Sessions: Tuesday, 30 June

Research-Practice Partnerships (RPPs) between universities and schools hold strong promise as formative experiences for the educators involved because they simultaneously draw upon existing Communities of Practice (COP) while creating a new, broader COP that includes university researchers. While more is known of the impact of whole-person, learner-centered practices on youth, there is limited research on the formation of educators, especially in faith-based schooling contexts. Over 2022 - 2025, a team of researchers from Boston College formed a RPP with educators from schools within three Catholic school networks around “Pedagogies of Character Formation.” At the conclusion of this research grant, educators who served on each network’s “design team” were invited to participate in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Our preliminary findings suggest that RPPs between universities, such as those within the G.R.A.C.E. research network, and schools can have a lasting, transformative impact on educators at all career stages. Those gathered will discuss and analyze data from these interviews in a case study approach. A literature review on adult learning and the formation of those charged with leading formative education efforts will inform this discussion. Participants will leave our session with a greater understanding of current research on adult learning and formation, how RPPs are distinct from other qualitative research projects, and why RPPs are a compelling structure for research with lasting impact. Participants will identify areas for further inquiry into RPPs as transformative formation for research participants and consider how RPPs might contribute to their own future research.

This presentation addresses the development of the Ignatian Curriculum Framework (MCI, for its Spanish intials) by the Ignatian Educational Network (REI) of Chile, a groundbreaking process in the Latin American region that seeks to ensure the Christian-humanist identity of a these schools through common curricular guidelines. Unlike purely pedagogical initiatives, this effort focuses on the curriculum —the “what” of education, not just the “how”— and on the conviction that, in a Jesuit school, the curriculum carries the mission. The theoretical foundation of the MCI rests on two main frameworks. First, on the Jesuit educational tradition, from the Ratio Studiorum to the recent renewal promoted by ICAJE, especially the Christian-humanist vision that conceives of reality as a place of encounter with God, and education as a path of imitating Christ through the 4Cs of Jesuit education (conscience, compassion, commitment, and competence). Second, it draws on Basil Bernstein's sociology of curriculum, particularly his distinction between fragmented and integrated curricula, and his notion of a "principle of curricular integration": that which allows for a unified school experience. The MCI begins with the diagnosis that the fragmentation inherent in modernity —especially the differentiation of knowledge and the ensuing specialization paths— has weakened the integrating principle of Catholic education. The challenge, then, is to design a curriculum that maintains the value of disciplines and specialization, but that articulates them with a cross-cutting Christian-humanist vision. Based on this foundation, the MCI was developed between 2023 and 2025 through a three-tiered collaborative network process involving over 200 people. (1) Theoretical foundation: In partnership with the Latin American Federation of Jesuit Schools (FLACSI, for its Spanish initials) and Alberto Hurtado University, we developed the document "Keys to a Humanistic-Ignatian Curricular Integration" (2025), which offers a common conceptual framework for the Jesuit schools of the region. (2) Networking within the REI: The 16 leadership teams collectively formulated the cross-curricular learning goals, which express the curriculum's integrative principle and define the expected educational profile at the end of each school stage. In addition, specialized committees designed pathways for the 15 academic subjects and the pastoral-formative trayectories. (3) Community processes in each school: Reading, feedback, and validation exercises allowed for adapting and comparing the framework with the reality of each school-community. The resulting curriculum framework (MCI) is organized into five main components that, taken together, represent a significant step forward in strengthening the identity and cohesion of the network, offering common guidelines that allow each school to embody its mission with fidelity and creativity. 

Catholic school systems across the United States face rapidly evolving demographic, financial, and organizational challenges, positioning the role of the superintendent as increasingly critical to institutional vitality. This presentation summarizes a comprehensive analysis of current data on the landscape of the Catholic school superintendency in the United States, highlighting central office staffing, structure, funding, as well as quality of relationships with various constituencies and other diocesan central office staff.  Drawing on quantitative survey results and qualitative interviews, the study gathered information on key aspects of the Catholic school superintendency including staffing, responsibilities, and funding.  The goal of collecting this data was to provide insights on how to better allocate resources and support for Catholic schools, improve efficiency of the central office, and foster collaboration and innovation on how central offices function. By synthesizing these data within the broader landscape of Catholic education, the session aims to illuminate both the strengths and opportunities for growth present in current Catholic school central offices. This data-driven exploration contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how the Catholic school superintendency currently functions in the United States, and how it might evolve in the future.

Catholic school educators are called to holistically support the development of students and meet the diverse needs of learners (NCEA NSBECS Advisory Council, 2023). This includes supporting executive function skills which are needed for students to plan, organize, problem solve, and complete tasks (Goldrich & Goldrich, 2019; Jones et al., 2016). By learning skills to strengthen executive function, students are better prepared for experiences inside and outside of schools. While the expectation and purpose of incorporating executive function support is clear, Catholic school educators often lack time, funding, and the professional development needed for implementation (Bonfiglio & Kroh, 2020; Miller et al., 2022). Because of these limitations, the Andrew M. Greeley Center for Catholic Education developed the Executive Function Conference as a potential solution to address these challenges. This presentation will discuss the purpose of supporting executive functions and share methods for classroom implementations. The presentation will also share the foundational components of the Greeley Center's Executive Function Conference, including the alignment of Catholic education and Ignatian Spirituality to executive function skills. Survey data from the EF conference will be included within the presentation, to communicate impact and discuss future opportunities to support executive functions within Catholic education. 

