Teacher education: What Australian Christian schools need and what higher education delivers

Introduction

Approximately one-third of the student population in Australia are educated in religiously affiliated Christian schools, and in such schools the religious beliefs and values of the teacher play a significant role in their professional work (Johannessen, 2015). A distinguishing feature of Christian schools is that teachers bear witness in the classroom in a way that illustrates faith, hope and a sense of worthwhileness (Hansen, 2017). According to the Congregation for Catholic Education (CCE), the extent to which a Christian school successfully achieves its purpose depends predominantly on the personal witness given by the teacher (CCE, 1990). Despite the importance placed on this unique attribute, its focus in teacher training programmes is overshadowed by highly secularised education agendas which impact upon the intersection between higher education and Christian schools. Drawing on practical theological insights pertaining to Christian educators, this article explores the role of a teacher in a Catholic school and examines the limitations and potential for higher education courses to form teachers with a practical understanding of a teacher’s role in relation to bearing witness in the classroom. In considering the complexities associated with teacher training, and the role of the teacher in the context of Christian education, this discussion will commence with an examination of the role of a teacher in a Catholic school, followed by an outline of higher education agendas and the formation of teachers for Christian education. It then proceeds to suggest ways of bridging the gap between higher education and Christian school expectations of the role of the teacher.

The role of the teacher in the context of Christian education

Within the context of Protestant and Catholic traditions, Christian witness is fundamental to the role of the Christian educator (Prior, 2018). In Christianity, the word ‘witness’ means that the believer gives testimony to their faith in Jesus Christ and his gospel in all their thoughts, words and deeds. As Pope Francis stated, ‘Christian witness is done with three things: words, the heart and the hands’ (Pope Francis, 2017). An educator who is a witness to faith provides students with a real and tangible example of Christian attitudes and behaviours (Buchanan and Hyde, 2006). The importance of the role of the teacher as a faith witness is conveyed by the Congregation for Catholic Education (CCE). In terms of witness, the CCE claims that the actions of the Christian educator are paramount, because ‘conduct is always much more important than speech’ (CCE, 1982: par. 32), particularly when it comes to impressionable adolescent students who are developing and growing in their faith and understanding of their place in the world. Teachers who publicly witness in this way provide opportunities for students to envision a life in Christian faith as achievable and desirable, and as ‘something reasonable and worthy of being lived’ (CCE, 1982: par. 32) rather than as an unattainable ideal. When the educator is a genuine and authentic witness, students are more likely to have trust and belief in their actions and are therefore more likely to follow the teacher’s example. Within the context of Catholic education, teachers have a responsibility to provide students with an education in Christian principles, practices and faith; and all elements of the Catholic school, within and outside of the classroom, must be shaped by a teacher’s ‘public witness to the way of Christ’ (Pope Benedict XVI, 2008: par. 17). This practical theological perspective on Christian witness has implications at a local level within the Australian context.

The archdiocese of Melbourne is the third largest Catholic diocese in the world and educates 25 percent of Melbourne’s student population. Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) presupposes that teachers are, first and foremost, Christian witnesses who proclaim the Gospel by sharing something of themselves and their faith with those they encounter. Catholic Education Melbourne describes witnesses as ‘living with integrity, presenting the Catholic Tradition in the context of a faith community as a lived and attractive option, with a humble and supportive attitude while noticing and naming the faith of students’ (CEM, 2018: 13). This understanding brings to the fore challenges which have implications for the way in which Christian education finds expression within the context of Catholic schools.

From a historical perspective, public displays of Christian witness have seldom if ever formed a key part of the cultural identity and the Australian way of life (Hudson, 2016). In the lead up to Federation in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the establishment of a secularised nation was more complete than anywhere else in the world and was achieved at the expense of a public religious identity (Patience, 1990). This was largely owing to the failure of religious institutions in the latter part of the nineteenth century to meet the intellectual and social challenges of the day (Hudson, 2016; O’Farrell, 1962). Traditionally, the Australian way of life has not been imbued with a cultural identity where one publicly expresses their religious identity or comfortably and consciously witnesses to their faith in social or work-related settings. Therefore, it is not surprising that populations of Christian educators staffing Catholic schools are also reserved in their willingness to publicly witness to their faith (Engebretson, 2014).

