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FULL REPORT
This report on the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project (ECSIP) Queensland for
the Catholic Education Office of the Brisbane Archdiocese is issued in February 2015
by the Centre for Academic Teacher Training of the Faculty of Theology and Religious
Studies of the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), under the supervision of Vice
President Prof. Dr. Didier Pollefeyt and commissioned by the ECSIP Queensland
Consortium.
GA654-14
Catholic Education Office Brisbane
ECSIP 2014 research report
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Description and evaluation of the sample
The report begins with an analysis of the quality and validity of the research sample taken in the
Catholic Education Office Brisbane. Are the results that are based on this sample statistically
representative?
B. Cognitive belief styles among the office members: PCB Scale
The PCB Scale considers the way in which CEO employees relate to religious matters. What are the
cognitive belief styles of the people that make up the organisation? Tendencies of Literal Belief,
Post-Critical Belief, Relativism and External Critique are the 'building blocks' of Catholic identity.
C. Institutional identity options in a theological perspective: Melbourne Scale
Next, the report examines the Catholic identity of the CEO. The Melbourne Scale distinguishes five
different ways of establishing Catholic identity in a secularising and pluralising cultural context:
Confessionality, Secularisation, Reconfessionalisation, Christian Values Education and
Recontextualisation. The perceived 'current practice' in the CEO (factual level) is compared to the
'ideal school' envisioned by the staff members (normative level).
D. Institutional identity options in a pedagogical perspective: Victoria Scale
The Victoria Scale identifies four different ways of combining Catholic identity with religious and
philosophical diversity: the Monologue School, the Dialogue School, the Colourful School and the
Colourless School. Again, the 'current practice' in the CEO Brisbane is compared to the 'ideal school'
envisioned by the staff members.
E. Religious profile of CEO members: Profile Questionnaire
Next follows a selection of background variables that assess the religious profile of the people in the
Catholic Education Office Brisbane.
F. Catholic profile of the CEO itself: Doyle Questionnaire
This final set of empirical data consists of an analysis of the respondents' views on the religious
profile of the CEO as an institution: the level of support for Catholic school identity, the institution
as a good place to grow closer to God and a number of typical features of Catholic identity at the
CEO.
G. Conclusions and Recommendations
Lastly, we summarise the findings by formulating conclusions and recommendations, departing
from the normative theological perspective developed at the Faculty of Theology and Religious
Studies of KU Leuven.
References to additional literature
Addendum: Data Fiche
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A. DESCRIPTION AND EVALUATION OF THE RESEARCH SAMPLE
Participant numbers
Figure A.1 — Participant numbers in absolute numbers and relative to the total population size.
Description and evaluation of the research sample
During the ECSIP Queensland 2014 research round, the sample frame in the Catholic Education
Office in the Brisbane Archdiocese consisted of 360 potential respondents. From this total
population, a sample was drawn of 162 respondents from all sections of the organisation. Each of
these individuals completed at least one of the surveys in a valid way.
This results in a general sample ratio of 45.0%. Although the 50.0% benchmark remains just out of
reach, this is a reasonably good result. Nevertheless, we should remain careful when generalising
the sample statistics in this report. If the participants were randomly selected (i.e., the reasons for
not participating were unrelated to the nature of the ECSIP research questions concerning Catholic
identity), then the research results could be representative. In any case, it is likely that they provide
at least an indication of the population scores. It is advisable that the <50.0% sample ratio is kept in
mind when interpreting the graphs in this report.
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B. COGNITIVE BELIEF STYLES: PCB SCALE
Brief theoretical introduction
Figure B.1 — Diagram of the typology of the Post-Critical Belief Scale.
Literal Belief
Literal affirmation of belief contents. Belief in the possibility of direct and controllable access to the
transcendent God.
Literal Disbelief / External Critique
Literal rejection of belief contents. Destructive criticism on religion and faith from an external point
of view. Religious faith is contrary to reason and must be rejected.
Relativism / Awareness of Contingency
Symbolical rejection of belief contents. Belief contents are contingent and merely relative. Although
religions are approached in a symbolic and interpretative way, there is no personal belief in a
transcendent God. Positive aspect: a fundamental openness towards otherness, a receptivity for the
valuable impact of the encounter with people who differ.
Post-Critical Belief / Second Naiveté
Symbolical affirmation of belief contents. Personal belief in a transcendent God while being aware
that only through symbolic mediation and on-going interpretation people can enter into a
relationship with the Divine.
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1. PCB Scale: CEO respondents
Figure B.2 — Post-Critical Belief Scale mean scores for the CEO respondents.
Figure B.3 — Post-Critical Belief Scale agreement/disagreement breakdown for the CEO respondents.
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The PCB Scale is designed to describe the ways in which respondents relate to the contents of their
belief. By identifying tendencies among respondents to relate to their faith via four cognitive belief
styles — Literal Belief, External Critique, Relativism/Awareness of Contingency and Post-Critical
Belief — we are able to assess the possibility of further developing the organisation’s Catholic
identity.
Figures B.2-B.3 indicate that the overwhelming majority of respondents at the CEO hold to Post-
critical Belief, a symbolically mediated Catholic hermeneutics (5.5/7; 90.8% agreement). Although
9.2% of the respondents neither agree nor disagree with Post-critical Belief, none oppose it.
Apart from this dominant tendency, there is another approach that finds widespread support,
namely so-called ‘Relativism’, also labelled ‘Awareness of Contingency’ in the specific context of the
PCB Scale typology (5.0/7; 71.1% agreement). A strong majority at the CEO tends to agree that a
multiplicity of religious commitments should be accepted, welcomed and valued, without – in
principle – any one of these interchangeable options being more true or valuable than the others.
Combined with a dominant Post-Critical Believing intention, this openness towards diversity is
encouraging because it enables the Catholic faith tradition to Recontextualise itself more effectively
within a pluralistic cultural context.
