This article discusses oral history sources that give insight into how a specific group of teaching sisters (also known as nuns or women religious) reflect on their primary identity as vowed women, and their professional identity as teachers. Their identity was bound up with the fact that they had taken religious vows, and entered a congregation…

The shortage of teachers who can strongly identify with the religious mission of Catholic schools is at the point of an "existential crisis," according to a system leader in Catholic schools in Western Canada. Drawing upon exploratory interviews completed with ten chief superintendents (who oversee large school districts), this paper…

Critical reflection on the curriculum offered in the Catholic school is a valuable addition to wider dialogue on the nature of education and schooling. It enables the Church's educational agencies to offer a distinctive vision of education to the diverse range of students who freely participate in its educational ventures. In Catholic thinking,…

In his video message sent on the occasion of the closing plenary of OIEC's World Congress, Pope Francis expressed sincere gratitude for all those who work in Catholic education. "I thank you for this service, and through you I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to all those who work in Catholic education: lay people, men and women…

This article examines the historical context of the growth and development of Catholic education in the United States, and the commitment of Catholic colleges and universities -- viewed primarily through the lens of Jesuit Colleges and Universities -- to the professional formation of educators for service in Catholic schools. It is a story of the…

A Catholic school is distinguished from a public school through its Catholic identity based on its mission statement which clearly outlines what it means to be Catholic through a theological, evangelical, and ecclesial foundation (Engle et al., 2020). The purpose of this study was to discover the reason for a diminished Catholic identity at St.…

In June 2019, the Vatican published its first-ever document on gender theory. This document was directed at Catholic educational institutions and draws on theology and philosophy, while excluding science on gender identity and testimonies from transgender people, to suggest gender theory is an ideology endangering the family. The case of Jane, a…

Every four years, the International Office of Catholic Education (OIEC in French) organizes its World Congress as an opportunity for participants -- including school teachers and principals, to share their experiences and achievements, as well as the challenges they face. In June 2019, the Educatio Si Congress took place in New York in partnership…

In this grounded theory study, qualitative data from 11 educators in six diocesan high schools in the New England region revealed an interrelated framework for lay educator faith formation. Dimensions of that framework include the educator's relationship to the Church, interconnected processes of prayerful reflection and personal encounter,…

The relationships between RE leaders in Catholic education and their schools and their religious communities may be ambiguous. RE leaders often appear disconnected from both 'ordinary' teacher issues and 'ordinary' leadership issues because of their religious responsibilities. In this innovative research project, the authors have explored RE…