Catholic school

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Catholic schools are

The schools include religious education alongside secular subjects in their curriculum.

Background

The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with Ireland and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this section, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new section, as appropriate. (July 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Across

Like other Christian-affiliated institutions, Catholic schools are generally nondenominational, in that they accept anyone regardless of religion or denominational affiliation, sex, race or ethnicity, or nationality, provided the admission or enrollment requirements and legal documents are submitted, and rules & regulations are obeyed for a fruitful school life. However, non-Catholics, whether Christian or not, may need to participate in or be exempted from required activities, particularly those of a religious nature. These are in keeping with the spirit of social inclusiveness.[5]^[6]

Religious education

The religious education as a core subject is a vital element of the curriculum where individuals are to develop themselves: "intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally and of course, spiritually."^[7] The education also involves: "the distinct but complementary aspect of the school's religious dimension of liturgical and prayer life of the school community."^[7] In Catholic schools, teachers teach a Religious Education Program provided by the Bishop and Superintendent. The teacher Pastor, and Bishop therefore, contribute to the planning and teaching Religious Education Lessons.^{[citation needed]}

Catholic education has been identified as a positive fertility factor; Catholic education at the college level and, to a lesser degree, at secondary school level is associated with a higher number of children, even when accounting for the confounding effect that higher religiosity leads to a higher probability of attending religious education.^[8]

Asia

Malaysia

Catholic schools in Malaysia have been important to the country's formal education. Catholic schools have undergone many changes since independence in the late 50s and early 60s. The education policy in Malaysia is very centralized. In 1988, all Catholic

The Government of Sindh oversaw a denationalization program from 1985 to 1995, and the Government of Punjab began a similar program in 1996. In 2001, the Federal Government and the courts ordered the provincial governments to complete the denationalization process.^[12]

Philippines

In the

Education gained in these schools is equal to education gained in public schools. The purpose of Catholic schools—besides education and upbringing—is to give alternative content of education and upbringing, new methods and forms.[14]

Ireland

Catholic schools in

Church groups in Ireland privately own most primary and secondary schools.^[unreliable source?] Evidence indicates that approximately 60% of secondary schools pupils attend schools owned by religious congregations.^[3]

United Kingdom

England and Wales

In England and Wales, Catholic schools are either

In 2009, Catholic schools in England comprised two-thirds of all religious secondary schools.[18]

Northern Ireland

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) is the advocate for the Catholic Maintained Schools sector in Northern Ireland. CCMS represents trustees, schools, and governors on issues such as raising and maintaining standards, the school's estate, and teacher employment. As the largest employer of teachers in Northern Ireland (8500 teachers), CCMS plays a central role in supporting teachers through its welfare service or in working parties such as the Independent Inquiry into Teacher Pay and Conditions of Service. According to the latest figures from the Department of Education, N.I. Statistics Branch 2006/2007, the number of pupils registered at school in Northern Ireland is 329,583. The number of pupils attending Catholic managed schools is 148,225.^[19]

Scotland

Like in England and Wales, Catholic schools in Scotland are either independent or state-run and overseen by the Scottish Catholic Education Service,^[20] established in 1972 as part of the Catholic Education Commission to assist the Bishops' Conference of Scotland in matters of education. The Education Act 1918 guaranteed the rights of Scottish Catholics to educate their children in local Catholic schools and protected the rights of Catholic schools to preserve their religious character.^[21] During the 1920s, ownership of most Catholic schools transferred from the Dioceses or the resident order to the state sector. They are known as "denominational schools" and are open to pupils who meet the specified prerequisites regardless of financial situation. A select few, most notably St Aloysius' College and Kilgraston School, remain private.^{[citation needed]}

Belgium

In the past there were conflicts between state schools and Catholic schools (de schoolstrijd), and disputes regarding whether the Catholic schools should be funded by the government. The 1958 School Pact was an agreement by the three large political parties (the Christian Democratic, Socialist and Liberal parties) to end these conflicts.