Luigi Giussani proposes the Christian vision of life centred on the Incarnation of Jesus Christ as the response to humanity’s 'religious sense'. This is the longing for transcendence that is shared by all humans. Giussani presents the Christian event-God, Christ, the Church-as a total vision where every part contributes to the whole, in a vision of life that is salvific and eschatological. In contrast with Giussani’s holistic vision, is the fragmentation of knowledge in all disciplines that results from the lack of a clear understanding of the foundational truths that bind disciplines into a coherent whole.  The field of religious education particularly suffers from fragmentation of knowledge. Instead of taking Christianity as a package, the tendency among many young Catholics is to select from Christianity, and indeed other religions, the aspects that suit one’s values and lifestyle. This is exacerbated by the fact that often religious education curricula are set out in ‘silos’ of knowledge then sub-topics are skimmed from each category to construct a year’s curriculum. There is no connecting thread or historical perspective that links the topics thus the impact of the Christ event is diminished. In the archdiocese of Melbourne, we are developing a religious education curriculum centred on the Christian event as a whole, in which, knowledge is presented coherently, cumulatively, sequentially and holistically in proposal of the Christ event as an answer to questions framed by the human “religious sense” This presentation will display our curriculum in its present development, demonstrating its characteristics of coherence, holistic vision, learning progression, and application to the young person’s innate desire for truth, beauty and goodness.  

Catholic schools have built their reputation and legacy on not simply academically forming their students, but inviting them to encounter Christ through moral and character formation. Yet like academic planning this done not happen without intentional planning and a firm foundation built around values. Seton Catholic Schools utilizes our values as the impetus for priority planning and goal setting, which in turn allows our leaders to execute their academic, behavioral, and faith formation goals in a measurable format, which we label ARCS. Through these ARCS, Seton plans, monitors, and reflects on our successes in the formation of the whole student, while addressing gaps and challenges in our programming in real time. Together we will explore methods for using values as the basis for priority planning, and discuss means for using reportable data and structures to celebrate growth and address opportunities for forming our students as academics and disciples in Christ.

Outcomes:

Participants will be able to identify values within their organization and use them to drive priority outcomes for their institutions.

Participants will be able to create plans and structures for reporting priority work that addresses the academic and formation of the whole child, using data as a means to illustrate successes and gaps.

Participants will be able to reflect on how their values influence their planning and execution of priorities as they seek to academically growth and morally form their students.

I'm currently completing my PhD at St. Mary's University, Twickenham, where I'm researching how Catholic primary schools create opportunities for encountering Christ and what this means for leaders at all levels. As Director of the Catholic Primary Partnership, I work with 150 Catholic primary schools across England, and my research focuses on four case study schools through interviews, observations, and surveys. What I've discovered is that the best Catholic primary schools don't just add religious content to their curriculum. They operate through a 'sacramental vision' where Christ's presence is recognised in everyday educational moments. These schools embed opportunities for encountering Christ everywhere: in how they teach, how they lead, in community partnerships, and even in playground interactions. The most powerful finding? Formation happens most effectively when schools move beyond traditional charity fundraising and engage pupils in real action rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. Pupils work with marginalised communities, advocate for environmental stewardship, and tackle social justice issues. One headteacher brilliantly described her pupils as 'Gospel activists.' My research identifies three essential elements: teachers who model Christ-like behaviour rather than just teaching about it; Catholic Social Teaching woven throughout the curriculum; and genuine partnerships that take encounters beyond school gates. What excites me most is how this approach develops leaders at every level: headteachers, teaching assistants, and pupils themselves. Everyone becomes responsible for creating encounters with Christ for others. I'll share practical examples that Catholic primary educators may be interested to use to prepare pupils as 'missionary disciples' ready to transform society.

This paper discusses the role of caring leadership in Catholic education. Value-added leadership demonstrates an awareness of a school’s core values and calls school leaders to be responsible, authentic, and present. Care of the individual (cura personalis) and institution (cura apostolica) will serve as a framework for integrating these core values as a constitutive dimension of Catholic leadership. The literature on ethics of care will provide the theoretical framework for these values and will inform this approach to developing a holistic understanding of institutional care and concern for operational vitality. The underlying research questions are: 1) To what extent do Catholic school principals perceive care as an essential aspect of their role as administrators? 2) Under what conditions do participants attempt to model care in their leadership role? Findings from a qualitative heuristic study will be shared as responses to these questions with latent and concrete themes emerging from the collected data. They include understanding care as social cohesion, system, modeling values, and structure. Implications of this study will suggest that current models of school leadership can be enhanced by an intentional focus on care and concern for the individual and institution. Recommendations for practice will include ways to integrate these values as part of a holistic framework for leadership. The role of school governance models and the need for prudent discernment of policies and procedures will also be discussed as ways to implement caring practices.

