Volume 5, Number 1
September, 2001
Table of Contents
Editors' Comments (p. 5)
Thomas C. Hunt, Ronald J. Nuzzi
Articles
Educational Choices and the Politics of Inclusion
Robert H. Palestini
Saint Joseph's University
(pp. 6-27)
One of the few truly rational arguments against education tuition vouchers is that if implemented on a universal basis they would further separate the “haves” from the “have-nots” and create another instance of the so-called neo-conservatives perpetuating the politics of exclusion. Instead, we suggest a voucher plan that would be awarded according to family income and benefit only those truly in need, thus furthering the efforts of those espousing the politics of inclusion.
Focus Section
Catholic School Lay Principalship: The Neglected Ministry in Church Documents on Catholic Education – An Australian Perspective
Paul J. Hansen
Australian Catholic University
(pp. 28-38)
The decline in religious in Australia in the 35 years since the end of the Second Vatican Council has brought an associated withdrawal of religious from the staffs and governance of Catholic schools. Lay women and men have replaced religious principals, but the principalship has not changed sufficiently to accommodate the new life realities of lay people in that role. This article argues that there has been an emerging recognition in Church documents on Catholic education of Catholic education as a ministry of the laity, but such documents are largely silent about the role, ministry, and vocation of lay principals in Catholic schools. The article calls for a statement from the Congregation for Catholic education on the leadership of lay principals in Catholic schools which acknowledges the importance of this vital emerging lay ministry within the Church and which recognizes that lay people are shaping anew this administrative role, distinct from the quasi-monastic practice of preceding generations of religious principals.
Growing Up Catholic in a Scottish City: The Relationship Between Denominational Identity, Denominational Schools, and Attitude Toward Christianity Among 11- to 15-Year-Olds
Leslie J. Francis & Harry M. Gibson
University of Wales, Bangor
(pp. 39-54)
From a large survey conducted in a Scottish city, this article identifies 1,285 students attending Catholic schools (16.6% of whom were not Catholics) and 1,240 Catholic students (14.8% of whom were educated in non-Catholic schools). The data demonstrate that Catholic students educated in Catholic schools hold a more positive attitude toward Christianity than comparable Catholic students educated in non-Catholic schools and that non-Catholic students educated in Catholic schools hold a less positive attitude toward Christianity than comparable Catholic students. Both findings have implications for the evaluation of the Catholic school system.
Cluj: A Jesuit Educational Outpost in Transylvania, 1693-1773
Paul Shore
Saint Louis University
(pp. 55-71)
For the 80 years the Society of Jesus operated a complex of institutions in the Transylvanian town of Cluj, including an academy, a school for aristocratic boys, a residence, and an architecturally distinguished church. The Jesuits endeavored to convert the local population, which included Orthodox Romanians, Jews, Roma (Gypsies), Armenians, Lutherans, and Unitarians, to Catholicism and to introduce the program of studies outlines in their curricular guide, the Ratio Studiorum. While their conversion efforts met with only modest success, the Jesuits had a major impact on the culture of the region, training the local elites, introducing the Baroque aesthetic in the visual arts, operating a printing press and pharmacy, and employing outstanding scientists as teachers. The reasons for the failure of the Jesuits to make more progress in their missionary efforts may be found in both local circumstances and in the institutional culture of the Society itself. Political forces beyond the control of the Society sealed its fate, and it was suppressed by order of the pope in 1773. The vestiges of the Jesuit era in Cluj, however, are still visible today.
Leadership Succession in Catholic Schools: Planned or Unplanned?
Kelvin Canavan, fms
Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Sydney
(pp. 72-84)
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.
Principals and Pastors Sharing School Leadership:
Perspectives From Nebraska and New South Wales
Barbara L. Brock & Jennifer Fraser
Creighton University & St. Michael's Primary School
(pp. 85-100)
This paper reports the results of a study of the roles and interactions of principals and pastors in Catholic elementary schools in New South Wales and Nebraska. Findings revealed the importance of clearly defined roles and frequent communications and established a profile of the components of successful principal-pastor working relationships.
Key Ingredients in the Search for Social Justice:
A Case Study of Best Practices in a Calcutta School
Tansy S. Jessop
Creighton University & St. Michael's Primary School
(pp. 101-116)
This article examines the key ingredients in a Catholic inner-city school that have contributed to a paradigm shift in the school community. The school has relinquished a comfortable niche educating children of Calcutta’s elite in favor of the messy and risky business of engaging with the poor. It has asserted the right of every child to quality education, dared to cross social boundaries, and succeeded in integrating a widely disparate parent and child community. The article elaborates on a cluster of key ingredients which together constitute a pathway for transforming schools into those which practice social justice and provide quality education. It examines widely recognized change principles in action within a particular setting and relates that the achievement of equity and excellence are not mutually exclusive. It explores the distinctive values, ethos, teaching and learning strategies, leadership, staff and culture of the school that promote learning despite flouting conventional selection and social class norms, in order to distill the key ingredients which make for excellence and equity. This essay begins by setting the study in context, describes the research methodology briefly, and then provides an analysis of a model of best practice and a pathway to social transformation that the school
has adopted.
Review of Research
How Research Can Inform Efforts to Recruit and Retain High-Quality Teachers
Joseph M. O’Keefe, SJ
Boston College
(pp. 117-124)
Book Reviews
Catholic Education: Inside-Out/Outside-In (pp. 125-127)
By James C. Conroy
Reviewed by Joseph Massucci
Cultures Apart? The Catholic Church and Contemporary Irish Youth (pp. 127-129)
By Oliver V. Brennan
Reviewed by Finola Cunnane, SSL
The Catholic Character of Catholic Schools (pp. 129-130)
Edited by James Youniss, John Convey & Jeffrey McLellan
Reviewed by Mary C. Mullaly, FMA