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Curriculum, culture, and Catholic education: a Queensland perspective

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A Correction to this article was published on 27 November 2018

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Abstract

This paper considers the relationship between curriculum and culture from the perspectives of Catholic teaching, scholarship and teachers in Catholic schools. A total of 2287(33.5%) teachers in Queensland Catholic schools responded to a specially designed survey, and follow-up interviews were conducted with a stratified sample of 20 volunteer teachers. Over half the survey respondents rated the planned integration of a Catholic perspective across the whole curriculum as important or very important, and a similar proportion reported that they integrated a Catholic perspective in their classroom practice. The most positive responses came from teachers who valued faith-based aspects of Catholic schools most highly. Teacher interviewees, however, depended mainly on spontaneous “teachable moments” and personal “witness” to express the faith-based identity of their schools. The current findings suggest that experienced senior teachers with strong commitment to faith-based identity are more committed than their peers to the integration of a Catholic perspective across the curriculum. The changing religious and educational environments present serious challenges to any such undertaking. The integration of Catholic social teaching (CST) across the curriculum provides a viable and relevant approach to expressing the identity of Catholic schools. CST is counter-cultural in nature, and it behoves teachers as critical pedagogues to address controversial social issues in an educationally appropriate manner.

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Change history

  • 27 November 2018

    We wish to draw your attention to the following error in the above paper. Please note that the descriptive and interview findings reported in the paper remain unchanged.

  • 27 November 2018

    We wish to draw your attention to the following error in the above paper. Please note that the descriptive and interview findings reported in the paper remain unchanged.

Notes

  1. See http://www3.dpcdsb.org/students/catholic-graduate-expectations. These expectations are based on Catholicism’s core understanding of the human condition and a Christian vision of the human journey that is best understood within the context of relationship and accomplished in solidarity with community. The core expectation is of “a discerning believer formed in the Catholic Faith community who celebrates the signs and sacred mystery of God’s presence through word, sacrament, prayer, forgiveness, reflection, and moral living”.

  2. The general capabilities proposed by ACARA, which are eminently compatible with Catholic Social Thought, include critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, intercultural understanding, personal and social capability, as well as literacy, numeracy, and ICT capability.

  3. Education Quality and Accountability Office

  4. Ignatian pedagogy derives from St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. Taking a holistic view of the world, its three main elements are Experience, Reflection, and Action. St. Ignatius founded of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

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  1. Australian Catholic University, 1100 Nudgee Road, Banyo, QLD, 4014, Australia

    Jim Gleeson & Maureen O’Neill

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  1. Jim Gleeson
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Correspondence to Jim Gleeson.

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Gleeson, J., O’Neill, M. Curriculum, culture, and Catholic education: a Queensland perspective. Curric Perspect 37, 121–133 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41297-017-0018-6

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