This paper examines the distinctive role of the school chaplain in sustaining the formative and relational center of Catholic education within an increasingly fragmented and performance-driven global context. Drawing on doctoral research and professional experience of chaplaincy in secondary schools, the paper explores chaplaincy as an integrative practice that holds together intellectual, moral, spiritual, and communal dimensions of formation. Focusing on chaplaincy as a lived expression of ethos, the paper attends to the liminal spaces of school life: moments of transition, identity formation, grief, joy, moral uncertainty, and existential questioning. These spaces, often marginal to formal curricula, are where young people most deeply engage questions of meaning, belonging, and purpose. Through presence, listening, ritual, accompaniment, and reflective practice, chaplains foster resilience, ethical awareness, spiritual imagination, and a rooted sense of community. The paper engages empirical insights from the international G.R.A.C.E. research alongside contemporary Church teaching, including Pope Francis’ Global Compact on Education and Pope Leo’s recent reflections, which further emphasise moral imagination, civic responsibility, and hope amid social fragmentation. Together, these perspectives frame chaplaincy as a form of relational and symbolic leadership that animates ethos beyond policy or documentation. The paper invites participants into reflective dialogue on how formative cultures are shaped through everyday relational practice and argues for the recognition and resourcing of chaplaincy as a core dimension of school life, essential to cultivating hearts and minds oriented toward dignity, dialogue, responsibility, and hope. 

Adolescents in America are choosing to spend their time online, specifically on social media sites. Technological advancements and dependency on the internet generate questions about their development into adulthood, specifically questions about self-identification, self-expression, and the role of mentor relationships in digital spaces. What problems may arise, and what response can the Church give? After briefly summarizing the history of social media and analyzing current data on adolescents’ use of online platforms, I argue that this digital migration has negative impacts on maturation, relationships, and the capacities of adult mentors while I offer various forms of embodiment in the Christian faith as potential solutions. As we move into the world of Web 3.0, a vast growth in online presences in social media, and the rise of AI, a hopeful ecclesial response to the contemporary times is necessary.

To educate is to accompany and to walk with students toward the fullness of life promised in Christ. Pilgrimage, one of the most ancient practices of the Christian tradition, embodies this journey of formation. More than a physical voyage, pilgrimage is a sacred pedagogy. It’s a way of teaching that engages the whole person: heart, mind, body, and spirit. This session explores the use of pilgrimage among grade school leadership as a means of transmitting charism, deepening faith, and cultivating the moral and spiritual imagination of school leaders and parish pastors. Drawing on the Holy Cross charism, this session will present pilgrimage as a formative educational model rooted in Catholic anthropology and spirituality. Participants will consider how pilgrimage experiences, both literal (journeys to holy sites such) and metaphorical (local spiritual journeys and classroom-based pilgrimages), can serve as integrative frameworks for transmitting and strengthening charism. The session will offer a theological and pedagogical foundation for pilgrimage as an expression of formative education, offer concrete examples and case studies from eight Holy Cross grade schools that have experienced pilgrimage, and present a review of assessment data that reveal the impact upon the pastor-principal relationship, highlighting how pilgrimage fosters empathy, prayer, collaboration, and reflection as key dimensions of formative education that nurture both virtue and vocation. The session will invite participants to consider how pilgrimage-inspired learning experiences create a framework that is adaptable for formation and leadership development as means to transmit charism and identity across educational apostolates.

Over the last few decades, Christian nationalism has become a concerning phenomenon for both society at large and schools in the United States. This raises many concerns for politics and faith, and also presents challenges for people of faith, not just Christians, who see faith as integral to their lives, encompassing their everyday interactions and public or political engagements. Focusing on Catholic schooling, this paper argues that the proper response to the manifestation of Christian nationalism is not to withdraw from public theological commitments or stances but, in fact, to focus on developing a robust public theology grounded in faithful presence that embodies “a living tradition that extends towards new forms of presence and service” (Leo, 2025, 11.1). In order to make this argument, this paper progresses through three parts. First, the paper seeks to untangle the complexities of what is meant by Christian nationalism. Second, this paper utilizes Pope Leo XIV’s 2025 apostolic letter Drawing New Maps of Hope to focus on understanding Catholic schools as manifestations of the Church's mission. Thus, Catholic schools are a part of public theology, spaces which serve as an “inspiring image of how tradition and culture can intertwine without contradiction: a living tradition that extends towards new forms of presence and service” (Leo, 2025, 11.1). The final part unpacks a public theology for Catholic schools as a faithful presence in society, grounded in a theology characterized by weakness and service that provides a way to live faith within society that does not seek nationalistic ends. 

