FORMING STUDENTS WITH A SOCIAL CONSCIENCE……WHILE DEALING WITH A DIVERSITY OF FAITH COMMITMENT AND FAMILY CHURCH AFFILIATION

7th International Religious Education SymposiumAustralian Catholic University, Sydney, 6th July 2011

Peter Norden AOVice Chancellor’s Fellow

Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Opportunities and Challenges in religious education today

• Thinking back to school chaplaincy role

• Inner city parish primary schools…

• Catholic Secondary School Board Member

• University of Melbourne and RMIT University: teaching and mentoring

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Three Stories to illustrate the challenges:

• Indigenous disadvantage and citizenship

• Recent “white flight” from Struggletown

• Mission of providing access to all… scholarships

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Observations and key policy issues:

• What are the “meeting places” with our students today?

• A commitment to social justice

• A belief in the protection of human rights

• How to become more effective, given the diversity of faith commitment and religious affiliation of our families?

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

State Schools Catholics Total nos

ACT 30 17,132 60,166

NSW 585 236,654 1,107,336

VIC 488 179,913 819,103

QLD 278 104,584 629,771

SA 107 44,584 248,815

WA 158 60,170 334,050

TAS 37 12,830 82,376

NT 15 4,668 37,003

TOTAL 1,698 660,591 3,318,620

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• The positive learning environments of Catholic schools today:

• Successful introduction to the community of Christian values

• Generally high standard of liturgical celebration and ritual

• But what about reinforcement in the home?

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Experiential learning tasks and community service programs:

• Great opportunities for personal growth

• Formation of values approach to everyday life situations

• How to build more solidly on explicitly christian values when there is little modeliing of this from many of their families?

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Elements of an effective community services program:

• Exposure to wider sections of the community

• Introduction to disadvantage and disability beyond previous associations

• Substantial time and personnel commitment to reflection and evaluation

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Youth leadership and youth responsibility:

• Great opportunities within catholic school environment

• But how to provide opportunities beyond the school context?

• Substantial changes are required to make this possible.

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Models of authority and leadership within church:

• How to encourage lasting engagement and commitment?

• Authority needs to be decentralised

• How assess the lasting impact of World Youth Day?

• Substantial youth leadership and responsibility….

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Do Catholic schools engage or manage the “youth culture”?

• Listening to the experience of the young

• Being prepared for non-conformity and innovation

• Danger of confining and compartmentalising

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Exclusion policies of many Catholic Secondary Schools:

• External conformity v. internal commitment

• Authentic student leadership and commitment: a case example….

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Lessons from the church’s social services field:

• KEEPING THEM CONNECTED (2005)

• NOT SO STRAIGHT (2006)

• Widespread support and involvement of catholic education sector

• Exclusion or inclusion….?

• Apparent lack of transparency at times

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• KEEPING THEM CONNECTED (2005)

• Expulsion, suspension, or just “transferred”

• Critical in Catholic high schools that risked damage to their “corporate reputation”

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• NOT SO STRAIGHT (2006)

• Best practice to be found in Catholic secondary schools

• Some instances that compromised values of compassion and respect and Christian service

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Credibility of the church’s teaching about justice:

• Critical nature of consistent application of values

• Opportunity for engagement with the lived experience of our students

• Danger of mere external conformity

• Serious engagement with “the youth culture” and christian values

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Catholic schools setting a lead in respect and dignity:

• Providing a safe, diverse and respectful learning environment

• Students cannot learn and develop unless they feel safe and respected

• No room for inconsistency between stated “mission” and the lived experience on the ground

ACU Symposium: Forming Students with a Social Conscience

• Threats to consistency and transparency in Catholic values:

• Mismanagement of child sex abuse scandal within the church

• Sexual expression inextricably tied to procreation alone

• What about those not within a church sanctioned marriage commitment?

A.C.E. National Disability Conference

• CONCLUDING COMMENTS:

• How to continue to form students with a social conscience?

• How to engage them beyond the school gates with the church community?

• Greater engagement with the lived experience of young people

• Roles and relationships and models of leadership need to grow

A.C.E. National Disability Conference

• CONCLUDING COMMENTS:

• Apply courage and honesty in self-evaluation

• Exclusionary policies towards women in the church

• Encourage youth to be leaders, not just followers

• Develop a more respectful, inclusive and positive view of sexual expression

A.C.E. National Disability Conference

• CONCLUDING COMMENTS:

• Future of enormous opportunity for growth and development

• Depth and quality of the lives of the young people engaged within Catholic education today

• These resources must be harnessed and allowed to take responsibility

© Copyright The University of Melbourne 2008