Volume 2, Number 1
September 1998
Table of Contents
Editors' Comments (p. 3)
William F. Losito, Joseph F. Rogus
Articles
The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium
Congregation for Catholic Education
(pp. 4-14)
U.S. Catholic Schools and the Religious Who Served in Them:
Contributions in the First Six Decades of the 20th Century
Richard M. Jacobs, OSA
Villanova University
(pp. 15-34)
This article, the second in a series of three articles surveying the contributions of the religious to U.S. Catholic schooling, focuses upon their contributions during the first six decades of the 20th century. Through this period, not only did the religious provide the personnel needed to support the tremendous expansion of Catholic schooling, they also stepped forward to provide diocesan and national Catholic educational leadership, pushed Catholic pedagogical theory beyond its traditional European roots, designed new religion curricula, advanced women’s equality, and upheld parental rights in educating their children. These contributions made it possible for Catholic schools to provide Catholic youth the moral and intellectual formation to lead the American Catholic community during the post-Vatican II decades.
Catholic Intellectual Traditions and Contemporary Scholarship
James Turner
University of Notre Dame
(pp. 35-45)
The Catholic university can make a natural home for experimenting with the foundations of knowledge because Catholic scholars retain faith in a God who created the universe and human reason as a reliable God-given instrument for comprehending this creation. The central question is: How can the Catholic university reconstruct itself to bring the resources of Catholic tradition to bear on our common task of rebuilding the house of learning? Our common problem is the fragmentation of knowledge. The Catholic university needs to inhabit the domains of both secular learning and Christian knowledge. The participation of Catholic intellectuals and universities in the postmodern dialogue will benefit the entire
intellectual community.
The Quiet Revolution in Catholic Schooling in Australia
Kelvin Canavan, fms
Catholic Education Office, Sydney, Australia
(pp. 46-54)
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.
A Search for Common Ground:
Value Preferences of Lay and Religious Teachers in Roman Catholic Secondary Schools
Candace H. Lacey
Arkansas State University
(pp. 55-67)
This study examined the value preferences of full-time lay and religious faculty members in Roman Catholic secondary schools in one archdiocese. Using The Study of Values (Allport, Vernon, & Lindzey, 1960), two main research questions were addressed: What relative importance do teachers place on the six identified values? And what differences exist between the value preferences of religious and lay teachers? Findings indicated that both religious and lay teachers considered the religious value preference most important, while the economic value was the least preferred orientation. The significant difference found between groups for the religious valued preference is discussed in terms of instrumentation. Implications for hiring are presented and recommendations for future research are made.
Focus Section
Tales From the Front:
Reflections of a Catholic University Administrator on Spirituality and Leadership
Alven Neiman
University of Notre Dame
(pp. 69-81)
Many good books on the theory and practice of the Catholic university have been published. The modest aim here is not to try to outdo or replace them, but only to provide something of an autobiographical account and musings of one who has served as a director of a humanities program at Notre Dame for over 15 years. The hope is that “Tales From the Front” will resonate with some readers or at least lead them to reflect upon the challenges of their own work in Catholic teaching or administration.
A Lesson From a Sarcastic Jesus
Dawn Nothwehr, OSF
Quincy University
(pp. 82-97)
Mutuality is a salient feature of any spirituality that is authentically Catholic. While there are at least four different forms of mutuality, a comprehensive view of its various forms establishes mutuality as a formal moral norm for Christian conduct. As such, mutuality proves to be a vital incarnational principle that can assist Catholic educators in critically evaluating
their ministry.
Review of Research
Dissertations on Catholic Schools: Today’s Accomplishments, Tomorrow’s Challenges
Thomas C. Hunt, Ronald J. Nuzzi
University of Dayton
(pp. 99-107)
The Religious Orders and Catholic Research in England:
The Founding of a New Center at the University of London
Gerald Grace
University of London
(pp. 108-110)
Book Reviews
Contending With Modernity: Catholic Higher Education in the Twentieth Century (pp. 112-113)
By Philip Gleason
Reviewed by Timothy E. Eden, SM
From the Heart of the American Church: Catholic Higher Education and American Culture
(pp. 114-115)
By David O’Brien
Reviewed by Michael Garanzini, SJ
American Catholic Higher Education Essential Documents, 1967-1990 (pp. 116-118)
Edited by Alice Gallin, OSU
Reviewed by Kevina Keating, CCVI