External Critique is quite firmly rejected by the CEO members (2.5/7; 87.3% disagree). Only a tiny
minority (2.1%) agrees with External Critique.
Finally, we see that very few people relate to the Catholic faith in a Literal Believing way (2.7/7;
85.3% disagree). The CEO personnel seem to be well aware of the difference between a symbolic
and hermeneutic approach to the Christian religion on the one hand (Post-Critical Belief) and a literal
and direct appropriation of religious matters on the other (Literal Belief). While they promote the
former, they reject the latter.
From ECSIP’s perspective, these are positive results. At ECSIP we are convinced that in order to
maintain the plausibility of faith within a plural and constantly changing context, it is vital to
encourage a symbolic, hermeneutical way of relating to faith. With their high levels of Post-critical
Belief, lower but nevertheless positive levels of Relativism and rejection of both External Critique
and Literal Belief, the CEO members have the necessary ingredients in the right combination to
successfully Recontextualise the Catholic faith in their own organisation as well as in the schools
they assist and guide.
These results are in line with the results from the Profile Questionnaire below, which shows a strong
degree of religious belief (see Figure E.5) and personal prayer (see Figure E.7). Combined with the
strong support for strengthening Catholic identity as shown in the Doyle Questionnaire below, these
PCB Scale figures show a very positive result which can provide a firm foundation for further
developing the Catholic identity of the CEO.
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2. PCB Scale: differentiated mean scores for all participants in the ECSIP
2014 Research
Figure B.4 — Post-Critical Belief Scale mean scores ECSIP 2014 Research throughout Victoria.
Figure B.4 shows the differentiated mean scores of all student and adult groups in primary and
secondary schools throughout Victoria in 2014, for a total of 24,726 respondents.
When we consider the evolution of the levels of Literal Belief in the student groups as they grow
older and proceed through the education curriculum (the black trend line), it is striking how the
mean score drops from positive in primary schools (4,7/7) to rejection in year 11-12 in secondary
colleges (2.9/7). Nevertheless, this decline of a Literal Believing attitude – that is not unusual and
even desirable when children enter puberty and make the transition towards adulthood – is not
compensated by an increase of a more mature, hermeneutical, post-critical and symbolically
mediated faith. The literal and unmediated faith understanding that is taught to primary school
children does not transform into Post-Critical Belief as students grow older. Instead, it has the actual
effect of reducing the support for any kind of religious attitude – including a Post-Critical Believing
attitude – during their time in secondary school (the white trend line). Parallel to the general loss of
Literal Belief, we notice a sharp decrease of Post-critical Belief as well: from 5,6/7 in primary schools
to merely 4,4/7 among the oldest students at the secondary level.
These observations can be considered empirical evidence demonstrating that, when dealing with
primary school children, a strong (and initially seemingly successful) focus on Literal Belief actually
risks undermining the development of a more mature faith as students grow older, despite the
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educators’ best intentions. Moreover, we see that as students become older, not only Literal Belief
but also Post-Critical Belief loses credibility in their eyes. For these reasons, we suggest developing
Post-Critical Belief as early as possible in order to nurture a cognitive belief style that will most likely
support the flourishing of the school’s Catholic identity.
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C. THEOLOGICAL IDENTITY OPTIONS: MELBOURNE SCALE
Brief theoretical introduction
Figure C.1 — Diagram of the typology of the Melbourne Scale.
The Confessionally Based School
A traditional Catholic institution, still largely unaffected by tendencies of detraditionalisation and
Secularisation. Elements of typical confessional features and identity structures endure in a passive
and unreflective way. A classic Catholic school identity is being continued unproblematically and
unchallenged.
Values Education in a Christian Perspective
An identity model often adopted when the school population is gradually diversifying while most
people are still rooted in Christian culture. It is attempting to link a generally shared awareness of
‘a good life’ to the Catholic faith, perceived as the ultimate fulfilment of this intuition (mono-
correlation). Catholic school identity is mediated by Christian values and norms that appeal to
everyone. By teaching values, it is hoped that the students can (still) recognise themselves in the
Catholic life style and faith. However, as the gap between culture and faith widens, it risks becoming
predictable and reductive, hence ineffective and even counter-productive – producing further
Secularisation.
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Institutional Secularisation
In daily school life, Catholic specificity fades away. Catholic signs and symbols disappear, rituals no
longer take place, and references to religion vanish from everyday discourse. A preferential option
for the Catholic faith is replaced by a preference for neutrality, equality, pluralism and Relativism.
Gradually this trend is taken over also on the institutional level. It is often an implicit process rather
than a conscious and guided option.
Institutional Reconfessionalisation
This type of school actively promotes a classic, confessional Catholic school identity withstanding
tendencies of detraditionalisation and Secularisation. It deliberately attempts to bring the school
culture closer to Catholicism again. The Catholic nature of the school is explicitly and publicly
profiled. Faithful and practicing Catholics are given preference to enter the school. Moral and
religious education programs are a must for all students. There is little desire to engage with
diversity or to develop the Catholic tradition in interaction with changing times.
Recontextualisation of Catholic school identity (Identity Formation in a Plural Context)
This model is fitting for a Catholic school with a diversifying school population. The school includes
at least a significant and recognisable group of Catholic believers. Deliberately engaged in a common
search of a renewed Catholic school profile, in and through a conversation with plurality,
Recontextualisation aims at a reinterpreted understanding of the Catholic faith in the contemporary
diversifying world (tradition development). Withstanding a consensus paradigm, it is propelled by
difference and ‘otherness’. The encounter and conversation between different views is being
moderated by a clear preferential option for the Catholic faith. Out of its own inherent strength and
depth, Christianity’s voice is allowed to resonate amid a multiplicity of voices (multi-correlation).
Recontextualisation is promoted by the 'hermeneutical-communicative didactic model' for religious
education.