Data from the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) attests to this reserve of many teachers to witness their faith in public. It is estimated that 39 percent of teachers in Catholic secondary schools and 20 percent of teachers in Catholic primary schools are from backgrounds other than Catholic. Furthermore, of those teachers who identify as Catholic (approximately 70 percent of the teaching population in Catholic schools), only 25 percent are connected to a religiously affiliated institution beyond their place of employment, through regular parish involvement and worship (NCEC, 2017). For many teachers in Catholic schools, the only ongoing connection with a Christian institution is the school where they work, and these schools desire teachers who are able to witness to the faith (CCE, 1982; Rymarz, 2018):

They [teachers] are very happy to work in Catholic schools and do not begrudge this involvement. At the same time this religious connection does not extend to their lives outside the school in a strong and tangible way. The negotiation here is that the religion can play a more prominent part in professional life but is muted outside of this sphere. (Rymarz, 2018: 206)

Australia is a highly secularised society where personal affiliation with Christian religious institutional places of worship is in decline (Dixon et al., 2014). As a result, places of worship have a limited role in the socialisation and formation of those who identify as Christians. Christian educational leaders and higher education institutions need to consider the possibility that the formation of teachers as Christian educators who can comfortably and confidently witness in the classroom and broader school community needs to happen within the context of the school and also through pre-service and service teacher training programmes (Tye, 2008). At the intersection, this may require a major rethink of the way in which teacher training programmes are delivered in order to prepare teachers for service in Christian educational schooling systems.

Higher education and the formation of teachers for Christian education

Education is Australia’s fourth largest export and is gaining momentum as a market-driven enterprise. Amongst the OECD countries, Australia was the fourth most efficient country in producing tertiary graduates, as well as the fifth most efficient country in research. As such, it has a vested interest in the pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning (Universities Australia, 2013). Although there is no clear and consistent view, either nationally or internationally, on what constitutes excellence in teaching and learning (Devlin and Samarawickrema, 2010), an emphasis on the ability to present and transfer knowledge from teacher to learner stands as a predominant feature (Saroyan et al., 2004). According to Charlton (2012), government policies focusing on quality assurance and economic rationalism have influenced the emphasis placed on learning for knowledge-centred outcomes. This has meant that higher education courses are oriented towards the achievement of cognitive learning outcomes (Bramer, 2010; Palmer, 2003). The impact of these agendas within the tertiary sector have also influenced the direction of Christian higher education institutions (Farley, 2005). These institutions, like the broader tertiary sector, try to remain competitive by ensuring that the courses they offer focus predominantly on information transfer and student achievement of cognitive learning outcomes (Ball, 2012). To this end, teacher training institutions dedicated to the preparation of teachers for employment in religiously affiliated Christian schools have been accused of making a significant pedagogical mistake (Farley, 2005). According to Farley (2005), to focus solely on the acquisition of knowledge is a flaw in the preparation of teachers for Christian education. Furthermore, Farley argued that ‘it is a pedagogy designed to be left behind at graduation’ (Farley, 2005: 201). Teacher training for Christian education needs to focus on the whole person. It is the person of the teacher that is of paramount significance within the context of Catholic education. As such, the preference is for teachers who are first and foremost ‘people of faith, travelling on their spiritual journey and engaging in the liturgical life of the Church’ (Coll, 2015: 185).

The focus on knowledge transfer as the hallmark of achievement in the discipline of education presents problems for Christian school employers who seek to appoint teachers who are also able to draw upon their religious beliefs and values to inform their professional work (Johannessen, 2015). For Christian school employers, higher education institutions that foster a pedagogy that primarily focuses on contemplation, reflection and thinking, and uses texts and teaching methods and content around this, would produce teachers more aligned with their vision of a Christian educator (Farley, 2005). The strong hold of secular agendas regarding what constitutes excellence in teaching and learning needs to become more flexible. Christian education authorities, as a collective, need to be proactive in conveying to government agencies and higher education institutions the qualities which they are seeking in a graduate teacher, so that pedagogies can be oriented towards developing graduates imbued with the attributes that would make them attractive to employers of Christian educators. Christian education authorities have a voice worthy of being listened to, especially given that 1,360,000 students residing in Australia (34.4 percent of the student population) attend religiously affiliated schools (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017). In other parts of the world, the voices of religiously affiliated schools have been listened to by government agencies and higher education institutions, resulting in policy reforms that contribute to the preparation of teachers for service in religiously affiliated schools (Coll, 2015). Consideration needs to be given to bridging the gap between higher education perceptions and Christian school expectations of the role of the teacher.

