International Journal of Christianity & Education

This article gives voice to Catholic teachers working in secular English schools. Their experience is an under-researched area and, despite a wealth of teaching on the vocation of the teacher, the specific vocation of the Catholic teacher in a secular school receives scant attention from the Catholic Church and researchers. Through in-depth interviews, participants articulated their idiographic experiences of inhabiting a liminal space. The main themes arising from the data were a strong sense of vocation, the absence of a metanarrative in the schools and the teachers’ strong awareness of their Catholic identity. The findings challenge school leaders, the Catholic Church and the government to recognise the presence and experience of Catholic teachers in secular schools and to be attentive to their experiences and needs. The teachers themselves are challenged to acknowledge and value their own worldview and develop their understanding of the relationship between their religious commitment and their practice.

Despite a focus on the holistic formation of students, nonreligious narratives shape student affairs theories and professional practice guidelines. Recognizing this problem, Christian scholar-practitioners have authored a growing body of literature about what might be distinct about Christian student affairs. This article provides an analysis of the theological foundations used in this literature. Our aim was to locate the unique theological building blocks for a more comprehensive Christian theology of student affairs. Our analysis found that placing and practicing the profession of student affairs within the Christian narrative produced noteworthy distinctives in every aspect of student affairs.

The concept of citizenship has changed and evolved over time. Spain, as part of the European Union, has been included in a paradigm shift from a focus on nationalism to the concept of global citizenship. This has spurred a national controversy over the way in which Spanish students should be educated about citizenship. This article provides a concise history of citizenship education in Spain. An overview of the Education for Citizenship and Human Rights (EfC) curriculum is also incorporated with a description of the controversy surrounding its implementation as a mandatory school subject. It concludes with an explanation of Kingdom citizenship and implications and recommendations for Christian schools.

To increase the alignment between the lives of ministers serving congregations and what seminary professors think that congregational ministry is like, this study used qualitative methods to examine the themes voiced by seminary professors and graduates in ministry at five Protestant seminaries in the United States. There was some agreement about key themes in the lifeworld of ministers. However, there was little agreement between professors and graduates in ministry about which themes were most influential. Findings point to opportunities for seminaries to create ways to take seriously the experiences of ministers.

The intersection between schools and the higher education institutions that prepare graduates for teaching in schools is driven by secular agendas. These agendas showcase knowledge transfer as a key indicator of effective learning and teaching. However, the preparation of graduate teachers for service in Christian schooling systems cannot be limited to an exclusive focus that places emphasis on knowledge transfer as a means to an end. Employers of teachers for Christian educational contexts, including Catholic education, desire teachers who are competent in their discipline area(s) and are able to draw confidently upon their Christian beliefs and values in a way that informs their professional work as educators. This article proposes that the intersection between higher education and schools needs to be navigated more effectively in the preparation of teachers for Christian schooling systems who are responsible for approximately one-third of the student population in Australia. The role of the teacher in Christian educational contexts is explored, drawing on practical theological insights into the teacher as Christian witness. Secular perspectives on effective teaching and learning in higher education teacher training courses are considered in the light of teacher preparation for Christian schooling systems. Approaches to teaching and providing opportunities for students to belong to a community in learning, as well as planning time for students to critically reflect on learning, are proposed as possible examples of how to help prepare teachers for service in Christian schooling systems.