Performance and Effectiveness of Catholic Schools in Tagum

Schools and education authorities became increasingly aware of the need to be effective due to the pressures for accountability brought by national and local government levels and school stakeholders in relation to the demands of the new educational system. This study determined the performance of the schools and effectiveness of the administrators with the human resource development in the selected Catholic schools in Tagum, Davao del Norte. Findings of the study served as inputs for the improved administrative manual and school improvement plan. The study utilized mixed methods among the 250 participants. The instrument focused on the indicators based on the Fund for Assistance to Private Education. Vision and mission, curriculum and instruction, faculty development, student development, physical plant and facilities, financial and business administration, and school and community involvement were considered advanced and were sustained for a longer period of time. The administrators’ level of implementation in the human resource management and development functions was considered adequate. The implementation in terms of benefits, remuneration and evaluation were also evident. Employment policy, work regulations, discipline, leave of absence, and grievance and complaints were substantially observed. There is a significant relationship between the performance of schools and administrators’ effective implementation of human resource management and development functions. There was shared understanding on roles, responsibilities, and expectations by the stakeholders.

Seeking Labourers for the Vineyard

The Catholic Church harnessed the secondary schools in Ireland in pursuit of its interest in recruiting new members for the diocesan priesthood and for the religious orders by utilizing two major sets of practices. First, the teaching members of the orders were themselves regularly reminded of the theological arguments that justified their state in life as being most elevated spiritually, thus reinforcing within them the conviction that the choice they had made was noble. This reinforcement also enthused them to respond constantly to requirements in their rules and constitutions that they encourage their students to consider seriously joining the ranks. Second, the superiors of a number of the orders dispatched ‘recruiting agents’ specially chosen for the task to visit Catholic schools with the explicit intention of ‘seeking out vocations’. These personnel supplemented their talks to potential recruits by distributing recruitment literature among them. That literature served not only to remind readers once again of the hierarchy of vocations in the Church but also to encourage them to become members of an order by appealing to various sentiments, including their sense of care, of heroism, and of adventure.

Education to inhabit the contemporary world: perceptions of students in Catholic schools

This article analyzes part of the data collected in a doctoral research on the place of Catholic schools in the contemporary educational scenario, based on the perception of various actors in education: managers, educators, pastoralists and students. Linked to the National University of Rosario, Argentina, the research defines as one of its objectives to problematize the perceptions of High School students about their experience of schooling. 157 students from 6 Catholic schools in Belo Horizonte/MG presented their perceptions of school life through a written questionnaire and a drawing. The data were analyzed using Qualitative Epistemology and its concept of subjective meanings. Based on their experience in the Catholic school, students evaluate how the plastered educational system prevents the development of more integral educational and focused on human development processes; report the traditionalism that runs through schooling today; demonstrate difficulty in identifying the school’s contribution to their formation and definition of life project; and attribute different meanings to school education, according to their trajectory in the Catholic school.

