Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Australian Catholic schools'
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1
Mellor, Graeme J., and res cand@acu edu au. "Reimagining the Catholic School: an exploration of principals’ responses to changing contexts of the contemporary catholic school." Australian Catholic University. School of Educational Leadership, 2005. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp114.25102006.
Full textAbstract:
The focus of this research project was the changing perception amongst practising Catholic school principals of the nature and purpose of the contemporary Catholic school. This examination was set within the changing social, ecclesial and educational contexts within which the Catholic school has operated in the decades following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). The research which was conducted amongst principals in the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia, was focused by two research questions. These were:How do principals currently perceive the purpose of Catholic schools? How do they perceive Catholic schools changing? The review of the literature examined elements of the changing environment of the contemporary Catholic school. It also surveyed the ways in which that literature described the effects of changing social, ecclesial and educational contexts upon the sense of purpose amongst principals of Catholic schools. The demise of “inherited meanings” and the reconstruction or reimagining of a new meaning structure provided the conceptual template for the study. Since the study explores the perceptions of leaders concerning their schools in times of extensive and foundational contextual change, it involved an interpretive research design. An epistemological stance of constructionism was adopted because it acknowledges the impact which engagement with the research exerts upon participants’ construction of meaning. An interpretivist theoretical perspective served to structure the research in a manner that was congruent with the philosophical foundations of the research questions. The employment of the research orientation of symbolic interactionism was appropriate because it holds that meaning and interpretation of phenomena are to be understood by listening to the voices and perspectives of the participants within a given context. A case study approach was utilised in the execution of the research design which allowed for flexible, systematic and continuing data collection, analysis and participant feedback. Data were collected through the use of personal, open-ended questionnaire, semistructured interviews, critical review interviews, focus groups and independent review and were analysed using constant comparative method. The research led to the conclusion that in the contemporary Catholic school, a high priority is given to the offering of a holistic educational experience to students. This, in turn, is predicated upon an anthropology which adopts a more unitive rather than dualistic view of the human person. This represents a significant conceptual movement within the period under study. A greater emphasis is also placed upon the evangelising role the Catholic school, which, in turn, acknowledges the increasingly secular environment within which it operates. At the same time, there is a strong, expressed belief amongst its leaders that the contemporary Catholic school offers an experience of a redemptive community in which its members can find acceptance, inclusion and a sense of the spiritual dimension of life which transcends the status of affiliation with the institutional Church.
2
Cannon, Helen Mary, and res cand@acu edu au. "Redesigning the Principalship in Catholic Schools." Australian Catholic University. School of Educational Leadership, 2005. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp76.09042006.
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The purpose of this research was to determine how the role of the principal in the Catholic school could be redesigned so that more quality applicants are prepared to seek principalship and principals already in the role could be retained. The catalyst for this study derived from the shortage of suitable applicants for the position of principal, a problem that exists not only in Australia, but also in many Western countries. An exploratory mixed method design was chosen for the study with the data gathering divided into two phases. The first phase was the qualitative phase during which the data were gathered using focus group interviews and analysed using QSR N6. The second phase was the quantitative phase, where the data were collected using a survey constructed from the data gathered and analysed in the first phase. This research project asked the question, how can the principalship be redesigned to attract more quality applicants to the role and retain incumbents already in the role? The research revealed that, to answer the question a fundamental rethinking of the principalship is necessary and that such momentous change requires nothing less than a paradigm shift. The new paradigm would be based on sharing leadership rather than on an hierarchical approach. It would have structures that are flexible and customised to the local needs of the school and school community. Learning would be central and a work/life balance would be essential, for all principals. The new paradigm would also offer enough flexibility to encourage women to both take up, and remain in, principalship. The findings from this research led to the development of nine propositions, which, it is suggested, should inform and influence the new paradigm of principalship. Together with the recommendations, they provide a scaffold and a guide to action for redesigning the principalship.
3
Ugochukwu, L. C., and n/a. "Catholic education in practice : a case study of a Catholic high school." University of Canberra. Education, 1988. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061109.161949.
