Notre Dame Rome Global Gateway | Rome, Italy

As the role of faith-based—and especially Catholic—education expands globally, it is increasingly important to understand its impact on students’ academic achievement and identity formation and, more broadly, on civic and religious participation and attitudes of tolerance. However, there has been no integrated research effort that aims to generate a historically informed and empirically robust narrative of the contributions of and challenges for Catholic education internationally.

Bringing together scholars and practitioners from around the world, this conference will explore the relationship between Catholic education and development outcomes, focusing on Latin America, South Asia, and East Africa.

The conference aims to:

  • Map the landscape of Catholic primary and secondary schooling in the world today, including actors, scale, scope, demographics, trends, and finances.
  • Identify gaps and areas of opportunity within the existing research.
  • Build a common research agenda and foster the development of a field of international faith-based education.

Sponsored by the Research Cluster on International Education, a joint project of the Kellogg Institute and the Institute for Educational Initiatives, this conference is supported by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and Congregation for Catholic Education.

Wednesday, April 25

6:30 PM
Opening Eucharist

7:30 PM
Reception

8:30 PM
Dinner
Opening Remarks
His Eminence, Giuseppe Cardinal Versaldi, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
Keynote Address
Antonio Spadaro, SJ, Director, La Civiltà Cattolica

Thursday, April 26

8:15 AM
Eucharist

9:00 AM
Opening Remarks
Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani, Secretary, Congregation for Catholic Education

9:30 AM
Session 1:  The State of the Field of Catholic Education
Panel 1:  The Global Landscape of Catholic Education
Moderator: Timothy R. Scully, CSC, Hackett Family Director, Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame
Friedrich Bechina, Undersecretary, Congregation for Catholic Education
Lieven Boeve, Director General of Catholic Education Flanders; Professor or Systematic Theology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Thomas Burnford, President/CEO, National Catholic Educational Association
Patricia Murray, IBVM, Executive Secretary, International Union Superiors General

10:45 AM
Break

11:15 AM
Panel 2:  The State of Research on Catholic Education
Moderator: John Lydon, Deputy Director, Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education (CRDCE), St Mary’s Twickenham
Gerald Grace, Director, CRDCE, St Mary’s Twickenham
Quentin Wodon, Lead Economist, Education Global Practice, World Bank  
Clark Gibson, Professor of Political Science, University of California at San Diego

12:30 PM
Lunch

2:30 PM
Session 2: Structural and Regulatory Contexts of Catholic Schooling
Panel 1
Moderator: Nicole Garnett, John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame
James Tooley, Professor of Education Policy, Newcastle University
Jan de Groof, Professor, College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium), University of Tilburg (the Netherlands), and the National Research University - Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia); UNESCO Chair for the Right to Education; Consultor of the Congregation for Catholic Education

3:45 PM
Break

4:15 PM
Panel 2
Moderator: Paolo Carozza, Director, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame
José Pablo Arellano, Former Minister of Education, Republic of Chile
Joseph Manippadeth, SDB, National Secretary, Office for Education and Culture, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India
Ronald Okello, National Executive Secretary for Education, Uganda Episcopal Conference/Uganda Catholic Secretariat

5:30 PM
Recess

8:30 PM
Dinner
Opening Remarks
Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences

Friday, April 27

8:15 AM
Eucharist

9:00 AM
Session 3: Praxis
Panel 1: The Americas
Moderator: Ernest Morrell, Coyle Professor in Literacy Education; Director, Center for Literacy Education, University of Notre Dame
TJ D’Agostino, Associate Director, Alliance for Catholic Education in Haiti, University of Notre Dame
Carlos Fritzen, SJ, General Coordinator, International Federation of Fe y Alegría
Concepción Naval, Dean, School of Education and Psychology; Professor of Education, University of Navarra
Christian Dallavis, Senior Director of Leadership Programs, Alliance for Catholic Education, University of Notre Dame

10:00 AM
Panel 2:  East Africa
Moderator: Robert Dowd, CSC, Director, Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity, University of Notre Dame
Jacinta Adhiambo, Dean, Faculty of Education, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi
John Vianney Mitana, Principal of the Luigi Giussani Institute for Higher Education, Kampala, Uganda
Sara Ruto, Managing Director, Zizi Afrique Foundation

