Social Background and Achievement in Public and Catholic High Schools

One of the more provocative findings from the 1980 – 1982 High School and Beyond comparisons of public and Catholic high school students was the apparent lower effects of social class and race on achievement test scores in Catholic schools. A number of changes in American society and public education since that time suggest that relationships may have changed either in the direction of greater or lesser Catholic school benefits for less-advantaged youth. The analyses presented here represent an update of the High School and Beyond public-Catholic comparisons using the 1988 – 1992 National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88). As in the early 1980s, results indicate that Catholic high schools in the early 1990s had positive effects on student achievement test score gains. Without adjusting for other public-Catholic background differences, Catholic school minority and lower-SES students finished high school with higher average test scores than their public school counterparts. When adjustments for the effects of prior achievement and other background variables are made, however, differential benefits of Catholic schools for minority and lower-SES students are not found. Instead, Catholic schools appear to confer roughly equal benefits to students from more- and less-advantaged social backgrounds.     

Researching Faith Maturity Questions on the Methods and Findings of Valuegenesis

The issue of Catholic elementary-school survival is complex. This study found in general that astute management is more important than overall wealth. Major contributors to survival include integrated church/school financial planning; a combination of a certain level of church support for the school and efficient school management; and clarity about the role of the school in the Church's evangelical mission. The most vulnerable moments for the Catholic elementary schools, presuming otherwise strong management, are during times of sweeping neighborhood change. This study produced some financial ratios that may be helpful in strenghtening Catholic elementary schools.     

Grade retention and enrollment in post-secondary education

Students retained in grade have dropout rates three to seven times higher than do their promoted peers, yet little is known about the outcomes for the most persistent of the retained students who graduate high school. The purpose of this research was to examine the post-secondary (PSE) enrollment rates of retained but persistent high school graduates. Ten thousand 1992 high school graduates in the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) data base composed the sample. A logistic regression controlling for gender, socio-economic status (SES), race–ethnicity, and achievement yielded odds ratios indicating significantly lower odds of PSE enrollment for retained graduates compared to promoted graduates. Later grade retention generally reduced the odds of PSE enrollment. Findings suggest that retaining students may be related to negative educational outcomes not realized for many years.     

Catholic Schooling, Protestant Schooling, and Religious Commitment in Young Adulthood

If and how Catholic and Protestant schools influence the religious lives of their students once they have graduated is unclear. Methodological limitations and inconsistencies in previous studies have resulted in confusing and often contradictory findings. Using data from two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health ( N  = 11,212), I compare the religious lives of young adults who attended Catholic, Protestant, and secular schools as adolescents. The results suggest that Protestant schoolers are far more religious as young adults than those who attended a secular school, a difference that is at least partially explained by the schools' religious environment. But young adults who attended Catholic schools report levels of religiosity that are similar to those educated in a secular school, and are actually lower for some outcomes. Studies of religious schoolers that ignore the religious tradition of the school overlook these differing effects and forfeit statistical explanatory power.     

Religiosity,Prosocial Values,and Adjustment among Students in Catholic High Schools in Canada

The present study explored the facilitating function of religious commitment in the lives of adolescents. A total of 369 boys and 372 girls attending Catholic high schools in Canada completed measures of family religion, religiosity, prosocial values, social adjustment (school attitudes and family satisfaction), and personal adjustment (life satisfaction and self-esteem). There were no significant gender differences in family religion, religiosity, social adjustment or personal adjustment. However, girls endorsed prosocial values much more than did boys. Religiosity had strong positive correlations with prosocial values and lesser significant correlations with social adjustment. Religiosity had much higher correlations with prosocial values and social adjustment among boys than among girls. Structural-equation analyses of the total sample, of boys, and of girls supported a path model where family religion fosters adolescents's religiosity, religiosity fosters prosocial values, prosocial values promote social adjustment and social adjustment promotes personal adjustment.     

