Preparing Catholic Educators for Flourishing in a Secularized Society: A Case Study
Amy Roberts
Franciscan University of Steubenville , United Stateshttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6560-2115
Clare Kilbane
McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame , United Stateshttps://orcid.org/0009-0002-3410-867X
Rebecca Rook
Franciscan University of Steubenville , United Stateshttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5753-0027
Abstract
As culture experiences secularization, and the importance of religion and prevalence of people holding religious worldviews diminishes, the work of forming Catholics who can live out their professional and Christian vocations as teachers in different types of schools becomes simultaneously more crucial and more complex. This article explores the importance of preparing Catholic teachers for employment in contemporary educational settings in the United States to respond to accelerating secularization. It argues that the Catholic Church’s vision for education can be implemented within the limitations of US education policy, especially through the careful preparation of Catholic teachers in Catholic Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs). First, it presents the unique context of US education, illustrating the setting in which such programs function and the associated challenges. Next, it shares the Church’s vision for well-prepared Catholic educators, identifying three key anthropological conflicts linked to secularization and explaining how the Church’s teaching on Catholic education as presented by Archbishop Michael Miller’s “Five Essential Marks of Catholic Schools” provides needed guidance for EPPs located in Catholic universities. Next, it offers a case study presenting one EPP’s efforts to respond to secularization through its program redesign according to a framework that integrates Miller’s Five Marks. Finally, it explains the difficulties facing Catholic EPPs as they integrate their mission with the demands of professional preparation.
Keywords:
Secularization, anthropology, Catholic education, education, Catholic teacher preparationReferences
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Franciscan University of Steubenville
Amy Roberts earned a Ph.D. from The University of Notre Dame Australia in Sydney, writing her dissertation on “The Integral Formation of Teachers as Witnesses in Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools.” She is an associate professor of Theology/Catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Her research interests include teaching according to a Catholic anthropology. She has most recently been published in the journal Religions.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6560-2115
McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame
Clare Kilbane is a Professor of the Practice affiliated with the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame where she supports leaders in the Catholic Church, teaches Catholic school teachers, serves as Senior Learning Designer, and is the Director of Research and Development for its online theology program. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Evaluation at the University of Virginia. She is a cross-disciplinary scholar who studies and develops solutions for complex problems dealing with education in the Catholic Church. Some of her recent publications have appeared in Educational Leadership and. The Catechetical Review, and she has a series of books published by the National Catholic Education Association.
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3410-867XFranciscan University of Steubenville
Rebecca Rook has a Ph.D. in Instructional Management and Leadership from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA. She is an associate professor of education at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Her research has been in the areas of assessment, online learning, and equipping preservice teachers to teach in light of a Catholic worldview. Her latest research has been published in the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching and the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5753-0027License
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