Education Commons^™

Covid Witness To Hope: Catholic Schools Respond To Covid-19, Michael J. Boyle, Gail Donahue Ph.D., Mary Pat Donoghue, David A. Faber, Frankie Jones, Jeannie Ray-Timoney, Brooke Tesche, Timothy Uhl

COVID-19 and Catholic Schools

The twin uncertainties of the pandemic and the economic downturn have taken a toll on our Catholic schools. Yet reports across the country are that Catholic schools have been very successful in remote learning.

Although there are well-documented efforts to define the values of Catholic schools, these values are not fully known and there is still not a well-crafted national value proposition for Catholic schools. As the context surrounding Catholic schools has changed, it has become imperative that Catholic schools coalesce around a new value proposition during uncertain times. What follows is an attempt by a group of dedicated Catholic …

Covid-19 Crisis, Impacts On Catholic Schools, And Potential Responses | Part Ii: Developing Countries With Focus On Sub-Saharan Africa, Quentin Wodon

COVID-19 and Catholic Schools

In developing countries as in developed countries, the COVID-19 crisis has led to near universal school closures that will affect children’s ability to learn, especially in countries with limited infrastructure for distance learning. While most children are likely to return to school when they reopen, quite a few may drop out. In addition, the economic recession generated by the crisis will affect livelihoods, leading to higher rates of poverty and food insecurity. This also may have negative impacts on both Catholic schools and their students. This paper, the second in a set of two, looks at likely impacts of the …

Covid-19 Crisis, Impacts On Catholic Schools, And Potential Responses | Part 1: Developed Countries With Focus On The United States, Quentin Wodon

COVID-19 and Catholic Schools

The COVID-19 crisis has led to widespread temporary school closures and a deep economic recession. School closures have threatened children’s ability to learn and later return to school well prepared. The impact of the economic recession is going to be even more devastating: first for students, but also for the ability of some Catholic schools to maintain their enrollment and remain sustainable financially in countries where they do not benefit from government support. This paper, the first in a set of two, looks at some of the likely impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Catholic Schools in developed countries with …

Covid-19 Crisis, Impacts On Catholic Schools, And Potential Responses: Introduction, Quentin Wodon

COVID-19 and Catholic Schools

The COVID-19 crisis has generated unprecedented challenges for Catholic schools and their students, as is the case for other school networks. First, school closures have affected 9 in 10 school-aged children globally, with risks for the children’s ability to learn when the schools are closed, and later return to school when the crisis subsides. Second, the economic recession generated by the crisis will not only affect children, but also in some cases the ability of Catholic and other private schools to maintain their enrollment, and thereby their financial sustainability, at least in countries where the schools do not benefit from …

A Content Analysis Of Catholic School Written Discipline Policies, Daniel L. Philippe, Claudia M. Hernandez, Pamela Fenning, Katie Nicole Bradshaw Sears, Emily M. Mcdonough, Elizabeth Lawrence, Michael Boyle

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

School discipline has traditionally endorsed the use of exclusionary practices (i.e. suspension and expulsion). Such practices can have a negative short- and long-term impact on student lives, and tend to be enforced disproportionately with certain student populations. Although public school discipline policies have received increased scrutiny in recent years, Catholic school policies have received very little attention. This study presents the results of a content analysis of the written discipline policies of 33 Catholic secondary schools from two dioceses within a major metropolitan area. Results suggest that although variability exists in the types of behaviors included in formal written policies, …

Catholic School Faculty Meetings: A Case Study Linking Catholic Identity, School Improvement, And Teacher Engagement, Daryl Craig Hagan

Dissertations

While research on faculty meetings is limited, existing literature suggests that meetings could be an arena where schools can address their common challenges (Brandenburg, 2008; Michel, 2011; Riehl, 1998). The purpose of this case study was to gain an understanding of the perceptions of Catholic school teachers on teachers in a high-performing Catholic school regarding their own faculty meetings and to explore how faculty meetings engage teachers in the work of promoting Catholic identity and school improvement. This dissertation builds on the work of Macey and Schneider’s (2008) Model of Employee Engagement, as well as McGrath’s Model of Group Effectiveness …

Must Economics Always Determine Academic Destiny? Achievement Across Time In Two Academically Equivalent But Socioeconomically Diverse Same City Catholic Schools, Roseanne L. Williby, John W. Hill

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The study analyzed the pretest-posttest results of high stakes test scores, absence frequencies, and high school eligibility cut scores of students who completed fourth-grade through eighth-grades in two academically equivalent but socioeconomically diverse same city Catholic schools. Study outcomes were compared for a naturally formed group of students (n = 28) who had completed fourth-grade through eighth-grades in an urban Catholic school representing fewer family socioeconomic advantages and 40% eligibility for free and reduced price lunch program participation and tuition assistance and a randomly selected group of students (n = 28) completing fourth-grade through eighth-grades in a suburban Catholic school …

Moral, Legal, And Functional Dimensions Of Inclusive Service Delivery In Catholic Schools, Martin Scanlan

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Catholic school educators are morally compelled by Catholic social teaching to foster inclusive service delivery for students who have traditionally been marginalized in schools, including students in poverty, students of color, English language learners, and students with special needs. This article applies this moral context to analyze the legal obligations of Catholic schools under Section 504 to serve students with special needs. It argues that as Catholic schools follow Catholic social teaching by developing inclusive service delivery to meet students ' special needs, their legal obligations grow. The article concludes by describing the learning consultant model, a system of service …

The Grammar Of Catholic Schooling And Radically "Catholic" Schools, Martin Scanlan

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

A "grammar of Catholic schooling" inhibits many elementary and secondary Catholic schools from reflecting on how they practice Catholic Social Teaching (CST). The values of human dignity, the common good, and a preferential option for the marginalized are central to CST. Schools can live these values by serving children who live in poverty, are racial, ethnic, and linguistic minorities, or have disabilities. This article demonstrates how a grammar of Catholic schooling has allowed Catholic schools to fall into recruitment and retention patterns antithetical to CST. Drawing upon a multicase, qualitative study of three urban Catholic elementary schools serving marginalized students, …

Catholic Schools, Racial Change, And Suburbanization, 1930-2000, Carmen Green

Papers and Publications

This historical case study of the metropolitan Hartford region of Connecticut examines how Catholic schools shifted from urban to suburban spaces during the twentieth century, and points to the causal factors that left many Black and Latino Catholics behind.

An Exploration Of Hope In Catholic School Students, Diane Mcdermott, Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti, Lisa Edwards, Angela M. Houske

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Hope is a valuable asset for children, adolescents, and adults. Individuals with high hope are better able to navigate around obstacles by using pathways and agency thoughts toward their goals. Studies with children and adults have demonstrated that hope is related to several positive constructs, including academic and athletic ability, problem solving and coping, physical health, and psychological adjustment. This study explores hope in Catholic school students. Because Catholic schools provide a unique faith community for their students, a better understanding of the characteristics of children in these settings is important. Analyses showed that Catholic school students' hope scores were …