Le Chéile Founding Values and The Reconfiguration of Trusteeship

432 Pages·2017·11.74 MB·English

Running head: LE CHÉILE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST
Le Chéile Founding Values
and
The Reconfiguration of Trusteeship
Una Collins
Ph.D. 2012
LE CHEILE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST
Le Chéile Founding Values
and
The Reconfiguration of Trusteeship
Una Collins
Doctor of Philosophy
2012
LE CHÉ1LE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST 3
MATER DEI INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION
A College of Dublin City University
LE CHEILE FOUNDING VALUES
AND
THE RECONFIGURATION OF TRUSTEESHIP
Una Collins
M. Ed.
Supervisor: Kevin Williams Ph.D.
Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
July 2012
LE CHÉ1LE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST 4
Declaration
[ hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the
programme of study leading to the award of Ph.D. is entirely my own work and has not
been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited
and acknowledged within the text of my work.
Signed:
ID No: 55149855
Date:
LE CHEILE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST 5
Acknowledgements
----------Firstly I thank the-Le Cheile congregations^their-leaders and schooLprincipals. L_
thank the members of the Le Cheile Working Group with whom I worked for seven years
in the development of the new trust. Without their engagement in the discovery of the
relationship of founding values with our efforts to establish a new trust, this research
would not be in place.
E am indebted to my supervisor, Dr Kevin Williams. His gentle, firm and
insightful support and direction have been invaluable.
E am very grateful to Dr Andy McGrady who generously and patiently supervised
the early years of this research.
E thank Dr Jacinta Prunty for critiquing and assisting me in the final writing of the
thesis, and Dr Ethna Regan for her support. I want to acknowledge the contribution of Dr
David Tuohy, the wise guide in the Le Cheile process, whose wisdom and advice weave
through many sections of this research.
I thank Sister Gemma Gilroy proof-reader, Brendan Kearney conscientious
transcriber of the conversations, and Mary Dineen, professional formatter and friend.
I am deeply grateful to my family, my Holy Faith community, and to faithful
friends for constant support and understanding.
The research was funded by a Dublin City Council grant.
Finally, this dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my father, Maurice
Collins. He was an iconic teacher and is my guide in embodying the values of faith and
education.
LE CHEILE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST 6
Definitions and Terminology
Associationof-Management of-Catholic-Secondary_Schools_(AMCSS)._The_________
Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools was established in 1987.
Organised on a Regional level with 10 regions, it now forms the basis of the Council of
Management of Catholic Secondary Schools (CMCSS) which has been in existence since
the 1960's.
Association of Trusts of Catholic Schools (ATCS). Established in 2010 by the
Conference of Religious of Ireland to provide a single voice representing the new Trusts.
Catholic Religious Congregation. An order of men or women who take simple vows
and are approved by the Catholic Church.
Catholic Education An Irish Schools Trust (CEIST). The Trustee Body for the
voluntary secondary schools formerly owned and managed by the Mercy and
Presentation Sisters and three other small congregations.
CES. The all-Ireland body set up by the Irish Bishops Conference and the Conference of
Religious of Ireland to promote the Catholic education sector nationally.
Catholic Schools Partnership. Formed by the Irish Episcopal Conference, 28 January
2010, intended to support all of the partners in Irish Education.
LE CHE1LE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST 7
Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI). The Conference came about through the
amalgamation of two conferences of men and women in 1983. It is an umbrella
organization-for-Catholic-Religious-Congregations_actLve-irLthe_Catholic_Chuxchin____
Ireland.
Congregation. The term generally used for Roman Catholic Apostolic Institutes.
Congregational Leader. The woman or man elected by a Religious Congregation to
lead the congregation for a fixed time. The Leader has consultors or team members who
assist. The terms Superior General, Provincial or Regional Superior axe also used.
Congregational schools refers to the schools owned by the twelve Le Cheile
Congregations.
DES. Department of Education and Skills, Government of Ireland.
Edmund Rice Schools Trust (ERST). The Trustee Body responsible for the schools
formerly under the trusteeship of the Christian Brothers in Ireland.
European Economic Community (EEC). The Common Market, now subsumed in the
European Union (EU).
LE CHEILE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST 8
Le Cheile. This is the name of the Catholic Schools Trust at the centre of this study.
The name was chosen in 2005 by the Working Party.
Le Cheile Working Group. The Le Cheile Working Group consisted of two members
from each of the twelve collaborating congregations. They met for one day each month
between 2003-2010. With David Tuohy, the Project Manager and Consultant they
developed the Le Cheile Trust. Most of the members of this group had experience of
being school principals, managers, education co-ordinators and/or congregational leaders.
They worked consistently as a group, and were also responsible for communications with
their leaders, their Religious congregations and their schools.
Living Archives. The Le Cheile congregational leaders by re-visiting their founding
stories in conversation are living the stories in the context of major decisions regarding
their schools. ‘Living archives’ are juxtaposed with the written archival statements or
documents of their time.
Nun. Religious women under solemn vows living a cloistered, contemplative life in a
convent
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). An
international organisation helping governments tackle the economic, social and
governance challenges of a globalised economy.
LE CHEILE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST 9
Religious Sisters/Brothers. Members of a Religious Congregation under simple vows in
the Catholic Church.
Trusteeship. “The patron/trustee in this sense stands for, or acts on behalf of a body
(usually organized) of people who wish their children to be educated within a particular
religious, ethical tradition” (National Convention Report, 1994, p. 24).
Voluntary Secondary School. Privately owned and managed schools under the
trusteeship of Religious congregations, Boards of Governors or individuals. These
schools are also referred to as ‘secondary schools’.
LE CHEILE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TRUST 10
Abstract
The research asks: what is the relationship of distinctive congregational founding values
with the reconfiguration values in the new Le Cheile Catholic Schools Trust? The twelve
religious congregations that collaborated in forming the Le Cheile Trust for their Catholic
secondary schools in Ireland, 2003-2010 are engaged in the research process. The
genesis of this new collaborative trust for Irish Catholic seccondary schools is in the
context of declining numbers of religious, and the immediate need to ensure the future of
their schools.
The research question is set in the context of an analysis of the genesis of the Irish
Catholic voluntary secondary school in view of the challenges facing these schools today.
This involves the inclusion of historical, ecclesial and documentary data. The research
data are based on analysis of historical documents supplemented by oral history. This is
constituted by formal conversations or semi-structured interviews with twelve
congregational leaders, twelve school principals and the two new executive lay leaders in
the Le Cheile Trust and also the responses of leaders in the other three new major trusts
formed before 2010. The living archives of the oral history provide a new interface
between the founding values and the current values motivating the decision to develop
the Le Cheile Trust.
Keywords: Founding values, history, collaboration, Catholic school, trusteeship.