This presentation showcases practices of whole person formation in Catholic schools. Whole-person formation promotes flourishing. Flourishing implies telos and connotes positivity - joy, compassion, enrichment. Kroth and colleagues (2022) discuss flourishing in relation to formation, “an organizing model for lifelong learning” (p. 26). Building on the idea that Catholic education attends to the whole person, intellectual, moral, social, physical, and spiritual (Wyttenbach et al., 2023), we are developing interactive multimedia case studies (IMCS) that illustrate how Catholic elementary and secondary schools are defining, practicing, and living out formation. Through interviews, research findings, and a mix of videos, photos, and audio, these highlight what formation actually looks and feels like in context. An IMCS is a nonlinear, practitioner-focused learning tool that blends text, video, and data to engage participants. IMCs are designed to capture the messy, contingent, and unresolved aspects of teaching and learning. By organizing content around practitioner-oriented questions, IMCS invite educators to explore multiple perspectives, test decisions, and consider how insights from one context might transfer to others (Dexter et al., 2022). In this way, IMCs create space for educators to rehearse leadership practices and develop the practical wisdom that comes from grappling with complexity (Halverson et al., 2004). We will feature three IMCS presenting examples of whole person formation in Catholic schools. The first illustrates the graduate support programs in the Nativity Miguel Coalition at Nativity Prep Academy, a middle school in San Diego. Over the last quarter century it has developed a graduate support program that serves as an exemplar for other schools in this network. The second focuses on the Ignatian Immersion and Solidarity program at Regis High School in Denver Colorado. While many schools in the Jesuit Schools Network have immersion programs, Regis has refined its program over the past five years to take a more holistic, reflective approach. The third presents the innovative Summer Sabbatical program for faculty at Austin Prep. For the past decade, this school has created and refined this unique approach to supporting the formation of educators in its community. Our IMCs communicate the educational infrastructure central to formative education in these focal schools. Educational infrastructure is an umbrella term to reference the resources, roles, practices, and policies that shape the teaching and learning environment in schools (Spillane et al., 2018). Infrastructure is multidimensional in nature, comprising physical, digital, and social components (Siegel Family Endowment, 2020). Many types of artifacts represent the physical and digital infrastructure — such as curriculum and assessment documents, class schedules, observation protocols, and professional development plans. Many processes illustrate the social infrastructure — such as routines for collaborative planning, teaching, and professional development. The philosophy of education that undergirds faith-based schools in general, and Catholic schools in particular, has consistently adhered to whole person formation. Our goal in presenting these IMCs is to support Catholic schools in particular, as well as other schools across sectors (e.g., secular to religious, public to private) more productively create educational infrastructure to promote whole person formation for students and educators alike.

How do we educate holistically in an age of identity fragmentation? This paper will review theories and studies on identity fragmentation, particularly among children and adolescents, looking at the influence of consumerism, pluralism, and image culture in identity formation. It will consider ways that schools can help or hinder identity formation and integration, and how schools prepare students to live integrated lives in adulthood, emphasizing the emergence of narrative identity and the role of discourse in identity formation. Finally, it will propose that the theological anthropology and sacramental worldview undergirding Catholic education are assets in holistic formation, and will suggest aesthetic formation approached from the perspective of virtue ethics as one avenue for leading students toward the development of integrated identities. 

"I am human, and nothing human is alien to me." — Publius Terentius Afer (Terence) High-quality learning environments should be places that are inclusive of all learners, foster meaningful social interactions and nurture the holistic development of all children. In this presentation, I will share a series of case studies illustrating the potential of puppetry as an inclusive pedagogical tool capable of removing key barriers to inclusion and eliciting joy through playful encounters and experiences in schools. Two years on from the Disability Royal Commission in Australia, the call to reform mainstream schooling with approaches that promote equity, empathy, inclusion, connection, and belonging for all children has never been more pressing. Can puppetry extend beyond an artistic or performative object and be a metaphor and tool for inclusive values? My research, with children and teachers, has found the object of a puppet unique in its capacity to engage and facilitate the expression of all children, fostering the development of social-emotional learning, communication, and creative expression, without the need for spoken language. By positioning the puppet as both a relational and pedagogical object, educators can engage diverse learners, celebrate differences and co-create spaces that support mutual understanding and joy in every classroom. The research aligns with the Catholic commitment to inclusion and offers educators practical skills to enact their belief in the value of every child.

