How Is Student Success Conceptualized in Catholic Schools?

Abstract

This article examines the conceptualization of academic success in Catholic schools, inquiring how these institutions balance integral formative education and academic performance. Based on 16 interviews with teachers and administrators, as well as a questionnaire administered to 700 students and parents across eight schools, the study identifies inconsistencies when achievement of good grades is seen as a result of fostering a value-based education. Using a mixed-methods approach (qualitative–quantitative), we analyze perceptions of what defines a successful student and the school practices that promote such development. The findings reveal intergenerational differences and highlight the challenges of aligning institutional and personal expectations. The study concludes that, for Catholic institutions, elements rooted in the Christian tradition—such as commitment to the world and the Church, students’ happiness, and integral education—constitute key indicators within the success–failure binomial.