11:00 AM
Break

11:15 AM
Panel 3: South Asia
Moderator: Anthony Casamento, CSMA, Vice President and Director of Identity and Mission, Australian Catholic University
Harold Bijoy Rodrigues, CSC, Provincial, Brothers of the Holy Cross, Bangladesh
Joseph Paul, CSC, Secretary, Holy Cross Educational Foundation, India

12:30 PM
Lunch

2:00 PM
Final Discussion: Setting the Agenda

Panelists and Presenters

Jacinta Adhiambo, Dean, Faculty of Education, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
José Pablo Arellano, Former Minister of Education, Republic of Chile
Friedrich Bechina, FSO, Undersecretary, Congregation for Catholic Education
Harold Bijoy Rodrigues, CSC, Provincial, Brothers of the Holy Cross, Bangladesh
Lieven Boeve, Director General of Catholic Education Flanders; Professor of Systematic Theology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Thomas W. Burnford, President/CEO, National Catholic Educational Association
Paolo Carozza, Director, Kellogg Institute for International Studies; Professor of Law; Concurrent Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame
Anthony Casamento, CSMA, Vice President and Director of Identity and Mission, Australian Catholic University
TJ D’Agostino, Associate Director, Alliance for Catholic Education in Haiti, University of Notre Dame
Christian Dallavis, Senior Director of Leadership Programs, Alliance for Catholic Education, University of Notre Dame
Jan de Groof, Professor, College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium), University of Tilburg (the Netherlands), and the National Research University - Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia); UNESCO Chair for the Right to Education; Consultor of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education
Robert Dowd, CSC, Founding Director, Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity; Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame
Carlos Fritzen, SJ, General Coordinator, International Federation of Fe y Alegría
Nicole Stelle Garnett, John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame
Clark Gibson, Professor of Political Science, University of California at San Diego; Distinguished Research Affiliate, Kellogg Institute, University of Notre Dame
Gerald Grace, Director, Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education, St Mary’s Twickenham
John Lydon, Deputy Director, Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education; Programme Director, MA Catholic School Leadership, St Mary’s Twickenham
Joseph Manippadeth, SDB, National Secretary, Office for Education and Culture, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India
John Vianney Mitana, Principal, Luigi Giussani Institute for Higher Education, Kampala, Uganda
Ernest Morrell, Coyle Professor in Literacy Education; Professor of English; Director, Center for Literacy Education, University of Notre Dame
Patricia Murray, IBVM, Executive Secretary, International Union Superiors General
Concepción Naval, Dean, School of Education and Psychology; Professor of Education, University of Navarra
Ronald Okello, National Executive Secretary for Education, Uganda Episcopal Conference/Uganda Catholic Secretariat
Joe Paul, CSC, Secretary, Holy Cross Educational Foundation, India
Sara Ruto, Managing Director, Zizi Afrique Foundation
Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
Timothy Scully, CSC, Hackett Family Director, Institute for Educational Initiatives; Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame
Antonio Spadaro, SJ, Director, La Civiltà Cattolica
James Tooley, Professor of Education Policy, Newcastle University
Giuseppe Cardinal Versaldi, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education; Gran Chancellor of the Pontifical Gregorian University
Quentin Wodon, Lead Economist, Education Global Practice, World Bank  
Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani, Secretary, Congregation for Catholic Education

Participants

Paul Barber, Director of Catholic Education Service in England and Wales
Christine Bodewes, Regional Director, Porticus Africa
Lou DelFra CSC, Director of Spiritual Life, Alliance for Catholic Education, University of Notre Dame
William Gaudelli, Professor of Social Studies and Chair, Department of Arts and Humanities, Teachers College, Columbia University
Mauro Giacomazzi, Director, Luigi Giussani Institute for Higher Education, Kampala, Uganda
Packy Lyden, Managing Director, Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame
John Mugo, Director of Youth and Talent, Zizi Afrique Foundation
Anthony Mullen, President, Porticus Foundation
Kerubo Okioga, Grant Manager, Porticus Africa
Sharon Schierling, Managing Director, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame

Conference Rapporteurs

Beth Hlabse, Research Project Manager, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame
Will Newkirk, Associate Director, American Indian Catholic Schools Network, Alliance for Catholic Education, University of Notre Dame
Matthew Rhodes, Special Projects Coordinator, Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame