Catholic Institutions of Higher Education and K-12 Schools Partnering for Social Justice: A Call for Scholarship

Abstract

Schooling for social justice involves fostering teaching and learning communities that are inclusive of students across multiple dimensions of diversity. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2005) directs Catholic educators toward social justice schooling by making schools accessible, affordable, and available. In recent decades, however, Catholic elementary and secondary schools serving significant numbers of traditionally marginalized students have struggled to remain viable, despite compelling evidence that they are academically successful when they do. More recently, a growing number of Catholic institutions of higher education (IHEs) have been partnering with Catholic archdioceses and schools to promote the viability and capacity of such schools. This article calls for scholarship on emerging partnerships between Catholic institutions of higher education and Catholic K-12 schools that aim at socially just schooling. Justice, ethical care, learning, and social entrepreneurship are explored as possible conceptual frameworks for this research.