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The Impact of Progressive Education on Roman Catholic THE IMPACT OF PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION ON ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF VANCOUVER: 1924 – 1960 by Katie Gemmell B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2005 B.Ed., Trinity Western University, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Curriculum Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2014 © Katie Gemmell, 2014 Abstract Between the early 1920s and 1960, Catholic schools in the Vancouver Archdiocese grew considerably from an assortment of independently operated private and parochial schools to a centralized diocesan system with over three-dozen schools. In the same time period, public education underwent significant changes with the introduction of progressive education, first with the Survey of the School System (Putman Weir Report) (1925) and later with the provincial curriculum revisions of 1936 and 1937. In 1960, the provincial Report of the Royal Commission on Education signalled a change in direction toward a new discipline-based approach to education. Very few historical studies have examined Catholic schooling in British Columbia, nor its relation to broader educational trends. This study used archival research to examine the influence of progressive education on the curriculum, pedagogy, and philosophy in Vancouver’s Catholic schools. Without government funding, Catholic educational leaders in this period were seeking to raise academic standards and demonstrate the legitimacy and necessity of Catholic schooling. The vast majority of Catholic schoolteachers were religious sisters who had devoted their lives to the spread of Catholic Christianity and the education of children. While they were willing to implement progressive methods and curriculum, Catholic schoolteachers and administrators were unwilling to compromise their philosophy of education, which was rooted in an understanding of the human person as both material and spiritual. Perhaps ironically, Catholic educators’ embrace of progressive education was most evident in the archdiocesan religion course. The Catholic school community’s relationship with progressive educational trends can be characterized as one of independence and experimentation. ii Preface This thesis is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Katie Gemmell. iii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ........................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... iv List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... vii Dedication .................................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Historical Overview ............................................................................................................ 3 1.2 Objective of Thesis ........................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Method .............................................................................................................................. 13 1.4 Sources ............................................................................................................................. 15 Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 19 2.1 British Columbia’s Catholic Schools ............................................................................... 20 2.2 The American Roots of Progressive Education ................................................................ 27 2.3 Progressive Education in English Canada ........................................................................ 42 2.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 54 Chapter 3: Catholic Schools between 1924 and 1935: The Teaching Sisters and their Educational Philosophy ............................................................................................................... 56 3.1 Teaching Sisters in the Vancouver Archdiocese .............................................................. 57 3.2 The Foundations of Catholic Education in the Vancouver Archdiocese .......................... 69 3.2.1 Catholic Bulletin: Striving to Make Known a Catholic Philosophy of Education .... 70 iv 3.2.2 Teaching Sisters’ Educational Philosophies with Regard to Roles of Teachers and Students and the Aims of Education ..................................................................................... 77 3.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 79 Chapter 4: Catholic Schools between 1936 and 1945: The Public Curriculum, the Catechetical Curriculum, and the Diocesan System ................................................................ 81 4.1 Catholic Schools and the Revised Provincial Curriculum ............................................... 82 4.2 Pedagogical Progressivism in Catechesis ......................................................................... 93 4.3 Towards a Diocesan System ........................................................................................... 100 4.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 108 Chapter 5: Catholic Schools between 1946 and 1960: Useful Methods, Unacceptable Curriculum and Divergent Philosophies ................................................................................. 110 5.1 Progressive Methods Continue ....................................................................................... 110 5.2 Sex Education: Progressive Curriculum Rejected .......................................................... 116 5.3 Progressive versus Christian Philosophy of Education .................................................. 121 5.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 128 Chapter 6: Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 130 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 140 Appendices ................................................................................................................................. 157 Appendix A - Roman Catholic Schools in the Vancouver Archdiocese ................................. 157 Appendix B - Roman Catholic Dioceses in British Columbia ................................................ 160 v List of Abbreviations Sisters of St. Ann Archives - SSAA Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver Archives – RCAVA Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of Halifax Archives – SCHA Oblates of Mary Immaculate – OMI British Columbia Catholic – BCC New Westminster Museum and Archives – NWMA vi Acknowledgements Having such an encouraging and diligent committee made this project most enjoyable. I am deeply grateful for my supervisor, Dr. Penney Clark, and committee members, Dr. Mona Gleason and Dr. Jason Ellis, who guided me with crucial feedback and thought provoking comments. I would also like to acknowledge the help of Dr. Jacqueline Gresko, who shared her knowledge and resources, read my work, and provided suggestions to direct my research. I am grateful for the encouragement, enthusiasm, and example of the late Dr. Harro van Brummelen, which planted the seeds for this accomplishment. Finally, I could not have written this without the love of my parents and family. They are long-suffering, generous, and believe in me in a way that humbles me. Thank you. This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. vii Dedication For Paul Clark And when long years and seasons wheeling brought around that point of time ordained for him to make his passage homeward, trials and dangers, even so, attended him even in Ithaka, near those he loved. ~ The Odyssey, Homer viii Chapter 1: Introduction Between the early 1920s and 1960, schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver grew considerably from an assortment of independently operated private and parochial schools to a centralized diocesan system with over three dozen schools. In this time period, Catholic schools were in the second half of their century-long fight for government funding, and Catholic teachers and educational leaders were engaged in various ways of raising academic standards and demonstrating the necessity and legitimacy of Catholic schooling. During this period of its formation, education in British Columbia encountered significant changes with the introduction
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