Research Projects
The Roche Center team conducts research exploring and interrogating critical issues in Catholic education. Research projects are chosen to align with Center mission, vision, and values. Check out our featured research projects below and keep an eye out for more exciting research updates!
Research Projects
Whole Child Education
Whole child education in Catholic schools embraces a comprehensive approach that addresses the cognitive, social, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of learning. Whole-child education constitutes an approach rooted in Catholic social teaching that acknowledges the multidimensional nature of human development. This paradigm challenges educational institutions to transcend a singular focus on academic achievement, advocating for a holistic approach towards development, empowering Catholic schools to participate in the saving mission of the Church. The overarching objective of whole child formation is to ensure that individuals receive a well-rounded education that addresses their diverse needs, promotes their overall well-being, and endows them with the requisite knowledge, spiritual depth, and moral grounding essential for success in life.
Below, find more details for this project, including our Whole Child Education framework, checklists, publications, and Fall 2024 webinar series.
View the full Whole Child Education project website by clicking the project website button.
The Core beliefs and Ecosystem of the Learner
At the foundation of the framework, the left-hand side is underpinned by core beliefs that help to ground the Whole Child Education Framework in Catholic and Ignatian inspired values. Additionally, the right-hand side of the framework acknowledges the diverse environments and circles of social support that contribute to a child's development, denoted as the "ecosystem of the learner."
Spiritual Domain
The spiritual domain of whole child education involves exploring questions of meaning, purpose, values, and beliefs. It recognizes that individuals have a spiritual dimension that goes beyond religious affiliations and encompasses their search for identity, ethics, and connections to something greater than themselves. Spiritual development fosters self-reflection, moral reasoning, and the development of personal values, contributing to a sense of purpose, meaning, and a holistic worldview.
Cognitive Domain
The cognitive domain of whole child education refers to the development of intellectual abilities, thinking skills, and knowledge acquisition. It involves critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and the acquisition of academic knowledge in various subjects. Cognitive development promotes curiosity, intellectual exploration, and the ability to analyze, evaluate, and apply knowledge to real-world situations.
Emotional Domain
The emotional domain of whole child education refers to the development of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and emotional well-being. It involves recognizing and managing one’s own emotions, understanding the emotions of others, and developing skills for building healthy relationships. Emotional development fosters empathy, resilience, self-regulation, and the ability to navigate and express emotions in a healthy and constructive manner.
Social Domain
The social domain of whole child education focuses on the development of social skills, interpersonal relationships, and a sense of social responsibility. It involves communication skills, collaboration, empathy, cultural competence, and understanding social dynamics. Social development promotes positive relationships, cooperation, respect for diversity, and the ability to contribute to the well-being of communities and society.
Physical Domain
The physical domain of whole child education focuses on the development of physical health, well-being, and motor skills. It encompasses aspects such as nutrition, exercise, body awareness, and the development of fine and gross motor skills. Physical development promotes overall health, coordination, physical fitness, and the understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
The Whole Child Convening at Boston College yielded a series of "checklists" derived from the examination of essential elements. While acknowledging the comprehensiveness of these essential elements in delineating how schools can facilitate student development within a specific domain, it is also acknowledged that their use may vary based on context such as the school's culture, the demographic composition of its student body, and the age range of the learners. Schools are strongly urged to approach these checklists from an asset-based perspective. The periodic utilization of these checklists, at a minimum on an annual basis, is advocated to not only discern areas of strength within the school and classrooms but also to inform strategic plans that holistically address the developmental domains. The emphasis is on leveraging identified strengths as a foundational platform for comprehensive advancement across all domains.
Recent publications from the Whole Child Education project
Read Molly McMahon and Melodie Wyttenbach's NCEA Momentum Magazine article entitled, "A Distinctly Catholic Approach to Educating the Whole Child."
We present the Roche Center Whole Child Education Framework in this 2023 article.
We present how the Roche Center Whole Child Education Framework is related to Pope Francis' vision in this 2023 article in The Review of Faith & International Affairs.
Stay tuned for the link to The Playbook for Whole-Child Education in U.S. Catholic Schools, coming out as a digital publication from NCEA soon!
The Roche Center is hosting a Whole-Child Education webinar series in support of the forthcoming NCEA publication, The Playbook for Whole-Child Education in U.S. Catholic Schools.
Webinar presenters include Dr. Christina Cipriano of Yale University, Dr. Sean McGraw of Boston College, Dr. Mike Heidkamp, Jon Robertson of the Cristo Rey Network and clinical therapist and lecturer Tim Klein. Please complete the interest form to receive more details for each webinar, including the Zoom link.
Previous Webinars - YouTube Recordings & Resources
The Possibility and Promise of Educating the Whole Child - Christina Cipriano, Ph.D.
Educating the whole child - inclusive of their academic, social, emotional, behavioral, and physical development and health - requires intentionality. In this September 24, 2024 webinar, Dr. Christina Cipriano, Yale Professor and internationally recognized scholar of social and emotional learning, discussed the possibility and promise of educating the whole child, sharing the latest science and applications of evidence-based strategies to support all students to thrive in school.
Catholic Education: Flourishing Children Are Whole Children - Sean McGraw, Ph.D.
Whole child education has always been a staple of Catholic education. But what truly sets this sector apart? In this October 29, 2024 webinar, Sean McGraw, co-founder of the ACE program at Notre Dame and a Political Science Professor at Boston College, explored how the spiritual domain of development imbues meaning to a child’s holistic education. He explored how Catholic education is distinct in its invitational, sacramental, eucharistic, and unitive nature. A key takeaway from the webinar was that education in a "Catholic key" inspires educators to lean into their school’s Catholic identity as a source to support student flourishing - including connection and belonging, faith and reason, service and solidarity.