The Experiences that Form and Sustain Generation Y Religious Education Coordinators
Abstract
Students in Western Australian Catholic schools learn about Catholic beliefs and practices in the Religious Education Learning Area. In Catholic secondary schools, Religious Education Coordinators (RECs) are delegated responsibility from principals, to coordinate the teaching of this learning area’s content. RECs are required to be committed Catholics who are active members of the Catholic Church. It is probable that RECs will increasingly be recruited from amongst Generation Y Catholics. For Catholic secondary school principals, recruiting religiously committed Generation Y Catholics into the position of REC will be challenging.
The primary aim of the research is to identify and describe the experiences that form and sustain Gen Y RECs. The research has two foci. Firstly, the research explores how the Christian faith of the RECs is formed and sustained in experiences during childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Secondly, it investigates how the RECs have been formed and sustained professionally. The study has social constructionism as its epistemology. Data was gathered by conducting narrative interviews with eight RECs on two occasions, with a one-year interval. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews.
The research findings suggest that although there is diversity in the RECs’ professional and faith formation, there is some commonality in their experiences. Most RECs described their Christian faith as being formed predominantly through personal experiences in their families and parishes as children and adolescents. The faith and Catholic identity of several RECs were reinvigorated through professional experiences while they were employed as teachers in Catholic schools. The reinvigoration of their faith consequently influenced them to pursue the position of REC. Experiences within professional networks, the support of school principals and Catholic Education Western Australia were recounted by most RECs as sustaining them professionally. The majority of RECs expressed a desire to progress to more senior leadership positions and described a commitment to seeking out and engaging in professional and faith formation experiences. The findings of the study will inform the policies of Catholic Education Commissions and Catholic schools in Australia, in the areas of identification, recruitment and the formation of RECs.
The Experiences that Form and Sustain Generation Y Religious Education Coordinators
Students in Western Australian Catholic schools learn about Catholic beliefs and practices in the Religious Education Learning Area. In Catholic secondary schools, Religious Education Coordinators (RECs) are delegated responsibility from principals, to coordinate the teaching of this learning area’s content. RECs are required to be committed Catholics who are active members of the Catholic Church. It is probable that RECs will increasingly be recruited from amongst Generation Y Catholics. For Catholic secondary school principals, recruiting religiously committed Generation Y Catholics into the position of REC will be challenging.
The primary aim of the research is to identify and describe the experiences that form and sustain Gen Y RECs. The research has two foci. Firstly, the research explores how the Christian faith of the RECs is formed and sustained in experiences during childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Secondly, it investigates how the RECs have been formed and sustained professionally. The study has social constructionism as its epistemology. Data was gathered by conducting narrative interviews with eight RECs on two occasions, with a one-year interval. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews.
The research findings suggest that although there is diversity in the RECs’ professional and faith formation, there is some commonality in their experiences. Most RECs described their Christian faith as being formed predominantly through personal experiences in their families and parishes as children and adolescents. The faith and Catholic identity of several RECs were reinvigorated through professional experiences while they were employed as teachers in Catholic schools. The reinvigoration of their faith consequently influenced them to pursue the position of REC. Experiences within professional networks, the support of school principals and Catholic Education Western Australia were recounted by most RECs as sustaining them professionally. The majority of RECs expressed a desire to progress to more senior leadership positions and described a commitment to seeking out and engaging in professional and faith formation experiences. The findings of the study will inform the policies of Catholic Education Commissions and Catholic schools in Australia, in the areas of identification, recruitment and the formation of RECs.