The National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS) are a national articulation of defining characteristics and performance benchmarks that guide Catholic schools in assessing, strengthening, and sustaining their operations in four Domains: Mission and Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and…

Forty years ago, Alan Peshkin began his study of fundamental independent Baptist Christian schools. With time, further insight can be gained on the outcomes of the students from these schools. Despite possessing employer-desired character traits, fundamental Christian school students were expected to earn few academic or career achievements. The…

Drawing on case study evidence, this article explores the motivations a small liberal arts university internationalize and the challenges in facilitating internationalization. It employs qualitative methodology with qualitative data were collected from organizational documents, interviews, and field observations. The findings suggest that though a…

In recent years the educational programs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) have received praise for their role in the high rates of religiosity and denominational retention among their youth. This study offers a historical summary of the efforts of LDS to develop the most effective methods of engaging their youth in…

This article seeks to add to the underdeveloped strain of inquiry on the raced social experience of students in private and parochial institutions. We examine the role Catholic schools in the city of Chicago play in the maintenance and creation of racially problematic policies, spaces, and rhetoric. The research uncovers a multitude of responses…

During the past decade, Catholic leaders have been exploring options to revitalize the faltering Catholic school system especially in urban centers. One route being explored by dioceses and religious orders is opening what have been called "religious charter schools." Though not technically religious schools, they integrate many of the…

This article explores the intersection of culturally responsive pedagogy and faith-based schooling. The author presents a portion of a larger ethnographic research project conducted at a Catholic elementary school that serves a predominantly Latino population in urban Chicago. This work contributes to theories of culturally responsive education by…

This article addresses teachers' understanding of spiritual development in public and religious schools in Boston and Chicago. It examines how teachers define spiritual development in different educational contexts and looks at the way they relate spirituality to a number of factors including community, identity, and character. The data from the…

Based on the ethnography conducted by Magrini in three midwestern United Methodist congregations, this article examines the development of "ethnographic intertextual voicing," which describes multiple contexts and the ways in which these contexts influence representation of the participants and in turn, create in a community of learning.…

Reviews the Illinois law that requires students to participate in patriotic activities and discusses court litigation brought to bear by Jehovah's Witnesses, who contend that obligating them to salute the American flag contradicts their right to religious freedom. (GC)

This paper uses the case of Jewish schools in Chicago to explore the role of religious schools in the development of cultural capital among youth. The authors focus on three sectors of Jewish schools (Orthodox day schools, non-Orthodox day schools, and non-Orthodox supplementary schools) as contexts for learning and expressing Jewish practices,…