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1. Melbourne Scale: CEO respondents
Figure C.2 — Melbourne Scale mean scores for the CEO respondents.
Figure C.3 — Melbourne Scale agreement/disagreement breakdown for the CEO respondents.
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The Melbourne Scale identifies five typological ways an organisation might establish to relate to
Catholic identity within a pluralising and secular context. By gauging the perceived openness of the
respondents towards these typologies, the scale results help us identify currents that will affect the
future Catholic identity of the CEO and the Catholic schools under its care. (Please note that the
findings on the 'factual level' (shown in blue) refer to the way the CEO members experience the
'current practice' of their organisation, while the findings on the 'normative level' (shown in green)
pertain to their views and desires of what an 'ideal school' would look like.)
Looking first at the figures on Confessionality, we see that 55.5% of the respondents experience the
CEO as a Confessional organisation. While only 16.8% disagree, a significant minority of 27.7%
express uncertainty. These figures result in a mean score of 4.6/7, which is neither high nor low. It
therefore seems that although many of the typically Catholic 'identity markers' that define an
organisation's Confessional identity are still in place in the CEO, they are not entirely obvious to
many within the CEO.
Getting down to more specifics, it seems the people in the Brisbane Catholic Education Office
experience their workplace as a Recontextualising environment (5.6/7). Moreover, they are most
eager to continue promoting Recontextualisation as the key identity strategy for Catholic schools in
the archdiocese (6.0/7). 99.3% of the respondents agree with this approach on the 'ideal school'
level, which is a very encouraging finding.
Next, we examine the figures on Secularisation. It is immediately clear that an overwhelming
majority of office members deny the existence of Secularising tendencies within the CEO (factual
score: 2.3/7). Furthermore, they resist the Secularisation of the Catholic education system under
their care (2.0/7).
The figures on the two remaining strategies add a layer of complexity to the picture. 73.0% of the
respondents experience Christian Values Education at the CEO, giving it a high mean score of 5.0/7.
Even more respondents (78.9%) advocate it as a good strategy for schools, resulting in an even
higher mean score of 5.2/7 on the 'ideal school' level. In addition, Reconfessionalisation is clearly a
contentious issue among the respondents. Slightly less than half of them (46.7%) experience some
Reconfessionalisation at the CEO, and only a small minority (12.4%) actively deny it. At the same
time, however, a large proportion of 40.9% express uncertainty, resulting in a relatively low mean
score of 4.4/7. On the ideal level, we see even more uncertainty. Just 39.4% support
Recontextualisation at the schools, 18.3% oppose it, and the largest proportion (42.3%) are unsure.
This uncertainty results in a low mean score of 4.2/7 on the normative level.
All in all, the CEO members should be commended for their strong adherence to Recontextualisation
as well as their robust resistance against Secularisation. They clearly want nothing but to reach a
common goal: to foster and where necessary reinforce the Catholic identity of their schools. On the
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other hand, the figures on Christian Values Education and Reconfessionalisation could provide
grounds for some discussion.
Christian Values Education can work well as a means of drawing 'connections' or 'links' between the
Catholic faith on the one hand and the cultural context and way of life of the students on the other.
The moral teachings of the Catholic faith are of course an indispensable element of any Catholic
school’s religious curriculum, and it is important for students to recognise the real-world
implications of their faith. However, in an increasingly pluralising and de-traditionalising cultural
context (that unavoidably enters into Catholic schools as well), continuing to rely on mono-
correlational Values Education as a strategy to bring the students' lives ‘more into line’ with a
Catholic point of view is very likely to falter or even fail. Schools can (and should) teach ethics and
foster a moral lifestyle among their students, but using ethics and morality as a means to bring the
students closer to a particularly Catholic religious way of life will become increasingly less effective
in the current circumstances. Today, not only in secondary but in primary Catholic schools as well,
the danger with Christian Values Education is that it has the tendency of overemphasising the moral
aspects of Catholicism (such as peace and love of neighbour), while downplaying the more explicitly
religious and particularly Catholic elements (such as the divinity of Christ, the Crucifixion, the
Resurrection, the Eucharist, and so on). It tends to reduce Christianity to its moral components,
thereby ‘hollowing it out’. Students appreciate and accept the values they learn, but begin to
wonder what is specifically Catholic about them. After all, one does not need to be a Catholic to love
one’s neighbour. Eventually, they take the values home with them but leave the Christian
‘packaging’ behind. In this way, Christian Values Education can even have a Secularising effect. It
can be part of a project to strengthen Catholic identity – even an important part – but only as long
as it plays a supporting role, with a clear emphasis placed on Recontextualisation as the lead.
Concerning Reconfessionalisation, we see above that there is a significant amount of disunity over
it. It may be important to remember that every successful attempt at Recontextualisation will
include a degree of Reconfessionalisation, as it attempts to bring elements of the tradition into
dialogue with the current context. This is especially true in school contexts that are susceptible to
Secularising trends. Rather than see the two as competing strategies, it can be helpful to think of
them as processes that work together, always moving forward, relating faith symbolically to its
surroundings and yet affirming its uniqueness.
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2. Melbourne Scale: differentiated mean scores, normative measurement
level for all participants in the ECSIP 2014 Research
Figure C.4 — Melbourne Scale mean scores ECSIP 2014 Research throughout Victoria; normative level.
Figure C.4 shows the differentiated mean scores of all student and adult groups in primary and
secondary schools throughout Victoria in 2014, for a total of 21190 respondents. The graph shows
the 'normative measurement level' of the Melbourne Scale typology, differentiated according to the
seven respondent groups identified by the ECSIP research. The graph reveals the various student
and adult groups' preferences for each of the four ideal-typical ways in which Catholic schools can
respond to an increasingly pluralised and detraditionalised cultural context.
