Catholic school administrators and the inclusion of non‐Catholic students
| Pages | 586-608 |
| Published date | 14 August 2009 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230910981071 |
| Date | 14 August 2009 |
| Author | J. Kent Donlevy |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Catholic school administrators
and the inclusion
of non-Catholic students
J. Kent Donlevy
Faculty of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the understandings and administrative actions
of six Catholic high school principals in relation to their administrative expectations of the admission
of non-Catholic students.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper involves interviews with six Catholic school
principals from one Catholic school division in a Western Canadian province. The methodology
chosen for this paper is grounded theory. Specific analytical processes are employed: open-, axial-, and
selective-codings.
Findings – The findings present four major themes with respect to the inclusion of non-Catholic
students in their schools: the school administrators’ expectations; the significance of the preliminary
interview; the ongoing relationship of the non-Catholic student to the Catholic school; and points of
confrontation with the Catholic school administration.
Practical implications – The paper provides some guidance with respect to the application and
entrance procedures which non-Catholic students should undergo before admission. It also points to
the importance of providing information about the school’s spiritual mission to non-Catholic parents
before their child is admitted to the school community.
Originality/value – The paper’s originality lies in the findings offered in an area of education, which
is not yet well researched.
Keywords Schools, Educationaladministration, Students,Religion, Canada
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The academic literature on the inclusion of non-Catholic students in Catholic schools
related to Catholic school administrators is thin. Indeed, there is only one small
25-pages booklet which specifically deals with that topic (Hawker, 1987). Ostensibly,
the topic seems to be of little significance to the Catholic school community. However,
further examination indicates the contrary.
The increasing number of non-Catholic students in Catholic schools has become a
phenomenon of concern for Catholic educators in the UK (Francis, 1986), the USA,
Canada (Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association, 2005), and Australia (Catholic
News, 2005; Harkness, 2003). Questions concerning the sustainability of the Catholic
school ethos with an increasing number on non-Catholic students has presented
concerns with, amongst other things, religious relativism affecting both Catholic
teachers and students as well as raising the difficulties of creating and maintaining a
Catholic school faith community (Donlevy, 2007a, b, 2003a).
Mulligan (1999, p. 182) states that the presence of non-Catholic students in Catholic
schools, “is a concern common to Catholic educators in the Canadian provinces of
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
JEA
47,5
586
Received January 2008
Revised January 2009
Accepted February 2009
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 47 No. 5, 2009
pp. 586-608
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/09578230910981071
Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.” He quotes the Chaplain of a Toronto Catholic
high school with a non-Catholic student population of 32 percent, “It is extremely
difficult, if not impossible, to maintain, let alone deepen, the Catholic character of the
school with such a large non-Catholic population” (p. 182). Eight years later, he
reaffirmed his concern (Mulligan, 2007).
As the inclusion of non-Catholic students is a concernfor Catholic education, it seems
reasonable that research should be focused upon that issue. Towards that purpose, this
paper presents the understandings and administrative actions of six Catholic school
principals in relation to the administrative expectations of admission,the significance of
theinitial interview for admission,the on-goingrelationship with thenon-Catholic student,
and points of contention regarding denominational conformity.
This paper is in four parts: Part I – the invitation to non-Catholic students by the
Catholic Church; Part II – the context, method, methodology, and the modes of
emergence of the findings; Part III – the findings and analysis; and Part IV – the
significance of the findings and the conclusion.
Part I – the invitation to non-Catholic students
Part I provides a brief summary of the relevant Catholic Church documents and
academic literature which deal with inclusion.
The church and inclusion
The Catholic Church considers “very dear to her heart those Catholic schools [...]
which are attended [...] by students who are not Catholics” (Vatican II, 1965b, para. 9),
and acknowledges that such students have “the right to religious freedom [...] [and
that] no one [...] is to be forced to embrace the Christian faith against his own will”
(Vatican II, 1965a, paras 2 and 10). Indeed:
[...] the Catholic school offers itself to all, non-Christians included, with all its distinctive aims
and means, acknowledging, preserving and promoting the spiritual and moral qualities, the
social and cultural values, which characterize different civilizations (Congregation for
Catholic Education, 1977, para. 85).
It is hoped that Catholic education may “help non-Catholics to have a better knowledge
and appreciation of the Catholic Church and her conviction of being the universal
help towards salvation” (John Paul II, 1979, para. 32). In that task, teachers are
admonished to:
[...] have the greatest respect for those students who are not Catholics [...] [and teachers]
should be open at all times to authentic dialogue, convinced that in these circumstance the
best testimony that they can give of their own faith is a warm and sincere appreciation for
anyone who is seeking God according to his or her own conscience (Congregation for Catholic
Education, 1982, para. 42).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) reiterates the above saying that everyone
has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral
decisions. It states that “[the individual] [...] must not be forced to act contrary to his
conscience. Nor must he [or she] be prevented from acting according to his [or her]
conscience, especially in religious matters” (para. 1782). The topic of the non-Catholic
student’s conscience manifest within the Catholic school has been addressed elsewhere
in the literature (Donlevy, 2008a).
Inclusion of
non-Catholic
students
587
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