Volume 10, Number 3
March 2007
Table of Contents
Editors' Comments (pp. 269-270)
Ronald J. Nuzzi & Thomas C. Hunt
Articles
The Accessibility of American Catholic Secondary Schools to the Various Socioeconomic Classes of Catholic Families
John B. Huber, CSB
St. Thomas High School, Houston, Texas
(pp. 271-287)
The purpose of this study was to discern which socioeconomic classes are represented in Catholic high school populations across the United States. In addition, the study sought to discover the motivations of those families whose children were currently enrolled in American Catholic high schools. Also explored were the reasons why Catholic families who have sent their child or children to Catholic elementary schools were electing not to continue Catholic education at the secondary level. Because financial aid availability has risen along with tuition (Tracy, 2001), this investigation included the extent to which such financial aid was considered by Catholic families, as well as the perceptions of Catholic families as to its availability at the secondary level. As tuition rates rise at a higher level than the cost of living and averages wage increases, this study additionally examined the extent to which the assertion (Baker & Riordan, 1998, 1999; Riordan, 2000) that American Catholic high schools were becoming more elitist is true. The Catholic Church’s statements as to the accessibility of Catholic education to all social classes provided a framework throughout the investigation.
Responses From the Field (pp. 288-292)
Donna Frazier
St. Francis Xavier School, Jefferson City, Missouri
Robert J. Kroll, OFM
Department of Catholic Schools, Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin
Jeffery M. Boetticher
St. Joseph's Catholic High School, South Bend, Indiana
Ten Dimensions of Inclusion: Non-Catholic Students in Catholic Schools
J. Kent Donlevy
University of Calgary, Alberta
(pp. 293-320)
This article addresses the inclusion of non-Catholic students in Catholic schools. It provides a brief review of the literature on inclusion and the results of a study of inclusion from the perspectives of Catholic students and Catholic teachers in four Western Canadian urban Catholic high schools. The study employed grounded theory as its methodology and focus groups as well as documentary analysis as its methods. The results of the qualitative study indicate, among other things, that there are at least 10 dimensions to inclusion: pedagogical, social, psychological, racial, cultural, spiritual, political, financial, legal, and philosophical. Moreover, the dimensions form an interactive matrix which is of great importance to Catholic schools.
The University Consortium for Catholic Education (UCCE):
A Response to Sustain and Strengthen Catholic Education
Paige A. Smith
John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family
(pp. 321-342)
This article examines the current and potential contributions of the University Consortium for Catholic Education (UCCE) to both K-12 and higher Catholic education. In order to situate the development of alternative teacher preparation programs, a history of Catholic teacher formation is addressed followed by a brief summary of the existing programs that comprise the UCCE. Attention is given to the essential nature of a Catholic educator’s responsibility to deepen Catholic identity through authentic education in collaboration with the family and how recent college graduates who matriculate in UCCE programs are formed to respond to
this task.
Focus Section
Thomas Aquinas: Integrating Faith and Reason in the Catholic School
Dennis M. Doyle
University of Dayton
(pp. 343-356)
The Second Vatican Council, social upheaval, and quickly changing cultural norms were a part of the fabric of life in the 1960s. Values and beliefs held firmly for generations were called into question. Faith, once solid, appeared to some Catholics to turn fluid and doubtful. Though now well over seven centuries old, the work of Thomas Aquinas can itself be understood and appreciated as a response to the demands of philosophical challenges that threatened to make things fall apart. By his fitting together of faith and reason, Aquinas’ intellectual approach can serve as a inspiration for educators, especially those at the high school level.
Newman’s Vision of a University: Then and Now
James L. Heft, SM
Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, University of Southern California
(pp. 357-375)
Catholic universities face many challenges today. Increasing secularization, faculty salaries, external funding, Catholic identity, academic freedom, and institutional autonomy are among the most prominent. This essay examines the contributions of John Henry Newman to Catholic higher education and argues for their relevance today.
Book Reviews
The Miseducation of the West: How Schools and the Media Distort Our
Understanding of the Islamic World (pp. 376-379)
Edited by Joe L. Kincheloe & Shirley R. Steinberg
Reviewed by Christoper Bott
Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank (pp. 379-381)
By Robert W. Fuller
Reviewed by Michael Brennan
The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers:
On Earth as it is in Heaven (pp. 381-383)
By John Shea
Reviewed by Peggy Elson
More Damned Lies and Statistics: How Numbers Confuse Public Issues (pp. 383-386)
By Joel Best
Reviewed by Jennifer Ketchum
Letters to a Young Catholic: The Art of Mentoring (pp. 386-389)
By George Weigel
Reviewed by Bradden R. Kluesner
More Than Just a Game: Sports in American Life Since 1945 (pp. 389-391)
By Kathryn Jay
Reviewed by Wade A. Laffey
Critical Issues in Religious Education (pp. 391-394)
Edited by Oliver Brennan
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pierre-Antoine
A Teacher’s Guide to Education Law: Third Edition (pp. 394-397)
By Michael Imber & Tyll Van Geel
Reviewed by Andrew Sicnolf
The War Against Excellence: The Rising Tide of Mediocrity in America’s Middle Schools
(pp. 397-399)
By Cheri Piersen Yecke
Reviewed by Rosann Whiting