The State as Parent?

Everyone has a stake in education because we all want our children to grow up having a great education and to become successful, independent citizens of society. Within Catholic education there are three major players: the Church, state and the family. This thesis looks at their legitimate roles in education and how they can cooperate towards producing an excellent educational system that forms the whole child, respects the authentic authority of each player and in doing so helps to unite society towards the common good. In particular, this thesis takes the universal principles of education as elucidated by the Catholic Church and places them within an ideal polity. In this way we can see how the principles can be enacted within a specific structure found in western education. This is then used as a measuring tool by which to analyze and critique the Catholic education system in Ontario, Canada to the end of developing it into a more perfect education for our children.