| Abstract | Christianity, and specifically Roman Catholicism, is experiencing a period of global growth at the same time as declining affiliation and practice of the Christian faith is evident in many developed nations (Hackett, Stonawski, Potancokova, Grim, & Skirbekk, 2015b). This decline is evident in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2017b). The Roman Catholic Church has responded to the decline in affiliation and practice through an initiative called the New Evangelisation (Pope John Paul II, 1991). The emphasis on the New Evangelisation by the Catholic Church has contributed to the decision by Australian ecclesial and educational leaders to incorporate the New Evangelisation explicitly into the mission of Catholic schools (Catholic Bishops of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, 2007). Moreover, programs have been introduced into schools to engage school communities as Centres of the New Evangelisation (Catholic Bishops of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, 2007). Consequently, teachers in Catholic schools are expected to be the primary conduits for New Evangelisation initiatives (Pope John Paul II, 2001b, No. 33).
The research problem underpinning this study concerns teachers’ understanding of and engagement with the New Evangelisation in Catholic secondary schools. The purpose of this research is to explore how teachers in Catholic secondary schools experience the New Evangelisation. The major research question is:
How do teachers in Catholic secondary schools experience the New Evangelisation?
The following specific research questions focus the conduct of the research:
1. How do teachers in Catholic secondary schools experience the contemporary expression of Catholicism?
2. How do teachers understand the New Evangelisation?
3. How do teachers respond to the New Evangelisation in Catholic secondary schools?
This study is of significance because it may assist in preparing school leaders and teachers appropriately to implement the New Evangelisation by addressing the paucity of research regarding teachers understanding and implementation of the New Evangelisation in Catholic schools.
Given the purpose of this study, the research paradigm of interpretivism is adopted. The epistemological framework of constructionism is appropriate as the study explores teachers’ experiences of the New Evangelisation. Symbolic interactionism is the theoretical perspective for this research using case study methodology. Participants are selected purposively from among teachers in a bounded context and data are gathered through the use of documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews.
The limitations of this study include the case study limitations together with the responsiveness of the participants. A delimitation of the research is the purposive selection of participants. It is the researcher’s intention to ensure a reliable, voluntary and stress-free environment for all participants during the research. Processes to ensure participant confidentiality as well as the reliability and truthfulness of the research are established.
This research generates eight conclusions relating to new knowledge, policy and practice.
First, teacher participants distinguish between the experience of contemporary Catholicism within the Catholic secondary school and the experience of Catholicism in parishes and the institutional Catholic Church.
Second, Catholic schools ensure appropriate expressions of Catholic practice for staff and students and that for many Catholics, the Catholic school is the only community in which they worship.
Third, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (ARCIRCSA) has exacerbated the disinterest in, if not rejection of Catholicism by many Catholic students, families and staff. Further, the study concludes that the ARCIRCSA has exacerbated the challenges which teachers experience concerning evangelising in a secular context.
Fourth, the concept of the New Evangelisation is problematic for some teachers who are charged with its implementation.
Fifth, teacher participants exhibit multiple, contestable and contrasting understandings of the concept of the New Evangelisation.
Sixth, the study concludes that there are five distinct issues which mitigate against Australian Catholic secondary schools’ implementation of the New Evangelisation.
Seventh, teacher participants implement the New Evangelisation according to their individual understandings of what constitutes the New Evangelisation. Since teachers do not share an agreed purpose for the New Evangelisation, they have multiple and at times conflicting responses to it.
Finally, this study concludes that a relatively small number of teachers are responsible for the implementation of the New Evangelisation in Australian Catholic secondary schools. |
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