Full textAbstract:
An aspect of Australian education is the continued presence
of the Catholic schools including those in the Archdiocese of
Canberra and Goulburn. They have continued to be a
significant part of Australian education after decades of ups
and downs. The question today is not whether Catholic
schools will survive but rather how effective they will be
despite the changes which have taken place over the last few
decades. Catholic schools still aim to provide all the
elements of a State education, and in addition, to offer them
within a Catholic setting. They have tried to create an
environment that will continue to reflect the cultural values
of its members.
The Theses is on Catholic Education in Practice: A Case
Study of a Catholic High School in the A.C.T. The Theses is
based on historical and analytical approach. The results of
a case study involving random sampled students, their
parents/guardians and teachers in a Catholic High School in
the A.C.T. sets out to investigate what factors still attract
them to the Catholic school despite the significant changes
that have taken place since Catholic education was introduced
into Australia. By examining these three groups of
people who are directly involved in Catholic schools, it
is hoped that a more balanced assessment of the extent
to which ideals and practices of Catholic education have
been retained.
The results show that students attend Catholic schools
for a variety of reasons including academic and
religious and because of the traditional approach to
areas such as discipline. The religious values continue
to be an important part of the school which makes it
distinctively Catholic, but the integration is not as
pervasive as previous due to the change in the nature of
staff and students at the school.
4
Manning, Christine. "Spirituality and teaching lectio divina : a resource for teachers in an Australian context /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1996. http://www.tren.com.
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5
Hyde, Brendan, and res cand@acu edu au. "Identifying Some Characteristics of Children’s Spirituality in Australian Catholic Primary Schools: A study within hermeneutic phenomenology." Australian Catholic University. School of Religious Education, 2005. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp82.04092006.
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This qualitative research study aimed to identify, through classroom observation and conversation, some characteristics of children’s spirituality in Australian Catholic primary schools. In the context of this study, spirituality was described as an essential human trait. While much of the recent literature in the field describes spirituality in terms of connectedness and relationality, in this study spirituality was described as a movement towards Ultimate Unity (de Souza, 2004a, 2004b), whereby at the deepest and widest levels of connectedness, an individual’s true Self may experience unity with Other. Spirituality was also described as the outward expression of such unity in terms of how one acts towards Other. Located within the constructionist epistemology, and in taking its philosophical stance from interpretivism, this qualitative study took its theoretical impetus from that stream of human science known as hermeneutic phenomenology. The videotaped life expressions of two groups of approximately six children in Year three (8-years-olds) and Year five (10-years-olds) in each of three Australian Catholic primary schools formed the texts that were reflected upon in order to gain insight into the spirituality of these children. The researcher met with each group on three occasions. Each group meeting, consisting of a semi-structured interview (conversation) and an activity (observation) was structured around the three categories of spiritual sensitivity – awareness sensing, mystery sensing and value sensing – as proposed by Hay and Nye (1998). van Manen’s (1990) lifeworld existentials were drawn upon as guides to reflection upon the life expressions of these children. Hermeneutic phenomenological reflection upon the texts of this present study identified four characteristics of these children’s spirituality – the felt sense, integrating awareness, weaving the threads of meaning, and spiritual questing. As well, two factors which appeared to inhibit these children’s expression of their spirituality were also identified – material pursuit and trivialising. Each of the four characteristics identified reflected the descriptions of spirituality drawn upon throughout this study, particularly the notion of spirituality as a movement towards Ultimate Unity (de Souza, 2004a, 2004b). In some instances, these characteristics also revealed the emergence of the Collective Self, in which the individual Self of each child became unified with every other Self among the group of children. It was argued then, that a movement towards Ultimate Unity may entail the emergence of a Collective Self, in which, at the deepest and widest levels of connectedness, Self and Other become one and the same. The two inhibiting factors indicated that such a movement was thwarted in that these factors prevented the children from moving beyond their superficial self towards deeper levels of connectedness. As the result of this investigation, this present study proposed some recommendations for learning and teaching in the primary religious education classroom which may nurture spirituality. These include the creation of appropriate spaces for nurturing spirituality, allowing children time to engage in the present moment of their experience, the use of tactile experiences in religious education, and the need to begin with the children’s personally created frameworks of meaning. A learning model for addressing the spiritual, affective and cognitive dimensions of the curriculum has also been offered as a means by which to realise these recommendations for learning and teaching. As well, recommendations for the personal and professional learning of teachers and leaders in Catholic primary schools who seek to nurture the spirituality of their students have also been proposed in light of the characteristics of children’s spirituality that were identified. These include the formation and professional learning for teachers of religious education, and the possibility of revisioning the curriculum to explore where spiritual development might be addressed across the curriculum.
