As a ministry of the Catholic Church, Catholic schools are charged with educating students' hearts and minds. Multiple standardized academic tests and other student assessments are available for monitoring both student and teacher outcomes in Catholic schools, but fewer measures exist for considering the school's faith-related mission. Although…

This article draws on the ongoing discussion in some European countries about whether and how non-religious worldviews and pupils should be included in religious education (RE). This discussion lacks empirical knowledge about the specific learning conditions of these pupils in RE -- a desideratum that this article addresses. Building on a…

Aggression toward peers who are perceived as weaker or different is a widespread problem for middle school students including those attending Catholic middle schools. Middle school students' normative beliefs about the acceptability of various types of aggressive behavior influences their own potential involvement in bullying. Therefore, how…

This article examines silent reflection within the context of Augustinian Catholic schools. Tracing the rich lineage of Augustinian spirituality, it explores how cultivating interiority serves as a transformative practice that fosters spiritual growth, nourishes a deeper understanding of self and others, and compliments academic inquiry. Through a…

This paper discusses the role and influences of parental involvement and student's motivation on growth mindset. The participants in this study were from three Catholic middle schools in Ghana: One rural all-girls school (N=268); a suburban school (N=448); and an urban school (N=200). Respondents completed Campbell's Inventory of Parental…

Purpose: Given the unequal distribution of physical activity (PA) opportunities across middle schools, alternative options for promoting it should be explored. Faith-based schools are positioned to offer religious-themed PA interventions, yet few have been reported. We replicated previous research by investigating the effects of the Physical…

Background: Faith-based school physical activity (PA) interventions are uncommon. Process evaluations of school PA interventions, in general, rarely include student participant voices. Purpose: We interviewed a subset of participants in Physical Activity for Lent (PAL) -- a pedometer-based virtual journey that traces Jesus's life travels -- to…

When the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS) were first developed, principal and superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan, David Faber writes in this article of his elation at the possibilities for measuring quality and for addressing total school improvement that the…

This case study served to investigate six adolescent girls', who were identified as disengaged in physical education (PE), feelings about their experiences in a Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) unit and how TGfU might support their engagement in PE. A two-week (6-lesson) TGfU territorial games unit was taught by a guest instructor. Data…

U.S. public schools have an important opportunity to positively impact children and families from historically marginalized communities, serving as a stable point for children as they grow and a front-lines point of intervention for families. However, few schools are able to successfully create authentic, egalitarian partnerships with communities…

The persistent inequalities in urban public education in the U.S. that have left far too many Black and Hispanic male students behind with respect to academic skill development, high school graduation, and college success have led Catholic groups to provide alternative secondary school models to advance the academic and career success of urban…

Two weeks into a new academic school year, a physical education (PE) class of 25 grade nine girls completed a survey relative to their previous PE experiences. Following the completion of a six-lesson territorial games unit using the six-step teaching game for understanding (TGfU) model taught by a guest certified female teacher with TGfU…

Over the past decade, there has been a considerable push in emphasizing STEM--an acronym standing for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math--as an integral aspect of educational curriculums. Even though research suggests that females tend to outperform males in standardized testing in STEM areas, they remain underrepresented in STEM careers…

Teaching behavior impacts student psychopathology. This study explored the associations between teaching behavior types and depressive symptoms in students. The Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were completed by 763 middle and 976 high school students from private Catholic…

The goals of developing a global perspective are consistent with the faith-based values of Catholicism. The primary goal is to prepare students academically, morally, and socially to participate in a globalized world that constantly faces new problems. A key component of this is the understanding that other people, who may appear on the surface to…