Leonardo Franchi – författare

This compact volume argues compellingly for a classical understanding of leisure within the context of Catholic universities and explores how a critically nuanced reading of the work of philosopher Josef Pieper, theologian St John Henry Newman, and cultural historian Christopher Dawson can reframe debates over the nature of Catholic universities.Chapters facilitate a refreshed understanding of how leisure, as proposed by Pieper, potentially promotes a liberal, humanistic vision of the Catholic university as a site of integral human development. In so doing, the book fundamentally questions and re-evaluates the purpose of a university, reframing the idea of what it constitutes both in theory and practice. This approach enables institutions to remain open to diverse intellectual traditions while confidently drawing upon their own rich heritage to create genuinely hospitable academic communities. Ultimately, the book offers a vision for reforming Catholic higher education that challenges the increasingly utilitarian and market-driven models dominating contemporary university life.Grounded in solid historical foundations while offering innovative thinking around Catholic university reform, the book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and postgraduate students with an interest in Catholicism and the philosophy of education. Those more broadly interested in exploring the intersection between education, philosophy, and religion will also find the volume of use.

The expectations of the Catholic Church and the demands of the state are a precarious balancing act that have been apparent throughout the history of Catholic education. It is a relationship that is under scrutiny, even in the contemporary context.  Drawing on the works and lives of key figures in the history of teacher preparation in Catholic education internationally, this important text illuminates the contributions they made and the challenges they faced. In providing this rich historical synthesis, the authors invite further reflection on the most appropriate methods of teacher preparation for contemporary Catholic schools and on possible contributions to wider teacher preparation from cogitating the history of the Catholic tradition. This book addresses teacher preparation for Catholic schools at both the 'pre-service' and 'in-service' levels by looking at the Church and its relationship with the state. The former will allow opportunities for a deep study of the role of 'faith' in Teacher Preparation, while the latter focuses on how a distinctive faith-based model of education can be in dialogue with the expectations of civil society. By using this multi-layered framework, the book offers exciting and innovative opportunities to inform contemporary practice from international examples, proving an invaluable text for researchers in the fields of comparative education, theology and the sociology of religion.

This book explores the contribution of the Rev. Dr. Thomas Shields (1862-1921) to Catholic education in the United States of America in the late 19th and early 20th century.Fr. Shields was a pioneer in combining a career as an academic in Catholic University of America with the publication of many resources for schools. Given his pioneering role in aligning Catholic educational thought with emerging insights in the sciences, and his multi-layered commitment to Catholic education as scholar, author of textbooks and founder of initiatives in the field of Teacher Education, it seems fitting that his considerable body of work should be the subject of fresh scholarly investigation.The book is in five parts. Part 1, ""Catholicism as an Educational Movement"", sets out the contours of the intellectual climate in which Shields operated and presents Catholicism as a dynamic educational movement. Part 2, ""Responding to Progressive Thought"", explores the relationship between Progressivism and Catholic Education, showing how the Catholic Church responded to the challenges presented by Progressive thought. Part 3, ""Shields and the Reform of Pedagogy"", examines both Shields's general pedagogical principles and how they relate to Catholic education. Part 4, ""Forming Teachers in Heart and Mind"", considers Shields' ideas on Catholic Teacher Formation, exploring issues such as culture, vocation, method and curriculum. Part 5, ""The Catholic Education Series"", explores selected examples from Shields' Catholic Education Series to identify how his material for schools reflected, to a greater or lesser extent, his wider educational ideas.As the present age is also witness to considerable and deep-rooted challenges to Catholic education and, indeed to the Catholic understanding of the human person, Shields's work will inspire contemporary reform-minded Catholic educators to reassess and develop the mission of Catholic education in light of the traditions of the Church.

This book is a contribution to scholarship in the field of religious education. Its aim is simple: to offer a critical perspective on the nature of religious education in the light of contemporary developments in Catholic thinking in catechesis and wider thinking in education. The issues raised in the book will provide ample material for fruitful dialogue and constructive debate in the world of Catholic education.Part One revolves around four historical contexts selected specifically to illuminate contemporary developments in the field. While these historical periods have porous boundaries, they offer a working structure in support of the core claims of the book.Part Two explores the complex genealogy of the relationship between catechesis and Religious Education. Key thematic frames of reference within which the relevant Magisterial documents and associated academic literature are set out and explored chronologically thus allowing for some cross-referencing across the themes: unsurprisingly the range of the issues for debate resists a neat packaging within specific time-frames but does provide a helpful working structure. Part Three proposes that a Spirituality of Communion should underpin the Church's work in catechesis, education and Religious Education.Shared Mission seems to be a satisfactory articulation of the necessary dialogic relationship between both fields and offers a suitable space for both distinction and reciprocity. The revised edition contains an appendix on the Global Compact on Education.

This book explores in a theoretical and practical sense the challenges and opportunities arising in the initial and ongoing formation processes for teachers in Catholic schools.