In almost all schools in Victoria, the adult groups desire first and foremost to Recontextualise the
Catholic identity of their schools in the present-day Australian cultural context: Recontextualisation
is carried out by the school staff (5.6/7), enthused by the school leadership (5.9/7) and supported
by the parents (5.6/7). This finding corresponds with the normative theological views proposed and
supported by the ECSI Project. To bring about this Recontextualisation of Catholic identity, the adult
groups continue to rely strongly on a strategy of Christian Values Education in order to bridge the
perceived gap between the Catholic faith and present-day student culture (staff and parents: 5.3/7;
school leadership: 5.4/7). This means that they teach 'Catholic' values, supposedly embraced by
everyone, in order to transmit the Catholic faith to as many students as possible. Commonly shared
values serve as mediation in the process of faith communication. The adults still believe that a
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Christian Values Education approach enables a majority of the students to discover and embrace
the plausibility, consistency and believability of the Catholic faith and to apply its goodness, beauty
and truth in their contemporary lives in a new way. Furthermore, the adults hope that a strategy of
Christian Values Education will achieve even a little Reconfessionalisation along the way (leadership:
4.4/7; staff: 4.3/7; parents: 4.5/7). This stance allows for actively re-introducing the knowledge,
practice and life-style that are considered typically Catholic and that are under pressure in today's
youth culture. By means of this specific combination of strategies, the adult generation that is
currently responsible for Catholic education in schools intend to withstand and reverse the creeping
Secularisation of the schools' Catholic identity, as shown by their strong protest against it
(leadership: 2.1/7; staff: 2.4/7; parents: 2.3/7).
Next, we examine the students' responses to the combination of strategies employed by the adults.
Similar to the adults, all student groups continue to appreciate the Christian Values Education
didactics that is being employed in almost all schools in Victoria (year 5-6: 5.0/7; year 7-8: 4.8/7;
year 9-10: 4.8/7; year 11-12: 5.0/7). So, we detect a unanimous support for Christian Values
Education among adults and students alike (the white trend line) which makes it an obvious method
that is easy to apply. Remarkably, however, the actual effect it has on a significant part of the
students in Catholic schools is different from the desired outcome intended by the adults.
We notice an increasing minority of students who would not mind if their schools' Catholic character
diminished or even vanished (first black trend line). It is still true that most students prefer a Catholic
school over a non-Catholic one, especially the children in primary schools (2.8/7). Yet, we discover
a decreasing resistance and an increasing desire for Institutional Secularisation of Catholic school
identity, especially as the students in secondary colleges grow up (year 7-8: 3.6/7; year 9-10: 4.0/7;
year 11-12: 4.1/7 = a positive mean score). Furthermore, we notice a growing resistance against
Institutional Reconfessionalisation (second black trend line). It is observable that a number of
primary school children follow the adults when it comes to actively strengthening the traditional
Catholic features of the school (mean score = 4.2/7). Yet, Reconfessionalisation is opposed by a
minority of the children in primary schools and by an increasing majority of the students in
secondary colleges (year 7-8: 3.7/7; year 9-10: 3.2/7; year 11-12: 3.0/7). Adults who somehow
promote the Institutional Reconfessionalisation of Catholic school identity can surmise that this
strategy would face significant resistance on the part of the student population (and on the part of
a good number of staff members and parents as well).
Although a vast majority of the adults wish to Recontextualise the Catholic faith at school, it is
remarkable that the actual outcome of their efforts is internal dissension among the students about
the possibility and desirability of Recontextualisation. The adults consider it their primary goal to
have the Catholic faith come to life again in the middle of contemporary student culture, but the
way they go about it actually results in a waning average score that shows decreasing support as
the students grow older (third black trend line). More precisely, though a significant subgroup is
eager to Recontextualise the faith, an increasing number of students struggle with it, oppose it or
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are indifferent toward it – hence the small and declining mean scores (year 5-6: 4.4/7; year 7-8:
4.2/7; year 9-10: 4.2/7; year 11-12: 4.3/7).
We conclude that a Christian Values Education approach is deeply ingrained in the education offered
in many Catholic primary schools in Victoria. This is not surprising because it appears to be successful
— at first. To be effective, the strategy of Christian Values Education presupposes an existing level
of Catholic Confessionality, serving as a common ground of shared experiences, sensitivities,
meanings, beliefs and practices that spontaneously 'make the connection' between human values
and the Catholic faith. In a Confessional school context, it is obvious that Catholic values are being
'linked' directly to a religious foundation; People expect and desire this 'mono-correlation' to occur.
Little children, who easily comply with the role models presented to them, are a grateful target
group. As long as a common Confessional ground is present, Christian Values Education works well.
However, today the world is changing. It is becoming increasingly diverse and complex
(pluralisation). Continuing to employ Christian Values Education risks underestimating the
complexity and multiplicity of the pluralising world young people are dealing with as they grow up.
As the students become more aware of it, as they begin to think individually and critically, as their
network of relationships expands and as they gain life experiences outside the rather 'protected'
environment of Catholic primary schools, then the adverse effects of Christian Values Education
become apparent. Its simplistic 'mono-correlation' approach is inadequate to adapt the Catholic
faith to more complex life situations. Instead, children and adolescents today are being persuaded
to 'multi-correlate' their life experiences with a host of different views, beliefs, opinions, lifestyles,
theories and practices that they come in contact with. For many, it is no longer evident to connect
their life experiences exclusively to the Catholic faith. Contrary to past times, Catholic educators
cannot simply expect young people to make the same 'connections' they do, such as automatically
linking 'human values' to 'gospel values' as a basis for personal religious faith.
Although most of these problems and challenges only surface at the secondary college level, it
seems that the seed of the problem is sown in primary schools. When a school’s Confessionality
becomes less and less recognisable, an unreflective continuation of Christian Values Education risks
becoming:
• Ineffective: the correlation movement is stalling.
• Predictable, boring and even manipulative.
• Counterproductive, actually producing further Secularisation.