PENGGUNAAN PLATFORM E-LEARNING OLEH GURU-GURU DI SEKOLAH KATOLIK DI KALIMANTAN BARAT: APPLICATIONS & ATTITUDES

ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan mengali penggunaan e-learning oleh para guru di sekolah-sekolah Katolik di Kalimantan Barat. Permasalahan yang menjadi focus penelitian adalah “Apa sajakah Platform e-learning yang digunakan oleh para guru di sekolah-sekolah Katolik di Kalbar? Bagaimanakah peng-aplikasian Platform e-learning dan kendalanya? Bagaimanakah sikap (attitudes) para guru terhadap penggunaan media berbasis e-learning?” Subjek penelitian adalah para guru yang mengajar di sekolah Katolik. Sample penelitian diambil secara acak menggunakan purposive sampling. Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan angket dan wawancara terbuka di sekolah-sekolah Katolik. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, 53,8% guru di beberapa SMA/SMK di Kalbar menggunakan Platform E-learing model Google Classroom terutama didaerah perkotaan atau daerah yang tidak mengalami kendala signal internet. Namun tidak sedikit juga guru SMK/SMA yang masih sulit dalam mengaplikasikan e-learing dan akhirnya menggunakan system blended learning. Para responden sependapat bahwa pembelajaran melalui e-learning sangat relevan dengan situasi pandemi COVID-19 walaupun terkesan dipaksakan karena ketidaksiapan guru maupun siswa.Kata Kunci: e-learnng, Platform, attitude, Guru ABSTRACTThis study aims to explore the use of e-learning by teachers in Catholic schools in West Kalimantan. The focuses of the research were “What are the e-learning platforms used by teachers in Catholic schools in West Kalimantan? How is the application of the e-learning Platform and the obstacles? What are the attitudes of the teachers towards the use of e-learning-based media?”The research subjects were teachers who teach in Catholic schools. The research sample was taken randomly using purposive sampling. Techniques of data collection were questionnaires and open interviews. Based on the results of the study, 53.8% of teachers in several high schools / vocational schools in West Kalimantan used the Google Classroom, especially in urban areas or areas with good internet signal access. However, some vocational/ high school teachers are still difficult to apply e-learning and finally use a blended learning system. The respondents also agreed that learning through e-learning is very relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, even though it seems forced due to the unpreparedness of teachers and students.Keywords: e-learnng, Platform, attitude, teachers

Life to the Full: Sustaining the Catholic Curriculum

Catholic schools. has articulated There are concerns that the curriculum of Catholic schools has been increasingly dominated by pressures to conform to a programme of education legitimised by an intrusive secular state and designated as a ‘national curriculum’. Accordingly, the curriculum of Catholic maintained schools is regulated within a standardised framework that is directed by government. Contentiously, it has been asserted that, as a result, the curriculum in Catholic schools in England has effectively been ‘de-Catholicised’. This claim has been contested. For example, it is maintained that the matter is more nuanced than this and the situation cannot be interpreted in such an unequivocal way. However, it might well be asked: what should a Catholic curriculum look like? In the face of this question, leaders in Catholic schools are encouraged to consider renewing and restoring a distinctive curriculum by permeating it systematically with the principles of Catholic social teaching. Ultimately, the writer argues, the curriculum of Catholic schools should provide students with an understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Identity, Ambiguity, and Professionalism: Dilemmas for the Diocesan Advisor in the Republic of Ireland

A deficit in empirical studies regarding the role of the Diocesan Advisor at second-level schools in the Republic of Ireland prompted research in this area. The findings of a study carried out by the authors are outlined in this article. Perspectives of 19 Diocesan Advisors were gathered qualitatively. The concept of “visible” and “invisible” maps provided a framework. In Ireland, State inspection relies on visible mapping of inspection processes that are accessible to all stakeholders. The Diocesan Advisor, on behalf of the bishop, uses invisible maps, observing how the school is living out its Catholic remit and how religious education is carried out within the curriculum. The study identified that the role is under-resourced and lacks clarity, resulting in a widespread deficiency in the monitoring of Catholic schools’ identity and the non-examinable religious education currently on the curriculum. The study further revealed an uncertain future for the role of the Diocesan Advisor in a changing landscape. A discussion on the implications of the findings is included, and possible options for the role in the future are explored.

Mary, woman of faith and displaced person: insights for Catholic schools

Catholic schools share in the preferential option for the poor that is an essential part of following Jesus and the mission of the Church. Catholic schools in many parts of the world have an historical and contemporary mission for the care and education of the poor. This article uses key passages from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew to illustrate that Mary can be understood as an exemplar of God’s preferential option for the poor. Mary is presented as a young and poor Jewish woman of faith in the Annunciation and the Magnificat in Luke’s Gospel and is presented as an externally displaced person in flight into Egypt in Matthew’s Gospel. The paper also examines the journey to Bethlehem in Luke’s Gospel as interpreted by Pope Francis. He interprets this as Mary being an internally displaced person. Adopting these distinctive modes of interpretation, Mary can be recognised as a model of the preferential option for the poor for Catholic schools.