It has almost become a cliché to suggest that the Catholic school it situated in an increasingly pluralistic, fragmented, and technocratic world. This is both a challenge and an opportunity. The Catholic school stands as a community of formation and as a countercultural witness to the world around it. At the centre of the entire endeavour is the teacher. They are not simply the delivers of the academic content, but are (potentially) the spiritual, moral and cultural mediator, transmitting and exemplifying the Catholic faith tradition. Catholic teacher identity is no longer an inherited status but a call to become ever more fully human in Christ. Seen in this way, it emerges not as a crisis but as a hopeful frontier for Catholic education. This paper contributes to a rethinking of Catholic teacher formation – as the cultivation of a deeply integrated vocational identity, responsive to the signs of our times and animated by the Spirit of encounter, mercy, and truth. This paper considers the evolving nature of Catholic teacher identity in light of contemporary educational challenges and explores its formation through three current lenses: current scholarship in Catholic Teacher Identity; some of the recent magisterial documents, in particular the Global Compact on Education (GCE); and the recent research from G.R.A.C.E. The paper situates Catholic teacher identity within the broader anthropology of Christian formation. It argues that Catholic teachers are not merely religious operatives but "artisans of culture" and "companions on the journey." The vocation of the teacher is envisioned as both ecclesial and missiological: educators are sent not just to teach doctrine but to foster communities of belonging, truth, mercy, and justice. The prophetic dimension of Catholic teaching emerges as crucial here: teachers must learn to read the "signs of the times" in light of the Gospel, to recognize the hidden wounds in their students and society, and to respond with wisdom and compassion. The Catholic teacher today stands at the centre of a crossroad: amid a world in flux and an institutional and ecclesial transition. That teacher must embody both fidelity and innovation. The GCE offers a powerful vision for renewal—one that is relational, global, inclusive, and rooted in Gospel values. 

The presentation includes the results of a study on the professional identity of Ignatian educators of excellence and their development experiences in the context of Jesuit schools. The primary objective was to explore the key characteristics that define these educators and how they apply Ignatian principles in their teaching practice. To achieve this, interviews were conducted with 28 outstanding educators from different regions of the world, who shared their experiences, beliefs, and visions about education and the role they play in their respective communities. The results are condensed into 10 dimensions that reveal that Ignatian educators integrate deep spirituality with their educational work, highlighting the importance of interiority and self-knowledge as pillars for committed and compassionate teaching. These educators value the cultivation of a solid educational community based on relationships of trust, mutual support, and collaboration, which strengthens their sense of belonging and coheres with their mission of educating for social change. Additionally, various pedagogical practices were identified that prioritize the context and singularity of each student, promoting learning that goes beyond the academic and focuses on the integral development of the person. Spiritual formation, commitment to justice, and service to others are central elements in Ignatian pedagogy, with the goal of forming agents of change who positively contribute to society. The study concludes that the Ignatian teaching identity is a synthesis of spirituality, community, and contextualized pedagogy, aspects that are essential for keeping the Jesuit educational legacy alive in a constantly changing world.  

This paper examines the competing purposes of Catholic higher education in the Philippines through a hermeneutic literature review, framed by Raab’s (2017) Four Purposes of Schooling Meta-Framework. Raab’s 2×2 matrix distinguishes schooling purposes along two axes: individual versus collective goals and intrinsic versus instrumental aims. While originally applied to democratic schooling contexts, this framework offers a compelling lens for analyzing Catholic education’s dual commitments to faith formation and civic preparation. In adapting Raab’s model, I introduce Catholic-specific purposes drawn from international and local literature: individual-intrinsic aims such as personal faith and moral development; individual-instrumental aims emphasizing practical actions aligned with Church doctrine; collective-intrinsic aims centered on communal identity and evangelization; and collective-instrumental aims promoting social engagement and service to the marginalized. This adaptation foregrounds a critical tension: Catholic universities articulate evangelization and Christian witness as core missions, yet they also prepare graduates for economic participation and democratic citizenship. Such duality raises questions about coherence and conflict in institutional identity, particularly in contexts marked by socio-economic inequality and postcolonial legacies. For instance, Philippine Catholic universities, operating within a Global South setting, navigate pressures to deliver market-relevant education while sustaining faith-based commitments. This tension echoes the Gospel admonition against serving “two masters” (Luke 16:13), prompting inquiry into whether Catholic higher education can reconcile spiritual and material imperatives without compromising its mission. By situating these issues within a postcolonial theoretical frame, the paper contributes to understanding how Catholic higher education institutions manage identity change amid global and local pressures.

In line with the Roche Center’s ongoing exploration of “forming the formators,” including the October 2025 conference aimed at understanding the holistic development of Catholic educators who themselves lead formative education efforts, this session aims to advance the development of research on formative adult education. In particular, the session seeks to build on a vetted literature review (“Forming the Formators: A Review of the Literature on Adult Formation for Whole Child Education”) and consider ways in which insights from work on adult learning theory, transformative education, whole teacher education, and spiritual education can be brought to bear in shaping formative adult educators in both Catholic and non-religious settings. Highlights from research on “adult formation for whole child education” will be shared, including the prevailing themes and trends emerging from such scholarship as well as identified areas for further investigation. 

This presentation explores Leading for Mission as a formative paradigm for Catholic school leadership that integrates the intellectual, affective, practical, and spiritual dimensions of leadership—head, heart, hand, and soul. Drawing from the contemporary text Leading for Mission: One Garment in Meaning and Practice (Springer, 2025), the session offers two perspectives, Shifts and Touchstones, that illuminate how leadership becomes an expression of mission rather than a set of functions. Underpinning the paradigm are four principles of leadership that mirror the mission of the Catholic school: Living Tradition, Liberating Purpose, Integral Learning, and Authentic Witness. These principles call leaders to shift from ego to spirit, from me to we, from manager to liberator, and from inside to outside. Four formative touchstones, Who am I? Who are we? How do we relate? How do we work together?  guide leaders toward integration and authenticity. Grounded in longitudinal research with the Queensland Catholic Education Commission (2021–2024), this work bridges theology, education, and psychology. It highlights leadership as a vocational journey of continuous renewal, fostering leaders who embody the mission of Christ and cultivate hearts and minds through living tradition, liberating purpose, integral learning, and authentic witness. 

In the New Testament, Jesus refers to worldly rulers who "lord it over" people as "Benefactors", implying that, although they might purport to support others, they nonetheless in practice exercise leadership in an imperious self-serving way. In a world in which autocratic leaders seem increasingly to prevail, the appeal that Jesus makes to his followers not to imitate the “rulers of the Gentiles” appears to be an appropriate subject for discussion in our contemporary world.

Significantly, Jesus rejects such autocratic models of leadership for his disciples, whom he believes should serve rather than control. Consequently, he provides a fitting admonishment of despotic and self-serving leadership. Indeed, Jesus commends that his own followers should be servant leaders who do not seek dominance over others; rather than aspiring to gain status, their concern should be on empowering and promoting others.

Servant leadership represents an approach where leaders prioritise service to others before their own concerns. It aims to enable and develop others in building strong teams and fostering a caring, just environment, rather than wielding autocratic power. In today’s fiercely competitive world of executive leaders, therefore, the concept of the servant leader offers a counter-cultural perspective of educational leadership (Punnuchet; 2009).

In this paper, the writer considers six independent narrative accounts as empirical case studies that exemplify the exercise of servant leadership in Catholic schools. The explicit intention is to give voice to the personal experiences of servant leadership in the words of those working in a Christian context. The purpose is to consider how far, if at all, the servant leadership model contributes to more effective leadership in schools.

By their very nature, large groups of people are heterogeneous and generally comprise of a number of sub-groups. This remains true even when the group has a targeted audience, such as a faith-based school, and the participants share a common background or common sense of purpose. Since 2014, systemic Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney have participated in a Survey of Religious Attitudes and Practices. This is a biennial survey which involves approx. 20,000 students in Years 5, 7, 9 & 11.  The survey was formulated to gain a deeper understanding of the ‘religiosity’ of young people and inform approaches to, and models of, youth ministry.  Student responses point to the existence of four main sub-groups: committed, involved, searching and disengaged.  The survey data shows that students from Sydney Catholic Schools are drawn from across the religio-spiritual spectrum. The data not only points to the existence of various sub-groups, but it provides valuable insights into the worldviews of young people within those groups. The profiles of the sub-groups provide general characteristics only and should be considered accordingly. Individual student responses varied, meaning that the personal religiosity of some students did not always correspond with a single sub-group profile. Furthermore, each sub-group had sub-groups. The existence of sub-groups has significant implications for the mission, vision and values of Catholic schools, for schools’ prioritization and understanding of Catholic identity and the teaching of Religious Education. This religious diversity makes for great conversation. 

This comparative case study drew on theological anthropology and narrative analysis to examine the experience of God-consciousness in human development among graduate students and faculty in Nigerian and United States Catholic universities. The participants discussed their experiences within the Catholic university formative process, focusing on their development in the three core pillars of formative education: meaning and purpose, wholeness, and community. The study revealed two key findings: first, while experiences of God-consciousness vary among individuals, there is a shared recognition of its importance; second, the saliency of heuristic methods in formative education in driving a strong formative experience. This study concludes that God-consciousness is a key element of spirituality in higher education, contributing to rethinking and improvement of teacher education curriculum by promoting a holistic consciousness that is essential for effective teacher education and formation.

Last summer in Twickenham, we shared some research around reimagined assessment of character formation via the Profile of the Graduate at Graduation. A recent case study focused on the "loving" and "religious/spiritual" profile pillars, introduced free-form responses in a student survey, and sought to capture some developments in Jesuit education since the SPS II survey, the survey's predecessor, was last crafted several years ago. Following the presentation, a team of researchers has been formed, and we piloted a new survey, this time measuring all 5 attributes across several schools. Join us as we review the results and find implications for mission and identity in Catholic, Jesuit schools across the US and Canada. 