6
Downey, Michael John, and res cand@acu edu au. "Experiences of Teachers’ Daily Work Which Nourish and Sustain the Spirituality of Lay Teachers in Catholic High Schools." Australian Catholic University. School of Religious Education, 2006. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp112.25102006.
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The hierarchy of the Catholic Church has stated that formation of lay teachers is essential for the personal sanctification of the teacher and the apostolic mission of the Church (CCE, 1982, #65) and that “formation must be broadened and kept up to date, on the same level as, and in harmony with, human formation as a whole (CCE, 1982, #62). The research reported in this thesis: (1) explores Catholic Church documents and other literature in order to gain insights into the spirituality of teachers who teach in Catholic schools; (2) identifies experiences of teachers’ daily work in Catholic high schools that nurture and sustain teacher spirituality; (3) explores how the insights revealed can inform the practices of formation for lay teachers in Catholic schools. The demonstrated success of a teacher formation known as The Courage to Teach invited exploration to gain understanding of the principles and practices of formation that could prove helpful for developing formation practices within Australian Catholic Education. The research reported in this thesis included teachers reflecting upon their daily experiences of work and identifying, what one called, “moments of grace” that nourished and sustain teachers’ spirits. These experiences were identified as teachers’ experiences of community and their experiences of making a difference. For Catholic schools to continue to have authenticity, the ongoing formation of lay teachers is essential. This does not mean, as others have said, “adding more water to an already overfull cup” by including formation as one more thing for teachers to do. It means making space and providing the opportunity for teachers to discover the ‘moments of grace’ that providentially fill their day. In conversation with Catholic Scripture and Tradition, these moments of grace will nurture and sustain the vocations of lay teachers in Catholic schools, so that lay teachers will both flourish and “teach with authority” (Mk. 1:22).
7
Moore, Peter Joseph, and n/a. "Two school-based evaluations at a Catholic high school in the ACT a review." University of Canberra. Education, 1986. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061019.091214.
Full textAbstract:
The completion of two school-based evaluation reports at a
Catholic High School in the ACT highlighted the need for
support structures both for evaluating staff and for the
management of an evaluation report. The writer (a school
principal) felt a need to review school-based evaluations
in a more professional manner, and to ensure that
evaluations were managed with greater support for the staff
involved.
In the absence of known Australian checklists, designed to
review school-based evaluations, two recognised evaluation
checklists, those of Russell and Maling-Keepes, are tested
as instruments of review, by applying them to the two
school evaluation reports. Four evaluation reviews are
documented, in all. The main purposes of this research
were:
(1) to determine the merits of the completed evaluations by
applying the checklists of Russell and Maling-Keepes,
(2) to test the relevance of the evaluation checklists of
Russell and Maling-Keepes as instruments of review at
the school level,
(3) in the light of this research, to be in a better
position to recommend
a) a suitable review method for use by Catholic
School Principals,
b) support structures, both at a system level and a
school level, to assist the development of
school-based evaluations.
8
Price, Damien Faust, and res cand@acu edu au. "An Exploration of Participant Experience of the Service Learning Program at an Australian Catholic Boys’ Secondary School." Australian Catholic University. School of Educational Leadership, 2008. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp192.04032009.
