The presence and place of students who are not Catholic in Catholic schools: An analysis of official church documents

Journal article


Chambers, Michael, Grajczonek, Jan P. and Ryan, Maurice James. (2006). The presence and place of students who are not Catholic in Catholic schools: An analysis of official church documents. Journal of Religious Education. 54(1), pp. 2 - 9.
AuthorsChambers, Michael, Grajczonek, Jan P. and Ryan, Maurice James
Abstract

In many Australian Catholic schools, students who are not Catholics are increasingly seeking enrolment. While such students have always been present in Catholic schools their numbers have increased in recent years (Welboume, 2001). In NSW Catholic schools, for instance, the number of these students has doubled in percentage terms in the past 15 years to around five percent of the total student population, while the total increase in students has been marginal (NSWCEC, 2003). The growing presence of students who are not Catholics in Catholic schools raises "questions about the changing nature and purpose of the Catholic school as a context for religious education" (Welboume, 2003, p. 1). These questions focus on the nature and purpose of the classroom religion program and the evangelical and catechetical possibilities that form part of the Catholic school's pastoral mission.

This article presents the results of an analysis of extracts from official Catholic church documents on education and catechesis concerning the enrolment in Catholic schools of students who are not Catholics. Membership Categorisation Analysis is the tool of analysis used to review these documents. The discussion of results and findings provides directions for further research as well as questions for reflection for school administrators and religious educators.

The Church documents selected for study here are those deemed influential on the theory and practice of Catholic schools. Free body (2003, p. 179) argues that understanding how texts operate is critical for educators because: contemporary educational practice is saturated by texts; public educational arrangements are defined and regulated by texts; and, public educational activities are challenged, changed and legitimated by texts. Freebody's second point, "public educational arrangements are defined and regulated by texts", is central to this study. For religious educators and leaders in Catholic schools, the official church documents on education and catechesis define and regulate practices in Catholic schools.

This article poses two main questions for these official documents. First, how do church officials regard the presence in Catholic schools of students who are not Catholics? This question seeks to judge the extent to which these students are welcome in Catholic schools. Second, what is the place of these students in Catholic schools? This question examines what is expected of these students when they attend a Catholic school.

Year2006
JournalJournal of Religious Education
Journal citation54 (1), pp. 2 - 9
PublisherAustralian Catholic University
ISSN1442-018X
Open accessOpen access
Page range2 - 9
Research GroupSchool of Education
Publisher's version
Place of publicationAustralia
Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/88qqx/the-presence-and-place-of-students-who-are-not-catholic-in-catholic-schools-an-analysis-of-official-church-documents

  • 457
    total views
  • 258
    total downloads
  • 33
    views this month
  • 14
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