Due to the federalization of Belgium, education is organized by the three communities since 1989. The educational system of each language community is organized in a different manner. The Dutch-, the French- and the German-speaking part of Belgium can organize its own educational system. This is the immediate reason why also Catholic schools are managed in a different way in each part of the country.^[22]

Flanders

Catholic schools in Flanders are organized by Catholic Education Flanders (Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen), a membership organization of catholic schools in Flanders and the Brussels region. Catholic Education Flanders is the biggest educational player in Flanders. It oversees education for approximately 935 000 pupils and students through its 2,200 maintained schools. In addition, the organization includes 10 education centers for adults, 11 colleges and a university.^[22]  

In 2016 the pedagogical project of the ‘dialogue schools’ was introduced. At the crossroads of education, Church and society, this type of catholic school admits everyone, whatever his or her religious or ideological background may be. The catholic dialogue school is first and foremost a pedagogical project inspired by the Catholic tradition where dialogue is central. Dialogue with each other, with the context, with tradition, with God, with other worldviews. By engaging in dialogue, the project aims to re-contextualize the Christian tradition in the contemporary context.^[23][24]

North America

Canada

The existence of Catholic schools in

Section 93 was the result of constitutional negotiations in the 1860s. Pre-existing rights for tax-funded minority Catholic and Protestant schools had become a significant point for negotiations surrounding Canadian Confederation. Retention of separate school boards with public funding was a significant issue, chiefly due to ethnic and religious tension between Canada's (primarily French-speaking) Catholic population and the (primarily English-speaking) Protestant majority. The issue was a subject of debate at the 1864 Quebec Conference. It was finally resolved at the London Conference of 1866 with a proposal to preserve the separate school systems in Quebec and Ontario. The agreement was written into the Constitution to the effect that the condition of education in each colony (or territory) when it entered Confederation would be constitutionally protected after that.

Despite the compromise, the debate over separate Catholic schools continued to be an issue in the new country. Manitoba's adoption of a single, secular school system in 1890 resulted in a national political crisis. The Manitoba Schools Question was a political crisis in the 1880s and 1890s, revolving around publicly funded separate schools for Catholics and Protestants in Manitoba. The crisis eventually spread to the national level, becoming one of the critical issues in the federal election of 1896. Due to the close link between religion and language during this period in Canada, the Schools Question represented a deeper issue of French survival as a language and culture in Western Canada. The secular system was upheld, with the guarantee of French instruction later revoked in 1916, leaving English as the only official language in use in the province until it was reinstated in 1985.

In the province of Quebec, publicly funded Catholic and Protestant schools were maintained until 1997, when the system was replaced by a linguistic-based secular school system, after passing a constitutional amendment that exempted Quebec from certain conditions of Section 93. Newfoundland and Labrador also operated separate schools for several Christian denominations, including Catholics, prior to 1997. This school system emerged before Newfoundland entered into Confederation in 1949 and continued until 1997 when the province established a secular public system. The absence of Catholic-Protestant tensions in the provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island resulted in no separate school systems emerging in these provinces.

Presently, the Ontario

It is estimated that 60% of Residential Schools were operated by the Catholic Church.

United States

Catholic schools form the largest non-public,

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops listed six key responsibilities of Catholic schools.^[29] These are:

1. Encouraging and supporting efforts in Catholic education by fostering the distribution and implementation of both universal Church documents on education as well as related documents developed by the bishops of the United States
2. Supporting educational efforts in the Church in the United States by developing policies, guidelines, and resources for use by bishops in their dioceses
3. Providing consultation on educational issues when requested, including advising and representing the bishops
4. Collaborating with the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis regarding evangelization and catechesis in Catholic schools and universities
5. Providing support and advocacy in federal public policy on behalf of Catholic educational institutions from pre-school through
   high school
   levels
6. Bringing to Catholic education the perspectives and concerns of other cultures and people with special pastoral needs through collaboration with other committees/offices

In 2015, the Inner-city Scholarship Fund run by the Archdiocese of New York announced the largest-ever gift of private money to Catholic schooling. Christine and Stephen Schwarzmann gave $40 million to an endowment that will provide 2,900 children per year with scholarships.^[30]

Oceania

Australia

In Australia, Catholic schools have been operating for over 200 years. The arrival of the first European fleet brought the first Irish Catholics to Australia, predominantly by the transport of convicts. Catholics consisted of one-tenth of the convicts settling in Australia, mostly Irish, while the rest were English and Scottish. By 1803, 2,086 convicts of Irish descent and majority being Catholics had been transported to Botany Bay.^[31]

Catholic schools are the largest group of

As with other non-government schools in Australia, Catholic schools receive funding from the Commonwealth Government. As this does not constitute the establishment of a church, nor the restriction of the free exercise of religion, nor does it create a religious test for public office, it is not considered to breach the separation of Church and State in Australia.[33]