Young People,Sexuality, and HIV Prevention Within Christian Faith Communities in South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Faith communities exert a powerful influence on the life of their members, and studies are needed about how they may be able to influence young people’s attitudes regarding sexuality and HIV prevention. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from young people (811), aged 15–24 years, affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and the Assemblies of God. The majority of participants perceived themselves at risk of HIV infection (53 %). Premarital sexual abstinence was the most frequently (88 %) reported prevention message, followed by faithfulness (23 %), HIV testing (18 %) and condom use (17 %). Furthermore, religious affiliation was associated with education on sexuality and HIV in youth groups, with better information given to members of the Lutheran and Catholic churches. Faith communities need to strengthen their capacity to educate young people in a more holistic way about sexuality and HIV prevention.     

Shepherds and Sheep: Parish Reconfiguration,Authority, and Activism in a Catholic Diocese

This mixed method study describes contention over parish reconfiguration in a northeast Catholic diocese, and a case study of one merged parish. Guided by social movement theories about collective action frames and political opportunities in mobilization, we outline the diocesan frame of reconfiguration and the counter frame developed by activists who organized to oppose the process. While the diocesan frame focused on a shortage of priests that officials believed demanded reconfiguration of financially burdened parishes, the lay counter frame shifted the debate to questions about the role of the laity in the contemporary Catholic Church and what they perceived as failed leadership from their bishop. Our case study of Resurrection Parish shows how the merger process and the activists’ opposition to their diocesan leaders resulted in a parish that works to ensure the involvement of the laity, and continues to publicly dissent from Catholic leaders.     

The dialectic of Australian Catholic education

Australian Catholic schools are enjoying extensive popularity, with schools in general experiencing maximum enrolment capacities. The irony in this phenomenon is that Catholics are being attracted to non‐Catholic schools, and many non‐Catholics are seeking enrolment in Catholic schools. Moreover, the vast majority of Catholics in Catholic schools (parents, students, teachers) are not practising and those that do often hold a plurality of views in faith and morals that are inconsistent with Church teaching. Given this reality, the aims of the Australian Catholic school need to be re‐examined.     

Ineffective Schools as Organizational Reactions to Stress

Educational research has identified effective schools in terms of characteristics associated with high student achievement, and conversely, schools lacking these characteristics are often conceived as ineffective schools. In this article, I propose that organizational stress responses create the conditions that make schools effective or ineffective. In other words, low achievement does not make schools ineffective but rather organizational behavior associated with stress creates and perpetuates school ineffectiveness, including low achievement. Drawing on the threat-rigidity thesis and open systems theory, hypotheses regarding how groups and organizations respond to stress were tested using demographic and achievement data for students attending elementary schools, in addition to survey data obtained from students (N= 18,189), principals (N= 75), and parents (N= 13,768). Using cluster analysis, schools were grouped and described in terms of the schools stress level (student populations requiring more resources for learning), school adaptations to stress (emphases on varied school internal processes), and school output (student achievement). To lessen input from the external environment, schools experiencing more stress had less permeable bound- aries, as indicated by parent reports of less school involvement and less positive school climate. Schools experiencing more stress also had more internal disruption, as indicated by less consensus among parents and students regarding school internal processes and by more principal changes. However, in such schools, there was little evidence of more control over school internal processes in terms of principals self-reported behavior and student and parent perceptions of school order and discipline, and teacher support of learning. Results call for a better understanding of school ineffectiveness in terms of organizational adaptations to stress and points at which to intervene for more effective school adaptation and functioning.     

The Challenges of HIV/AIDS Counselling in Nigerian Secondary Schools: A Case Study of Kwara State

The study investigated the challenges of HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools as expressed by school counsellors in Kwara state, Nigeria. The respondents comprised 132 purposively selected counsellors in Kwara state public secondary schools (Male=85; Female=47). Data were collected with the use of a survey instrument and the data were quantitatively analyzed. The study identified the challenges hindering effective implementation of HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools as ignorance, non-existence of governmental policy on HIV/AIDS counselling in schools and negative attitudes of school administrators, students and teachers to HIV/AIDS. Geographical location and job status had significant influence on the respondents' views of the challenges facing HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools. The Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON) should enlighten Nigerians on the importance of HIV/AIDS counselling in schools.     

