The Roman Catholic Church's first significant legislative enactment on the nature and role of the Catholic university, the apostolic constitution Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990) grew out of thirty years of dialogue between ecclesiastical authorities and academic representatives. The final document affirms the explicit Catholic identity of Catholic educational institutions and outlines provisions for maintaining that identity; the questions of how to implement its provisions have in turn created the need for more dialogue and examination. In this volume, distinguished scholars and legal experts define the key questions and explore the future implications of Ex corde for American Catholic colleges and universities. The assertion of the Catholic identity of Catholic institutions of higher education prompts the contributors to examine the definition of Catholic education as a special synthesis of the religious and the academic, of faith and reason; and to discuss corollary issues such as secularization; the counter-cultural features of Catholic education; and the great diversity of such schools in the United States and of their sponsoring religious orders. The contributors probe the schools' relationships with the Church hierarchy, exploring in particular the role of the bishops, the degree of autonomy from ecclesiastical control, and questions of academic freedom. They also consider specific legal issues that American Catholic colleges must face, including recognition of student groups, tenure and promotion decisions, governance, student and faculty conduct, and the relationship between canon and civil law, including compliance with national and local civil rights provisions. This volume also includes the complete text in English of Ex corde Ecclesiae and the preliminary draft of ordinances from the Ex corde Ecclesiae Implementation Committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Appearing at a time when universities must face major issues of their own identity and governance, this volume will be of interest to all faculty and administrators, diocesan authorities and legal counsel, and everyone concerned with the future of Catholic higher education.

Faith-based Identity and Curriculum in Catholic Schools examines the relationship between faith-based education and whole curriculum at a time when neoliberal ideologies and market values are having a disproportionate influence on national education policies. Topics addressed include: current challenges and dilemmas faced by Catholic Education leadership; Catholic social teaching and its implications for whole curriculum; the opinions of teachers in Queensland Catholic schools regarding faith-based school identity with particular reference to whole curriculum; an associated comparison of these opinions teachers with those of their USA peers; school identity and Catholic social teaching in Ontario Catholic schools; an action research approach to the integration of Catholic social teaching in Queensland Catholic schools; longitudinal study of the views of pre-service teachers at a Catholic university regarding the purposes and characteristics of Catholic schools. Bringing together professionals and academics from across the world, Faith-based Identity and Curriculum in Catholic Schools will inspire Catholic and other faith-based educators to appreciate the importance and potential of the integration of faith-based perspectives such as countercultural Catholic social teaching across the school curriculum in an educationally appropriate manner.

Catholic high schools in the United States have been undergoing three major changes: the shift to primarily lay leadership and teachers; the transition to a more consumerist and pluralist culture; and the increasing diversity of students attending Catholic high schools. James Heft argues that to navigate these changes successfully, leaders of Catholic education need to inform lay teachers more thoroughly, conduct a more profound social analysis of the culture, and address the real needs of students. After presenting the history of Catholic schools in the United States and describing the major legal decisions that have influenced their evolution, Heft describes the distinctive and compelling mission of a Catholic high school. Two chapters are devoted to leadership, and other chapters to teachers, students, alternative models of high schools, financing, and the key role of parents, who today may be described as ''post-deferential'' to traditional authorities, including bishops and priests. Written by an award-winning teacher, scholar, and recognized educational leader in Catholic education, Catholic High Schools should be read by everyone interested in religiously- affiliated educational institutions, particularly Catholic education.

This book highlights the model of contemplative Catholic school leadership as an influence on faith-formation cultures within the Catholic school, and it demonstrates the impact of cultural factors on Catholic identity formation. By integrating reflection and Catholic values with a leader’s decision-making process, the model described in this volume seeks coherence between the leader’s faith beliefs and their behaviors. Including five unique, international case studies, this research emphasizes the character of the school leader—including faith identity—as the principal architect of the school’s culture.

Provides an accessible overview of the debates, issues and practicalities of faith-based education. It sets out the challenges and opportunities of different approaches to faith schools and addresses the choices faced by parents.