Reviews the implications of James Coleman's report, "Public and Private High Schools" for education reform and Catholic schools, focusing on issues related to free choice between public and private schools, school organization, parent involvement, and values. (DMM)

Asserts that the real message of the 1981 Coleman report is the importance of school social climate, whether the school is public or private. Urges Catholic schools not to imitate public schools, but to retain their "private school" climate. One of three theme articles: "Reflections on the 1981 Coleman study". (SJL)

Reviews findings from James Coleman's report, "Public and Private High Schools," comparing public and private schools with respect to curriculum, student achievement and knowledge levels, dropout rates, minority group achievement, and students' postsecondary choices. Urges Catholic school principals to provide a school climate that…

Reviews study findings showing that, in comparison to public school students, Catholic school students have higher achievement in mathematics and verbal skills, take more math and English classes, and have lower dropout-rates. Relates high achievement to the "social capital" available to Catholic school children, school staff, and the…

Presents some 1980 data demonstrating that Catholic and private high schools do have higher achievement and better course offerings than public high schools, but cautions parents to use personal values as well as statistics when selecting a school. One of three theme articles: "Reflections on the 1981 Coleman study." (SJL)

Describes a study to determine the correspondence between community values about education/school and the nature of the actual structures that exist in the Catholic schools in the suburban Midwest community that was surveyed. Compares community attitudes and school structures concerning educational goals, curriculum content, educational support,…

Investigates to what extent the school-level environment in Catholic schools differs from government schools in Australia. Results indicated that Catholic schools were not superior to government schools except in the areas of empowerment and mission consensus. Describes study methodology and provides tables of data. (YKH)