• Reducing the Catholic faith to its moral aspects and thereby ‘hollowing it out’.
It is easy and attractive for many students to 'ride along' with the Christian Values, pleasing their
parents and teachers. But while the education in moral and social values is appreciated and
relatively successful, many students neglect and ultimately abandon the religious formation that
supposedly grounds it. Many students incorporate the values they learn at school but leave behind
the Catholic religion that deepens and grounds those values. In a rapidly changing and pluralising
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cultural context where there often exists a gap between generations, faith communication by means
of Christian Values Education becomes increasingly problematic and progressively inadequate.
3. Intercorrelations between the PCB Scale and the Melbourne Scale
Figure C.5 — Correlation matrix between the PCB Scale and the Melbourne Scale; normative level, CEO respondents.
Figure C.5 visualises the linear correlation coefficients between the cognitive belief styles of the PCB
Scale and the identity models of the Melbourne Scale for all adult respondents in the Catholic
Education Office Brisbane. A blue 'bubble' denotes a positive correlation while a red 'bubble' stands
for a negative correlation. The bigger the 'bubble', the higher the (positive or negative) correlation.
On the one hand, there is a strong, negative correlation between Post-critical Belief and
Secularisation (r=-0.4). On the other hand, we notice weak positive correlations between Post-
critical Belief and Reconfessionalisation (r=0.1), Christian Values Education (r=0.1) and a strong
correlation with Recontextualisation (r=0.5). Because of their Post-Critical Believing understanding
of the Catholic religion, the people at the CEO wish to Recontextualise the Catholic identity of the
Melbourne Schools. They believe that this PCB approach will be the most effective against trends of
Secularisation – more effective than Literal Belief would be (r=-0.1). Literal Believers, on the other
hand, opt for Reconfessionalisation first and foremost (r=0.5), employing the mono-correlational
method of Christian Values Education to help achieve this (r=0.2). It is striking that from a Literal
Believing point of view, Recontextualisation is being resisted (r=-0.3) as being too 'interpretational',
'dialogical' and 'progressive'. The counter effect of a Literal Believing approach against
Secularisation remains limited nonetheless (r=-0.08), precisely because of its resistance against a
contextual interpretation of religion, open dialogue with diversity and genuine tradition
development.
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D. PEDAGOGICAL IDENTITY OPTIONS: VICTORIA SCALE
Brief theoretical introduction
Figure D.1 — Diagram of the typology of the Victoria Scale.
The Monologue School (maximal Christian identity, minimal solidarity and openness to diversity)
A traditional Catholic school by Catholics and for Catholics, putting strong focus on its religious
identity. It emphasises unity, security, solidarity and pedagogical responsibility inside the own
Catholic circle. However, this school deliberately rejects openness and receptivity towards other
religions and life philosophies, which are considered to be untrue, undesirable and even
threatening. There is little solidarity with the non-Catholic outside world.
The Dialogue School (maximal Christian identity, maximal solidarity and openness to diversity)
A Catholic school in the midst of cultural and religious plurality. This school deliberately puts
emphasis on its Catholic inspiration, while it simultaneously takes the multicultural world seriously.
A multiplicity of voices, views and perspectives are recognised and engaged as contributions to the
dialogue. A preferential option for the Catholic story and message sets the tone for this dialogue.
Receptivity and openness to what is different, is a prerequisite to re-profile the Catholic faith in the
middle of plural culture (Recontextualisation). In other words: in the midst of plurality we search for
what it means to be Catholic today; as Catholics we search for a way to live in the middle of plurality.
The Colourful School (minimal Christian identity, maximal solidarity and openness to diversity)
A secularised and plural school environment where people relate to each other in a social, engaged
and solidary way. This school puts a lot of effort in genuine pedagogical responsibility. The internal
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plurality is taken to heart seriously; there is authentic desire and interest in recognising the
‘otherness’ of the fellow school members. However, few students or staff members are concerned
about the school’s (original) Catholic heritage. A preferential option for Christianity over and above
other religions and life philosophies is rejected, because it is considered to hinder personal freedom
and free interaction.
The Colourless School (minimal Christian identity, minimal solidarity and openness to diversity)
A secularised and plural school environment where the relation between individuals remains free
of engagement or obligations. The school adopts a radically 'neutral' stand: philosophies of life or
religions must never be imposed top-down; never suggest what another person should or should
not think or do. There is a lot of openness and tolerance for all kinds of religions and life
philosophies. However, this openness is not framed in a common pedagogical project. Religion is a
private matter: it is up to each individual to make up his/her own mind. Personal formation is a
personal responsibility and not the school’s responsibility. There is little unity or security; people
live next to each other in a non-committed way. Formal tolerance ends up in indifference.
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1. Victoria Scale: CEO respondents
Figure D.2 — Victoria Scale mean scores for CEO respondents.
Figure D.3 — Victoria Scale agreement/disagreement breakdown for CEO respondents.
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The Victoria Scale helps to identify the ways in which schools (or Catholic Education Offices) express
their Catholic identities in relation to the religious and philosophical diversity which exist in their
communities. The process of this negotiation can be characterised by the use of four basic
typologies—the Monologue School, the Dialogue School, the Colourful School, and the Colourless
School.
Figures D.2 and D.3 show us that, on the factual level, respondents primarily experience the CEO in
terms of the Dialogue School (5.4/7; 90.2% agree). Generally speaking, respondents tend to agree
that the CEO cannot be described in terms of the Monologue School (3.6/7; 48.9% disagree),
Colourful School (3.1/7; 65.5% disagree) or Colourless School (3.6/7; 50.4% disagree).
On the normative level, we see that the CEO respondents strongly advocate the Dialogue School as
the preferred approach for schools (5.9/7; no less than 96.3% agree). It is especially encouraging to
see that over two thirds (67.7%) of the respondents strongly support the Dialogue School model. In
addition, all three of the other models are rejected by a majority of the respondents: the Monologue
School (3.0/7), the Colourful School (3.2/7) and the Colourless School (3.2/7).