'An especially delicate task': The place of students who are not Catholics in catholic schools in Australia
Chambers, Michael. (2015). 'An especially delicate task': The place of students who are not Catholics in catholic schools in Australia [Thesis]. https://doi.org/10.4226/66/5a9cb59fb0b71
Students who are not Catholics: Lessons from the second Vatican Council about the Catholicity of schools
Chambers, Michael. (2012). Students who are not Catholics: Lessons from the second Vatican Council about the Catholicity of schools. International Studies in Catholic Education. 4(2), pp. 186 - 199. https://doi.org/10.1080/19422539.2012.708174
Memory in the religious education classroom (Part 2 :The arts and the testing effect)
Chambers, Michael. (2011). Memory in the religious education classroom (Part 2 :The arts and the testing effect). Journal of Religious Education. 59(1), pp. 24 - 29.
Religion in Australia: A survey for religious educators
Ryan, Maurice and Grajczonek, Jan. (2010). Religion in Australia: A survey for religious educators. Religious Education Journal of Australia. 26(1), pp. 9 - 15.
Memory in the religious education classroom (Part 1: Historical perspectives, constructivism and foundational content)
Chambers, Michael. (2010). Memory in the religious education classroom (Part 1: Historical perspectives, constructivism and foundational content). Journal of Religious Education. 58(2), pp. 58 - 64.
Integrating children's literature into the classroom religion program
Grajczonek, Jan and Ryan, Maurice. (2009). Integrating children's literature into the classroom religion program. Journal of Religious Education. 57(4), pp. 29 - 37.
My brilliant career: Becoming a religion teacher in a Catholic primary school
Grajczonek, Jan and Ryan, Maurice. (2009). My brilliant career: Becoming a religion teacher in a Catholic primary school. Journal of Catholic School Studies. 81(2), pp. 13 - 26.
Holocaust education and religious education in Australian Catholic schools
Ryan, Maurice. (2009). Holocaust education and religious education in Australian Catholic schools. Journal of Religious Education. 57(4), pp. 50 - 56.
Early childhood and catholic religious education
Ryan, Maurice James. (2008). Early childhood and catholic religious education. In In P. Kieran and A.Hession (Ed.). Exploring Religious Education: Catholic Religious Education in an Intercultural Europe pp. 212 - 219 Veritas Publications.
Including students who are not Catholics in catholic schools: Problems, issues and responses
Ryan, Maurice James. (2008). Including students who are not Catholics in catholic schools: Problems, issues and responses. In In S.J. McKinney (Ed.). Faith Schools in the Twenty-First Century pp. 30 - 40 Dunedin Academic Press.
Future Catholic schools: Exclusive, inclusive and plural options
Ryan, Maurice. (2008). Future Catholic schools: Exclusive, inclusive and plural options. Journal of Religious Education. 56(4), pp. 21 - 28.
An inspired tradition: Religious education in Catholic primary schools today
Grajczonek, Janice Pauline and Ryan, Maurice James. (2007). An inspired tradition: Religious education in Catholic primary schools today Lumino Press.
Inclusion of students who are not Catholics in Catholic schools: Policy, practices and problems
Grajczonek, Janice Pauline, Ryan, Maurice James and Chambers, Michael. (2007). Inclusion of students who are not Catholics in Catholic schools: Policy, practices and problems. Proceedings of the 2007 International Conference on Catholic Education Leadership. Australia: Flagship for Creative and Authentic Leadership. pp. 1 - 14
Reading church documents
Ryan, Maurice James and Grajczonek, Janice Pauline. (2007). Reading church documents. In In J. Grajczonek and M. Ryan (Ed.). Religious Education in Early Childhood pp. 272 - 282 Lumino Press.
Vitality and loyalty in religious education: Renewing forms or perpetuating the myth?
Chambers, Michael. (2006). Vitality and loyalty in religious education: Renewing forms or perpetuating the myth? Journal of Religious Education. 55(1), pp. 17 - 22.
Teaching religion in catholic primary schools
Grajczonek, Janice Pauline and Chambers, Michael. (2006). Teaching religion in catholic primary schools. In In M. Ryan (Ed.). Religious Education in Catholic Schools: An Introduction for Australian Students pp. 257 - 278 David Lovell Publishing.
The universal declaration of human rights: Tasks for religious education
Ryan, Maurice. (2003). The universal declaration of human rights: Tasks for religious education. Journal of Religious Education. 51(1), pp. 27 - 32.
Inter-religious dialogue: A comparative approach to teaching religions
Ryan, Maurice. (2002). Inter-religious dialogue: A comparative approach to teaching religions. Journal of Christian Education. 45(1), pp. 19 - 27.
Religious education in Australian Catholic schools: Three historical snapshots
Ryan, Maurice. (2002). Religious education in Australian Catholic schools: Three historical snapshots. Journal of Religious Education. 50(3), pp. 2 - 6.
Remembering religious education: Insights from contemporary Australian autobiography
Ryan, Maurice. (2002). Remembering religious education: Insights from contemporary Australian autobiography. Journal of Religious Education. 50(4), pp. 23 - 28.
Education and employment: The future for Aboriginal people: With responses from: Peta Goldburg, Roderic Lacey and Maurice Ryan
Goldburg, Peta, Ungunmerr-Baumann, Miriam-Rose, Lacey, Roderic and Ryan, Maurice James. (2002). Education and employment: The future for Aboriginal people: With responses from: Peta Goldburg, Roderic Lacey and Maurice Ryan. Journal of Religious Education. 50(4), pp. 65 - 70.