The Education Battle: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Spanish Education System

The Politics of Catholic Education in Zambia: 1964-2001

This study was designed to establish a model of the Catholicity of Catholic Basic schools in Davao Provinces, Philippines. The findings revealed a significant influence of the External Factors to Catholicity affirming the study’s theoretical foundation. All seven observed variables showed positive contribution to External Factors(Latent Variable). Moreover, the findings showed significant contributions of the four observed variables to Catholicity (Latent Variable). Thus, the model measures Catholicity looking at the four observed variables and is further influenced by External Factors measured in terms of the seven observed variables. Based on the SEM findings which were supported by related literature and studies, the model of the Catholicity of Catholic Basic Education Schools in Davao Provinces will help schools remain faithful to their identity and mission as Catholic institutions.

The CRISIS Survey: The Catholic Church's Work with Immigrants in a Period of Crisis

The Catholic Diocese of Lismore is situated in the north-east coastal area of New South Wales, Australia. Catholic education in this diocese is based on the premise that school and parish work together in partnership for the personal and spiritual development of students. This premise relies on the assumption that teachers and clergy share a common view of the mission of Catholic schools. However, some recent studies highlight a lack of shared vision and indicate that teachers and clergy frequently have different expectations of what Catholic schools should be. This study examines similarities and differences in perceptions of the religious dimension of the mission of Catholic schools among the teachers and clergy in the Lismore Diocese. It identifies areas in which there is a significant lack of congruence. The study also explores the relationships and the quality of partnerships between teachers and clergy and identifies issues that are potential sources of tension. Furthermore, it considers implications for change. Self-completion questionnaires were given to the target population which consisted of all the full time teachers in Catholic schools and all the clergy on active duties in the Lismore Diocese at the beginning of 1997. Subsequent semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the clergy in the group and with thirty two teachers chosen through random sampling. Data yielded little evidence of sustained dialogue between teachers and clergy on issues related to the religious orientation of Catholic schools. Although there were some similarities in the teachers' and priests' perceptions of the religious dimension of the mission of Catholic schools, there was a considerable variation in their perceptions of priorities for these schools. Some of these differences could be linked to teachers' individual relationships with the institutional Catholic Church.;Teachers and priests were found to differ significantly in their understanding of the effectiveness of Catholic secondary schools. The study also found that ecclesiastical language used to describe the mission of Catholic schools is not always understood by teachers who work principally out of an educational context. Moreover, the study found that relationships between teachers and clergy were often hindered by poor communication, lack of clarity with regard to roles and expectations and very different perceptions of the structures and practice of authority. Many teachers believed that clergy were 'out of touch' and unrealistic in their expectations of schools and teachers. Many priests, on the other hand, considered that teachers had generally lost a sense of 'vocation' and religious motivation for their involvement in Catholic schools. Priests were generally more interested in forming partnerships with schools than were teachers in forming partnerships with parish communities. The perception that secondary school communities did not relate to parishes as well as their primary counterparts was widespread among clergy. This study makes several recommendations for the improvement of communication and dialogue between teachers and priests. It also recommends that similar research be carried out in dioceses where the parish-school authority structure differs. As part of this study the initial findings were presented to a significant gathering of clergy and school principals. The resulting discussion led to the proposal of strategies for improvement in communication and partnership. In this way the applied research in the study became an agency of change itself, working in the direction of a better culture of communication and collaboration regarding the religious mission of Catholic schools.

There is much emphasis today on inclusion and diversity in educational systems. As the place of religious belief remains a significant factor in such debates, there is a need for shared understanding of the language and purpose of Religious Education in schools. Given the substantial international footprint of Catholic schools, the conceptual framework of Religious Education in Catholic schools merits serious scrutiny. The Catholic Church’s written teaching on education has a strong focus on the contemporary school as a site of intercultural dialogue. The related teaching on Religious Education in schools, however, remains underdeveloped, with strong voices debating the desirability, or otherwise, of a strong focus on ‘faith formation and practice’ as an outcome of Religious Education. Problematically, terms like ‘Religious Education’ have inconsistent translations in the official documents of the Catholic Church, leading to a plurality of understandings internationally of the ultimate aim of the subject. A presentation of the linguistic inconsistency between English and Italian translations of documents of the Holy See reveals the scale of the challenge. This unsatisfactory arrangement needs reform. Rooted in a close critical study of Catholic teaching on education, the article presents two arguments designed to initiate the reform process: (a) the Catholic Church’s settled teaching on Religious Education must develop greater internal cohesion before it can make a meaningful contribution to intercultural dialogue, and (b) an International Directory of Religious Education, written collegially by qualified lay people and clergy, will build stronger foundations for shared understanding of the aims and scope of Religious Education among key stakeholders in Catholic schools. This shift in direction will harmonise Religious Education expectations in Catholic schools, and offer firmer ground for dialogue with those who manage and teach Religious Education in so-called ‘non-denominational’ schools.

