ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the challenges faced by contemporary Catholic education systems with particular reference to the contrast between the prevailing neoliberal agenda and gospel values. It explicates this contrast from the perspectives of current critiques of the influence of the new managerialism in education and relevant literature on Catholic Education, including successive documents originating from the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education. The challenge for Catholic education is examined from the perspectives of curriculum policy and practice and the preferential option for the poor. The chapter considers the possibility of integrating a Catholic perspective across the formal curriculum and outlines the approach adopted by the Ontario Institute for Catholic Education. Concerns regarding elitism in Catholic education are examined from Australian and Irish viewpoints.
