In recent years, the social benefits (or otherwise) of faith-based schools within the state-maintained system have become a matter for public discussion. Following the introduction of a new statutory duty placed on the governing bodies of maintained schools in England under section 38 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to promote community…

This article examines the balance found in Portugal between faith-based schools' freedom of educating with a religious perspective and the State's supervisory role of schools that receive state funding (government oversight of religious State funded schools). The research is a case study of four Catholic schools entirely funded by the State.…

With declining numbers of priests and religious sisters and brothers, principals and other Catholic school leaders need assistance in maintaining the Catholic identity and mission-related activities of their schools. One answer to the shortages of ordained priests has been employing lay campus ministers to help students in developing their faith…

The Catholic Higher Education Collaborative (CHEC) is committed to fostering effective partnerships that generate innovative responses to the critical current condition of Catholic schooling. Beginning in 2008, national CHEC conferences were organized by member institutions to energize the movement and begin a national conversation aimed at…

In this article, the author addresses many of the key points in each of the special section articles to which he responded. He observes that they are all very important pieces of research in that they clearly add important information to the existing body of research. The author notes that the articles provide insight on school climate in…

Fe y Alegría (Faith and Joy) refers to the network of schools for the poor run by the Jesuits in Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded originally in 1955 in Venezuela by Father José María Vélaz, by 2010 Fe y Alegría had spread to 17 countries in Latin America and now operates one in Chad. The Fe y Alegría schools are essentially convenant…

A key concept in contemporary Catholic educational discourse makes a distinction between religious education and catechesis. This distinction is based on the assumptions of faith commitment on the part of catechesis and the focus on cognitive outcomes on the part of religious education. Many official documents on Canadian Catholic school…

This report describes a problem based learning project that analyzes the training resources, documents, manuals, and program materials provided to school leaders to ensure Catholic identity. Current research suggests that a critical element of Catholic school leadership is the ability of school leaders to maintain and enhance Catholic identity.…

This report describes a problem based learning project that analyzes the training resources, documents, manuals, and program materials provided to school leaders to insure Catholic identity. Current research suggests that a critical element of Catholic school leadership is the ability of school leaders to maintain and enhance Catholic identity.…

This paper observes that an ironic tension occurs in the discussion of controversial issues in some Catholic schools. One technique that teachers use in response to student disagreement with the official Church view on a controversial issue like contraception, homosexuality, or female ordination is to present Church teaching but then suggest that…

Catholic schools are set apart from public schools in that Catholic schools aim to create for the school community an atmosphere enlivened by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity. Those who serve in Catholic schools, therefore, need to understand their role as unique, that is, faith driven. The purpose of this study was to assess this…

This article is concerned with 26 primary and secondary student teachers' early perception of themselves as Catholic educators in Scotland. It analyses their perspectives on what it means to be a Catholic teacher, what is expected of them by the Church and what motivated them to choose this particular career path. Discussion of these issues…

Richard Komer's paper helpfully and carefully shows that, after the Supreme Court's 2002 ruling in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, a formidable obstacle to choice-based educational reform has been removed, and also that other, no-less-formidable obstacles remain, in the form of anti-aid provisions contained in various states' own constitutions. This…

Public policy questions such as public funding for Catholic schools, the extent of government involvement in private education, and church-state relations in general are not unique to the United States. This article discusses Catholic education in Scotland, with a view to explaining the ongoing need for cooperation and goodwill in church-state…

This essay describes and analyzes one successful justice education program flowing from community service, and demonstrates how such a program in a Catholic school responds to several important "calls" to Catholic educators. These "calls" are issued by (a) the needs of the learners and the signs of the times, (b) official documents of the Church…