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For centuries, Catholic schools have promoted extra-curricular activity as a means to develop well-rounded students. Sports programming has been a vital aspect of this work, but there is little research into how these programmes can support the combined educational-religious missions of the schools. In response, this paper relies on archival and interview research to present a historical case study of Canadian coach-educator Father David Bauer, who spent his lifetime as a Basilian priest educating through sport in the face of its violent tendencies. We discuss how Bauer, as an educator and prominent international figure in ice hockey, identified difficulties arising from violence over several decades. Influenced by his military experience and his religious community's educational charism, we see how Bauer drew from a Basilian intellectual tradition and other experiences to push back against several types of violence arising in sport: physical, psychological, structural, media-driven, and others. The paper concludes with seven recommendations of nonviolence for Catholic school sports programmes, where leaders can learn from Bauer's story and enable programmes of human development and bridge-building, and thereby, positively enhance school mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 28 per cent of state primary school children attend 'faith' establishments in England, the majority in Catholic or Church of England schools. Research suggests 'faith' schools tend to educate proportionally fewer children from low-income families (proxied by eligibility for Free School Meals [FSM]). This paper examines whether they also under-admit children 'disadvantaged' according to another key dimension: having special educational needs and/or disability (SEND). Descriptive statistics and modelling use the National Pupil Database census and span 2010–2020. Across years, 'faith' primary schools are less likely to include children with SEND, and less likely to admit children with SEND to the first (Reception) year. Accounting for area-level factors, indications of under-admission to Catholic schools become more pronounced. Some disproportionality for Church of England schools is explained by confounders – but even after attenuation, they remain less likely to serve children with SEND than non-'faith' schools. Together, FSM and SEND predict a substantively meaningful lowered likelihood of children attending 'faith' schools, so these schools, at the national level, seem to have become hubs of relative 'advantage'. Findings therefore demand interrogation of whose interests these institutions serve, and of their part within the current English system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England and Wales, diocesan inspectors are charged with assessing the overall quality of Catholic education provided by Catholic schools. As part of this assessment, inspectors are required to give an account of the liturgical life of the school. Often the reports which result from these inspections refer to the degree of students' 'active participation' in liturgy. This terminology has its roots in Biblical and patristic theological literature. Its meaning has evolved over time and has been used to describe a wide range of seemingly diffuse human behaviours. This article casts light on the meaning of 'active participation' in the context of Diocesan inspectors and offers some reflections on how this term could be refined in order to make diocesan inspections more informative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]