Canon law recognizes the pastor as the chief educational officer (CEO) of the parish school. However, recent studies demonstrate that seminaries do not prepare seminarians for work in or leadership of Catholic schools, and recent scholarship also demonstrates that an increasing number of seminarians lack the desire to lead a parish school. Our…

The Catholic school system in the United States is undergoing significant changes in size, populations served and the funding models which have traditionally supported such schools. The closing of many schools in urban areas in the last 10 years in conjunction with the rising costs of schooling suggests that unless a new approach to funding…

Historically Catholic college preparatory and career vocational-technical schools have had contrasting approaches to secondary school education. Catholic schools have provided classical liberal-arts education, including religious instruction, with emphasis on the spiritual and intellectual potential of every student and an eye towards higher…

The most prevalent model of Catholic schools has always been and remains the parish elementary school. Catholic schools are not simply private schools but a faith based arm of a larger parish. The interconnected leadership of schools by pastors and principals is at the core of understanding the model and inseparable in long-term viability. The…

Early childhood is a critically formative stage of human development and the educational experiences of children at this young age impact their cognitive, social, emotional, and physical competencies. In the U.S., early childhood education has grown dramatically since the 1960s, both in federal and state dollars invested and in terms of overall…

Several European countries were unable to match student numbers with labour market demand during the nineteenth century. The causes of this mismatch may be found in the organisation of higher education and the funding of students. Drawing on a variety of sources, this paper compares financial support available to Reformed and Catholic theology…

Limited research has been conducted on Catholic school viability (James, Tichy, Collins, & Schwob, 2008; Lundy, 1999) and Catholic school systems (Goldschmidt, O'Keefe, & Walsh, 2004). But no research studies have investigated the viability of the consolidated Catholic school system (DeFiore, Convey, & Schuttloffel, 2009). This study investigates…

Since the 1960s, American Catholic social institutions have struggled with issues related to their organizational and religious identities (Dosen, 2009; Gallin, 2000; Weakland, 1994). For Catholic colleges and universities, these issues are evidenced by the difficulty some institutions have with being readily able to recognize their distinctive…

When the main building of Our Lady of the Lake University was damaged in a fire this spring, its president, Tessa Martinez Pollack, worried the blaze would exacerbate its money woes. She told "The New York Times" that it's a known fact and that they are like a lot of other Catholic universities that are struggling to stay afloat financially. Not…

Addresses issues related to stipend, compensation, and benefit levels for the religious working in Catholic schools. Stresses the need for the development of a new, more equitable model of compensation. (CBC)

This paper addresses issues unique to theological schools, which face challenges associated with changes in the composition of student bodies, faculties, and boards; increased pressures on administrators; and reduced funding. The discussion is organized around five major issues: (1) distinguishing features of theological schools, which…