The Spiritual,Moral, Social and Cultural Values of Students in a Jewish and a Catholic Secondary School

What do students who have attended a Jewish or a Catholic secondary school have to say about the influences on their development, the values they hold and their future goals? Based on responses from more than a hundred students, in two faith-based schools, the article shows that there is no strong commitment to institutional religion or school worship but many refer to the impact on their lives of shared time away together and are willing to be of service to others. Students from both schools value diversity and openness to others. Some of the similarities and the differences between the two schools are explored, comparisons are made with relevant international research, and four possible implications of the findings are indicated.     

Counseling and Guidance in Non-Public Schools

The provision of counseling and guidance services in the secondary schools of one of the nation's largest non-public school systems is examined and compared with services offered in publicly supported schools from the same geographical area. Findings indicate that the non-public school lags far behind the public school in the provision of counseling services for its pupils and that the persons assigned to counsel in non-public schools are not as well qualified as the public school counselors. This lag is traced to a difference in financial support, and a recommendation is made to investigate methods of solving this problem.     

Religious Schools and Discipline

Recently there has been a growing interest in faith-based schools (see e.g. The Times , No. 67060, 2 December 2001, pp. 1, 4). Politicians have indicated a willingness to support such schools on the assumption that religion may make a positive contribution to schooling. It is not at all self-evident that there is a clear inter-relationship between religion and education on which the assumption can be grounded. In what follows I shall seek to explore one sphere in which religion can have a bearing on schooling, notably on its understanding and practice of discipline. Before the specifically religious impact can be explored, the complex nature of discipline and reward/punishment in school is examined. The philosophy of behaviourism is rejected as inadequate for the processes of education, not least because of the insights of Nietzsche and Plato. The analysis leads to the identification of three very distinct forms of discipline, namely, authoritarian, moral and 'Socratic'. Whilst in practice schools may resort to all three, they would not necessarily do so in a coherent way as the authoritarian and moral forms of discipline are, in important respects, incompatible. The understanding of what religion is, is also shown to be of a varied nature. Differing views and features of religion can serve to reinforce the school as an authoritarian, moral or 'Socratic' community. Whilst the inherent authoritarianism of religion and the ethical dimension of religion are well known, a 'Kierkegaardian' view of religion would have strong affinities with 'Socratic' discipline and help to support the view of the school as a community for all.     

Cyberbullying in High Schools: A Study of Students' Behaviors and Beliefs about This New Phenomenon

This study explores high school students' beliefs and behaviors associated with cyberbullying. Specifically, it examines this new phenomenon from the following four perspectives: (a) What happens after students are cyberbullied? (b) What do students do when witnessing cyberbullying? (c) Why do victims not report the incidents? and (d) What are students' opinions about cyberbullying? Data were collected from 269 Grade 7 through 12 students in 5 Canadian schools. Several themes have emerged from the analysis, which uncovers some important patterns. One finding is that over 40% would do nothing if they were cyberbullied, and only about 1 in 10 would inform adults. Students feel reluctant to report cyberbullying incidents to adults in schools for various reasons, which are discussed in depth.     