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This research explores participant experience of the Service Learning Program in the context of an Australian Catholic Boys’ Secondary School. The research aims to explore what is happening as adolescent participants engage in working and relating with homeless people over an extended period of time. What are they learning? What sense or meaning are they making of their experiences, and are they deepening their value and belief system towards existential change? Service Learning is a curriculum initiative that Australian Secondary Schools are implementing to assist in the development of both the ethos of schools and in attempts to meet the needs of Twenty-first Century youth for a relevant education. While the benefits for participants in Service Learning are well documented, the effects upon recipients of the services provided, and whether the benefits for participants are the result of prior learning, family factors, or predispositions to this type of experiential learning, remain unclear. While Service Learning Programs are proving to be increasingly popular for school administrators, there appears to be a lack of clear models for Service Learning, its links to academic curriculum, or clearly articulated goals to assess success and achievement. A real danger of an adhoc approach to Service Learning in schools exists. The discussion of benefits to participants has not clearly identified links between program elements and hoped for benefits, nor has it examined the process or journey that participants have engaged in. Critical reflection on these issues has informed the purpose of this research and helped to shape the following research questions that focus the conduct of the study: Research Question One What features of the Service Learning Program at Holy Family College impact on participant experience? Research Question Two What changes are there in the meanings participants give to their experiences in the Service Learning Program over time? Research Question Three How do participants perceive their Service Learning experience in terms of their personal world view and the world view promoted by the school? The theoretical framework for this study was that of Constructionism as the criteria for judging that neither ‘reality’ nor ‘validity’ are absolute; rather they are derived from community consensus of what is ‘real’, what is useful, and what has meaning. In exploring participants’ experience as they served and related with homeless people ‘reality’, ‘usefulness’ and ‘meaning’ were derived from the student’s reflection upon their experience and their communal dialogue. Hence this study used Symbolic Interactionism as the perspective to explore experience. An interpretive approach was utilised, as humans interpret their environment, evaluate beliefs in terms of their usefulness in situations, select what they notice in every situation and focus on human action and interaction. A case study approach was used as it acknowledged the unique setting of a ‘van site’ for homeless people. Using personal journaling and focus groups data was collected from fifty-three Year 11 students who had volunteered to participate on the van for a period of six months. All fifty-three participants in the Service Learning Program experienced particular phases regardless of prior service experience, variables linked to family or personality type. These phases were: Expectations, Exposure, Reframing, Disillusionment, Awareness and Agency. This study concluded that within these phases, participant experience was influenced by the length of time of the program, the presence of active mentors facilitating the experience, ongoing reflection upon experience and situating the experience in a clear ideological framework. While each participant experienced the phases mentioned above no two students derived the same meaning or level of meaning from their experiences. The research concluded that each participant will exit a Service Learning Program with varying levels of internalisation of the core values of the program. Some will exit with a surface appreciation of what the program was about; others deeper, others tacit; some will arrive at a point of existential change. While acknowledging the influence of family and personality factors in this journey, this research shows that the presence of active mentors, reflection upon experience, a clear ideological framework and a significant length of time to allow for the maturation of both reflection and experience will move participants further along towards existential change than would otherwise have occurred. A model; the Spiral Model of Service Learning is proposed to support these findings.
9
Doszpot, Maureen, and n/a. "Developing culture of a new catholic primary school : vision building, shared values and beliefs." University of Canberra. Professional & Community Education, 1996. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060705.145541.
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This study examines the articulated vision of a new Catholic primary school in
order to describe and assess its developing organisational culture. The following
questions provide the major focus of the study: I How and to what extent does
the Vision Statement describe the developing Catholic school culture at St Clare of Assisi Primary School? 2. What are the common beliefs and values underlying
the Vision Statement at St Clare of Assisi Primary School?
A review of the literature reveals that many educational researchers stress the
importance of schools developing a strong, coordinated, cohesive and positive
culture. The need for this culture to be based on a clearly articulated vision,
embodying shared values and beliefs is also indicated and this provides the
rationale for the study.
