Serving Two Masters?

This study of the work of Catholic school governors in England and Wales places their work in the context of contemporary school governance, and the extensive (but largely unknown to both scholars and students) literature of the Catholic Church pertaining to education. It identifies issues where the expectations of the Church might be in conflict with those of the state, and examines how the governors seek to resolve them. In doing so, it shows that in some significant areas the way that governors govern their school appears to be at variance with the views of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education and the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

Although there are many studies of school governance in general, this is the first that relates specifically to Catholic schools. It is therefore wholly innovative as to its content, and fills a substantial gap in current knowledge: it deals with both primary and secondary schools in varied social contexts, and looks extensively at the position of diocesan directors of education, a group hitherto entirely ignored by academic commentators. The book is significant, not only because of the number of pupils being educated in Catholic schools, but also because of their popularity with parents, their success in measuring up to the state's yardsticks, and because of the contemporary controversy surrounding the whole issue relating to what are described as 'faith schools'.

Essential reading for anyone involved in Catholic education, this book will be invaluable for Catholic school governors and those in dioceses and Local Authorities involved in Catholic education and in governor training, as well as for all students undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate teacher training courses in England and Wales. It provides the historical context to the tension between the state and the Catholic Church, and treats fully the key contemporary issues confronting the Catholic ethos of schools.


Christopher Storr is a Research Associate at the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education at the University of London. He has spent the whole of his working life in education, and was for almost 20 years Director of Education for the Archdiocese of Southwark, having previously served as a senior officer in the Essex, Kent and Inner London Education Authorities.