This study explores how K-8 Catholic school leaders in school-choice states advocate for and address the needs of students with specific learning disabilities. This qualitative study was grounded in dialectical and systems thinking frameworks, and it examines the policies, practices, and challenges Catholic schools face in creating inclusive educational environments while maintaining their religious identity. Through semi-structured interviews with 15 Catholic school leaders, the study identifies key themes related to inclusivity, enrollment practices, instructional strategies, and public-private collaboration. Findings indicate that while Catholic schools are deeply committed to providing education to all students, systemic barriers—such as funding constraints, staffing limitations, and the lack of legal mandates—hinder the full inclusion of students with disabilities. The study reveals that Catholic school leaders employ various strategies, including professional development for teachers, implementing MTSS, and partnerships with public school districts to access services. However, inconsistencies in enrollment policies and varying levels of resource availability create disparities in service delivery. The study underscores the need for systemic change, advocating for policy adjustments that provide more significant financial and instructional support to nonpublic schools. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on educational equity, Catholic social teachings, and the role of private schools in serving students with disabilities. Recommendations include expanding professional development and exploring innovative funding models to enhance accessibility and support. Ultimately, this research informs Catholic school leaders, policymakers, and educators about effective strategies for promoting inclusive education within faith-based settings while addressing the unique challenges posed by the intersection of school choice policies and special education services. 

Contemporary education frequently prioritizes economic utility and standardized metrics over the holistic development of the person, resulting in student burnout and a crisis of meaning. This research advocates for a fundamental reorientation of education—specifically within the Catholic tradition—to reclaim its purpose as integral formation. This dual-pronged approach aims for wholeness (human flourishing) and holiness (intimate communion with Christ), asserting that the ultimate goal of education is to develop the "best self" through a life of integration, guided by reason and open to grace.

Theoretically, this study synthesizes the theological mandate of forming the "true and perfect Christian" (Pope Pius XI) with the philosophical aim of cultivating human reason (Harvey Siegel). It posits that reason acts as a preparatory capacity for grace, rooted in the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia and guided by phronesis. Within the Catholic context, this mission is realized through cura personalis and an "authentic humanism" that recognizes the person as a union of mind, body, and spirit.

To operationalize this vision, the research proposes a pedagogical shift modeled on the Emmaus narrative (Luke 24:13–35). This model emphasizes a journey of accompaniment through four movements: Encounter, Sharing/Listening, Transformation, and Mission. By integrating Thomas Groome’s Christian Shared Praxis, the framework connects students' lived experiences with the Christian tradition. The final output includes practical syllabi and resources designed to transform Catholic formation into a culturally responsive, transformative encounter with transcendent mystery, moving beyond mere vocational training toward true flourishing.

Since the 1960’s Catholic schools have received substantial support from federal and state governments but still charge fees to make up the shortfall. In more recent times these fees have risen due to generally elevated parental expectations and rising staffing costs. Catholic schools remain committed, as set out in authoritative documents, to making education accessible to students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds. Accessibility and rising fees establish a tension which is discussed in terms of authenticity, described as how well key goals are articulated, implemented and evaluated. Awareness of this tension was already present in the pastoral letter Catholic Schools at the Crossroads (Bishops of NSW and the ACT 2007), where the Bishops explicitly identified the declining representation of students from both poorer and wealthier families in Catholic schools. Drawing from publicly available datasets, this research developed a formula to measure the distribution of within-system distribution of disadvantage. The data is presented in author-designed geospatial mapping as a way of examining the enrolment patterns of students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds in Catholic schools. The data begs the question of what progress has been made on the challenges posed by Catholic Schools at the Crossroads and serves as a platform and departure point for further discussion of the accessibility of Catholic schools and the mechanism of choice used to support it, with reference to how current structures might be rethought.

In contemporary character education, there are numerous models of virtue, virtue development, and moral growth (e.g., Snow, 2015). Most of these, however, are highly abstract, written for academic researchers or philosophers, and otherwise intractable for educational practice. In contrast, various social-emotional programs have instructional models that determine their components and guide their practice. For example, the widely used SSIS Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP; Elliott & Gresham, 2007) uses a six phase process for all its instructional elements focused on the following stages of teaching social-emotional skills: Tell, Show, Do, Practice, Monitor Progress, Generalize. These social-emotional models have serious advantages - they are easy for educators to understand and implement in their classrooms and they specifically guide instructional design (e.g., all 30 SSIS-CIP units follow the six phase process to teach specific social-emotional skills). Yet, they have little if any reference to moral formation and character. A model to bridge this divide is needed. The purpose of this presentation is to present a newly developed model designed to meet this need and created as a collaboration between virtue ethics philosophy and social emotional assessment and intervention design principles. The model is built primarily on views of growth in virtue and education from Aristotle and Aquinas, but is communicated in a manner that suggests specific instructional activities, curricular emphases, and educational foci at different developmental periods. Strongly emphasized elements include an emphasis on habituation, modeling, developing emotional responses to virtue, and social expressions of virtue. The model also discusses when and how practical wisdom can be incorporated developmentally as part of character education programs and efforts. The model also includes easy-to-understand graphic models, discrete lists of specific activities targeting various features of the model, and implications for use in practice. 

