This study uncovers the meanings that secondary teachers working under the religious structure of Jesuit institutions attach to their work. I draw on theoretical insights coming from organisational behaviour. I use cases of teachers who worked or work in Catholic high schools run by the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit order. I…

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…

A recent global reconnaissance of Christian higher education found a number of key themes that shaped current developments, such as the pressing challenges of secularization and nationalization but also the advantages of privatization and massification. This article provides an update to this older analysis by taking a birds-eye view of trends…

This article examines why liberation theology needs to be a core resource in religious education settings, especially in Catholic secondary schools. It will first touch on key tenets of liberation theology and the reasons why it was silenced and underused. It will then analyse poverty in the Jewish tradition as an interfaith resource and…

The faith-based identity of Catholic schools is increasingly problematic in a secularised society where the numbers of teachers belonging to religious orders are diminishing rapidly. Teachers' views regarding the characteristics of Catholic schools are an important aspect of the identity of such schools. The authors locate Catholic schools in the…

Three hundred sixty-one seminarians from the 48 diocesan seminaries in the United States and the North American College in Rome, Italy responded to a survey regarding their sentiments about the value of Catholic schools, their effectiveness, and the importance of financially supporting them. The results suggest that while diocesan seminarians are…

The progressive spirit of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) spawned a myriad of graduate departments of religious education in American Catholic colleges and universities. These departments evolved to include other master degrees (e.g., pastoral studies, pastoral counseling, divinity, spirituality, and social justice). As the numbers of…

This article introduces the research initiated by Cardus on private religious Protestant and Catholic schools in North America and provides an overview of the succeeding articles presented in this special section of the "Journal of School Choice". Through mixed method study by multiple research teams the inquiry was designed to seek to…

This study investigates the relationship between Catholic teachers' faith and their school commitment in Catholic high schools. A national sample of 751 teachers from 39 Catholic high schools in 15 archdioceses in the United States participated in a self-administered website survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson…

Dialogue about Catholic identity has been taking place at American Catholic colleges and universities since the publication of Ex Corde Ecclesiae in 1990. That student affairs professionals do their work within the context of the mission of the university is a concept that has been accepted from the earliest stages of the establishment of student…

Times of war are times of crisis for theologians and educators. This article examines how Msgr. George Johnson, the vice president of the Religious Education Association and the most prominent Catholic educator in the 1930s and 1940s, dealt with the ethical and educational issues surrounding U.S. involvement in the Second World War. It argues that…

This article presents responses from Thomas C. Hunt, James L. Heft, S.M., and Ronald J. Nuzzi to the report of the Notre Dame Task Force on Catholic Education's (2006), "Making God Known, Loved and Served: The Future of Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in the United States." Hunt analyzes the 12 recommendations offered by Notre…

The work of Sister M. Rosalia Walsh and the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart gave impetus to the reemergence of the use of story in catechetical materials designed and published in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Focused on catechetical needs of Catholic children who did not attend Catholic schools, The Mission…

Mary Perkins Ryan remains one of the least recognized of the twentieth-century figures in the modern renewal of Catholic education in the United States. The reasons are many but none satisfactory. Ryan was an intellectual without a scholarly credential. She was an educator without an affiliation to an academic institution. She was a leading voice…

This article presents a historical overview of Catholic schooling in the United States from colonial times to the present. Presented in order of eras in American history, the growth of Catholic schools and the challenges they faced are documented. The author concludes with a discussion of contemporary trends, realities challenges, and…