A number of frameworks for school culture are examined and adapted to develop
a conceptual framework for the study. The resulting Model for Developing
Catholic School Culture provides a structure which enables collected data to be
sorted and analysed, so that the research questions can be addressed.
This study utilises the methodology of ethnographic research. Data collection
strategies include participant observation, interviews, surveys, and other sources
including school records and documents, photographs, artefacts and memorabilia.
The findings are organised under five headings, each of which represents a belief
articulated in the school's Vision Statement. These beliefs are examined to see
how they are enacted verbally, visually and behaviourally by the school
community Conclusions are drawn as to the relevance of the Vision Statement to
the school community Other significant values and beliefs evident from an
examination of the data are also identified
The study concludes that the Vision Statement effectively describes the developing
culture of the school for there is congruence between its beliefs and actions.
What emerges of particular significance from this study is the importance of a
school community articulating a shared vision. A school's Vision Statement serves
a dual purpose It is the filter which allows the shared beliefs and values of the
school community to be articulated, while at the same time serving as a scaffold
for checking if these shared beliefs and values are being enacted by the
community.
10
Furtado, Michael Leonard. "Funding Australian Catholic schools for the common good in new times : policy contexts, policy participants and theoretical perspectives /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2001. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe16295.pdf.
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11
Burford, Susan. "Parents and change in Catholic education : the role of the Federation of Parents and Friends Associations of South Australian Catholic schools in the campaign for State aid, and in the changing structure of Catholic education in South Australia since the 1960's /." Title page and contents only, 1987. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09arb9492.pdf.
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12
Muller, Karl, and n/a. "Career choice : drift, desire or decision. Factors influencing career choice of year 12 students in A.C.T. catholic schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1987. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061024.091105.
Full textAbstract:
Year 12 has been identified as a critical decision
point in the career decision making process for students.
Students have been found to make decisions in different
ways some having already defined goals for the future
others are doubtful and make tentative goals.
At the end of Year 12 students are faced with the task
of career decision. During the final two weeks of year 12
these students will have to make choices about their
imminent future that is whether to do tertiary
studies/seek apprenticeships look for immediate employment
or defer studies for a time and seek employment. A review of
major theories relating to career determination was
undertaken. Decision-making theories have identified twelfth
grade/age range 16 - 18 years, as being one of the critical
decision periods for an adolescent. 355 A.C.T. Year 12
students from Catholic Colleges were given a questionnaire
designed to probe students' self awareness in relation to
study habits coping abilities, as well as a description of
some of their personal qualities relating to school life,
subject interest, and career benefits derived from the
future career considered. The information gained from the
Questionnaire was reduced to a number of sets of
relationships by factor analysis. The personal factors of
subject interest, career benefits and further study
interests were examined by canonical correlation techniques
with Career Types.
Students with an interest in scientific careers
exhibited an interest in the physical science subjects.
Those with an expressed interest in a blend of science and
expressive arts career were a group of students with
creative ideas / leadership aspirations,an interest in
cultural and physical science subject, and a desire for
further- studies. Another group of year 12 students involving
more girls than boys showed an interest in a cluster of
careers with a social involvement component but a rejection
of routine activities. Students with an interest in
environmental subjects with a possession of management and
living skills looked towards careers that provided out of
doors activities involving social work and selling. There
was a positive correlation between these personal factors
and the students' choice of a career.
13
Hanks, Jennifer A., and n/a. "School based management: the Principals' perspective." University of Canberra. Education, 1993. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060207.133742.
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This study details the background to the establishment
of Parish School Boards in the Archdiocese of Canberra and
Goulburn, and reports and analyses the perceptions of all
ACT Catholic, systemic, primary school Principals who
operated with a Parish School Board in 1993.
The movement towards Parish School Boards finds its
genesis in the Second Vatican Council where the Church was
invited to collaborate in decision-making based on the
belief that all the faithful have gifts, knowledge and a
share of the wisdom to bring to the building of the Church.
The nature and structure of Catholic education was seen as a
suitable vehicle for encouraging communities to engage in
shared decision-making and in participatory democracy under
the Church model of subsidiarity, collegiality and
collaboration.
