A Catholic Philosophy of Education

"In today's pluralist and multicultural society, questions about how to teach religiously and ethnically diverse students in Catholic schools abound. A Catholic Philosophy of Education addresses these challenges by examining the works of Jacques Maritain and Bernard Lonergan alongside official documents from Rome. Mario D'Souza proposes a contemporary formulation for the Catholic philosophy of education as opposed to the philosophy of Catholic education. In seven chapters, the author both outlines the changes in Catholic educational philosophy before and after the Second Vatican Council and delves into Maritain's and Lonergan's philosophies, connecting them with the aims of Catholic schools in relation to students, teachers, and society, and the relationship between goodness, discipline, and knowledge. Arguing that traditional models of Catholic education--shaped by St Thomas Aquinas and influenced by Thomism and Neo-Thomism--are incompatible with modern society, D'Souza proposes that contemporary philosophy should educate students of different religions in their own faiths while teaching them to recognize their own religious distinctiveness as well as the social, intellectual, cultural, ethical, and moral sources that unify them as students."-- "Essential reading for new and experienced Catholic educators, A Catholic Philosophy of Education demonstrates that Maritain and Lonergan have much to offer in service of an education that is liberating, instructive, illuminating, and integrative."--