Describes a study of graduate students in pastoral ministries and religious education who are not seminarians. Reviews findings related to students' demographics and background, previous work experience, and future goals and describes practical issues related to undertaking graduate studies. Indicates that a majority of the students hoped to work…

Describes the New Teacher Program at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Maryland, which has been a major selling point to prospective teachers during the interview process. Explains that the program's first phase orients new teachers to the school, and the second phase offers ongoing support, which involves bi-weekly new teacher meetings and a staff…

Examines a superintendent's visit to several schools, where she discussed teaching principles and strategies with teachers. Discusses certain areas that need to be addressed in order to maintain teachers, including the faith-filled environment, freedom within teaching, parental involvement, rituals and celebrations, the financial aspects of…

Relates the development of the Kairos retreat at Georgetown Preparatory School and the positive responses and experiences of male youths who attended. States that the retreat experience invites youth to grapple with adolescent fears of loneliness, embrace an adult faith, and facilitate a new openness between teens and their families. (VWC)

Describes the development of the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Program by the Consortium for Catholic School Identity. Reports that the program was created in an effort to focus on the development of the Catholic school administrator as the spiritual leader of the school community. Discusses and evaluates the program's first year. (VWC)

Reviews the history of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), from its inception in 1899 to the present. Highlights World War I as a turning point for ACCU because of an increased impetus to improve the schools and their enrollments. States that near the middle of the century, Catholic higher education joined the mainstream,…

Recounts the historical development of catechesis formation and training of catechists in Lansing, Michigan. Narrates the development in 1991 by the Diocesan Office of Catechesis of a committee of principals, directors of religious education, coordinators of youth ministry, and staff people to address catechesis formation concerns and to revise…

Introduces Information for Growth (IFG), a self-assessment survey for catechists, accommodating not only religion teachers and catechists but also any adult desiring spiritual growth. Puts forth the experiences with IFG of several leaders in the field of religious education, providing a unique perspective on the benefits of the IFG survey. (VWC)

This research is the product of blending two pertinent questions. The first question is: "What are the guidelines and behaviors that define a Constructivist classroom?" There have not been a great number of pedagogical tools that discuss and summarize concrete, observable Constructivist behaviors. The second question is: "Is there a unique form of…

This article discusses the findings of a small-scale study undertaken with a sample of 10 teachers in Catholic schools in New Zealand. Spirituality is recognised as an important dimension of Catholic schools and this study explored the teachers' perspectives of their own understanding of spirituality, of children's spirituality and the influence…

This booklet discusses school publication goals and processes, explaining how to identify and unify a school's image, and then how to project the image through a broad range of printed pieces. The booklet's 10 chapters are as follows: (1) Introduction; (2) The Importance of School Publications and Public Relations; (3) Creating and Securing a…

The mass communications discipline is a creature of sociology and technology. The result has been a hybrid of science and craft and an academic rift that has pitted theory against practice. For a while the theoreticians, through control of the doctoral credentialling process, asserted dominance of the academy, but "demassification of mass…

One of the most important questions facing Catholic schools today is how can these schools meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's culture and become a living faith community. Evidence suggests that Catholic high schools have a common mission of academic excellence, faith development, and a sense of community; academic, co-curricular, and…

This paper reports on Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the United States. It gives statistical information on schools, enrollment, and faculty with a 10-year overview. The historical statistics include tables listing schools, pupils, and teachers by diocese, state, and region. Information was gathered from 161 diocesan offices, with…