Long Term Impact of Catholic Schools

Having attended Catholic school from grades K-12, I received instruction in Religion as a graded class subject for my entire pre-college academic life. I also attended Mass with my friends, teachers, and the other students every First Friday (K-8), practiced for and attended 9 May Crownings, and planned a religious peace service during the 1st Iraq War for my whole high school.

In my "day job" as a doctoral candidate in curriculum & instruction, I spend a lot of time thinking about how different kinds of experiences prepare students to learn in the future. For example, actually being at the field site of a river ecosystem collecting data on dissolved oxygen or species penetration as part of a science field trip might prepare kids to learn more about ecosystem balance and interdependence when they encounter it in the confines of school. I've lately been wondering if the same might be said of Catholic education.

During my formal schooling, I actually attended Mass with my friends. I didn't always understand it, particularly when I was younger, but I was in the space, with friends and teachers/mentors, hearing and saying the prayers, smelling the incense, and processing with my friends to receive the Eucharist. I had the opportunity in school to read the Bible and learn the teachings of the Church. More importantly, I think, I had the opportunity to ask questions of my teachers (and bring questions home to my parents) that helped me to understand why Catholics believe what we do, and not just what we believe. Those questions - and the process of seeking their answers - helped me not only to find answers appropriate to me at the time, but also to be mentored into the Catholic community and to learn how to learn about and experience my faith in the future.

Although I am only one "data point", I can't help but think that my experiences in K-12 Catholic education provided me with experience with which to learn more about - and live as an adult - my Catholic faith. When a person who attended 12 years of Catholic school attends mass on Sunday, does he or she listen with different ears than a person who did not? I think so. Although it would be hard (but not impossible) to capture, the mentoring, messages, and values with which a person with a Catholic education is raised seem to set that person up with a good foundation upon which to build a mature, adult, Catholic faith.

But how would we translate that belief (or intuition) into research to advance Catholic education. For starters, I wonder if it would be worthwhile to explore the educational backgrounds of current leaders in the Catholic church - those who teach, those who work for social justice, and those who give their time, talent, and treasure to the Church? Do people with a Catholic education volunteer more at their church? In their communities? Do they hold leadership positions in the Church and in other faith-based organizations? How do they understand, practice, and explain their faith? How does it influence their lives? These questions might just be the start of an agenda that could uncover some of the long-term effects of Catholic education on individuals and on the societies they serve.