The decision of the Dominican nuns to redefine the legal and financial managements of their schools is a sign of how much the education landscape is changing. The process has been underway for some time but in a new document, In Search of Truth: The Dominican way in Education, the order is working towards a new role for itself. With a serious decline in vocations, the order - like the Sisters of Mercy, the Christian Brothers, the Holy Ghost Fathers and others - is examining its role in schools, while moving to protect their ethos. The order has been outlining its plans in a series of recent regional seminars for staff.
The Dominicans have made - and continue to make - an outstanding contribution to Irish education. Some of their schools, like Muckross and Sion Hill in Dublin, are synonymous with all that is best in Irish education; good academic standards and a determination to ensure that all pupils are well-rounded. It is easy in this relatively prosperous age to forget how the religious picked up the baton at a time when the State lacked the resources and the vision to develop an education service. As the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, has pointed out, the religious orders have served the people of Ireland with generosity and dedication.
As they prepare to redefine their involvement in schools, the Dominicans will be heartened by the enormous reservoir of goodwill that exists for individual nuns who have taught or managed in these schools. Even though our society is becoming more secular, admission to schools run by the Dominicans remains prized by parents and their children. Most Dominican schools have long waiting-lists, a sign that the confidence in Dominican education is being passed from one generation to the next.
The Dominicans, and the other orders, deserve credit for their proactive approach to the vocation crisis. Instead of biding their time and clinging to control of schools, they have begun shaping a new future. In the process, they are registering confidence in the commitment and dedication of lay teachers.
There is much work for the religious still to do in the education sector. The high drop-out rates from second level, together with our low literacy rates, are a scandal which call for the attention and experience of such a dedicated band of educationalists.