The Catholic school is an educational community where learning, culture, faith and life find a meeting place.

It is a place for learning and teaching that seeks to nurture and develop the faith of individuals in ways that are mindful of their cultural and religious identity. Making every child’s school experience meaningful lies at the heart of what we do as teachers in Catholic schools. This education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News and exists to assist students and their families to integrate faith, reason, life and culture. In this article we will explore the multifaceted role of teaching in a Catholic school in providing quality outcomes for all students. 

The Catholic School as a Living Faith Community

Catholic schools are crucial to the Church’s mission in educating and forming students who are challenged to live the gospel of Jesus and who are literate in the Catholic and broader Christian tradition. They are remarkable places where everyone feels valued, standards are high, learning is life-long, and faith is serious. Catholic schools find their true justification in the mission of the Church, and this justification is based on an educational philosophy in which faith, culture and life are brought into harmony. As living faith communities, our schools provide opportunities for all to participate critically and authentically in a faith culture within a wider society so they can become agents of cultural change in the world.

It is the teacher’s responsibility to facilitate learning and assist students to grow in knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith tradition in the context of their work in Catholic education in an increasingly secular world. They contribute to the development of students’ academic, spiritual, and physical needs, and directing this development can create a synthesis between faith, culture, and life. Their knowledge and understanding of Church teachings, the Catholic faith tradition, Gospel values, and the contribution they make to the Church’s mission is critical in their formation of students to gain the critical ability needed to distinguish the true and good from their opposites, and acquire the necessary religious and moral criteria that will enable them to remain objective and independent when faced with the prevailing attitudes and habits of society.

The Role of a Teacher in Fostering Gospel Values 

A teacher’s ability to create places of encounter and convergence where all can live life as a response to God’s call, is vital in their vocation as ‘formators of the heart’. The good work of educating the young, undertaken in the light of the Gospel, is a co-responsibility of every member of the Catholic school community. Authentic educators in Catholic schools provide the Catholic Worldview for students to make sense of life in a clear and meaningful way, and act as witnesses, specialists and moderators to support students to grow in knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith tradition in a dialogical educational environment. This is an education environment of shared wisdom based on truth and trust, mutual esteem and shared wisdom between teachers, students, their families and the school’s leadership in their mission as Catholic educators. 

Integrating Faith and Learning: Curriculum and Classroom Experience 

Today’s vast and rapid cultural changes demand that we constantly seek ways of expressing unchanging truths in a language that brings out their abiding newness. Integrating faith and learning through the curriculum and scope of classroom experiences engages with the actual situations of students, each of whom is a unique individual who shares in the familial, societal, ecclesial and educational contexts that typify the world and Australia today. Religious Education, as a vehicle for teaching truth and critiquing society, provides opportunities for students to interpret the signs of the times and engage in an open dialogue between the richness of the Catholic tradition and their persona experiences and contemporary cultural contexts.

Building a Community of Inclusiveness and Service 

The Catholic school is a place of welcome and inclusion. It seeks to provide a genuine, safe and caring experience of community, to encourage students to appreciate the intrinsic worth of who they are, to value diversity and to treat each other with dignity, enabling students, in turn, to promote and respect the dignity of all. Catholic education fosters a sense of community, and an abiding understanding of the importance of service to others. An inclusive education finds a place for all to benefit from its efforts. It is founded on shared beliefs and values that shape purpose, processes and outcomes. Using inclusive practices in a safe, accessible and supportive environment that responds to individual needs means all students can engage with the curriculum to reach their potential.

The shared faith and values in Catholic schools create a sense of unity and common purpose. They promote a feeling of belonging and shared identity within the community and assist students in realizing their own personal gifts whilst learning to value the contribution of others. Catholic schools strive to make a difference in the lives of others by challenging young people, through God, to find meaning and value in their lives and reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society who are highly skilled, informed, tolerant, open and just. 

