Moving Beyond Enrollment: A Framework for Encouraging Critical Perspectives and Embracing Diversity in Catholic Education

Abstract

Moving beyond enrollment: A framework for encouraging critical perspectives and embracing diversity in Catholic education Objectives and PurposesLow enrollment has come to be considered the biggest problem facing the largest private school system in the United States. Data back up this assertion. Research shows Catholic schools generate desirable educational outcomes, such as citizenship and self-discipline (Gottfried & Kirksey, 2018), but the number of students in Catholic schools has declined approximately 20% in the past ten years (NCEA, 2018a) continuing a downward trend in enrollment that has existed for the past half-century (Murnane, Reardon, Mbekeani, & Lamb, 2018). While advocates argue that Catholic schools are worth saving, the common assumption is that they cannot be saved unless -and only unless -enrollment increases. The public communications of leading Catholic school advocacy organizations echo this focus. For example, the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education states on their website: Catholic schools have established themselves as unparalleled engines of both human formation and social transformation. They have a proven record of producing young men and women who are more likely to graduate from high school, engage in the political process, and give back to society through charitable activities. For the future of our children, our Church, and our nation, it is imperative that we preserve and transform these institutions, which have so much potential to, as Pope Benedict put it, "nurture the soul of our nation." (Alliance for Catholic Education, 2018) Following from such calls to action, private school choice policies have become a dominant feature of Catholic education policy advocacy (NCEA, 2018b) working from the understanding