New Zealand

Catholic education in

The schools were originally managed by seven Irish sisters and aimed to assist the Maori population and the new settlers. From 1853 to 1875, the provincial governments financed grants for the Catholic schools. The Education Act 1877, however, allowed all schools to be free, compulsory, and secular, disallowing the public funding of Catholic schools. In the early 1970s, increasing rolls and funding constraints saw Catholic schools accumulating large amounts of debt or being run down. The government, concerned that the state system could not cope with an influx of students if the Catholic schools folded, enacted the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975. The Act allowed Catholic schools and other private schools to 'integrate' with the state system, receiving public funding and keeping their Catholic character, in exchange for being subject to the conditions of being a state school, such as teaching the nationally set curriculum. The first Catholic schools were integrated in August 1979, and by 1984, all Catholic schools in New Zealand had integrated.^[34]

As of July 2013, 65,700 students attended Catholic schools in New Zealand, making up 8.6 percent of the total student population.^[35] The majority are New Zealand Europeans.^{[citation needed]}

The Catholic schools are owned by a proprietor, typically by the diocese bishop. Currently, Catholic schools in New Zealand are termed '

The vast majority of

In some countries, Catholic schools are funded by the state. These are institutions that requires assistance from the government. This is the same in public schools where government who mandate schools pay for the needs of schools whether in whole or in part, by taxes of the population. Australian Catholic schools fall under this category, where the Australian government fund Catholic schools as well as state schools.^[37] Non-independent Catholic schools in Scotland is another example where the institutions are fully funded by the Scottish Government.

Private schools

Private schools, also known as independent schools, are not managed by local, state, or national governments. They instead may select their students and are funded in whole or in part by the tuition fees charged to students, rather than relying on the government as public schools do. Students may also get scholarships to enter into a private school depending on the student's talent.^{[citation needed]}

Voluntary aided schools

Voluntary aided schools are a kind of "

Catholic schools have experienced changes heralded by the Second Vatican Council in regards to Catholic social teaching centered on the poor: "First and foremost, the Church offers its educational services to the poor, or those who are deprived of family help and affection or those who are far from faith...."^[38] These changes have led to instances in Brazil, Peru and Chile where the contributions has led to "a new way of being in school" by including the disadvantaged and people in poor areas to education.^{[citation needed]}

High attendance and performance

Empirical evidence in the United States^{[failed verification]} and Australia indicates that education performance and attendance are greater in Catholic schools in contrast to its public counterparts. Evans and Schwab (1998) in their experiment found that attendance at Catholic schools in the United States increases the probability of completing high school or commencing college by 13%.^[39] Similarly, an experiment conducted by Williams and Carpenter (1990) of Australia through comparing the previous examination by private and public schools concluded that students in private education outperform those from government schools on all educational, social and economic indicators.^[39]

Development of girls in society

Catholic schooling has indicated a large impact in the changing role of women for countries such as Malta and Japan. For example, Catholic schooling of girls in Malta indicates: "...evidence of remarkable commitment to the full development of girls in a global society."^[38] Similarly, all-girl schools in Japan have also contributed powerfully to the "personal and educational patriarchal society".^[38]

Criticism

Economic inequality

The expensive cost and necessity to provide high salary levels contribute to the difficulty of maintaining Catholic schools. Many Catholic schools in the United States in inner America which have traditionally served the most are being forced to close at an increasing rate. This apparent abandonment of some poor may contradict the Catholic schools' core principles. There is an apparent contradiction when wealthier Catholic schools receive better resources and are more privileged than those in areas of low-income.^[38] This is also being experienced in Latin America and other national settings where financial constraints in serving the poor create obstacles, and there is a lack of support from state aid or other subsidies.^{[citation needed]}

Political context

There have been instances where some political ideologies that are engaged with secularism or countries that have high nationalism are suspicious of what Catholic schools are teaching. The moral and social teachings by Catholic schools may be seen as "continuation of Colonial cultural dominance of the society," still being felt in Zambia, Malawi, and the colonies of Spain.^[38]

Decline in Enrollment (United States)

A noticeable decline in enrollment has stemmed from economic downturn from world events such as COVD-19. Since the pandemic's origin in 2020, the Catholic School system faced a 6.4% decrease in enrollment as well as the closures or mergers of over 200 schools across the nation.^[40] Negative economic fluctuation is noted as a major reason for these declining numbers, as families have struggled to balance finances with uncertainty in employment statuses. ^[41]

See also

• Christian school
• Parochial school
• Catholic higher education
• Catholic school uniform

References