Volume 6, Number 1
September 2002
Table of Contents
Editors' Comments (p. 4)
Ronald J. Nuzzi, Thomas C. Hunt
Articles
Catholic Education as a Societal Institution
Maureen T. Hallinan
University of Notre Dame
(pp. 5-26)
This paper conceptualizes Catholic education as a societal institution interdependent with other major social institutions in the country. A brief history of the American Catholic system demonstrates how its origin and growth were influenced by and affected the cultural, political, religious, and economic milieu in which it was embedded. In particular, the development of Catholic education interacted with the growth of the public schools system. Comparisons of contemporary Catholic and public schools illustrate this interdependency while underscoring the uniqueness and contributions of Catholic education. A sociological understanding of Catholic education as a societal entity should inform decisions about the future of Catholic education and suggest ways that the institutional interdependence of Catholic and public schools can benefit both systems.
Border Catholic Schools: Unique Stakeholder Alliances
Karen M. Watt
The University of Texas Pan American
(Part I; pp. 27-48)
This article, the first of a two-part series, presents an analysis of data extracted from the dissertation The Impact of Catholic Schooling on Low-Income Mexican-American Students (Watt, 1999). The research was prompted by the author’s interest in The Coleman Report of 1966, a controversial document that claimed multiply-disadvantaged minority Catholic school students outperformed their public school counterparts. This study was qualitative in nature, exploring four case studies of 3rd-grade teachers, their schools, and their classrooms in a Hispanic cultural context. Findings will be presented in Part II.
Effecting a University’s Mission: The Praxis of Charism
Robert J. Murray, OSA
Villanova University
(pp. 49-70)
Religious communities engaged in educational ministry have been challenged by the Second Vatican Council both to reappropriate the initial charism of their founders and to review their ministry in the schools staffed by their communities. Compounding this challenge has been the shift in the number of members of the founding congregations in their faculties. This article reframes the discussion in terms of an issue of committed culture. After presenting a theological foundation and sociohistorical critique of charism, a praxis model for mission effectiveness as it is applied to student orientation within a Catholic university setting will
be introduced.
Pragmatism and a “Catholic” Philosophical Anthropology
James Swindal
John Carroll University
(pp. 71-95)
Catholic identity is often discussed in relation to institutions such as schools and hospitals. Catholic identity can also be investigated in relationship to various disciplines, including philosophy, anthropology, and psychology. This article builds a bridge to neoscholastic thought in articulating a philosophical anthropology which strives to maintain a Catholic identity and focus. The work of Charles Taylor, a leading Catholic philosopher, is presented in an effort to place the existential problem of personal agency within a Catholic framework.
What Does It Mean to Be Human? Education for World Citizenship
Alan T. Wood
University of Washington, Bothell
(pp. 96-110)
What is the purpose of education in a democracy? What is the meaning of freedom? These questions are explored in depth in this essay as the author attempts to expand the conversation between private and public education. Without reference to religious purposes or Gospel mandates, the article explores possible responses to ultimate questions of meaning by mining language, history, biology, and technology for answers.
Review of Research
Global Perspectives on Educational Achievement: An Overview of Four Major Studies
Joseph M. O’Keefe, SJ
Boston College
(pp. 111-125)
Book Reviews
Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future (pp. 126-127)
By Margaret J. Wheatley
Reviewed by Mary Peter Traviss, OP
Architects of Catholic Culture: Designing and Building Catholic Culture in Catholic Schools
(pp. 128-129)
By Timothy J. Cook
Reviewed by Michael P. Caruso, SJ