The introduction of Parish School Boards into the
Archdiocese can be seen as the implementation of a radical
change to the educational mission of the Church and the
educational leadership of the faith community. Reflecting
'new management theory' in both the secular and Church
worlds, a key stakeholder is the school Principal whose role
and relationships change as he or she learns to work within
a team, sharing leadership.
This study examines the responses of nineteen
Principals who were interviewed by the researcher in order
to determine how they work with a Parish School Board and
what effects the board has on their work.
Research studies in the area of School-Based
Management and Shared Decision-Making have informed the
review, and the Principals' responses from this study have
been analysed in the light of secular and Church literature
on leadership, devolution and change.
The respondents of this study, the school Principals,
report the benefits of collegiality and collaboration but
their unresolved tensions relate to work overload, lack of
clarity of the roles and responsibilities of the various
local level decision-making groups, increased administrative
complexity, community demand for ever widening consultation
and the challenge of consensus decision-making.
All Principals report an urgent need for professional
development for themselves and for the system to provide a
more explicit focus on parish and community formation with
the commitment of the necessary resources to sustain this
radical change.
14
McEvoy, Francis Joseph, and res cand@acu edu au. "How is Religious Leadership Understood and Practised by Principals in Catholic Secondary Schools in South Australia?" Australian Catholic University. School of Educational Leadership, 2006. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp125.25102006.
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This thesis explores the religious dimension of the role of the principal in the Catholic Secondary Schools of South Australia. The study is set in the context of a complex and changing environment. Society is becoming increasingly secular, and religious values are on the wane. The role of the principal has become progressively more encumbered by government regulation and policy and an increased level of accountability for a wide range of school outcomes, many of these outside the core purposes of the school (Fullan, 2003). In Catholic schools, the numbers of the professed religious men and women, traditionally the backbone of those schools, has declined dramatically in the last two decades and lay persons have taken over from members of religious congregations as principals in most Catholic Secondary Schools in South Australia This represents a paradigm shift in leadership in the Catholic schools. It has resulted in an increased focus from within both the Church and the Catholic Education System on the essential Catholic nature of those schools, and the role of the Principal in nurturing and managing this. The study found that principals had a deep sense of the importance of this dimension of their role, but that they felt a real need for more support and formation, especially in the scriptural and theological aspects of leadership. Most felt pressured by the ‘normal’ routine of principalship, and were looking for ways to ‘make time’ for reflection in order to better ground their actions and decisions in the core values of the schools, the System and the Church. As a result of this research, a series of recommendations are offered to Church and System authorities, to principals and to those aspiring to be principals in the Catholic Secondary Schools in South Australia. These relate to professional practice in such areas as defining the nature of the Catholic schools, and recognizing their particular charisms; developing leadership succession strategies and preparation courses for aspiring leaders; exploring alternative approaches to the principal selection process, and developing a mentoring program and professional support networks.
15
McKenna, Eugene. "The influence of ecclesiastical and community cultures on the development of Catholic education in Western Australia, 1846-1890." McKenna, Eugene (2005) The influence of ecclesiastical and community cultures on the development of Catholic education in Western Australia, 1846-1890. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2005. http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/198/.
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Historians have generally tended to represent the pioneering Catholic mission in Western Australia as an homogenous ecclesiastical entity with little cultural diversity. With a few notable exceptions the nature of the Western Australian colonial Catholic mission is portrayed as a 'hibernised' form of Catholicism with an Irish clergy taking care of the pastoral needs of a predominantly working class Irish Catholic constituency. This thesis challenges the traditional paradigm as restrictive, and argues that it ignores significant contextual influences and veils the wider cultural tapestry in which the Western Australian pioneering Catholic mission proceeded.
The traditional analysis of the internal dynamics of the Catholic mission implies that there was a beneficial, almost symbiotic relationship between sympathetic bishops and their 'valiant helpers.' Internal conflicts concerning administrative issues have been represented as little more than mere personality clashes.
