Catholic Schools in the United States From Vatican II to the Present

• In Event: Catholic Education in the United States: Historical and Legal Perspectives

Abstract

Objectives or purposes. The objective of this presentation is to describe the history of Catholic education since the Second Vatican Council to the present day.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework. As the single largest sector of the private school market, Catholic schools’ centrality in the social fabric of the nation is manifest in numerous ways. First, there is a great deal of scholarship focused on Catholic education—both how it is constituted and what impacts it delivers. Second, there is vigorous policy discourse surrounding the contributions of Catholic schools to the public good, as well as whether and to what extent parents can utilize public funding to support their children’s education. Third, Catholic schools serve not only as powerful vehicles for deepening students’ academic understanding, but as incubators of the social conscience of the young.

Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry

Touching upon governance models, shifting demographics, financial stress, Catholic identity, student achievement, public policy, and Church documents, this presentation describes the changes, challenges, and developments germane to Catholic schools since Vatican II.

Data sources and evidence

Church documents encapsulating official teaching on Catholic education were reviewed. School and student demographics, along with financial data, were traced using enrollment data published by the NCEA. Sociological and educational research literature provided ample source material for describing educational and formation impacts of Catholic schooling. Finally, court cases and public policy documents shed light on perennial issues such as parental choice, tax credits, and vouchers.

Results

Since 1960, the number of Catholic schools has decreased from 12,893 to 7,094, and the number of students served in those schools has decreased from 5.25 to 2.12 million. Key overall challenges are finances—a broadly construed category that includes tuition and enrollment management, long range planning, marketing, capital improvements, and accessibility of Catholic schools to the poor and middle class, and faith—a similarly general way to designate all of those matters that touch on the unique contribution of the Catholic school, its Christ-centered, Gospel values, the participation of school families in the sacramental life of the Church, the teaching of religion as a part of the formal curriculum, and the overall Catholic identity or ethos of the school itself. Several positive developments in Catholic education have transpired since the 1960s. Three include heightened attention to student achievement data; continued reinforcement—via several Church documents—of the vital and saving mission of Catholic schools; and the evolving and increasingly complex public policy debates surrounding parental choice of schools.


Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work

Catholic schools have been a vital part of the American educational landscape for several centuries, enjoying extraordinary success as instruments of enculturation, faith transmission, and academic attainments. Notwithstanding such success, K-12 Catholic schools have experienced steady decline through the past several decades, related to multiple internal and external realities, that has resulted in major shifts in staffing, governance, finances, and Catholic identity. Deep understanding of both present challenges and the concomitant opportunities for the next generation of Catholic education is called for.

Authors

• Ronald J. Nuzzi, University of Notre Dame

• James Mario Frabutt, University of Notre Dame

• Anthony C. Holter, University of Notre Dame