The Catholic option : non-Catholic parents' choice of a religious education in Saskatoon Catholic Schools
type: CreativeWork
description: In the Canadian city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, there exists two publicly funded school systems. One system is public and serves the general population. The other is a Roman Catholic separate system; it was established and designed to serve the Catholic population of the city. In many ways the two systems are alike. Both are required to follow provincial set curricula and are answerable to the province's Department of Learning. Both provide a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular programs. What sets the two systems apart is their philosophy, their legal mandates as well as their historical development. The Saskatoon public system claims a commitment "to students, services and excellence" (Saskatoon School Division No. 13, The Board of Education, policy 1001, 1999), whereas, the Saskatoon separate system's philosophy is based on a commitment "to assist parents and the local Church community in the formation of students in heart, mind, body and spirit" (see Mission Statement, Appendix B). Although both systems acknowledge the importance of the education of students, the separate system does it through a religious-based education. At the time of publication, parents were free to choose to send their children to either system, but if they choose the separate system they did so with the understanding that their children would be exposed to a Catholic, religious-based education. At the high school level, all students in Saskatoon separate schools were expected to take mandatory classes in Christian Ethics in each year of study. Non-Catholics who chose to send their children to separate Catholic schools in Saskatoon were asked to agree to these two conditions and sign documentation to verify it. As well as being answerable to the provincial government, Saskatoon separate schools are mandated to follow the official teaching of the Catholic Church. Catholic parents, who choose to send their children to Saskatoon separate schools, can expect that the religious-based …
abstract: In the Canadian city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, there exists two publicly funded school systems. One system is public and serves the general population. The other is a Roman Catholic separate system; it was established and designed to serve the Catholic population of the city. In many ways the two systems are alike. Both are required to follow provincial set curricula and are answerable to the province's Department of Learning. Both provide a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular programs. What sets the two systems apart is their philosophy, their legal mandates as well as their historical development. The Saskatoon public system claims a commitment "to students, services and excellence" (Saskatoon School Division No. 13, The Board of Education, policy 1001, 1999), whereas, the Saskatoon separate system's philosophy is based on a commitment "to assist parents and the local Church community in the formation of students in heart, mind, body and spirit" (see Mission Statement, Appendix B). Although both systems acknowledge the importance of the education of students, the separate system does it through a religious-based education. At the time of publication, parents were free to choose to send their children to either system, but if they choose the separate system they did so with the understanding that their children would be exposed to a Catholic, religious-based education. At the high school level, all students in Saskatoon separate schools were expected to take mandatory classes in Christian Ethics in each year of study. Non-Catholics who chose to send their children to separate Catholic schools in Saskatoon were asked to agree to these two conditions and sign documentation to verify it. As well as being answerable to the provincial government, Saskatoon separate schools are mandated to follow the official teaching of the Catholic Church. Catholic parents, who choose to send their children to Saskatoon separate schools, can expect that the religious-based …
author: McKay, Archibald Glen
language: en_US
date published: 2002
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:27:01Z
provider: University of Saskatchewan
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Saskatchewan

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-07152008-111457