The Individualized Formation Protocol is an evolving practice, piloted at Boston College High School for one-fourth of the Class of 2029.  The IFP creates a long-term, collaborative, and relational space between students and their mentors. Catholic schools offer enriching opportunities for students, including retreats, service opportunities, co-curricular activities, and elective courses. Our intended multi-year programming promotes students’ self-awareness, highlights their capabilities, and nurtures their faith in and relationship with God. However, the formative threads that bind the growth and development of young people can exist in silos. The IFP is a framework designed to weave all the formative threads together in shared, wholistic understanding of each student.  The protocol is comprised of elements that prioritize relationship, including intake interviews with each student and their caretaker(s).  The central element is a collaborative document where students are invited into reflection at key moments and receive direct feedback from faculty mentors. The IFP incorporates stages of psychosocial development, fosters a depth of relational accompaniment, and invites deep self-awareness that compels each student to contribute their gifts to the needs of our world. Outcomes from the first semester are encouraging. Family relationships are stronger and students are willingly engaging in shared reflections about their experiences and sense of belonging on campus. Join us for a workshop focused on weaving together the threads of student formation to further empower the leaders who will graduate from your schools and imagine how we might track and support their formation more effectively.

This presentation explores the cultivation of Integral Human Development (IHD) by grounding contemporary mental skills within the profound depth of the Catholic Tradition. Drawing upon a ‘Life to the Full’ pedagogy, it demonstrates how resilience and emotional management are authentically formed through the lens of Gospel values and narrative theology. Central to this approach is the restoration of the contemplative tradition (e.g. Desert Fathers and Mothers), connecting spiritual aptitudes of attention, stillness, and awareness to modern psychological skills. The framework utilises the ‘Choice Point’ model to challenge students to choose behaviours aligned with their God-given purpose and vocation, even amidst discomfort. Scripture stories, such as Jesus in the Desert and Jesus before Pilate, serve as foundational mirrors for navigating psychological turmoil with poise and commitment. By moving beyond temporary "mood-boosting" interventions, this educational approach prioritises the development of theological and cardinal virtues, such as fortitude and perseverance, which are essential for character formation and authentic flourishing. The presentation concludes with evidence of how metacognitive strategies and the explicit teaching of mental skills empower students to recognise their inherent dignity (Imago Dei) and find meaning in a pluralistic world. This holistic formation ensures students are equipped to live ‘life to the full’ (John 10:10) as active participants in the mission of Christ.

Across the United States, Catholic dioceses and archdioceses have issued “gender policies” with growing frequency, requiring Catholic schools to adopt them in institutional and daily practices. These policies construct norms that enforce heterosexual-cisgender expectations on LGBTQ+ students and delineate belonging through rules about dress, activities, and enrollment. Such policies create a hidden curriculum that teaches young people their spiritual well-being depends on conforming to narrow standards. Efforts to mandate uniformity in gender and embodiment directly contradict Pope Francis’s insistence that Christian unity is grounded not in sameness but in honoring the diversity already present within the Church. Pope Francis repeatedly called for a Church marked by unity rather than uniformity. In a 2019 address to Eastern Catholic bishops, he insisted that “Christian unity is not uniformity. Uniformity is the destruction of unity; Christian truth is not monotonous, but ‘symphonic.’” His ecclesiology affirms the legitimacy of differences in the Catholic tradition and warns that suppressing such diversity harms the Body of Christ. For Francis, a “symphonic” Church reflects the Spirit’s ongoing creativity. When read alongside Catholic school gender policies, this vision exposes a stark dissonance: LGBTQ+ students are expected to conform to an authorized, uniform understanding of embodiment and love. A Church committed to unity cannot uphold policies that reify uniformity. Even the USCCB affirms that Catholic education should form students in wisdom, virtue, and flourishing; yet these policies flatten the identities of students created in the image of the Trinitarian God. Research in this area remains sparse. Seán Henry and Henry Whittle recently coedited a text challenging pastoral-only approaches, noting that such models reinforce deficit mindsets. They argue that LGBTQ+ students often internalize insufficiency when belonging is mediated through standardized pastoral frameworks that prioritize individual navigation of uniformity pressures. Henry and Whittle instead call for an expansive imagination that recognizes LGBTQ+ students as wellsprings of wisdom essential to Christian unity. While pastoral and mental-health supports are necessary, formation limited to assimilation stunts growth toward flourishing and undermines the Church’s unity by refusing to honor the diversity it proclaims. Forming LGBTQ+ students in self-love and shaping school communities to celebrate the Spirit’s activity in their lives engages Francis’s ecclesiology. This paper addresses the scholarship gap by reading diocesan gender policies through Francis’s critique of uniformity, revealing how such policies, regardless of intention, construct systems, not students, as the principal problem. Catholic schools require frameworks through which to discern how best to form their LGBTQ+ students and entire educational communities for authentic flourishing that celebrates differences. While detailing such a framework exceeds the scope of this paper, this analysis does offer a lens through which to evaluate gender policies in light of Christian unity, inviting the imagination and creativity required to grasp their complexity. Otherwise, gender policies that mandate conformity and pastoral-only approaches that rely on deficit anthropologies push students toward stagnation. LGBTQ+ students in Catholic schools deserve educators who celebrate their differences as an act of personal formation and of Christian unity, gesturing toward the symphony Francis envisioned for the Church.