The education and formation of teachers for Catholic schools: responding to changed cultural contexts

Abstract

The much documented sociological and cultural developments which offered significant challenges to Catholic education in recent decades have played no small part in changing the composition of the Catholic teaching force. A weakening of religious practices and an increase in more personalized understandings of spirituality are now especially prominent in the younger generations of Catholics. As this is the pool from which Catholic teachers of the future will come, it is vital to look afresh at the way we offer support and faith formation. More formal Catholic teacher education processes have to address these challenges by making a commitment to thorough theological education in a range of institutions which are both academically rigorous and pastorally supportive.

Catholic Teacher Preparation

“…13 To what extent that is true in particular circumstances can and should be debated but it would seem that the diminution of a (perceived) integrated Catholic culture, one shared between home, parish and school, has been a factor in diminishing the desire of younger Catholics to see teaching as a worthy choice of profession. 14 It is important, at this stage, to be clear about the terminology used to describe the different Church groupings involved in the mission of Catholic education.…”

Pilgrimages: Fruitful Sources of Faith Formation for Catholic Student Teachers?

“…Coll also recognises the time limitations of the mainly classroom-based ITE Catholic teacher formation programme, which can only begin to address the broader formational journey required. Furthermore, Franchi and Rymarz (2017) recognise that the loss of a 'thickly Catholic culture' which underpinned faith commitment in past decades, and is now severely weakened, can be expected to have affected the faith commitment of young aspiring Scottish Catholic teachers too. They agree with Coll that a stronger theological formation is needed, but similarly widen the focus to the affective, drawing upon the recent church document Educating for Cultural Dialogue, "Catholic teachers need pastoral and spiritual care to offer their own heart to the school."…”

“…Community as a positive influence on faith development is attested to consistently in faith formation literature. Franchi and Rymarz (2017), in their discussion of a 'thickly Catholic culture' noted above, list communal solidarity, socialisation into faith, and a sense of communal identity among its characteristics (p. 3). In his study of World Youth Day participants, Singleton (2011) notes the importance of an intense and supportive social environment to young people's faith.…”

Catholic education in Ireland and the United States: Teachers’ comparative perspectives

“…Catholic schools traditionally have depended on faith-filled teachers – both religious and lay – to educate their students and fulfil their mission. In recent years, ‘secularization and a weakening of established modes of Catholic culture’ have challenged Catholic schools’ ability to attract faith-filled teachers to serve and lead (Franchi and Rymarz, 2017: 12). This phenomenon appears most pronounced either in places where a once dominant religion that served an essential social function has subsequently diminished or in places where increasing sectors of society are vehemently opposed to religion having any place in the public sphere (Voas and Doebler, 2011).…”

“…Over the past 50 years, there has been a passing of the baton from a predominantly vowed religious teaching corps to an almost completely lay teaching staff in both Ireland and the United States. As part of this shift, there has been a growing number of teachers with little or no active faith, which is an increasingly important and problematic reality in western Catholic school systems (Franchi and Rymarz, 2017). Beyond western/anglo cultures, a review of available literature reveals an absence of investigation on the topic of faith in the lives of contemporary teachers and those aspiring to the profession; however, an increasing loss of Catholic identity within Catholic schools is noted (Omolade, 2009).…”