In this ground-breaking book, Gerald Grace addresses the dilemmas facing Catholic education in an increasingly secular and consumer-driven culture. The book combines an original theoretical framework with research drawn from interviews with sixty Catholic secondary head teachers from deprived urban areas. Issues discussed include:

*Catholic meanings of academic success
*tensions between market values and Catholic values
*threats to the mission integrity of Catholic schools
*the spiritual, moral and social justice commitments of contemporary Catholic schools

This book will be equally useful to leaders of Catholic and other schools and to all those interested in values and leadership in schooling.

'This is an excellent book that addresses directly many of the challanges facing Catholic educators and leaders of Catholic educational systems and schools in a number of countries.'
'Grace offers Catholic educators and leaders valuable insights from the literature andfrom his own research on how to meet the challenges and contribute to the common good and "to renew the culture of the sacred in a profane and secular world".'
'...the author should be commended for the originality of research and the depth and insightfulness of analysis and interpretations.' - all Patrick Duigan, Catholic Education, September 2005

'This is an excellent book that addresses directly many of the challanges facing Catholic educators and leaders of Catholic educational systems and schools in a number of countries...the author should be commended for the originality of research and the depth and insightfulness of analysis and interpretations.' -Patrick Duigan, Catholic Education, September 2005

Gerald Grace is a Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is also Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education, based at the Institute of Education.