Description
Book SynopsisThe Jesuit educational tradition has existed for more than 450 years, and today, there are more than 150 Jesuit primary and secondary schools in North and Latin America. Jesuit Education at the Crossroads tackles the lack of research on these schools by bringing together scattered studies and asking experts on the issues about the current challenges for Jesuit education. The landscape pictured by this collection of essays suggests that Jesuit primary and secondary education is at a historical moment, analogous to a crossroads. After a crisis between the 1960s and ‘80s, these schools were consolidated, establishing themselves in national and international networks. But the twenty-first century has brought new challenges. For instance, the secularization of culture is demanding an update of the Jesuit educational project; leadership is rapidly shifting from Jesuits to lay men and women, with multiple issues at stake; and researchers and policymakers are asking new questions about the role of these schools and school networks for equity and inclusion in each region. The book touches on these and other points that will be very relevant for all who are interested in the Jesuit educational tradition.
Trade ReviewOne could argue the Jesuit Education has always been at the crossroads, but the only possibility to choose the right road is to understand how it got there and where it wants to go… This book provides inspiring (and some highly controversial) analysis and research that will certainly boost discussion, research and better educational practices.
-- José A. Mesa, Secretary for Education, Society of Jesus
Jesuit education is interesting in and of itself, and Jesuit Education at the Crossroads provides a fascinating set of windows into its contemporary practice. But the volume will also be of interest to a broad audience because the contributors show how Jesuit education has conceptual insights and innovative practices to offer both secular and religious schools. Educators across many countries increasingly focus on social, ethical, and spiritual aspects of young people’s development, and the Jesuit schools described in this collection embody insights into a whole person development that are widely applicable. The editors argue convincingly that Jesuit education confronts distinctive challenges and opportunities at this historical moment. I would encourage educators and policymakers to learn more about both current and emerging practices in Jesuit education, because this rich tradition has much to offer.
-- Stanton Wortham, Dean of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College
Jesuit Education at the Crossroads: Discussions on Contemporary Jesuit Primary and Secondary Schools in North and Latin America is packed with data, research, and interpretations about Jesuit education’s way of proceeding at this historical moment and the differences between and among cultures and countries in what the Jesuit world would like to see as One America. The editor, Juan Cristobal Garcia-Huidobro, has gathered a wide, but representative scholarship placing the reader “at the crossroads.” This work signifies a major contribution to updated scholarship on Jesuit primary and secondary education. Well done.
-- Robert Reiser, Executive Director of the Jesuit Schools Network of Canada and the United States
Table of ContentsJesuit Education at the Crossroads: An Introduction to the 23 Texts, Juan Cristóbal García-Huidobro
Chapter 1: The Oaxtepec Document
Chapter 2: The Christian Formation of Jesuit High School Students, Joseph Fichter
Commentary: Religious and Social Formation in the Mid-20th Century: Insufficiencies and Overcoming, Luiz Fernando Klein
Chapter 3: Jesuit Education for Justice: The Colegio in El Salvador, 1968-1984, Charles Beirne
Chapter 4: Closure of the Instituto Patria in Mexico: An Emblematic Case of the Change in the Jesuit Educational Apostolate, María del Socorro Gutiérrez
Commentary: Two Ways of Tackling a School’s Complicity with Structural Injustices, John Swope
Commentary: Lack of Dialogue and Overvaluation of the Jesuit Influence in the Mexican Case of the Closure of the Instituto Patria, Juan Luis Orozco
Chapter 5: A New Ratio for a New Millennium?, Vincent Duminuco
Chapter 6: The Ratio Studiorum Today in Latin America: Its Update and Its Challenges, Pablo Sada
Commentary: Forget the Ratio Studiorum or Recover Its Genius?, Claude Pavur
Commentary: A Renewal of Jesuit Education Based on Ignatian Spirituality, John O’Malley
Chapter 7: Teaching in Jesuit Schools from 1950 to 2017: Changes in Composition and Meaning, Cristóbal Madero
Chapter 8: Education of the Whole Person in an Increasingly Competitive and Secular Context: Two Decades of Professionalization and Searching at Colegio San Ignacio El Bosque, Juan Cristóbal García-Huidobro and Daniel Araneda
Commentary: Challenges of the Jesuit Abandonment of Classrooms and the Curriculum, Cristián Cox
Commentary: Curricular Tensions and Possibilities in Times of Neoliberalism, Encarna Rodríguez
Chapter 9: Exploring Mission, Inclusion, and Formation of Lay Educators: Recent Research on Traditional Jesuit Secondary Schools in North America, Kristin Ross Cully
Chapter 10: Networked School Improvement: The Latin American Jesuit Schools’ System for Quality Management, Jorge Radic
Commentary: If It Rains in the North, the South Does Not Escape It: Research on Jesuit Education in Latin America, Esteban Ocampo
Commentary: Prospects for Jesuit Education in a Secular Age, Dennis Shirley
Chapter 11: The Cristo Rey Jesuit Model and Social Justice: Dialectic Tensions of Mission and Brand in U.S. Jesuit Education, Sajit Kabadi
Chapter 12: Educating for Poverty Relief: The Case of Fe y Alegria, Camilo Arciniegas Pradilla and Jose Bento da Silva
Commentary: Reflections on Cristo Rey and Fe y Alegría: Two educational models conceived to alleviate poverty and bring about social justice, Jorge Enrique Vargas
Commentary: Jesuit Education in the Americas up for Reinvention: Internal Dilemmas and Broader Lessons for the Future of Learning, Santiago Rincón-Gallardo
