The Pros And Cons Of Convent Education

The concept of Convent education is the idea of extending the discipline found in a religious order into schools run by the same order. In the former times it was customary in England for children to be educated in convents. Convents came to known as learning centers established by the nuns who from Wimborne who helped St. Boniface in his work of evangelizing the county of Saxony in the 8th century. The uniqueness about most of these schools was that they offered a very high standard of education.

Chaucer and other writers of the medieval era often wrote about the English convent schools of the Middle Ages and compared them favorably with schools for the both genders. During the Reformation period in England, the English convent education to start afresh in the nineteenth century with the launching of innumerable convents in England in the latter part of the 19th century for Protestant as well as Catholic girls (especially in day and elementary schools) has made it a convenient choice for parents insecure about their girl’s upbringing.

The foundation of teacher training centers for Catholic teachers, has led to a high need for teachers with high academic qualifications, and a passion for serving the community through teaching. The importance of studying in catholic convents has resulted in a drastic improvement in the quality of education. The convents are pioneers in the work they have done for religion and education, and they have churned out hundreds of girls, not only educated in the highest sense of the word but also truly religious. Mary Ward, was often referred to as the pioneer of religious congregations which was committed to the education of English girls in 1686.

Despite the penal laws, and protestant persecution, where the nuns were imprisoned for their faith , the work of the convent has continued from that day to this, preaching and following the disciplinary rules followed by the teaching orders of the Church. Convent Schools whether primary or elementary schools have also been reformatory in nature, with juvenile prisoners being reprimanded and given additional attention catering to the re-education of these children. These convent schools eventually became day or boarding schools for the upper and middle classes, for the higher education of women.

Former studies have shown that boys do better academically by studying in co-education school in comparison to the girls find convent schools more conducive to performing well academically. However, initially the focus was to keep the opposite gender at bay which was not the case in public schools. In a recent study amongst parents of school goers in India it was found that most parents want their children to get a co-educational form of education because their girls would become mature enough to learn how to handle the boys better at the work place and in relationships later on in life. Some parents especially those with daughters might want out of protectiveness or conservatism that their girls need to be in all girls’ school since they might feel uncomfortable of their daughter mixing with boys, but then wanting your child to study at a convent is a choice that the family must sit and make together.