%X This thesis questions to what extent Catholic schools
in Australia, England and Wales, and the United States are
being able to form their pupils in Catholic social
principles today. Catholic schools, because of what they
are and of what they purport to be, must always be open to
questions of authenticity.
Over recent years there has been a steady and subtle,
but very significant, increase in the role of governments in
non-government education in Australia, England and Wales and
the United States. There is concern that non-government
schools, particularly Catholic schools, may be becoming
unwitting and complacent vehicles of government policy,
whether it be a Labour government in Australia, a
Conservative government in England and Wales, or a
Republican government in the United States.
The thesis examines the nature of this government
intervention in Catholic schools in these countries over
recent years, and considers whether such intervention has
been antithetical to the school's capacity to develop the
pupils in a sound understanding of Catholic social justice
principles. It looks at reasons why Catholic schools in
these countries today have difficulty reconciling their aims
for social justice with prevailing government's economic and
social policies. It is a comparative study, to see how an
analysis of such developments in England, Wales and the
United States can illuminate these issues in Australia. The thesis attempts to locate, evaluate and synthesise
evidence to give a much clearer picture of the difficulties
Catholic schools have to face in their call to evangelise
modern youth. The investigative method used is essentially
a historical analysis of policy documents of the Catholic
Church, of the popes, bishops and Catholic education bodies,
of the governments and Courts of the countries concerned, of
recent statistical data, and of a series of informal
interviews. Visits were made to a number of Catholic
tertiary institutions to estimate current input in terms of
modern Catholic social teaching.
In the conclusion the thesis offers strategies to
current Catholic educational administrators which may help
improve the effectiveness of their Catholic social justice
teaching.
%L discovery10006565
%I Institute of Education, University of London
%D 1991
%A John Aloysius. Dwyer
%O Thesis: (PhD) University of London Institute of Education 1991..
%T Catholic schools and Catholic social principles : a comparative study of Australia, England and Wales, and the United States of America.