Catholic Education: Distinctive and Inclusive

How coherent is the claim that Catholic education is both distinctive and inclusive? This question, so crucial, both for the adequate articulation of a raison d'être for Catholic schools all over the world and also for the promotion of their healthy functioning, has not hitherto been addressed critically. Here it receives penetrating analysis and constructive resolution in a comprehensive treatment that integrates theological, philosophical and educational perspectives. The argument draws on wide-ranging scholarship, offering new insights into the relevance for Catholic education of thinkers whose work has been relatively neglected. The advance in understanding of how distinctiveness relates to inclusiveness is underpinned by the author's lengthy experience of teaching and leadership in Catholic schools; it is further informed by his extended and continuing dialogue with Catholic educators at all levels and in many different countries.

`Sullivan has written an enormously rich, sensitive and stimulating book about the most important theological, philosophical and practical issues in contemporary Catholic education and schooling, It is an absolute must-read for all Catholic educators as well as other-religious and non-religious educators who take their task seriously.'
Stefaan E. Cuypers in The Heythrop Journal, XLV:1 (January 2004)