Bryk, Anthony S., Valerie E. Lee and Peter B. Holland. Catholic Schools and the Common Good, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995.
Thesis: Catholic schools for the common good.
Criticism: No discussion on the role of volunteers in the schools. Selection bias…Students in these schools choose to go to them. Strong focus on teachers and how they impact schools. B/L/H call it collegiality (I don't see a spell check). How does this get created? Through the leadership of the priest and then carried out by the principal? Delpit mentions that children that come from poverty have had success at Catholic schools and Department of Defense schools because of the emphasis on academics and idea that all children succeed in the schools. I am not sure if Delpit supports these statements with research.
From Tom Noonan, November 25, 2007 - I'm not sure if this circulated, but I'm adding a paper that I wrote on this text. Hope this helps; and if this is not in the ideal place to add, I'd ask Sharon to move it to a better and/or more appropriate place. Thanks!
CatholicSchoolsand the Common Good
Educational policymakers today approach examining student achievement from a wide variety of perspectives. One of the most fundamental ways to look at schooling is through distinctions between certain types of schools, with the most basic division being public versus private. Many researchers have heralded various aspects that private school can provide as compared to their public counterparts. Another in a very wide array of books written on the subject is Catholic Schools and the Common Good by Anthony Bryk, Valerie Lee, and Peter Holland. To a critical reader, this book is clearly differentiated from many other similar works by both its attention to detail and the in-depth quantitative analysis that it presents. Bryk, Lee, and Holland introduced this work in 1993, and it has served as a benchmark for scholarship on the merits of Catholic schooling ever since. In general, it represents Catholic schools in a very positive light and is meant to foster a belief among scholars that models of private schooling can indeed have a positive impact amid the dialogue over educational reform. Overall, Catholic schools may be a model to look to when considering policymaking implications about education as a whole.
Incredibly well documented and containing research that spans a ten-year period, Catholic Schools and the Common Good examines the attributes that may make Catholic school environments more conducive to student achievement. Following a comprehensive look at the history of Catholic schools, which dates back to 1790 with the emergence of the first Bishop in the United States, John Carroll, the authors profile research findings on Catholic schooling up to when they began their own work in the early 1980s. Before Bryk, Lee, and Holland undertook this project, relatively little had been written about Catholic schooling. One perspective that was clear, however, was the evolving mission of Catholic schools following Vatican II, and the authors devote a good deal of attention to explaining the organizational development of Catholic schools in relation to this epic change within the Roman Catholic Church. Drawing heavily from the 1983 National Catholic Educational Association statistical report, High School and Beyond, as well as in-depth evaluations of seven Catholic schools, Bryk, Lee, and Holland put together an incredibly detailed look at the structure and operation of Catholic schooling, sometimes in excruciating detail, but more often than not to the benefit of the reader. In reaching their conclusions on these issues, the authors examined test scores, drop out rates, socioeconomic information, as well as other pertinent information. Having gathered data from nationwide surveying, the authors reach several striking conclusions. First, they contend that Catholic schools may in fact better serve low-income families as the achievement gap per grade level is substantially less than in comparable public schools. And with specific regard to minority students, their data demonstrates that students in mathematics make tremendous strides on an annual basis. Secondly, drop out rates in Catholic schools are significantly less. Whereas over 15% of public school students do not complete four years of high school, only an estimated 4% exit Catholic schools early. Despite the variance of the overall populations, and considering that many Catholic schools serve students of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, these are some significant observations.
Beyond the statistical findings related to achievement and retention, perhaps the most important aspect of the book relates to the internal conditions that are identified from the exhaustive study of the seven schools themselves. In all, Bryk, Lee, and Holland isolate four key areas that they contend engender higher academic achievement. Those attributes include: 1) a core academic curriculum for all students, 2) a strong communal atmosphere among students, teachers, and administrators, 3) a decentralized structure of governance, and 4) an inspirational ideology; in essence a strong connection to the Catholic mission of social justice. According to the authors, each has a dramatic impact on the functioning of a Catholic school and directly impacts student achievement. To begin, the core curriculum offered in a Catholic school is mandated for all students. All enrollees take common courses and are expected to meet certain requirements for graduation. Hence, success becomes a school-wide expectation. And while the authors admit that some tracking may occur, they argue that the levels are too few in number to make any substantive difference. Another vital component to Catholic school success is that of community. On the whole, students and teachers interact more frequently given smaller school sizes. Also, the nature of the interactions is more diverse given a wider variety of school related functions, including liturgies, retreats, and student service projects.
Beyond the core curriculum and communal attributes, the authors focus on the decentralized structure of governance as another reason for more effective schooling. Clearly, a greater degree of independence is garnered through a loose arrangement of being diocesan schools, each being substantially more autonomous than those in traditional public school districts. As a result, the authors conclude that Catholic schools are much freer to solve problems, which in turn fosters greater cohesion and student achievement. In sum, the authors assert that individual principals enjoy much greater latitude to manage personnel and can operate with further ease when making any number of institutional changes. From academic requirements to after school programs to parental involvement, local control within each school provides for more effective leadership. Finally, Bryk, Lee, and Holland cite the ideological mission of Catholic schools as yet another significant reason for their success. The social justice paradigm established as of Vatican II has led Catholic schools to increasingly focus on the dignity of the human person. Students in Catholic schools are expected to do community service on a much larger scale than their public school counterparts, most of which perform no service hours at all. Moreover, the emphasis on the mantra of being “men and women for others” permeates virtually everything a Catholic school engages in. Given an overall spiritual vision and readily identifiable day-to-day mission, the authors assert that students come to the realization that core values are extremely important. In all, Bryk, Lee, and Holland argue that the aforementioned characteristics serve to create an environment that is much more apt to foster higher student achievement.
In conclusion, there have been some very substantial changes that have occurred in Catholic schools over the past 30 years. Besides enduring a one-third decline in the number of actual schools, continuing to provide adequate resources for Catholic schools is an ongoing concern. Yet, given the multiethnic composition of these schools, as well as the location in predominantly urban areas, Catholic schools appear to be providing benefits to students who are most in need. In the end, Bryk, Lee, and Holland advocate that educational policymakers reexamine whether or not such strict separation from private religious schools is warranted. When considering the “common good” interest of providing education to the nation’s youth, the authors urge that proponents for reform ought to reach out to Catholic schools and diligently consider the merits of their organizational and operational structures. Ultimately, no social interest is served by the elimination of Catholic schools, and efforts to improve student achievement should continue to be the paramount concern, even if it means adjusting some of the present day constructs of highly secularized world.
Bryk, Anthony S., Valerie E. Lee, and Peter B. Holland. CatholicSchoolsand the Common Good. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Bryk, Anthony S., Valerie E. Lee and Peter B. Holland. Catholic Schools and the Common Good, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995.
Thesis: Catholic schools for the common good.
Criticism: No discussion on the role of volunteers in the schools. Selection bias…Students in these schools choose to go to them. Strong focus on teachers and how they impact schools. B/L/H call it collegiality (I don't see a spell check). How does this get created? Through the leadership of the priest and then carried out by the principal? Delpit mentions that children that come from poverty have had success at Catholic schools and Department of Defense schools because of the emphasis on academics and idea that all children succeed in the schools. I am not sure if Delpit supports these statements with research.
From Tom Noonan, November 25, 2007 - I'm not sure if this circulated, but I'm adding a paper that I wrote on this text. Hope this helps; and if this is not in the ideal place to add, I'd ask Sharon to move it to a better and/or more appropriate place. Thanks!
Catholic Schools and the Common Good
Educational policymakers today approach examining student achievement from a wide variety of perspectives. One of the most fundamental ways to look at schooling is through distinctions between certain types of schools, with the most basic division being public versus private. Many researchers have heralded various aspects that private school can provide as compared to their public counterparts. Another in a very wide array of books written on the subject is Catholic Schools and the Common Good by Anthony Bryk, Valerie Lee, and Peter Holland. To a critical reader, this book is clearly differentiated from many other similar works by both its attention to detail and the in-depth quantitative analysis that it presents. Bryk, Lee, and Holland introduced this work in 1993, and it has served as a benchmark for scholarship on the merits of Catholic schooling ever since. In general, it represents Catholic schools in a very positive light and is meant to foster a belief among scholars that models of private schooling can indeed have a positive impact amid the dialogue over educational reform. Overall, Catholic schools may be a model to look to when considering policymaking implications about education as a whole.
