Identity formation and the role of religious education teachers in Australian Catholic schools

[Extract] Individuals are defined by their fundamental values and beliefs. Australia in the twenty-first century is a society of remarkably fluid values and beliefs where a person’s identity can transition through and within various dimensions (Bauman, 2012). Identity formation is the process by which these fundamental values and beliefs are encountered and integrated even during a young person’s formative school years. Teachers need to be in tune with some of the broader forces that have the potential to shape a person’s identity, including national identity, religious identity and the diverse experiences of their students. Within the context of Catholic education, which is responsible for one-fifth of Australia’s diverse student population, a significant question that arises relates to, how teachers of religious education can best serve their students in the ongoing process of identity formation?

The Congregation for Catholic Education (CCE) has maintained the view that religious education within the context of Catholic education is committed to the integral formation of the human person (CCE, 2009, 1977). This commitment has inspired many Catholic education authorities to shape the teaching, leadership and curriculum approaches to religious education in ways they feel will best serve students and their families. The insights from a recent study about religious education leadership, from the perspective of Catholic educational leaders, acknowledged religious education as an important contributor to the identity formation of children and adolescents; but it also alluded to various challenges in achieving this aim (Buchanan, 2019). The main challenges were: grasping Australia’s evolving identity markers, catering for students amidst multi-dimensional diversity and reexamining the role of the religious education teacher in the light of these challenges.