by Leonardo Franchi
This important and timely collection of the selected works of Professor Gerald Grace is part of the prestigious World Library of Educationalists series, published by Routledge. The purpose of this influential Library is to provide distinguished figures in the field of educational studies with an international platform for the further dissemination of their original thinking. The series affords academics in education an opportunity to bring together in a single volume the ‘highlights’ of their life’s work in a structured and accessible way. The opportunity of contributing a contemporary reflection on their ideas encourages the development of a critically reflective edge to one’s own scholarly output. How fortunate is the student of education, and indeed serving academic, whose university library has such a worthy collection on its shelves!
The inclusion of the work of Professor Grace in this highly prized series signals the esteem in which his contribution to educational studies, and Catholic education in particular, is held. As Francis Campbell, Vice-Chancellor of St. Mary’s University, London, notes in the Foreword: ‘This book marks Professor Grace’s outstanding contribution to the Catholic Church’s education mission as teacher, university lecturer and professor … .’
Professor Grace has made it his mission to propose ‘Catholic education’ as a field of study worthy of its rightful place in the academy and not just an appendix to the wider life of the Catholic Church. In so doing, he has been without doubt one of the key, if not the key, figure in the landscape of Catholic education in the United Kingdom and the wider English-speaking world for over two decades.
Professor Grace’s work aims to bring to life the mission of Catholic education in the contemporary Church. The Second Vatican Council gave a new impetus to the work of Catholic education in that it energised those who wished to reappraise how to live as a Christian in a plural society. Although education was not a major theme of the Council, the post-Conciliar period saw significant and far-reaching developments in the Holy See’s established teaching on education. The work of the (Sacred) Congregation for Catholic Education provides the fertile terrain on which Professor Grace and other distinguished scholars (we think here, for example, of Graham Rossiter and John Sullivan) have consistently sought inspiration for their attempts to investigate the relevant subsets of the field of Catholic education. For Professor Grace, this includes but is not restricted to the following areas: Catholic school leadership, the concept of spiritual capital and what makes an effective Catholic school.
The volume brings together some of the most influential of Professor Grace’s pieces, grouped neatly under six broad themes: mission, spirituality and spiritual capital (Part 1); the preferential option for the poor (Part 2); faith-based schools, religion and academe (Part 3); concepts of educational leadership and concepts of educational ‘effectiveness’ in Catholic schooling (part 4); mission integrity (Part 5) and Catholic values, Catholic curriculum and education policy (Part 6). Each section has a number of articles/chapters which explore the themes from different perspectives. A most pleasing aspect of the book is found in the wealth of endnotes which offer clarifications and direction for deeper study of issues raised in the body of the text. There is truly something for everyone here!
As noted above, the World Library series allows each selected author to write an introductory essay. This intellectual autobiography (so to speak) gives context and shape to the body of work which follows. Professor Grace’s contribution here is more than simply an introduction to the volume and a summary of his thinking. It is, rather, a critical and nuanced overview of the principal challenges facing scholars in the field of Catholic education today. What this means will now be examined by selecting chapters which bring to the fore some key themes of Professor Grace’s work and hence can serve as the ‘highlights’ of the book.....
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