The thesis takes a more critical contextual approach and argues that the manifestation of internal dissension during this period can only be fully explained by taking account of external influences rather than local conditions. These influences include both Gallican and Ultramontane ecclesiastical perspectives as well as the individual community cultures that were transported from Europe to the Perth diocese by missionary personnel.
This new perspective corrects the more traditional approach which overlooked the different ecclesiastical approaches, orientations and community cultures that were represented within the colonial Catholic mission. This expansion of the existing interpretative paradigm through which historians view the West Australian Catholic mission in general and the development of the school system in particular marks a significant shifi in the existing historiography. As a consequence, scholars will in future take a more critical approach to the study of not only the Catholic education system but also the Western Australian Catholic mission in general. Rather than representing the definitive closing chapter it is intended that this work will invigorate renewed historical interest in the development of the Australian Catholic mission.
16
Dwyer, John Aloysius. "Catholic schools and Catholic social principles : a comparative study of Australia, England and Wales, and the United States of America." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1991. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10006565/.
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This thesis questions to what extent Catholic schools in Australia, England and Wales, and the United States are being able to form their pupils in Catholic social principles today. Catholic schools, because of what they are and of what they purport to be, must always be open to questions of authenticity. Over recent years there has been a steady and subtle, but very significant, increase in the role of governments in non-government education in Australia, England and Wales and the United States. There is concern that non-government schools, particularly Catholic schools, may be becoming unwitting and complacent vehicles of government policy, whether it be a Labour government in Australia, a Conservative government in England and Wales, or a Republican government in the United States. The thesis examines the nature of this government intervention in Catholic schools in these countries over recent years, and considers whether such intervention has been antithetical to the school's capacity to develop the pupils in a sound understanding of Catholic social justice principles. It looks at reasons why Catholic schools in these countries today have difficulty reconciling their aims for social justice with prevailing government's economic and social policies. It is a comparative study, to see how an analysis of such developments in England, Wales and the United States can illuminate these issues in Australia. The thesis attempts to locate, evaluate and synthesise evidence to give a much clearer picture of the difficulties Catholic schools have to face in their call to evangelise modern youth. The investigative method used is essentially a historical analysis of policy documents of the Catholic Church, of the popes, bishops and Catholic education bodies, of the governments and Courts of the countries concerned, of recent statistical data, and of a series of informal interviews. Visits were made to a number of Catholic tertiary institutions to estimate current input in terms of modern Catholic social teaching. In the conclusion the thesis offers strategies to current Catholic educational administrators which may help improve the effectiveness of their Catholic social justice teaching.
17
Braniff, John. "The Marist Brothers' teaching tradition in Australia, 1872-2000 with special attention to developments in Sydney /." Connect to full text, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/691.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2005.Title from title screen (viewed 19 May 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Education and Social Work. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.
18
Burley, Stephanie. "None more anonymous? : Catholic teaching nuns, their secondary schools and students in South Australia, 1880-1925 /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1992. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09EDM/09edmb961.pdf.
