This article will focus on the perennial impact of the Salesian education vision in in Salesian schools in the UK. Following an introduction outlining the history of the Salesian presence in the UK, the Salesian education vision will be explored, focused on its classical characteristics, reason, religion and loving kindness. The decline in the…

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…

"New Thinking, New Scholarship and New Research in Catholic Education" gives a forum to many established and leading scholars to review and critically appraise the research contribution of Gerald Grace to Catholic education. The book demonstrates the way in which the field of Catholic Education Studies has developed under the influence…

This paper draws on the findings of a small-scale research study based on interviews with twenty serving Catholic headteachers from the primary and secondary phases and from the maintained and independent sectors. The focus of the study was to explore the concept of 'spiritual capital' among the headteachers and to evaluate the impact of two major…

There has been a rise in claims of LGBTI youth in schools generally across the UK with a surge in young people self-identifying. This is a 'theme' or 'matter' or 'question' that has been insufficiently ventilated in relation to the Catholic school. It is shrouded in inhibition, confusion, evasion or fear. Burying our heads in the sand is not…

Covid-19 and the subsequent worldwide lockdowns have had a major impact on families and school education. The lockdowns have highlighted and exacerbated the disadvantages experienced by those children who suffer from child poverty. This article focuses on food insecurity and the digital divide, or digital exclusion, and argues that these have…

This article examines why liberation theology needs to be a core resource in religious education settings, especially in Catholic secondary schools. It will first touch on key tenets of liberation theology and the reasons why it was silenced and underused. It will then analyse poverty in the Jewish tradition as an interfaith resource and…

Following Bourdieu's tradition of examining the reproduction of the class structure, this article seeks to fill gaps in research on the class differentiation and educational situation of Polish communities in the UK. The article treats Polish post-accession migration to the UK as a social laboratory. Such an approach facilitates examination of…

The Good Friday Agreement (1998) between the UK and Irish governments, and most of the political parties in Northern Ireland, heralded a significant step forward in securing peace and stability for this troubled region of the British Isles. From the new-found stability, the previous fits and starts of education reform were replaced by a…

This article opens a window on the world of chaplains supporting seafarers, which has largely been neglected by the literature. Shipping happens in ports, which are often far away from urban centres. It is thus removed from everyday experience making seafarers an invisible population and, with them, the chaplains who assist them. The article…

This article argues that contemporary conceptual frameworks for understanding religion may not be adequate for the arena of religion and school choice. Successive published research suggests that people are choosing religious schools for reasons other than religion. But what if the reasons why people might be religious and their motivation for…

This article is an attempt to highlight some main themes in the "International Handbook of Jewish Education", which may resonate with themes that are pre-occupying Catholic educators, and which may help Catholic educators understand some of the pressing issues and concerns of Jewish educators and Jewish education. Its intention is to…

The National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education were organised by the National Association for Pastoral Care in Education (NAPCE) for the first time in 2020. The purpose was to give work in pastoral care the recognition that it deserves. A respected group of judges had the difficult task of deciding who the winners would be in each category,…

Separate Catholic schooling in Britain has historically been a key mechanism for the religious socialisation of children within the denomination and for the transmission of communal identity and heritage. Catholic schools currently comprise around a tenth of all state schools in England and nearly all 'denominational' schools in Scotland. This…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the ways in which religious students manage the dual identities of student and member of faith. If an "identity clash" occurs, how is it managed? A total of 17 students from a British university were interviewed to investigate the nature of this identity management. The results show that many…