Children are born learning machines who want to learn and can organize and manage their own learning. Unfortunately, today children have little choice over what they do in school and how and when they do it. Children prepared in this "other-determined" manner will be poorly equipped to navigate an adult world requiring that they act…

Viewing adolescence as a "dynamic social construction," this volume explores the state of adolescence in the context of rapid social change. The articles in the volume reveal a recurrent theme: no matter how adolescence is defined, the establishment of identity and the search for autonomy remain central developmental tasks of the…

Focusing on the goal of character education, this book provides the Catholic educational community with a resource for building in students a strong sense of self, including self-identity, self-worth, and self-esteem. Four pillars of self-esteem are presented: security, autonomy, initiative, and industry. These pillars are illustrated with…