Bridging the gap between higher education and Christian schools

Higher education institutions driven by learning and teaching agendas that focus solely on knowledge transfer as a means for determining excellence generate distance between Christian education sectors and themselves, as providers of graduate and service teachers. Farley (2005) argued that this distance is also perpetuated in teacher training courses in higher education institutions that offer the disciplines of religious education and theology. Farley contends that the focus of these discipline areas is predominantly on ‘initiating the students into an academic field’ (Farley, 2005: 201). Approaches to learning within higher education have traditionally been based around lectures and research, and this type of academic environment usually shapes course curricula and syllabi that are conducive to knowledge transfer (Borredon et al., 2011; Rovio-Johansson, 2016). Assessment and feedback strategies are typically designed to measure the students’ level of knowledge acquisition and may unintentionally promote fixed mindsets about performance, rather than critical learning (Tesch, 2016). According to Dweck (2006), students with a performance-oriented mindset that focuses particularly on grades are seldom motivated to strive to do better. The learning and teaching practices experienced in tertiary settings are most likely to be modelled by graduate teachers when employed in school settings (Ball, 2012). However, these learning processes within teacher education courses that enhance the learners’ academic initiation can often mitigate against the formation of teachers for Christian education that requires teachers who are able to enter into a reflective engagement with the Gospel, Jesus and religious traditions in a way that prepares them to confidently draw upon religious beliefs and values to inform their professional work (Johannessen, 2015).

The intersection between higher education institutions who provide graduate teachers for service in Christian affiliated schooling systems, including Catholic schooling systems, requires a new horizon oriented towards a teaching and learning agenda that is more interwoven. In seeking a new horizon, knowledge transfer should not be regarded as the pinnacle of effective learning and teaching (Bramer, 2010). The acquisition of knowledge, though considered integral to the learning process, should also be conceived as a vehicle that enables trainee teachers to contemplate, reflect and think critically, in ways that permit their religious beliefs and values to inform their professional work as Christian educators. A recent study in the UK indicated that teachers working in church schools lamented their lack of preparation as trainee teachers for Christian education and suggested that opportunities to discuss the role of values in Christian education and the nature and purpose of church schools would have been useful (Cooling et al., 2016). In seeking a new horizon, consideration needs to be given to the ways in which the curricula are encountered. Within the limited scope of this article, three aspects will be explored.

Approaches to teaching

The delivery of higher education courses for the preparation of graduate teachers for service in Christian education schooling sectors needs to move from a teacher-centred approach to a subject-centred approach (Palmer, 2007). A teacher-centred approach regards the teacher as the key source of knowledge and places power in the hands of teachers in order to transmit knowledge to learners (Radu, 2016). Subject-centred learning sits in contrast to teacher-centred approaches and is characterised by the interplay between three entities: the subject, the student and the teacher (Hobson and Morrison-Saunders, 2013). The subject has a ‘presence so real, so vivid, so vocal, that it can hold teacher and students alike accountable for what they say and do’ (Palmer, 2007: 117). A subject-centred approach reconceptualises the role of the teacher in higher education. Furthermore, it reconceptualises teaching relationships with students beyond the scope of a vehicle that transmits knowledge and ‘opens up an endlessly rich and engaging community of learning for teacher and student alike and reminds us that the fundamental reason for teaching (both of teachers and students) is to engage with the world through the subject studied’ (Hobson and Morrison-Saunders, 2013: 774). This type of engagement with the world requires the teacher (and students) to be reflective as they interact with the other entities (subject and students). This requires teachers of higher education to surrender to the notion of being a learner as well as an academic (Savin-Baden, 2010). For these reasons, Devlin and O’Shea (2012) suggest that teachers as whole persons engage in the learning and teaching dynamic, because it is where their expertise and passion for their subject finds expression in relation to the world, i.e. through an encounter with the other entities (subject and student). Subject-centred learning generates interaction between the three entities, and models traits that would be appealing to employees of graduate teachers for Christian schools. Some of these traits include the ability to critically reflect on the purpose and relevance of knowledge within the context of a Christian world view, rather than simply encountering the acquisition of knowledge as a means to an end (Cooling and Green, 2015).