Measuring the Contribution of Independent Christian Secondary Schools to Students' Religious,Personal, and Social Values

From the late 1960s independent Christian schools have emerged in England and Wales, initiated either by churches or by parents. Many of these new independent schools are linked through the Christian Schools Trust. The impact that these schools are exerting on their students may be of interest for the churches with which they are associated and of concern for wider society. The political debate concerning these schools has so far been informed by only a small number of empirical studies conducted in England and Wales. The present study extends previous research in three ways. It offers a comparative study by examining the responses of 271 year-nine and year-ten students (age 13 to 15 years) from 11 independent Christian schools with 20,348 students from 93 schools without a religious foundation. It examines a range of religious, social and personal values. It employs multilevel models to identify the contribution made by independent Christian schools after taking into account personal, psychological, and contextual differences within the students themselves. The hypothesis was that Christian schools were committed to developing distinctly Christian values among their students. The data supported this hypothesis. Even after allowing for differences in the religiosity of the students themselves, attendance at an independent Christian school was associated with higher self-esteem, greater rejection of drug use, lower endorsing of illegal behaviors, lower racism, higher levels of conservative Christian belief, and more conservative views on sexual morality (abortion, contraception, divorce, homosexuality, and sex outside marriage).     

Race,Exclusionary Discipline,and Connectedness to Adults in Secondary Schools

This study examines racial differences in students' connectedness to school adults and considers the possibility that disparities in exclusionary discipline practices may reduce all students' sense of connection to educators, not just those who have been disciplined or are from racial groups overrepresented in out‐of‐school suspensions. Data sources include a self‐report survey of secondary school students (n = 29,148) linked to administrative data (n = 107 schools) from a large urban district. Multilevel modeling techniques were used to estimate the relationships between students' racial background, youths' connection to school adults, and school‐level racial discipline gaps. Controlling for school racial composition, gender, grade level and other covariates, students of color were significantly less likely to feel connected to school adults than their White peers. Additionally, the racial discipline gap was significantly and negatively associated with connectedness for all students. Results indicate that strategies to improve educational outcomes for youth of color need to attend to relational dynamics between students and school adults. Research findings also suggest that efforts to reduce discipline disparities may improve all students' connectedness.     

School adjustment of children from rural migrant families in urban China

The purpose of this study was to examine school adjustment of rural-to-urban migrant children and its relations with acculturation in China. Migrant children were those whose official hukou status was in a rural region outside the city. Data were collected for 1175 students (M age = 11 years) in urban public schools from multiple sources including peer evaluations, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. The results showed that migrant students performed more competently than urban non-migrant students in social and academic areas. Migrant students displayed better psychological adjustment than non-migrant students in higher grades, but not in lower grades. Among migrant students, those with higher scores on accommodation to urban culture and maintenance of rural culture tended to be better adjusted. These results indicate the implications of migration and change in life circumstances for children's school functioning in social, academic, and psychological domains.     

Deterrents to women's careers in school management

There always have been more women than men schoolteachers since the Civil War. Yet the management of our schools always has been dominated by men. There is a prevailing social norm that management is a man's job. Today in education this norm is reinforced by an increasing number of men in the profession and a decreasing number of administrative positions available due to district consolidation. Women are not administrators because many women do not actively seek administrative jobs and because there are forces in the profession perpetuating a cycle which encourages men and discourages women seeking administrative positions. This article describes the operation of those forces which deter women's entrance and advancement in careers of public school administration.     

Consultation and the Introduction of Social Problem-Solving Groups in Schools

Social problem-solving programs for withdrawn and hyperactive children within a school context were developed and implemented in a day care center, a Montessori nursery school, a Catholic elementary school, and a Catholic high school. This article describes the program implementation for each of the four schools and some of the effects on the consultative relationship.     

The Relationship Between Biblical Literacy,Academic Achievement,and School Behavior Among Christian- and Public-School Students

This study assessed the relationship between Bible literacy among secondary school students and their academic achievement and school behavior. A total of 160 students who attended either Christian or public schools in the 7th to 12th grade were randomly selected for the study sample. Three measures of Bible knowledge were combined to obtain an overall measure of Bible literacy. The results indicate that students with the highest level of Bible literacy also had the highest average grade point average (GPA) and the highest ranking in test and grade results. In contrast, those with the lowest level of Bible literacy also had the lowest average GPA and the lowest ranking in test and grade results. This trend held for students attending both Christian schools and public schools. Christian school students were also rated higher than public school students in school behavior.