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Grace, Michael James, and res cand@acu edu au. "The Use of Scripture in the Teaching of Religious Education in Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools." Australian Catholic University. School of Religious Education, 2003. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp31.29082005.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines the use of scripture by religious education teachers with their students in Victorian Catholic secondary schools in late 1999. The aims of the research were: to present a picture of the incorporation of scripture into the religious education program of Victorian Catholic secondary schools in 1999, and in particular the incorporation of the historical-critical method of modern biblical scholarship (focus will also be placed on the purpose for which scripture is used, the extent to which it is used and the methods employed in its use); to investigate how and to what extent VCE Texts and Traditions1 Units 1 to 4 have been adopted by senior Victorian Catholic secondary students and its influence on Years Seven to Ten religious education curriculum; and to extend the work of Stead (1996b) into the use of scripture in Victorian Catholic primary schools. This study is built on an understanding of religious education based on an educational rationale, and it examines the use of scripture in the light of modern critical biblical scholarship, particularly the historical-critical method. Religious Education Coordinators from 67 of the 99 Victorian Catholic secondary schools and 61 teachers of Years Seven to Ten religious education in these same schools completed self administering questionnaires in this area. The research demonstrated that while there is an extensive range of good modern biblical scholarship material present in these schools, there is no policy concerning how scripture is to be used in the curriculum, questionable translations of the bible are used, and there is a limited use of many sections of the bible. A key finding of the research is that a thematic, proof-texting use of scripture is prevalent in these schools. This thematic use can lead to a literal, fundamentalist use of scripture within Catholic secondary religious education. This approach is linked with many religious education teachers. predominantly catechetical understanding of the nature of religious education. The self administering questionnaires asked for an indication of the personal practice of respondents in their own religious education classrooms. The data indicated the presence of the historical-critical method in the classrooms of Victorian Catholic secondary schools, however there was an over-reliance on the student text and the predominance of a thematic, literal, non-critical use of scripture. This thesis indicates that this misuse of scripture comes about from teachers. catechetical understanding of the nature of religious education. In particular the study of scripture in Years 11 and 12 is an area of concern. Except for a small percentage of students studying Texts and Traditions (13%), the use of the historical-critical method of biblical studies is almost non-existent.
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Hayes, Christopher Xavier. "Paradoxes, parallels and pedagogy a case study of Ignatian Pedagogy and of teachers' perceptions of its implementation in Australian Jesuit Schools /." 2006. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp100.04092006/index.html.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (EdD) -- Australian Catholic University, 2006.Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. Bibliography: p. 224-242. Also available in an electronic format via the internet.
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Hyde, Brendan. "Identifying some characteristics of children's spirituality in Australian Catholic primary schools a study within hermeneutic phenomenology /." 2005. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp82.04092006/index.html.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (PhD) -- Australian Catholic University, 2005.Submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Bibliography: p. 338-360. Also available in an electronic format via the internet.
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Battams, Craig. "Church and school as community: an ecclesiological study of the relationship between the Adelaide Catholic Archdiocese and its secondary schools." 2002. http://arrow.unisa.edu.au:8081/1959.8/58168.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is an applied ecclesiological study of the relationship between the Adelaide Catholic Church and its secondary schools. The specific focus is on the interplay between theological confession and historical reality. The theological confession with which I have been concerned is the understanding that the church is a community. The Archdiocese of Adelaide has been described as a community of people called into mission in and for the world. Catholic schools have also been regularly described as communities that exist within the wider church community. This study has examined how and to what extent this theological confession has informed and been informed by the contemporary historical reality of Adelaide's Catholic secondary schools and their relationship with the local church.
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Crickmore, Barbara Lee. "An Historical Perpsective On the Academic Education Of Deaf Children In New South Wales 1860s-1990s." 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/24905.
Full textAbstract:
This is an historical investigation into the provision of education services for deaf children in the State of New South Wales in Australia since 1860. The main focus is those deaf children without additional disabilities who have been placed in mainstream classes, special classes for the deaf and special schools for the deaf. The study places this group at centre stage in order to better understand their educational situation in the late 1990s. The thesis has taken a chronological and thematic approach. The chapters are defined by significant events that impacted on the education of the deaf, such as the establishment of special schools in New South Wales, the rise of the oral movement, and aftermath of the rubella epidemic in Australia during the 1940s. Within each chapter, there is a core of key elements around which the analysis is based. These key elements tend to be based on institutions, players, and specific educational features, such as the mode of instruction or the curriculum. The study found general agreement that language acquisition was a fundamental prerequisite to academic achievement. Yet the available evidence suggests that educational programs for most deaf children in New South Wales have seldom focused on ensuring adequate language acquisition in conjunction with the introduction of academic subjects. As a result, language and literacy competencies of deaf students in general have frequently been acknowledged as being below those of five their hearing counterparts, to the point of presenting a barrier to successful post-secondary study. It is proposed that the reasons for the academic failings of the deaf are inherent in five themes.PhD Doctorate