Community in learning

Traditionally, the higher education approaches to teaching, learning and assessment have fostered individual learning attitudes where students tend to compete against each other for achievement rankings within the class (Biggs, 2012). These approaches mean that the standard of learning achieved is superficial (Ramsden, 2003), and that most of what can be or is learned is virtually lost prior to graduation (Farley, 2005). It has been argued that the establishment of planned learning communities as part of the academic programme within the context of higher education would foster deep learning (Baker et al., 2005). This is likely to be because higher education students who belong to a community in learning assume greater responsibility, engagement and ownership of their learning (Theobald et al., 2018). As a community in learning, the students and the teacher can take advantage of each other as shared resources who grapple with questions and subject matter in ways that contribute to deep learning (Bentley and Buchanan, 2017; Harpaz, 2014). Few teacher training courses have attempted to integrate learning and teacher strategies in ways that foster student communities. Ball’s (2012) study across a range of Christian higher education institutions revealed that curriculum design did not foster or plan for the inclusion of student communities in learning. However, students did create informal communities in learning beyond the classroom (Ball, 2012) which point to the students’ desire to engage in deep learning. Student experiences of participation in a community in learning treats students and teachers as interrelated partners in the learning process, who are able to challenge and help each other think deeply and reflectively about what they are learning and its implications. Communities in learning offer learning paradigms that move beyond individual competitive learning models and foster a sense of the richness to be gained as a member of a community in learning. Implementing communities in learning as part of a teaching training programme would help graduate teachers move with ease into Christian schooling environments that encourage individuals to appreciate the gifts and talents of others, in the context of community: ‘If student teachers are to gain experience and expertise in church school education, schools and universities must have the expertise to support their student teachers in this area’ (Cooling et al., 2016: 106).

Time to reflect in learning

For higher education students, time to reflect in learning is a key factor that helps them to engage in deep learning, as it enables them to develop a greater ability to synthesise key aspects of their learning (Ball, 2012). Building in opportunities to reflect in learning environments can have a significant impact upon improving academic growth and performance (Leung and Kember, 2003). It may also be used to solve a variety of personal and professional problems (Phan, 2009). Opportunities to reflect on learning enables one to explore positive and negative aspects, as well as to become more self-aware of what it means to be a teacher, by engaging with emotions and bringing assumptions to the surface (Bassot, 2016). According to Phan (2008), another key advantage in building in time to reflect within the learning process is that it can positively impact upon a person’s ability to critically reflect upon academic performance. This is particularly important for trainee teachers who aspire to teach in Christian schools, because educators working in the context of Christian education reflect critically on their own theological assumptions and the connection between Christian faith and teaching and learning (Cooling and Green, 2015). Building in time to reflect in learning may result in trainee teachers identifying strengths that they were completely unaware of, and it may also result in identifying weaknesses (Levett, 2010). Ball’s (2012) study revealed that Christian higher education students wanted time to critically reflect on the curriculum content that was being taught, so that they could develop deep understandings. It also helps them to examine who they are as teachers and who they are as learners (Ashwin, 2015). Buchanan and Stern (2012) explored a method of critical reflection implemented in a peer review process for trainee teachers aspiring to teach in Christian schooling systems. They found that the trainee teachers perceived that their experience of having time to reflect in this manner enabled them to engage in deep learning of the subject matter as well as gain a deeper insight into what it means to be a member of the teaching profession, particularly in the context of Christian education (Buchanan and Stern, 2012). Diamond (2014) also found that time to critically reflect enabled trainee teachers to gain deeper insights into the leadership capabilities required of an educator. Within the context of Christian education and education in general, the ability to critically reflect is a lifelong skill that can also be used for ongoing professional and personal development, and it should be a planned and integral part of teacher training (Bassot, 2016).

Conclusion

This article has explored insights pertaining to effective teaching and learning in higher education within the context of the highly secularised Australian society. It has highlighted that an emphasis on knowledge transfer, as an indicator of effective teaching and learning, is significant but not sufficient in preparing trainee teachers for service within the context of Christian education, including Catholic education. Employers of religiously affiliated schools desire teachers who are knowledgeable in their discipline and are also able to draw confidently upon Christian beliefs and values in a way that informs their professional work as educators (Johannessen, 2015). In addition to knowledge transfer, effective learning and teaching for trainee teachers also requires learning opportunities that enable them to contemplate, reflect and think critically, in ways that permit their religious beliefs and values to inform their professional work as Christian educators (Cooling et al., 2016). This article has argued that subject-centred approaches to learning and teaching, that integrate ongoing opportunities for the inclusion of student communities in learning, as well as time to critically reflect on learning, are steps in the right direction. In a market-driven higher education sector, where institutions compete against each other for student enrolments, those institutions that invest in the design and delivery of trainee teacher programmes oriented towards effectively preparing teachers for service in religiously affiliated schools are helping to ensure that the intersection between higher education and Christian schools is mutually beneficial.