Volume 4, Number 3
March, 2001
Table of Contents
Editors' Comments (p. 280)
Ronald J. Nuzzi, Thomas C. Hunt
Articles
The Catholic Secondary School Climate:
Forming a Culture of Nonviolence and Healthy Relatedness
Sharon M. Homan, Stephanie Starkloff Morgan, Mary Domahidy,
Saint Louis University
Kenneth B. Homan, Joleene Unnerstall & Rachel H. Fisher
Quincy University, Project H.A.R.T., St. Louis, & Washington University
(pp. 281-300)
In The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, the Congregation for Catholic Education (1998) suggests that the foremost challenge to third millennium education is a “crisis of values” that assumes the form of moral relativism, subjectivism, and nihilism. Teen violence, disengagement with others, power games, date rape, and other forms of unhealthy sexual relationships are manifestations of this crisis. One of the characteristics of the Catholic school that enables it to respond is the climate of the educating community. The Congregation states, “The educating community, taken as a whole, is…called to further the objective of a school as a place of complete formation through interpersonal relations” (p. 12). Fostering healthy relationships is key to the formation of young persons in our Catholic secondary schools. This article examines three questions confronting our secondary schools: How does interpersonal violence threaten both interpersonal relations and the climate of the educating community? What approaches can be used in secondary schools to contribute to a culture of nonviolence? How are healthy interpersonal relations fostered among teens in a Catholic school? We analyze these questions from an interdisciplinary perspective which draws upon research and practice fro the fields of public health, education, and psychology and the theological tradition of Catholic education, particularly moral theology.
That Feeling of Being on the Edge:
Six Case Studies of Stress in Catholic Elementary School Administrators
Monica Veto, Patricia Nugent, Sharon Kruse
Gilmour Academy, St. Hilary School, & University of Akron
(pp. 301-318)
Educational administration is a stressful profession. As reform agendas and student populations become more challenging, little is changing in schools to counter this long-standing truth. Educational leaders of the 21st century are facing more pressures, changes, and challenges as the pace of their professional lives increases. This study develops notions around novice and veteran administrators’ identification of and responses to stressful incidents in their professional practice.
The Catholic School:
A Catalyst for Social Transformation Through the Teaching of Gospel Values
Joan L. Dobzanski
Diocese of Manchester
(pp. 319-334)
The United States Catholic bishops, in their 1998 pastoral statement Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions, challenge Catholic educational leaders to address the need for a more explicit and intentional integration of Catholic social teaching into their programs and institutions. This article proposes a model for strengthening a Catholic school system’s commitment to sharing the social doctrine of the Church through critical examination of its identity, mission, and culture.
Teacher Commitment and Longevity in Catholic Schools
Cathy Squillini
The Facilitator Center
(pp. 335-354)
This study investigated the characteristics of job satisfaction that lead to commitment and longevity in the Catholic school system for full-time Catholic elementary school lay teachers. The study was conducted using 339 teachers in the Archdiocese of New York who were part of the Catholic school system for 10 or more years. Data were collected through survey questionnaires and interviews. Using a theoretical framework relevant to job satisfaction, motivation, and adult development, the data were analyzed to determine how teachers are influenced by the work, the workplace, and other members in the workplace in determining their job satisfaction. The results of the study indicated that Catholic elementary school lay teachers place high priority on characteristics such as autonomy, administrative recognition and support, student motivation, and positive relationships with colleagues. Participants also stated that these characteristics are the conditions of the Catholic school system that encourage them to remain in Catholic school teaching. For the Catholic elementary school lay teachers in this study, commitment stems from the cultural bonds between the teacher and the school that reflect the shared values and beliefs held by both.
Focus Section
The Past is Prologue: American Catholic Education and the New Century
Timothy Walch
Hoover Presidential Library
(pp. 355-363)
The author of a recent history of American Catholic education points to three ongoing traditions—tenacity, adaptability, and identity—as evidence that parochial education will continue well into the next century. In this personal essay, Walch challenges pessimistic assessment of Catholic education that appeared in Phi Delta Kappan. He also highlights other, more positive assessments of Catholic schooling. Walch concludes that even though American Catholic parochial education will never again attain the position of influence it had in the mid-20th century, parish schools will remain important education laboratories for the
coming century.
The Catholic Teacher: Our Greatest Resource
John King Mussio, JCD
Late Bishop of Steubenville
(pp. 364-374)
The 56th annual meeting of the National Catholic Educational Association was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1959. The following essay is a transcript of a talk delivered at that meeting on March 31, by the then Bishop of Steubenville, Ohio, the Most Reverend John King Mussio. He was speaking to the Secondary School Department about the importance of Catholic high schools and the vital role of teachers in the education and formation of youth. Although over 40 years have passed, Mussio cites many problems and challenges facing Catholic educators that are still with us today. His praise of teachers is almost poetic; his love of Catholic education is profound. Calling teachers the fifth mark of Church, Mussio clearly values the Catholic school system and those whose example and teaching help youth “to keep in step with Christ.”
Maritain’s Philosophy of Education and Christian Religious Education
Mario O. D’Souza, CSB
University of St. Michael's College
(pp. 375-395)
Catholic schools invest much time and energy in writing mission statements that express the common values, beliefs, and goals of the Church community. This article explores the philosophical foundation supporting our mission by analyzing the work of the Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain. While often labeled dismissively as a new-Thomist, Maritain’s thought offers a cogent, philosophically balanced view of education that is highly congruent with Catholic theology. Arguing that Catholic schools are more than just institutions staffed by Catholics, the author reasons that all education, if the truth be told, is in some form a religious education, and that good teachers create schools that invite students to grow in the life of
the mind.
Victor and Constance Daniel and Emancipatory Education at the Cardinal Gibbons Institute
Cecilia A. Moore
University of Dayton
(pp. 396-404)
From 1924 to 1934, Victor and Constance Daniel practiced emancipatory education at the Cardinal Gibbons Institute, a Catholic high school for African Americans in Ridge, Maryland. The purpose of emancipatory education was to liberate Black and White Americans, both mentally and morally, from the vestiges of slavery that created and perpetuated racism in the United States. Emancipatory education placed the study and appreciation of African American history and culture at its center. The Daniels rooted their development of emancipatory education in their experience as Catholic educators, the racial uplift movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and African American scholarship.
Review of Research
The Modern Homeschooling Movement
Brian D. Ray
National Home Education Research Institute
(pp. 405-421)
Homeschooling is a popular and fast-growing trend in the United States and Canada. This article presents a comprehensive overview of current research on homeschooling and provides historical, academic, psychological, and political information to build a proper context for appreciating the contribution of homeschooling to civic welfare.
Book Reviews
Catholic Schools at the Crossroads: Survival and Transformation (pp. 423-425)
Edited by James Youniss & John Convey
Reviewed by Peter B. Holland
Catholic Education: The Future is Now (pp. 425-427)
By James Mulligan, CSC
Reviewed by Merylann J. Schuttloffel
Sacraments: A NEW Understanding for a NEW Generation (p. 428)
By Ray R. Noll
Reviewed by Francis J. Buckley, SJ