catholic schools, but the resources to serve these children adequately are limited. Teacher assistants are increasingly being used to meet this need by assisting students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The authors maintain that such assistants can be effectively used in Catholic schools for this purpose, and others, if appropriately prepared. This article identifies the education needed to enable urban teacher assistants to work effectively with students with special needs in regular classrooms in Catholic schools. The article also examines a preparation program at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
A Sabbatical View of Educational Technology
Margaret E. Curran
Annunciation Catholic Academy
(pp. 445-456) Volume 1, Number 4; June 1998
Catholic schools throughout the country are actively engaged in the process of integrating technology into their schools. A wide range of programs exists, and those programs are at various stages of development. The author visited a sample of schools that have a strong technology emphasis and identifies key elements within those programs. A review of those elements can be helpful in creating new programs.
The Ideal of a Catholic Education in a Secularized Society
Stefaan E. Cuypers
Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium)
(pp. 426-445) Volume 7, Number 4; June 2004
This paper argues that the progressive, revisionist reaction within Catholic education and schooling, as well as within Catholicism at large, to the challenge of modernity is a mistake. In view of modernity’s malaises, it advocates instead the affirmation or reaffirmation of the ideal of traditional Catholicism as the only authentic response for Catholics to modern progress. In order to justify the distinctiveness of a traditional Catholic identity and educational project, the paper offers an outline of a distinctively Thomistic educational philosophy. Its defense of the (re)affirmation of the ideal of traditional Catholic education and schooling in secularized society is neither ultra-conservative nor romantic.