It is very positive that people at the CEO wish to promote a Catholic Dialogue School model in the
schools they work for (5.9/7). It is also interesting to note that that the actual level of dialogue within
the CEO itself, while quite strong (5.4/7), is slightly less than the expressed ideal level for schools. It
seems that the members of the CEO are firmly committed to dialogue, and also recognise that there
is room for improvement within their own organisation. A similar tension between 'factual' and
'normative' has been noted regarding Recontextualisation in the Melbourne Scale (see Figure C.2).
All in all, the CEO presents quite positive figures when it comes to the Victoria Scale. Most
encouraging is the overwhelming support for the Dialogue School model. ECSIP maintains that the
Dialogue School is the most suitable model for strengthening Catholic school identity in the current
cultural context. By inviting voices from diverse worldviews and faith traditions to share their
valuable experiences, the Dialogue School model gives body to a strong Awareness of Contingency
while never relinquishing its inherent Catholicity. By Recontextualising Catholic identity in this way,
dialogue in and with diversity becomes seen as something that Catholics do—something intrinsic to
Catholic faith. A fundamental affirmation of the ECSIP research is that such a model for living out
the Catholic faith is not a departure from but rather faithful to the unfolding history of Catholic
witness.
22
2. Victoria Scale: differentiated mean scores, normative measurement level
for all participants in the ECSIP 2014 Research
Figure D.4 — Victoria Scale mean scores ECSIP 2014 Research throughout Victoria; normative level.
Figure D.4 shows the differentiated mean scores of all student and adult groups in primary and
secondary schools throughout Victoria in 2014, for a total of 20971 respondents. The graph shows
the 'ideal school profile' in terms of the Victoria Scale typology, differentiated according to the seven
respondent groups identified by the ECSIP research. In a way, this graph can be considered to
'predict the future' of the pedagogical stance schools in Victoria are likely to take towards Catholic
identity in a diversifying context – in case the current policies continue without change. It can also
be used as a comparative profile in relation to your own school's Victoria Scale results: where does
your school position itself in relation to the average values of schools throughout the state?
On the average, both adults and students prefer their schools to be Dialogue Schools on the 'ideal
school' level, combining Catholic identity with a solidarity for many different fundamental life
options, fostering an open and active dialogue between differences, while maintaining the Catholic
faith as the preferential partner in this conversation. However, we notice a remarkable difference
between the adult and the student groups. While the adults almost unanimously promote the
Dialogue School model (especially the school leadership teams: 5.8/7), this pedagogical model
becomes less and less attractive as the students grow older (the white trend line). While the primary
school children are most receptive of the Dialogue School (4.9/7), the mean score drops among the
student groups as they make their way through the secondary college curricula (years 7-8: 4.7/7;
23
years 9-10: 4.5/7; years 11-12: 4.6/7). Although the mean score remains positive in all groups, an
increasing minority of students show hesitation about a school model that holds on to its Catholic
identity – even a dialogical one.
More outspoken and widespread is the students' resistance when asked to evaluate a Monologue
School approach, a closed and protected school environment by Catholics and for Catholics with
little or no receptivity or solidarity for other-than-Catholic voices. Although primary school children
are divided about such a school (some are pro and others are contra, mean score = 3.8/7), this is
clearly a type of school that the secondary college students want to avoid – and the older they
become, the more they wish to do so (years 7-8: 3.4/7; years 9-10: 2.9/7; years 11-12: 2.5/7). Among
all the adult groups, the resistance against the Monologue School is clear as well. Contrary to the
Dialogue School pedagogy, the overall opposition to a Monological Catholic School model is
overwhelming. The Monologue School seems to have little future in schools in Victoria.
Both on theological and pragmatic grounds, the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project prefers
and promotes a Dialogical pedagogical style over a Monological one, especially where religious
education and formation are concerned. Fully making this shift and actually Recontextualising the
Catholic faith through encounter and dialogue is an urgent matter because the secularised
alternatives are standing at the doorstep: the Colourful and the Colourless School models.
Fortunately, a majority of the school staff and the parents clearly want to avoid becoming a school
where the preference for the Catholic faith has faded in favour of a relativistic or even individualistic
stance. Once again, the school leadership teams point the way in this regard, indicated by negative
scores that show that they 'somewhat disagree' (Colourful: 3.2/7; Colourless: 3.3/7). However, for
many students, neglecting the Catholic identity of their schools and turning them into a Colourless
or a Colourful environment seems attractive. Features of the Colourful School type are being
recognised and desired by a number of students in almost all Catholic schools in Victoria, especially
in secondary colleges as the students grow older. This is shown by their increasingly positive mean
score (the second black trend line: years 7-8: 4.3/7; years 9-10: 4.5/7; years 11-12: 4.6/7). To a
smaller degree, we also discover disturbing trends towards a Colourless School identity among the
students even if there continues to be some resistance from the adults.
Conclusion: across Victoria, we are pleased to discover that the 'current practice' and the 'normative
ideals' of the people in Catholic schools are very much in line with the theological ideal promoted
by ECSIP. In almost all schools, primary and secondary, we find a general preference for a Dialogue
School model, a general rejection of the Monologue School as well as a prevailing resistance against
the Colourful and the Colourless School types. But we also discover tendencies that challenge
Catholic school leadership: we detect Monologue School tendencies in many primary schools,
Secularising tendencies in many secondary colleges, and a varying degree of support for the
Dialogue School by adults and students.
24
E. RELIGIOUS PROFILE OF CEO MEMBERS: PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Gender
Figure E.1 — Gender; all CEO respondents.
Out of the total number of 162 people who participated in the research, 68.5% were female and
30.2% were male. A tiny minority of 1.2% did not input their gender. We therefore see that women
outnumber men by a factor of over 2 to 1.