How do the Catholic Schools Consultants through their leadership and relationship with Principals influence the outcomes of Catholic systemic schools in New South Wales (NSW)? This research question has been of considerable interest to the professional communities of Catholic educators. Throughout NSW there are eleven diocesan Catholic school systems, each led by a Director assisted by senior field officers called Consultants, the equivalent position of Area superintendents or inspectors in other school systems. The leadership of these Consultants is considered critical for the effectiveness of the school systems especially through their influence on and with Principals. Within this survey research study, the total population of Consultants and Principals was invited to participate, and 45 Consultants (90%) and 365 Principals (76%) responded. The research study was based on the assumption that a 'classical' view of leadership should be augmented by a more complex, interactive view of leadership as relationship that influenced outcomes in school systems. The study was operationalized in three dimensions. Leadership was described by ten variables, derived from Sashkin's (1998) Visionary Leadership Theory. The relationship between Consultant and Principals was posited as a composite of two variables, Interpersonal Relation and Shared Catholic Leadership Mindset, that are viewed as explanatory, mediating variables. Three selected outcome variables are posited - Educational Outcomes, School Outcomes and Spiritual Outcomes. The fifteen variables so described were developed and/or validated for this study using confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, the impact of three demographic background factors of gender, school type, and years of networking association between Consultant and Principals on the main variables in the study was examined. A mediated - effects survey research design was used.;Survey questionnaires were sent from the local Catholic Education Office to each volunteer Consultant and to her/his associated network of Principals on a confidential basis and returned directly to the researcher. At no stage did the researcher know the identity of the respondents. Data analysis methods included comparative means analysis of Consultants' and Principals' perceptions of the variables; multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling to examine the associations between variables; MANOVA analysis to examine demographic background factors; and finally some descriptive analysis of survey data to provide validation or further insights. The study results showed that both Consultants and Principals agreed that the Consultants demonstrated visionary leadership as defined by Sashkin (1998) although there were significant differences on seven leadership factors. There was high level agreement that Consultants and Principals exhibited a shared mindset, described as Shared Catholic Leadership Mindset, and outstanding interpersonal relationships. Findings about the associations between variables showed different results for Principals and Consultants. The 'Principals' model suggested that the two relationship variables acted as mediators between some of the ten leadership variables and the three outcome variables. On the other hand, the 'Consultants' model suggested that neither of the two relationship variables acted as mediators, but that only two leadership variables, Capable Management and Creative Leadership, had any influence on Outcomes. There were no significant differences on results due to gender, school type or years of networking association for either Principals or Consultants.;These results, supplemented by qualitative findings, led to the conclusion that there was a need for system policy makers to reconceptualise the leadership of such Consultants to emphasise the importance of the shared mindset, and the synergistic element in the relationship between Consultant and Principals. There was a recommendation that further research replicate this study with other Catholic, Government and independent education systems. The use of structural equation modelling analysis in similar future research was also recommended.

