The continued existence of state-funded Catholic schools in Scotland

McKinney, S. J. and Conroy, J. C. (2015) The continued existence of state-funded Catholic schools in Scotland. Comparative Education, 51(1), pp. 105-117. (doi: 10.1080/03050068.2014.935579)

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Abstract

Catholic schools in Scotland have been fully state-funded since the 1918 Education (Scotland) Act. Under this Act, 369 contemporary Catholic schools are able to retain their distinctive identity and religious education and the teachers have to be approved by the Catholic hierarchy. Similar to the position of other forms of state-funded and partially state-funded faith schools in Europe, the position of state-funded Catholic schools in Scotland has been contested. This paper initially locates the debate and discussion about Catholic schools in Scotland in the history and development of the wider faith schools debate in the UK, particularly England and Wales. The paper outlines the key themes in the debate on faith schooling in England and Wales identifying the similarities between the debate in Scotland and England and Wales and the distinctive features of the debate in Scotland. The paper will then focus on a critical examination and analysis of two key themes concerning state-funded Catholic schools in the Scottish context. The first theme is the debate over the continuation of government funding of Catholic schooling as it is effectively government funding of religious beliefs and practices for a particular Christian denomination. The second theme is more unique to Scotland and has some tenuous links to the debate on faith schools in Northern Ireland: the claims that Catholic schools are the root cause of sectarianism or contribute to sectarianism.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Conroy, Professor James and McKinney, Professor Stephen
Authors: McKinney, S. J., and Conroy, J. C.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Creativity Culture and Faith
University Centres > Centre for Internationalisation and Enterprise Research
College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Educational Leadership & Policy
College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Pedagogy, Praxis & Faith
Journal Name:Comparative Education
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:0305-0068
ISSN (Online):1360-0486

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
453621Does religious education work? An analysis of the aims, practices and models of effectiveness in Religious Education across the UKJames ConroyArts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)AH/F009135/1ED - CREATIVITY, CULTURE & FAITH