Jesuit Catholic higher education in the United States is immersed in two seemingly incongruent missions: the advancement of the educational apostolic mission of the Catholic church and the advancement of U.S. secular culture. Understanding how Jesuit institutions have engaged the Catholic identity is becoming a concern because colleges need to…

The aim of this research was to get a better understanding of the work of school-based religious education leaders (SBREL) by examining the issues and challenges they face as well as how they are supported. SBREL were surveyed and interviewed, and they took part in focus groups. SBREL, in general, felt supported in their role. A major issue…

Despite the series of documents by the sacred ecumenical council and replete research enumerating the two-dimensional focus of Catholic schools: faith and academics and its collaborative nature, Nigerian (southeast) Catholic primary and secondary schools are continually experiencing activities of disharmony between Catholic identity and students'…

The social and emotional health support framework provided to the teachers and students by an elementary school principal is essential in providing a valid framework for researching and utilizing mental health resources within the school setting. The leadership role of a principal can validate or invalidate the use of mental health resources for…

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…

This qualitative follow up study sought the impressions of students after a two year program. The analysis of this data involved grounded theory qualitative methods. The primary means of data collection for the qualitative portion of this study was through digitally-recording and transcribing of participants' voices in response to individual…

Since the enactment of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act in New Zealand in 1975, leadership in Catholic schools has become increasingly complex. Under the legislation Catholic schools are required to develop and maintain their "Special Character." The Director of Religious Studies (DRS) has become the position with a key…

This article describes the Catholic School Principal Support Program (CSPSP), a mentoring program for first and second-year Catholic school principals in a large urban diocese, and identifies key challenges, impacts and influences on decision-making. Ten school leaders describe their work and provide the lens by which they reflect on their role as…

The most pressing challenges facing American Catholic educational leaders today are funding, Catholic identity, and leadership. Funding is the most pressing issue and it involves recruiting and retaining teachers, balancing affordability with quality, and justifying the worth of Catholic schools. Catholic identity issues include reconciling the…

It is often stated that Catholic schools in the US were built on the foundation of the poverty of vowed women religious. Dozens of communities fit this description, none more so than the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs. Sister Stephanie Mohun's service as mother general spanned a period of tremendous growth in Catholic education at…