Beyond the Rhetoric

This study examines the achievement beliefs of urban adolescents enrolled in two Catholic high schools. Qualitative analysis of individual interviews revealed that these students endorse a strong sense of personal responsibility in their own learning, adhere to adaptive beliefs about difficulty and challenge in learning, and perceive their schools as caring environments in which teachers take a deep interest in both their academic and psychosocial well-being. Results suggest that educational reform efforts can be enhanced with a greater understanding of the motivational advantage associated with Catholic education. The authors argue that concerns over self-selection should not hinder researchers' attempts to understand the factors underlying the achievement of Catholic school students.