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Catholic Schools and the Common Good

by Anthony S. Bryk, Valerie E. Lee and Peter B. Holland

Harvard University Press, 1993
eISBN: 978-0-674-02903-3 | Paper: 978-0-674-10311-5 | Cloth: 978-0-674-10310-8
Library of Congress Classification LC501.B624 1993
Dewey Decimal Classification 377.8273

ABOUT THIS BOOK | REVIEWS | TOC

ABOUT THIS BOOK
The authors examine a broad range of Catholic high schools to determine whether or not students are better educated in these schools than they are in public schools. They find that the Catholic schools do have an independent effect on achievement, especially in reducing disparities between disadvantaged and privileged students. The Catholic school of today, they show, is informed by a vision, similar to that of John Dewey, of the school as a community committed to democratic education and the common good of all students.

REVIEWS

Like the schools they write about, the authors of this important book combine scholarship with a mission. The scholarship in this book is a rare blend of case study, number crunching and rumination in social and intellectual history.
-- Joseph P. McDonald New York Times Book Review

A richly detailed, and documented study… Besides being the best group portrait of today’s U.S. Catholic high schools, this is also a formidable testimonial to the virtues and accomplishments of those schools.
-- John W. Donohue America

The central argument of this clearly written, superbly researched effort is that [American] public high schools need to mimic their Catholic counterparts. Catholic high schools, according to the authors, ‘manage simultaneously to achieve relatively high levels of student learning, distribute this learning more equitably with regard to race and class than in the public sector, and sustain high levels of teachers commitment and student engagement.’
-- John T. McGreevy Commonweal

A superb study that enhances our understanding not only of Catholic schools but of schools generally.
-- James E. Rosenbaum Contemporary Sociology

This comprehensive analysis of the effects of Catholic schools, especially on low-income children, concluded that ‘Catholic schools function as a public resource.’ Catholic schools are able to accomplish this essential task in all communities because, among many important factors, they introduce a spiritual dimension to the student’s education.
-- Mike McCormick Dayton News

[An] exemplary book… Catholic Schools and the Common Good provides intensive analysis of the distinctive character of Catholic schools… After reading the book, one is not only convinced that Catholic schools have advantages for academic achievement—especially for low-income and minority youth—but one understands the mechanisms through which these advantages accrue.
-- Adam Gamoran Teachers College Record

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Preface

Prologue

I
CONTEXT

1
The Tradition of Catholic Schools

2
Research Past and Present

II
INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

3
Classroom Life

4
Curriculum and Academic Organization

5
Communal Organization

6
Governance

III
DIVERSITY AMONG CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

7
The Transition to High School

8
Variations in Internal Operations

9
Single-Sex versus Coeducational Schools

IV
EFFECTS

10
The Impact of Academic Organization

11
The Impact of Communal Organization

V
IMPLICATIONS

12
Catholic Lessons for America's Schools

Epilogue: The Future of Catholic High Schools

Notes

References

Index

See other books on: Administration | Bryk, Anthony S. | Common Good | Education | United States
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