Dr. John Convey, Education Professor, University Provost, and Department of Education Historian, undated image. This exhibit is based on Dr. Convey's research and essay on the Department of Education. Image: Special Collections, University Photographs, The Catholic University of America.

A 2007 image of the faculty and staff of the Department of Education, The Catholic University of America. Bottom, Left to Right: Tsadale Mammo, Rona Frederick, Joy Banks, Kathleen Perencevich, Mona Shevlin, Rick Yekovich, Sarah Pickert, Joan Thompson. Next Two Levels: Diyu Chen, Carole Brown, John Convey, Thomas Long, Mimi Schuttloffel, Jennifer Kusnierczyk, Agnes Cave, Elsie Neely, Leonard DeFiore. Image: Special Collections, University Photographs, The Catholic University of America.

Several figures were integral to the Department’s evolution in the late 1980s until the twenty-first century. Dr. Sarah Pickert, who had been serving as Dean, became the Department’s chair. Dr. Frank Yekovich followed Dr. Pickert as chair, serving from 1985 to 1988. In 1994, Dr. John Convey succeeded Dr. Yekovich. When Convey was appointed Provost of the University in 1997, Dr. Pickert served again as chair until 2000. Dr. Convey would once again serve as chair in 2016-2017.

This period saw the integration of graduate programs, which resided in the School of Education, with the undergraduate programs, which were in the School of Arts and Sciences. This had the effect of intermingling the teaching of graduate and undergraduate students in a way that made faculty more attentive to both groups. An Education Studies program was also instituted to train students who sought to teach in non-school settings, such as libraries, government organizations, and foundations. This program served to offer education courses to students in other disciplines, such as business, media, and other fields.

The late 1980s through the twenty-first century saw the emphasis on grant-funded research projects emphasizing best practices in teacher education. The Council on Teacher Education, which was established in 1973 to oversee teaching programs at the University, evolved to represent and reflect the changing structure of the Department. Curricular and programmatic changes were made to reflect a renewed emphasis on teacher education, including the reintroduction of programs in Special Education and Early Childhood Education.

In many ways the history of the Department of Education reflects national trends, both in Catholic education in the United States, and in Catholic Colleges themselves. The Department expanded and centralized in the first half of the twentieth century, as did the Catholic school system in general during this time period. The post-World War Two boom in enrollments in Catholic schools in general followed in the 1945-1965 period. Catholic University saw a similar rise in enrollments among students training to work in education, especially Catholic education, culminating in the establishment of a School of Education. As James T. Carroll notes, Catholic colleges, The Catholic University of America among them, played a key role in training both religious and lay teachers and administration for this Catholic school boom era. 

Carroll also notes, however, that the post 1965 era posed challenges to the sustainability of the Catholic school infrastructure, as Catholics moved to the suburbs, religious orders that supplied educators declined in members, and fewer parents sent their children to Catholic schools. A decline in enrollments in the Department reflected these trends. Nonetheless, the experimentation with new programs and methods within the Department, along with a continuing commitment to research, suggest that the Department will be as adaptable and innovative as it ever has been.

Sources:

John J. Convey, Professor of Education at The Catholic University of America, “The Catholic University Department of Education, 1908-2021 (Unpublished manuscript, 2021), Special Collections, Archives, The Catholic University of America, 58-59, 72-73.

James T. Carroll, “Catholic Education,” The Cambridge Companion to American Catholicism, Margaret M. McGuiness and Thomas F. Rzeznik, eds (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021) 105-122; 111, 117-118.