This study explored the interface between the leadership of Catholic schools and the legal framework of the social/cultural context of Australian Society. Specifically, the study investigated the legal issues impacting on Catholic schools, principals' understandings of these legal issues and the sources used in gaining these understandings. The congruency between these understandings and the current interpretations of areas of the law were also examined, along with the influence legal issues have on principals; in particular, their perceptions of how these legal issues relate to carrying out their leadership roles aligned with the characteristics and ethos of the Catholic school. In this overall context, the influence of a number of variables such as school complexity, location, and primary and secondary school environments was also examined. The study commenced with an examination of the development of Catholic schools within the Australian social/cultural context, an exploration of leadership as it relates to Catholic schools and a survey of the literature indicating the scope and nature of the legal matters impacting on schools within the Australian legal framework. To gather data relevant to the purposes of the study, a Survey Questionnaire was constructed and distributed to principals of all systemic Catholic schools administered by the Brisbane Catholic Education Centre. The quantitative and qualitative data provided via this instrument was supplemented and corroborated by information gathered through discussions, observations, and reference to documentation and records. The findings of the study confirmed that Catholic schools were involved with a wide range of legal issues, involvement being more pronounced in some areas than others, and like all legal issues within the Australian social/cultural context, those impacting on schools were subject to regular renewal and development.;In relation to the latter, participants identified emerging areas of the law which were starting to have an impact on their schools. Principals' overall understandings of current interpretations of legal issues were not of a high standard. However, some understandings, particularly relating to statue law were more accurate than understandings of common law issues. Principals used a wide range of sources to gain legal understandings, and interactions with fellow principals and personnel within the Brisbane Catholic Education System who supported and supervised principals, featured prominently. However, access for principals to designated legal practitioners for advice on legal matters was a need revealed. Involvement of principals in formal and less formal professional learning experiences relating to legal matters was limited, and participation did not have a significant influence on developing more accurate understandings of legal issues. Nevertheless, the need for continued personal and professional learning with regard to legal issues was highlighted by this study, especially considering the continued renewal and development of the law, and the stress created by the lack of legal understandings. The findings indicated legal matters were having a large impact on Catholic schools; 90% of participants experienced stress associated with legal matters, and 70% saw this as an increasing phenomena. While a number of variables inter-relate to form a cumulative effect contributing to stress, participants ranked the most prominent source of stress as lack of legal knowledge. The impact of legal matters was not confined to addressing legal matters per se, but a constant threat of legalism overshadowing principals in their leadership roles. Overall, there was a high compatibility between the ethos of the Catholic school and the resolutions reached, and the process used in coming to a resolution of legal matters.;However, participants were more confident in their perceptions of a high compatibility with the resolutions reached than with the processes used.No one variable examined, had an overall significant influence on the understandings, involvement and impact of legal issues on the leadership of Catholic schools. However, a number of significant relationships were identified with particular aspects of the study. Surprisingly, the study did not reveal a significant relationship between the length of time spent as a principal in a Catholic school and the accuracy of understandings of legal issues impacting on schools. It was suggested that the development of principals' understandings of legal issues could be closely related to the continued personal and professional learning and growth of leaders within Catholic schools, particularly within School Leadership Teams. Suggestions to support this growth and learning were offered as part of the overall development of leadership within Catholic schools.

In a predominantly Catholic country like the Philippines, religious education is primarily carried out by Catholic schools in a systematic and programmatic way. Fulfilling this task, however, is not without challenges. One of these is globalization, a situation which gives rise to the relativization and privatization of religion, and fundamentalism. Another challenge is the post-modern spirituality of young people, which considers religious institutions and authority as suspect. Access to a systematic and programmatic religious education is also a challenge, especially for a great majority of young people who belong to families that cannot afford the fees charged by Catholic schools. It is common knowledge that top notch Catholic educational institutions charge exorbitant fees, thus they are branded as elitists. To address these challenges, Catholic educational institutions pour their resources in the training and formation of religious educators, in continuously improving the religious education curriculum and in engendering a harmonized program for religious instruction, pastoral ministry and social apostolate, thus engendering integral Christian formation among the learners. Moreover, support coming from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines provide these institutions, especially the small missionary schools, with the support they need to effectively carry out their mission of evangelization.

