Mark Smith

Date of Award

2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Schools and Centres

Education

First Supervisor

Richard Rymarz

Second Supervisor

Boris Handal

Third Supervisor

Anthony Cleary

Abstract

Teachers of Religious Education in Australian Catholic secondary schools, like teachers of all key learning areas, are expected to have specialist knowledge of the content being taught and skills in contemporary pedagogy for high-quality learning. They also have an additional expectation – they are called to witness to the Catholic faith and Catholic teachings as they teach about them. Or at least they are in theory. However, in a contemporary Australian society that is becoming increasingly non-religious, secular, pluralistic, and religiously diverse is this call to witness still tenable or appropriate? Research on Catholic education has called for a greater examination of the nature, role and purpose of Religious Education given this changing context. However, there is a gap in research that examines this call to witness.

This research will use authoritative church documents to establish the foundations for the call to witness of secondary Religious Education teachers in Catholic schools, a definition of what is meant by it and the reasons given for why it is considered to be important. The research will then explore the contemporary reality of this call to witness through the insights, experiences and understandings of a purposeful sample of secondary Religious Education teachers in Sydney Catholic Schools. It is a qualitative study using an interpretive research paradigm and the research methodology of phenomenography so that the participants could have space to explore their own perceptions and understandings in depth while also having sufficient structure to develop meaningful research findings. The purposeful sample of teachers are all in the “millennial” age bracket (25-40) as this category of teachers is seen to be both fully immersed in the contemporary social forces of diversity and secularisation and vital to the future of Catholic education.

The research asks this purposeful sample of teachers about their understanding of the call to witness and their experiences of responding to it. It identifies the purposeful sample as being dominated by a category of religiously committed millennials who have much to contribute to the topic. The research revealed that the participants were able to establish seven characteristics of effective witness from their experiences, insights and understandings. These characteristics are explored in detail and offer a potential framework for the role of the Catholic religious education teacher that could be further developed and used in the formation of teachers. However, the research also reveals significant limitations and challenges facing teachers in responding to the call to witness. This includes the participant's perception that Religious Education is not a priority in their schools and there is a call to witness void in that it is largely ignored and left to the discretion of the individual teacher. They also speak of the effect this has on the religious education experience of students. The participants offer constructive recommendations for the future that focus on building specialist teams of Religious Education teachers who can be supported through networking, mentoring, professional learning and formation.

The key implication of the research is that Catholic school and system leaders are being called to address the nature of Religious Education and to offer greater clarity and support for those teaching it. This research contributes to an understanding of how this can be addressed and offers a catalyst for further research that could include the input of a broader group of teachers as well as opportunities to research the insights and experiences of students and exploring changes to the structure of how Religious Education is delivered in schools.

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