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Irish and British Reflections on Catholic Education

Foundations, Identity, Leadership Issues and Religious Education in Catholic Schools

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Editors:
  1. Sean Whittle

    1. St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK

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  • Presents 21 contributions from active researchers from Ireland and Britain reflecting on the current state of Catholic education
  • Includes a wide range of chapters presenting fresh perspectives on the foundations, matters of identity and leadership in relation to Catholic schooling and education
  • Offers new insights into the nature and scope of Religious Education in Catholic schools in Ireland and England

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Table of contents (21 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
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  3. Reflections on Identity Issues Within Catholic Education

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 63-65
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    2. A Brief History of Catholic Education in Ireland from the Penal Laws to Founding of the Free State (1922) and Beyond

      • Patricia Kieran
      Pages 67-80

    3. Step by Step: An Introduction to the History of Catholic Denominational Inspection in England and Wales

      • Peter Ward
      Pages 81-91

    4. Sustaining the System: Non-Catholic Teachers in Catholic Secondary Schools

      • Mary Mihovilović
      Pages 93-106

    5. Exploring the Voice of Children in Catholic Education in an Irish Primary School

      • Maurice Harmon
      Pages 107-119

    6. The Queerness of Education: Rethinking Catholic Schooling Beyond Identity

      • Seán Henry
      Pages 121-131

    7. Living with Meaning at a Time When Believing in God Is an Option: An Investigation into Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Its Implications for Catholic Education

      • David Torevell
      Pages 133-142

  4. Reflections on the Emerging Research About Catholic School Leadership

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 143-144
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    2. Toward the Renewal of Spiritual Capital: A Contemporary Challenge for Headteachers in Catholic Schools in England

      • David Fincham
      Pages 145-157

    3. Shepherding Talent—An Informal Formation Programme for Aspiring Catholic School Leaders

      • Caroline Healy, John Lydon
      Pages 159-171

    4. Are MATS and Academies a Threat to Catholic Education?

      • Louise McGowan
      Pages 173-182

  5. Reflections on Emerging Research About Religious Education in Catholic Schools

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 183-186
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    2. Religious Education in Catholic Schools: Troubling Times or Routine Ructions?

      • Fiona Dineen
      Pages 187-198
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Keywords

About this book

 This volume presents an interdisciplinary and systematic review of Catholic Education Studies across Ireland and Britain. Taken together, the chapters drill down to the foundations, identity and leadership matters in Catholic education and schools. It is in reading the complete volume that a more precise picture of Catholic education in Ireland and Britain develops into sharper focus. This is important because it reflects and crystallises the complexity which has almost organically developed within the field of Catholic Education Studies.  It also provides a powerful antidote to the naïve reductionism that would boil Catholic education down to just one or two fundamental issues or principles. Contemporary Catholic education, perhaps globally but certainly in Ireland and Britain, is best depicted in terms of being a colourful kaleidoscope of differing perspectives.  However this diversity is ultimately grounded in the underlying unity of purpose, because each of the contributors to this volume is a committed advocate of Catholic education.

The volume brings together a rich range of scholars into one place, so that these voices can be listened to as a whole. It includes contributions from leading scholars, blended with a plethora of other voices who are emerging to become the next generation of leading researchers in Catholic education. It also introduces a number of newer voices to the academic context. They present fresh perspectives and thinking about matters relating to Catholic education and each of them confidently stand alongside the other contributors. Moreover, these reflections on Catholic education are important fruits to have emerged from the collaboration made possible through the creation of the Network for Researchers in Catholic Education, which was established in 2016 under the auspices of Heythrop College, University of London.

Reviews

“This stimulating collection of chapters from the UK and Ireland makes a valuable contribution to the growing field of Catholic Education Studies internationally. By bringing together researchers and scholars at different levels, from various disciples and professional backgrounds and by focussing on key questions of the field, such as its intellectual and research foundations and debated issues including the changing demographic and cultural identity of schools, new challenges for school leadership, service to the poor, the role of Philosophy and Theology, listening to the voices of students, the futures of Religious Education and renewing the resources of spiritual capital in Catholic Education, this collection provides a model for emulation by others to adopt in their national locations, which will lead ultimately to more comparative studies.” – Professor Gerald Grace KSG FSES, Professor of Catholic Education, St Mary's University, UK

Editors and Affiliations

  • St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK

    Sean Whittle

About the editor

Sean Whittle is a Visiting Research Fellow at St Mary’s University in Twickenham and a Research Associate with the CRDCE, with Professor Gerald Grace. He also held a Fellowship at Heythrop College, University of London, for four years.  Alongside these academic roles he works part-time as a secondary school RE teacher at Gumley House FCJ Catholic School in West London. He completed his doctoral studies at the Institute of Education – UCL, defending a thesis on the theory or philosophy of Catholic education. His book, A Theory of Catholic Education (Bloomsbury 2014), presents a robust philosophy of Catholic education that draws heavily on insights from Karl Rahner. Dr Whittle controversially argues in support of a non-confessional theory of Catholic education. In December 2016 Routledge published Vatican II and New Thinking about Catholic Education, which is a collection of essays edited by Dr Whittle on the impact and legacy of Gravissimum Educationis.  In recent years he has been collaborating with other academics working in the field of Catholic education in order to create the Network for Researchers in Catholic Education (NfRCE). As a result of this collaboration he has been able to publish two further edited volumes in 2018: Researching Catholic Education, (Springer) and Religious Education in Catholic schools in the UK and Ireland (Peter Lang).  He has also been working as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Brunel University on the Religious Literacy project with Dr David Aldridge, Prof. Gert Biesta and Dr Pat Hannam. The final report on Religious Literacy and RE was published by the charitable trust Culham St Gabriel in 2019. He continues to serve as the secretary for the NfRCE and organises the annual conference for this association. He also serves as Vice Chair of academic association AULRE.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Irish and British Reflections on Catholic Education

  • Book Subtitle: Foundations, Identity, Leadership Issues and Religious Education in Catholic Schools

  • Editors: Sean Whittle

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9188-4

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-15-9187-7Published: 21 February 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-15-9190-7Published: 22 February 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-15-9188-4Published: 20 February 2021

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIX, 272

  • Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations, 3 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Religion and Education, Educational Policy and Politics, Catholicism, Educational Philosophy

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