The Religious Dimension Of Education In A Catholic School

In today’s pluralistic world, many cultures feel a shift in the relationship of people with religious traditions. A corresponding movement is a resurgence of interest in human spirituality. This Handbook presents the views of education scholars who engage these concepts every day, in a collection of essays reflecting the international state of the discipline. Out of these rises a vision for the emergence of a just and peaceful world.

This book draws upon the authors understanding and findings from four qualitative studies conducted within two Canadian provinces as well as an amalgam of relevant documents of the Catholic Church, the academic writings of others, and media reports. It is from those sources that the authors attempts to shed some light on the phenomenon of the inclusion of non-Catholic students within 10 dimensions: social/ cultural, political, financial, legal, racial, administrative, pedagogical, psychological, spiritual, and philosophical. The data from these four studies is from constitutionally protected and funded Catholic high schools. The other sources of data are both national (Canadian) and international. Dr. Donlevy is the Associate Dean (Interim): Graduate Division of Educational Research in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary and the Vice-Chair of the University of Calgary’s Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board. He has taught grades 4-12 (inclusive), been a school principal, and is permanently certified as a teacher in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. He has negotiated on local levels for both the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation. He is also a member of the Saskatchewan Law Society, having become a barrister & solicitor in 1985.

A distance is opening up between Catholic education and the rich intellectual heritage of the Catholic Church. Education in a Catholic Perspective explores Catholic philosophical and theological foundations for both education per se and for Catholic education in particular. With contributions spanning the theological foundations of Catholic education, the interplay of theology and education, and discussions of the social and missional dimensions of education, this book will be of considerable interest to educators and students of Catholic education, to academics in the fields of applied theology and philosophy and to those with an interest in the foundations of education.

Archbishop J. Michael Miller distills the Church's teachings on Catholic education and explains the five marks of all good Catholic schools.