Lifelong Learning and Personal Growth 

Catholic education is a lifelong journey that develops the whole person. Educating young people to live Christ-centred lives to the fullest is our core business and a work of love and service. Providing an affordable, accessible, and excellent Catholic education fosters a friendly and trusting collaboration between staff, students and their families. They do this through educating the whole child: socially, emotionally, academically, spiritually and physically ensuring that each student experiences the joy of learning and achieves success guided by teachers who are inspired by the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The education of the child in the Catholic school context details three essential touchstones – the parent, the Church and the school, however, it is the Catholic school that is often the main contact with the Church for many Australians. These connections - integral to the work of education in the Catholic context – often happen ‘beyond the gates’ as schools engage outwardly and inwardly with the community as they shape individuals to be active and informed The importance of parent engagement in connection with their child’s learning is to be promoted and opportunities for such partnerships explored. The school-parish partnership is central to the success of Catholic schools, giving them the ecclesial connection so important for effective Catholic schooling, and the foundation for this partnership is the student and their learning.

Challenges and Rewards of Teaching in a Catholic School 

Catholic schools are currently engaging in a period of rapid social, technological and educational change. The expectations and demands of politicians and parents for schools and teachers are increasing. There is far more attention paid to what schools achieve and how they achieve it. Teachers must also deal with the challenges of teaching students with complex and diverse needs, the constancy of mental health and wellbeing issues, and meeting expectations around teaching a crowded curriculum. In an increasingly secular world, the growing challenge is the rise of relativism and religious indifference to Religious Education, and the lack of need for faith development leading to a waning religiosity in schools and the community. The mission of educating young people in a rapidly changing world has never been more demanding, and the quality of teachers and their potential to influence and develop young students has never been more important. 

Catholic schools today are far more engaged with the wider community and open to all who would share its values. They are places where diversity is embraced, service outreach is encouraged, and where dialogue facilitates inclusion. Teaching in a Catholic school means belonging to something bigger, allowing everyone to play a key role in building better communities for the future. Teachers are highly skilled professionals who carry out vital work so that each child can reach their full potential. They make a real difference in the lives of others by affirming the whole person and engaging inclusive practices that are based on respectful dialogue within a community. Teaching in a Catholic school means belonging to something bigger, allowing everyone to play a key role in building better communities for the future. 

Becoming Part of the Catholic Education Mission

The following ‘Thrive by Five’ directions will assist teachers to become part of the Catholic Education mission (based on resources developed by the Stronger Smarter Institute):

Catholic schools possess a unique and distinct character, being places in which faith, culture and life are brought into harmony. They exist as part of the broader evangelising Mission of the church; a Mission through which the person of Jesus Christ is made known and loved.  It is hoped that this missionary impulse is evident in every aspect and dimension of school life. With this missionary focus, schools are committed to the formation of the whole person; a formation that encompasses the spiritual, intellectual, physical, social, moral, aesthetic and religious capacity of each child that enters its doors. School staff, in partnership with parents and guardians who serve as the primary educators of their children, embody this Mission through quality interpersonal relationships and a recognition of a mutuality of gifts to ensure the building of a unique learning and faith community.

The school community can extend its commitment to the mission of the Church through committing to service and outreach work and school-based social justice initiatives. Outreach ministry is the Church at work in God’s name, stretching out to meet needs in the wider community. The core dimensions of Catholic social teaching – justice, mercy and love – are integral to Catholic Education and there are many ways in which one can take action in their school and community. 

Conclusion

Teaching may be viewed as a calling. It is more than being an expert teacher in a learning space at school. In a Catholic school context, teachers are intrinsically connected with their students as disciples. From a holistic education viewpoint, teachers intertwine Catholic values in everything they undertake in and out of the classroom. The ministry of Catholic school teaching is truly special and life-giving, and teachers understand and value their partnership with parents and carers in nurturing the education of the hearts and minds of students. As such, our Catholic schools remain authentic places of learning and formation, where our teachers are real beacons of hope and evangelisation. The Catholic school difference is known, felt and loved. Make it your vocation of choice.