The fact that men and women are unequally represented in the sample should be kept in mind when
interpreting the research results. After all, men and women might hold different views about certain
aspects of religious school identity, which is the point of interest of this study.
25
2. Diversity of religions and philosophies of life
Figure E.4 — Summary of personal religion or philosophy of life; all CEO respondents.
The respondents choose their 'personal religion or philosophy of life' from a long list of possibilities.
Optionally, they can type alternative options or additional information in a text input field. Figure
E.4 summarises this extensive data into the following four categories:
1. People who self-identify as 'Catholic' (black).
Various Roman-rite or Eastern rite Catholic denominations.
2. People who self-identify as 'Christian', but who are not Catholic (dark grey).
E.g. Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Evangelical, Churches of Christ, Pentecostal, et cetera. People
who consider themselves 'Christian believers' without belonging to a particular church or
denomination belong to this category as well.
3. People who are religious, but not Christian or Catholic (middle grey).
E.g. Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha'i, Taoism, et cetera. People who
consider themselves otherwise 'religious' or believing in a transcendent reality without
identifying with the Christian or Catholic faith belong to this category as well.
4. People whose philosophy of life is not religious in nature (light grey).
E.g. Atheism, humanism, agnosticism, Wicca, New Age, 'something-ism', 'spiritual but not
religious', indifferent, nihilistic, sports, evolution, science, 'being kind', 'just living a good life', 'I
don't know', 'I never thought about it', et cetera.
The first thing we notice from the graph above is that the majority (69.1%) are Catholic. The second
biggest group (19.1%) consists of non-Catholic Christians, meaning that 88.2% of the total
population is Christian in some way or another. A small minority of 2.5% belong to other religions,
while 8.6% have a non-religious perspective on life. Based on these figures, it seems that the
overwhelming majority of the CEO employees share a common religious background, which could
indicate a high likelihood of support for a Catholic educational project.
26
3. Ethnic and cultural diversity
The following table lists the ethnic backgrounds of the survey respondents. This overview is based
on the information gathered by the following question in the Profile Questionnaire: “What is your
MAIN ethnic background? In other words: what is your country of origin, or the country of origin of
your parents or grandparents? Choose one option from the list that applies most.” Alternatively, the
respondents could manually enter a non-listed country or region in a text input field.
Figure E.3 — Ethnic and cultural diversity among the CEO staff members.
We see from the figure above that the vast majority of respondents primarily see themselves as
Australian (81.4%). A number of other countries are also represented, but none surpasses the 5.0%
mark. On the one hand, this indicates that most of the CEO employees share a common cultural
heritage, which could facilitate discussions about identity, as people generally share a set of
common cultural concepts and assumptions. On the other hand, it could make dialogue with others
a little more challenging. This will have to be kept in mind as CEO members seek to promote dialogue
within the educational system in their trust.
27
4. Personal faith in Christ
Figure E.5 — Personal faith in Christ; all CEO respondents.
Keeping in mind the religious and philosophical diversity that exists among the school population,
we assess the school members' personal faith in Jesus Christ. All respondents answered the
following question: "Do you consider yourself to have strong faith in Christ, average faith in Christ,
or no faith in Christ?"
The results shown here indicate that the majority of adults (93.8%) consider themselves believers.
Most (57.4%) even go as far as to say they have strong faith in Christ. Only a small minority (6.2%)
does not believe in Christ. The overall population of the CEO exhibits a very strong faith profile.
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5. Support for the Catholic faith
Figure E.6 — Support for the Catholic faith; all CEO respondents.
Figure E.6 visualises the support that is given by school members to the Catholic religion. This factor
determines the way a Catholic identity can take shape.
We see that a total of 96.3% support the Catholic faith. Most (72.2%) show support despite having
a critical attitude towards some aspects, and another 24.1% strongly support it. However, not all of
the respondents actively support the Catholic faith; 3.1% say they have neither positive nor negative
feelings about it, and a tiny minority of 0.6% say they dislike Catholicism.
29
6. Personal prayer life
Figure E.7 — Personal prayer life; all CEO respondents.
Figure E.7 gives figures on the respondents' personal prayer lives. This is an important piece of
background information that is related to the belief styles of the CEO (PCB Scale) and the potential
support for the various Catholic school identity models (Melbourne and Victoria Scales).
We ask the CEO members how often they pray to God on their own (communal prayer at church
not taken into consideration). There are six options to choose from: "I pray on a daily basis"; "I pray
regularly"; "I sometimes pray, but not regularly"; "I only pray in times of great happiness or trouble";
"once I did pray, but not anymore" and "I have never prayed before". The top graph shows the
number who chose each of these options, expressed as percentages. A summary of these results is
displayed in the bottom graph. Options 1 and 2 are combined and labelled: "I have an active prayer
life". Next, options 3 and 4 are combined and labelled: "I have an irregular prayer life". Finally
options 5 and 6 are taken together and called: "I don’t pray".
The first thing we notice is the very high proportion of people with active prayer lives. Well over half
of the adult respondents (61.1%) indicate praying either daily (27.2%) or regularly though not daily
(34.0%). In addition to these people with active prayer lives, we find a further 29.6% who pray
occasionally. On the right side of the graph, however, we see a 9.3% minority who never pray.
30
It is clear that the CEO members overall have a well-developed personal prayer life that most likely
coincides with a wide-spread support for Catholic school identity. Although it’s important to keep
in mind that the relationship between prayer and Christian school identity is not a causal one, it is
equally important to recognise that there exists a mutual correlation between prayer and Catholic
identity. It will therefore be important for the CEO to promote the teaching of prayer – especially in
ways that reinforce the symbolic reasoning skills the ECSIP wishes to promote. Students may be
surprised or intrigued to explore new ways to pray, and with the guidance of the adults in their
communities, they can begin to make these discoveries.
