The Beginning of Time Consciousness in School Education : A Case Study of Jesuit Secondary Education

Much research has already been conducted into the influence of Jesuit (Society of Jesus)-administered schools on modern education. From among the various features of this influence, the present study attempts to focus in particular on the Jesuit notion of time in order to clarify its modernity. After the dissolution of the more personal “Gemeinschaft” of medieval times― and the loss of a sense and reality of life within the “Gesellschaft” ― people came to believe it was possible for time to be geometrically spatialized, analyzed and numerically quantified.This study sheds light on the way that Jesuit-school education reflects the spirit of this age. Through a detailed examination of the Ratio Studiorum, it traces the essence of this form of education to the spiritual and organizational structure of the Society of Jesus as well as the influence exerted upon prevailing Jesuit attitudes by their founder, Ignatius Loyola.