Christian school
From Free net encyclopedia
Macrakis (Talk | contribs)
oldest member of CSI not a notable, encyclopedic fact http://www.westmichigantricities.org/education0002.asp
Next diff →
Current revision
A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization.
The nature of Christian Schools varies enormously from country to country according to the religious and educational culture.
Historically in Europe many schools were founded as religious as well as educational establishments. Religious instruction was considered a normal part of education.
Contents |
United States
In the United States, religion is generally not taught by the state-funded educational system, under the principle of separation of church and state. Over 4 million students, about 1 child in 12, attend religious schools, most of them Christian[1]. There is great variety in the educational and religious philosophies of these schools, as might be expected from the large number of religious denominations in the United States. Indeed, many conservative Protestants reserve the term "Christian school" for only schools affiliated with conservative Protestant denominations, excluding Catholic schools in particular.<ref>David Sikkink, "Diversity in Christian Schools", Education Next, Summer 2001. online</ref>
Christian schools are privately run, often in conjunction with a church or a denomination. Parents who want their children taught according to their church's principles can choose to send their children to such schools, but unless the school is subsidized by their church, or is part of a school choice or education voucher program funded by the government, they must pay tuition. Some American Christian schools are large and well-funded, while others are small and rely on volunteers from the community. Some Christian schools, especially those sponsored by fundamentalist churches, will not accept government funding, believing that acceptance of funding would allow the government to dictate their school operations.
The Catholic church operates about 8,500 schools, often called parochial schools, and enrolls about 2.7 million students.[2] Most are administered by individual dioceses and parishes. The Orthodox church also operates Christian schools.
The largest association of Protestant Christian schools in the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). ACSI serves 5,300 member schools in approximately 100 countries with an enrollment of nearly 1.2 million students.
Another, smaller, association of Protestant Christian schools is Christian Schools International (CSI), with 118 schools and 31,000 students.[3]
One movement among Christian schools in the US is the return to the traditional subjects and form of education known as classical education. This growing movement is known as the Classical Christian School movement, represented by the Association of Classical & Christian Schools, with 70 schools and 8700 students.
Canada
Unlike the US, in Canada public funding of religious education is not only permitted, it is sometimes required.
According to the Canadian constitution Roman Catholics, in certain provinces, have the right to have their children educated in Catholic schools, and to have such education paid for by the state. Such provinces therefore have at least two major parallel school boards, one for Catholic education (known as Separate Catholic) and one for Public (or secular) education. In some cases there may also be Separate Protestant school boards. The combination of this right and the right of linguistic minority education means, in some provinces, like Alberta and Ontario, there can be at least four school boards operating in parallel, in the same location (e.g. English-Public, French-Public, English-Separate, French-Separate). Some provinces have moved away from this, obtaining constitutional amendements to allow them to organize strictly on linguistic lines, without a Separate system for any religious group.
Many non-Catholics, send their children to Separate Catholic schools, preferring the values and standards, despite not supporting the Catholic faith. Typically, such students are exempt from specific religious instruction classes, but Catholic values are still represented to them in all subjects and aspects of such schools.
While Public (as opposed to Separate) Canadian school districts in Canada, normally have no religious affiliation in modern times, they may still accommodate religious instruction for Christians within their community. They may do this by creating an individual special purpose Christian school, or they may offer religious instruction within an otherwise secular school.
Private Christian schools on the American model, usually run by Protestant denominations, also exist throughout Canada. Like private American Christian schools, these private schools normally charge tuition. Often, these schools (directly or indirectly) will receive some provincial grant money, though generally far less than a government run school. Each province is free to decide what if any funding they give to private religious schools.
United Kingdom
The Church of England was historically a provider of many schools throughout the UK. Such schools (called 'Church of England schools') were partially absorbed into the state education system, with the church retaining an influence on the schools in return for its support in funding and staffing. Such schools are required to accept pupils regardless of religious background, though if they are oversubscribed they can, and often do, give preference to applicants of the relevant faith. The curriculum taught is virtually identical to that taught in state funded schools.
Because of the availability of church-run schools and the tolerance for religious activity in state schools, private Christian schools are a relative rarity.
Australia
Church schools were established in Australia by both Roman Catholic and protestant churches during the 19th century. Many of these schools, often with long traditions, continue to form the bulk of the private or independent school sector in Australia.
The modern protestant Christian school movement began in Australia through the efforts of Dutch migrants who had enjoyed Christian schools for many decades in their home country. Most belonged to the Reformed Churches of Australia (now Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, and sometimes incorrectly called the Dutch Reformed Church, which is a name only correctly used of South African Reformed churches). During the 1950s these migrants founded associations of parents who wanted to start Christian schools, and the first schools opened, at first without any government assistance, in the early 1960s. The first schools were affiliated with a national body known at that time as the National Union of Christian Parent-Controlled Schools, which later became Christian Parent Controlled Schools Ltd. (CPCS)
This first model of Australian Christian school was operated not by churches, but by associations of parents who individually belonged to churches but worked collectively for their common aim. These schools were established not because of innate dissatisfaction with government schools, but because these parents wanted schools which would actively integrate their Christian faith into the whole school curriculum. Because these schools were operated by parent bodies, people from churches other than the Reformed Churches were welcomed and able to join the work of these schools.
From the late 1970s, Christians from many other churches became increasingly concerned about standards and social change in government schools and started establishing Christian schools to provide an alternative education option. In this phase, many such schools were commenced not by parent associations but by churches themselves, although uniquely in Western Australia several parent groups from outside the Reformed Churches studied and adopted the parent-controlled model and have commenced schools which, while they have no Dutch or Reformed Church connections, have still affiliated themselves nationally with many schools which do.
In 2005 the two leading umbrella organizations are Christian Schools Australia and Christian Parent Controlled Schools Ltd. These umbrella bodies, together with a number of independent Christian schools, have national representation in the Australian Associations of Christian Schools.
Africa
In many parts of Africa Christian missionary organisations have founded schools, often in places where no other schooling is available. Such schools generally provide a complete education in a Christian context.
Associations
- American Association of Christian Schools
- Association of Christian Schools International
- Association of Classical Christian Schools
References
<references />