Christianity, and specifically Roman Catholicism, is experiencing a period of global growth at the same time as declining affiliation and practice of the Christian faith is evident in many developed nations (Hackett, Stonawski, Potancokova, Grim, & Skirbekk, 2015b). This decline is evident in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2017b). The Roman Catholic Church has responded to the decline in affiliation and practice through an initiative called the New Evangelisation (Pope John Paul II, 1991). The emphasis on the New Evangelisation by the Catholic Church has contributed to the decision by Australian ecclesial and educational leaders to incorporate the New Evangelisation explicitly into the mission of Catholic schools (Catholic Bishops of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, 2007). Moreover, programs have been introduced into schools to engage school communities as Centres of the New Evangelisation (Catholic Bishops of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, 2007). Consequently, teachers in Catholic schools are expected to be the primary conduits for New Evangelisation initiatives (Pope John Paul II, 2001b, No. 33). The research problem underpinning this study concerns teachers’ understanding of and engagement with the New Evangelisation in Catholic secondary schools. The purpose of this research is to explore how teachers in Catholic secondary schools experience the New Evangelisation. The major research question is: How do teachers in Catholic secondary schools experience the New Evangelisation? The following specific research questions focus the conduct of the research: 1. How do teachers in Catholic secondary schools experience the contemporary expression of Catholicism? 2. How do teachers understand the New Evangelisation? 3. How do teachers respond to the New Evangelisation in Catholic secondary schools? This study is of significance because it may assist in preparing school leaders and teachers appropriately to implement the New Evangelisation by addressing the paucity of research regarding teachers understanding and implementation of the New Evangelisation in Catholic schools. Given the purpose of this study, the research paradigm of interpretivism is adopted. The epistemological framework of constructionism is appropriate as the study explores teachers’ experiences of the New Evangelisation. Symbolic interactionism is the theoretical perspective for this research using case study methodology. Participants are selected purposively from among teachers in a bounded context and data are gathered through the use of documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The limitations of this study include the case study limitations together with the responsiveness of the participants. A delimitation of the research is the purposive selection of participants. It is the researcher’s intention to ensure a reliable, voluntary and stress-free environment for all participants during the research. Processes to ensure participant confidentiality as well as the reliability and truthfulness of the research are established. This research generates eight conclusions relating to new knowledge, policy and practice. First, teacher participants distinguish between the experience of contemporary Catholicism within the Catholic secondary school and the experience of Catholicism in parishes and the institutional Catholic Church. Second, Catholic schools ensure appropriate expressions of Catholic practice for staff and students and that for many Catholics, the Catholic school is the only community in which they worship. Third, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (ARCIRCSA) has exacerbated the disinterest in, if not rejection of Catholicism by many Catholic students, families and staff. Further, the study concludes that the ARCIRCSA has exacerbated the challenges which teachers experience concerning evangelising in a secular context. Fourth, the concept of the New Evangelisation is problematic for some teachers who are charged with its implementation. Fifth, teacher participants exhibit multiple, contestable and contrasting understandings of the concept of the New Evangelisation. Sixth, the study concludes that there are five distinct issues which mitigate against Australian Catholic secondary schools’ implementation of the New Evangelisation. Seventh, teacher participants implement the New Evangelisation according to their individual understandings of what constitutes the New Evangelisation. Since teachers do not share an agreed purpose for the New Evangelisation, they have multiple and at times conflicting responses to it. Finally, this study concludes that a relatively small number of teachers are responsible for the implementation of the New Evangelisation in Australian Catholic secondary schools.

The Report of a Select Committee in 1835 gave the total of Catholic day schools in England as only 86, with the total for Scotland being 20. Catholic children had few opportunities for day school education. HMI Baptist Noel reported in 1840: ‘very few Protestant Dissenters and scarcely any Roman Catholics send their children to these [National] schools; which is little to be wondered at, since they conscientiously object to the repetition of the Church catechism, which is usually enforced upon all the scholars. Multitudes of Roman Catholic children, for whom some provision should be made, are consequently left in almost complete neglect, a prey to all the evils which follow profound ignorance and the want of early discipline.’ With the establishment of the lay dominated Catholic Institute of Great Britain in 1838 numbers rose to 236 in the following five years, although the number of children without Catholic schooling was still estimated to be 101,930. Lay control of Catholic schools diminished in the 1840s. In 1844, for example, Bishop George Brown of the Lancashire District in a Pastoral letter abolished all existing fund-raising for churches and schools and created his own district board which did not have a single lay member. The Catholic Poor School Committee was founded in 1847, with two laymen and eight clerics and the bishops requested that the Catholic Institute hand over all its educational monies to this new body and called for all future collections at parish level to be sent to it. Government grants were secured for Catholic schools for the first time in 1847. The great influx of Irish immigrants during the years of the potato famine (1845–8) increased the Catholic population and church leaders soon noted the great leakage among the poor. The only way to counteract this leakage was to educate the young under the care of the Church.

This study investigates the principles and arguments of JH Newman's Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent. Newman argued that the mind receives impressions of revealed truth, which form a real and permanent inward knowledge that may be recognised implicitly or explicitly by those who possess it. This recognition is considered by Newman to be an insight into the act of assent to religious belief before it can be understood and explained. According to Newman's epistemology as articulated in the Grammar (in the principles of perception, apprehension, assent and inference, first principles, conscience, certitude and the illative sense) the human person can believe without understanding and proof. This is the hypothesis that is the driving force of this study that uses bracketing to isolate Key Stage Three (11-14 years) pupil insights in accord with qualitative research methods. The pupils of a Catholic Comprehensive in the Greater London area in this study discovered and experimented with age-old and contemporary conventions within the domain of the Philosophy of Religion in response to problem-solving tasks set on the doctrine of the Trinity. This teaching and learning took place long before a secular educational paradigm driven by stage theory would consider feasible. The perception of doctrine as provocative educational materials that the Catholic Church enforces through the processes of indoctrination is not verified in this study. The cognitive challenges of doctrine were found to be no more or less than the cognitive capacities of students. Teaching methodology needs to take a strong account of the teacher as expert as well as the teacher as facilitator of learning. Newman's epistemology reveals the human person as a believing person demonstrating the inherent capacity to believe is critical to an understanding of how pupils learn in religious and non-religious matters.

An Interethnic Paradox: Chicago's Irish and Everyone Else

The title at the head of this article could give rise to many diverse interpretations. One of these is the study of to what degree the Spanish education system relates to the education policy which the European Economic Community fi rst and the European Union later have drawn up since their creation. Without doubting the interest of this line of exploration, I prefer one that seems to me more realistic and revealing in the present circumstances. In my opinion, the European Union, in educational matters, is none other than the sum of all its parts. In other words, I am not convinced that its member states have given the Union the possibility of implementing a real community education policy or that they are going to do so in the near future. The States which compose the European Union jealously keep exclusive control over their respective education systems and it seems they wish to continue that way while accepting, not without resistance, that Brussels may collaborate in establishing certain common lines of action. The aim of the following pages is, therefore, to place the present Spanish education system in its natural framework which is without doubt that of the European Union. However, I will consider more the different States that compose it and their respective policies rather than the education policy of the Union itself, a policy which is, I feel, doubtful. I would like to examine, ultimately, in what sense the Spanish education system is homologous to that of the principle States of the European Union. An ambitious aim, without doubt, which contrasts the lack of space available and the complexity of the topic. Given these limitations, I am forced to choose a few points that I consider of major importance regarding the presence of the Spanish education system within the European Union. In particular, I will refer only to three. The fi rst, of a historical nature, hopes to illustrate many of the present-day differences. The second point refers to what many Spanish academics and I consider the macro-problem facing the Spanish education system: its own nature as an education system. Finally, I will try to list, briefl y, some of the main defi ciencies which affect the Spanish education system with the European framework. The reader might be surprised by the strongly critical, perhaps autocritical, character of the following pages. As will be noted, it seems as if I have tried to show only the negative aspects of the education system which I myself serve and have served for many years, thus succumbing to the typically Spanish tendency that I will analyse later: a plaintive and even pessimistic tone in my refl ections. This does not comply with my usual vision as the reader can confi rm in my other writings. 1

This article reports findings from a study that examines the factors which influence early childhood and care (ECEC) early career teachers’ confidence in teaching Religious Education (RE) and how it impacts their teaching of RE in Catholic primary schools in Western Australia. Teachers’ confidence is a teacher’s belief in their ability to accomplish a goal and refers to strength of belief. Research in this area has shown that confidence is correlated with the sense of teaching efficacy and responsibility for student learning. Whilst there has been some research into teacher confidence, there has been insufficient research into early childhood teachers’ confidence to teach RE in Catholic schools in an Australian context. Literature supports the notion that if early childhood teachers have a strong teacher confidence for a subject, they are more motivated to teach the subject and this has a positive correlation with positive student outcomes. The epistemological approach underpinning the research is constructivist in nature; therefore, it is based on understanding the constructed realities of what humans know of the world and themselves as produced by communications and systems of meaning. Three case studies follow teachers from their early career to second-year experience in Catholic schools. This study investigates support structures and aspects that contribute to teacher confidence in the teaching of RE. The main themes identified by the data that contributed to confidence or lack of confidence included training, family and religious backgrounds, teaching and learning, mentoring and support in the first year of teaching. The implications of the results for pre-service teacher training and support for graduate teachers are discussed and some suggestions are offered about the courses provided by universities and what schools and education systems can do to support early career teachers to teach RE effectively in Catholic schools.

Funding Australian Catholic schools for the common good in new times : policy contexts, policy participants and theoretical perspectives