Incredibly well documented and containing research that spans a ten-year period, Catholic Schools and the Common Good examines the attributes that may make Catholic school environments more conducive to student achievement. Following a comprehensive look at the history of Catholic schools, which dates back to 1790 with the emergence of the first Bishop in the United States, John Carroll, the authors profile research findings on Catholic schooling up to when they began their own work in the early 1980s. Before Bryk, Lee, and Holland undertook this project, relatively little had been written about Catholic schooling. One perspective that was clear, however, was the evolving mission of Catholic schools following Vatican II, and the authors devote a good deal of attention to explaining the organizational development of Catholic schools in relation to this epic change within the Roman Catholic Church. Drawing heavily from the 1983 National Catholic Educational Association statistical report, High School and Beyond, as well as in-depth evaluations of seven Catholic schools, Bryk, Lee, and Holland put together an incredibly detailed look at the structure and operation of Catholic schooling, sometimes in excruciating detail, but more often than not to the benefit of the reader. In reaching their conclusions on these issues, the authors examined test scores, drop out rates, socioeconomic information, as well as other pertinent information. Having gathered data from nationwide surveying, the authors reach several striking conclusions. First, they contend that Catholic schools may in fact better serve low-income families as the achievement gap per grade level is substantially less than in comparable public schools. And with specific regard to minority students, their data demonstrates that students in mathematics make tremendous strides on an annual basis. Secondly, drop out rates in Catholic schools are significantly less. Whereas over 15% of public school students do not complete four years of high school, only an estimated 4% exit Catholic schools early. Despite the variance of the overall populations, and considering that many Catholic schools serve students of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, these are some significant observations.
Beyond the statistical findings related to achievement and retention, perhaps the most important aspect of the book relates to the internal conditions that are identified from the exhaustive study of the seven schools themselves. In all, Bryk, Lee, and Holland isolate four key areas that they contend engender higher academic achievement. Those attributes include: 1) a core academic curriculum for all students, 2) a strong communal atmosphere among students, teachers, and administrators, 3) a decentralized structure of governance, and 4) an inspirational ideology; in essence a strong connection to the Catholic mission of social justice. According to the authors, each has a dramatic impact on the functioning of a Catholic school and directly impacts student achievement. To begin, the core curriculum offered in a Catholic school is mandated for all students. All enrollees take common courses and are expected to meet certain requirements for graduation. Hence, success becomes a school-wide expectation. And while the authors admit that some tracking may occur, they argue that the levels are too few in number to make any substantive difference. Another vital component to Catholic school success is that of community. On the whole, students and teachers interact more frequently given smaller school sizes. Also, the nature of the interactions is more diverse given a wider variety of school related functions, including liturgies, retreats, and student service projects.
Beyond the core curriculum and communal attributes, the authors focus on the decentralized structure of governance as another reason for more effective schooling. Clearly, a greater degree of independence is garnered through a loose arrangement of being diocesan schools, each being substantially more autonomous than those in traditional public school districts. As a result, the authors conclude that Catholic schools are much freer to solve problems, which in turn fosters greater cohesion and student achievement. In sum, the authors assert that individual principals enjoy much greater latitude to manage personnel and can operate with further ease when making any number of institutional changes. From academic requirements to after school programs to parental involvement, local control within each school provides for more effective leadership. Finally, Bryk, Lee, and Holland cite the ideological mission of Catholic schools as yet another significant reason for their success. The social justice paradigm established as of Vatican II has led Catholic schools to increasingly focus on the dignity of the human person. Students in Catholic schools are expected to do community service on a much larger scale than their public school counterparts, most of which perform no service hours at all. Moreover, the emphasis on the mantra of being “men and women for others” permeates virtually everything a Catholic school engages in. Given an overall spiritual vision and readily identifiable day-to-day mission, the authors assert that students come to the realization that core values are extremely important. In all, Bryk, Lee, and Holland argue that the aforementioned characteristics serve to create an environment that is much more apt to foster higher student achievement.
In conclusion, there have been some very substantial changes that have occurred in Catholic schools over the past 30 years. Besides enduring a one-third decline in the number of actual schools, continuing to provide adequate resources for Catholic schools is an ongoing concern. Yet, given the multiethnic composition of these schools, as well as the location in predominantly urban areas, Catholic schools appear to be providing benefits to students who are most in need. In the end, Bryk, Lee, and Holland advocate that educational policymakers reexamine whether or not such strict separation from private religious schools is warranted. When considering the “common good” interest of providing education to the nation’s youth, the authors urge that proponents for reform ought to reach out to Catholic schools and diligently consider the merits of their organizational and operational structures. Ultimately, no social interest is served by the elimination of Catholic schools, and efforts to improve student achievement should continue to be the paramount concern, even if it means adjusting some of the present day constructs of highly secularized world.
Bryk, Anthony S., Valerie E. Lee, and Peter B. Holland. Catholic Schools and the Common
Good. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.