Scattering the Stars Personalist Pedagogy and Catholic Higher Education

Abstract

This essay explores Jacques Maritain’s philosophy of education as a means to better understand Pope Francis’s recent promotion of a “Global Compact on Education,” and in particular Francis’s commitment “to make human persons in their value and dignity the center of every educational program.” After situating Maritain’s philosophy of education in relation to Catholic emphasis on the importance of “integration” — from Maritain’s time to the present — it examines Maritain’s understanding of the aims of education and some features of what the author calls Maritain’s “personalist pedagogy.” Concrete examples of how Maritain’s vision might be pursued in the classroom and in college curricula today are provided in conclusion, as well as some consideration of how Maritain’s work can help up to understand Francis’s teaching on education.