Overview
There is growing recognition of the success of Catholic schools internationally. In England the fact that the Prime Minister and his wife have committed their children to Catholic schools has had great symbolic and public relations significance. Catholic schools, in many societies, are oversubscribed with students from both the Catholic community and the wider community. Despite the rising profile of Catholic schooling it is still relatively under-researched. In this ground-breaking research study Gerald Grace explores 'the secret garden of Catholic education' with the help of historical, theoretical and documentary sources and fieldwork interviews conducted with sixty Catholic secondary headteachers in schools serving deprived urban communities in London, Liverpool and Birmingham. The 'successes', 'failures' and 'uncertainties' of Catholic schooling are vividly illuminated as are the dilemmas facing Catholic schools in an increasingly secularist, consumerist and market-driven milieu. These dilemmas relate to the challenges of spiritual, moral and personal formation; to the Catholic meanings of academic success; to the tensions between market values in schooling; to the many threats to the mission integrity of Catholic schools and to the role of Catholic schools as exemplars of the principles of 'the common good'. The challenges for Catholic school leadership are highlighted throughout the book. This book will be a val;uable resource for Catholic educators internationally and also for all those who want to understand Catholic schooling culture more deeply. At a time when the British government favours an increase in the number of faith-based schools, this book has much contemporary relevance for educational, political and policy debates.
Full Product Details
Author: Gerald Grace
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Routledge
Dimensions:
Width: 13.80cm
, Height: 2.20cm
, Length: 21.60cm
Weight: 0.317kg
ISBN: 9780415243247
ISBN 10: 0415243246
Pages: 300
Publication Date: 21 March 2002
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
'This is an excellent book that addresses directly many of the challanges facing Catholic educators and leaders of Catholic educational systems and schools in a number of countries.' 'Grace offers Catholic educators and leaders valuable insights from the literature andfrom his own research on how to meet the challenges and contribute to the common good and to renew the culture of the sacred in a profane and secular world .' '...the author should be commended for the originality of research and the depth and insightfulness of analysis and interpretations.' - all Patrick Duigan, Catholic Education, September 2005 'This is an excellent book that addresses directly many of the challanges facing Catholic educators and leaders of Catholic educational systems and schools in a number of countries...the author should be commended for the originality of research and the depth and insightfulness of analysis and interpretations.' -Patrick Duigan, Catholic Education, September 2005
Gerald Grace's Catholic Schools: Mission, Markets and Morality provides an excursus through three constitutive elements of the terrain that public school administrators may have to traverse if the proponents of market forces prevail in the United States, as may well happen... this volume commends itself to those whose primary interest is directed at securing public funds for U.S. Catholic schools.. <br>- Teachers College Record, Richard Jacobs, Villanova University <br>
'This is an excellent book that addresses directly many of the challanges facing Catholic educators and leaders of Catholic educational systems and schools in a number of countries...the author should be commended for the originality of research and the depth and insightfulness of analysis and interpretations.' -Patrick Duigan, Catholic Education, September 2005
Author Information
Gerald Grace is a Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is also Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education, based at the Institute of Education.
