Over time, Cardus has engaged in a variety of research projects related to education and culture. Our current project focus is featured below with additional documents and information listed in the sidebar.
SO WHAT?
What does the Cardus Education Survey(CES) hope to achieve? In simple terms, we want to provide a basis for credible answers to some basic questions: Does being part of a Christian school mean you are getting a better education? Are schools that identify themselves as religious able to provide credible evidence for the results of their work? Do these institutions have an adequate benchmark with which to measure their achievements and identify their shortcomings?
There is a need for credible, ongoing research that examines the culture-shaping role of Christian education in North America. The CES is a major research project that seeks answers to questions about academic and spiritual outcomes, cultural influence, and teaching pedagogy within K-12 Christian education. This group includes Catholic and Protestant, denominational, ecumenical and home schools. The CES project uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods.
UPDATES
The Qualitative Request for Proposals stage is being administered by Dr. Deani Van Pelt of Redeemer University College and is now closed. Thank you to the dozens of scholars and institutions that applied for funding.
The CES project is in a position to collect data during the 2009-2010 academic year. The largest component of the study is a survey that will be conducted with a representative sampling of 24,000 graduates from 350 Christian schools and homeschools. This portion of the project is being carried out by a team at the University of Notre Dame under the direction of Dr. David Sikkink.
- The White Paper from Cardus' first California Table is available for download. Click here to register and download "Connecting Education and Culture" (free).
- The second California Table event took place December 3-4, 2009, in Huntington Beach, California. You can download the California Table Program(1.1MB) if you are interested in learning more about who was there and what was accomplished.
QUICK FACTS
Funding: $1M+
RDV Corporation, Grand Rapids, MI
Voortman Foundation, Burlington, ON
Van Lunen Foundation, Columbia, MD
Notre Dame University, South Bend IN
Project duration: July 2009 - July 2011
Deliverables:
- Research benchmarks and identification of best practices
- Series of scholarly articles and a book
- Major conference
PROJECT COMPONENTS
Quantitative Study: In partnership with the University of Notre Dame, web-based surveys will be developed and promoted within the broader Christian education community with the aim of securing a large data sample. The surveys will utilize questions from previous surveys to assist in comparative analysis. The same surveys will be distributed using representative sampling methods so that there are controls in place to assist in the analysis and interpretation of the data. The data will be collected during the 2009-2010 academic year.
Qualitative Study: In partnership with Redeemer University College, a series of smaller research studies have been commissioned through an award process. These studies are intended to add depth to the questions asked on the quantitative survey and explore issues which do not lend themselves to quantitative study.
California Table: In December 2007, a group of 37 Christian educational and cultural leaders representing some of the diversity of the sector met in California in a symposium that explored some of the questions at the interface between Christian education and culture. The result of that symposium led to the publishing of a discussion paper and ultimately to this study. A similar meeting will be held in California on December 3-4 of 2009, at which time the major themes of this research project will be explored and developed.
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