Jesuit Pedagogy's 'Missing Link'

Abstract

Jesuit pedagogy has undergone a major renewal in the last fifty years. In this process, various inspirational formulations of its educational vision have been chosen. Despite maintaining a common language and spirituality, we have identified the risk that it is only lived out by a minority of people in Jesuit educational institutions. This paper proposes a re-reading of the Ratio Studiorum (RS) that offers a more precise and complete understanding of Jesuit pedagogy. This leads us to conclude that, in addition to other well-known features, it must involve the institutional governance model, a focus on an educative community that learns together, and a will to engage with various stakeholders at the setting in which the education institution is located. These three components are not peripheral to Jesuit pedagogy but rather are an intrinsic part of it. Recovering this rich vision holds great promise for successfully grappling with the changes in Jesuit higher education.