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F. CATHOLIC PROFILE OF THE CEO: DOYLE QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Support for Catholic school identity
Figure F.1 — Support for Catholic school identity; all CEO respondents.
Figure F.1 indicates to what degree the respondents support the Catholic identity of schools in
general (it does not speak of the Catholic identity of the office itself). Almost all of the respondents
(54.3% + 34.0% + 7.4% = 95.7% in total) offer support to Catholic school identity to a greater or
lesser degree. 88.3% are supporters or even strong supporters, while 7.4% do not actively but at
least passively support Catholic identity. No more than 0.6% do not really care about Catholic school
identity and none actively resist a Catholic educational project. These figures indicate robust support
for a project to strengthen Catholic school identity.
32
2. A good place to grow closer to God?
Figure F.2 — Growing closer to God at the CEO / at school; all CEO respondents.
Figure F.3 — Growing closer to God at the CEO / at school; all CEO respondents.
33
Figures F.2 and F.3 show detailed research results on the question of whether the Brisbane CEO is
perceived by its members to be a good place to grow closer to God (factual measurement level), as
well as to what extent their ideal school would be a place that helps students grow closer to God
(normative measurement level).
The 'box-and-whisker plot' (Figure F.2 at the top) displays the dispersal of responses to this question.
The box contains the 'middle 50%' of the scores ranked from high to low and points at the main
tendency, while the 'whiskers' indicate the range of responses that are still relevant relative to the
main tendency. The little triangle at the centre of the box denotes the median or 50th percentile,
while an 'x' points at an 'outlier' i.e. an extreme response that is exceptionally far removed from the
main tendency. Additionally, the 'histogram' (Figure F.2 at the bottom) displays the same research
data in a different yet complementary way. It counts the number of times each of the seven possible
Likert scale responses is given and expresses this figure relative to the total number of responses in
the form of a percentage. The sum of the percentages (plus a possible number of missing values) is
always 100%. For the reader's convenience, the graph also contains cumulative percentages of
agreement and disagreement. The second graph (Figure F.3) shows the differentiated average
scores given by the various respondent groups, both on the factual and the normative level.
To begin with, we see that on the current level (the blue graph on the left), a broad majority of the
respondents (90.6%) experience the CEO as a very good place to grow closer to God. A large
proportion of 73.8% even go as far as to ‘positively agree’ that such is the case. Next to this majority
we also see two minorities: 6.3% of the respondents neither agree nor disagree, and 3.1% disagree,
considering the CEO not a good place to grow closer to God. The fact that so many respondents say
they currently experience their workplace as a very good place to grow closer to God indicates that
the Catholic Education Office is not just Catholic in name, but lived and experienced as a Catholic
organisation by its participants.
On the normative level (the green graph on the right), however, we see even stronger figures. 92.5%
say that their ideal school would be a very good place to grow closer to God, while only 6.3% are
unsure and 1.3% disagree.
Moving on to the Likert scale in Figure F.3, we see that the CEO gets a very high mean score of 5.9/7
in response to the question of whether employees experience it as a good place to grow closer to
God. Furthermore, with a mean score of 6.1/7, they feel even more strongly that their ideal school
would be one where students could grow closer to God.
These research results show the strong support and dedication that the CEO employees have with
respect to creating an educational environment in which students can nurture and develop a
relationship with the Divine.
34
3. Features of Catholic identity at the CEO
Figure F.4 — Features of Catholic identity at the CEO; all respondents.
Figure F.4 exhibits a number of features that are typical for Catholic identity. Compared to the
current practice in the office, do employees at the Catholic Education Office want more or less of
these characteristics?
CEO employees indicate on the average that they support an increase of all of these typical features
of Catholic identity. They show especially strong interest in increasing openness to different cultures
and belief systems (3.8/5), involvement in social justice projects (3.9/5), ecological awareness
(3.8/5) and increased dialogue (3.8/5). At the same time, they show weaker (but nevertheless
positive) support for increased prayer at the office (3.3/5), use of Scriptures in the office (3.3/5),
and enrolment of non-Catholic members (3.3/5).
The more the bars stretch out to the right, the more 'critical' respondents are about the current
practice in the Catholic Education Office. It is relevant to note that, compared to the current
practice, they especially desire more openness to different cultures, beliefs and life philosophies as
well as ecumenical dialogue and cooperation with other Christian churches. Also their cry for more
involvement in social justice issues and their concern about ecological awareness and care for the
environment should not be overlooked.
35
G. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Qualities and strengths
Results from the 162 respondents at the Catholic Education Office in Brisbane (45% of the total
population) illustrate that the building blocks for maintaining and strengthening its Catholic identity
are well in place. The representivity of the research is guaranteed with the participation of 162 of
360 CEO members. However as this result remains just lower than the 50% benchmark, there should
be some cautiousness in generalising the results.
This first section presents the Catholic Education Office’s most relevant qualities and strengths with
regard to its Catholic identity based on the outcomes of the ECSIP 2014-2015 research. All the
obtained research results from the different questionnaires are included. As far as the Catholic
identity of the Catholic Education Office in Brisbane is concerned, the outcome shows that the office
possesses many qualities and strengths, both in its current practice and its future prospects. These
are thematically ordered according to the perception of relevance in connection with the ECSIP
thrust.
1.1 Brisbane’s Catholic Education Office demonstrates that it is a Catholic office where the
majority of the staff share a religious affiliation with the Christian faith (see Figure E.4). This
observation is a fundamental strength in upholding and fostering the office’s Catholic
identity. Almost two out of three respondents (57.4%) consider themselves to have strong
faith in Christ and another significant number has average faith in Christ (see Figure E.5).
Moreover, 72.2% of the respondents critically support the Catholic faith (see Figure E.6).
These data reflect the respondents' self-description about their personal prayer life where
61.1% of the respondents are active and approximately three out of ten (29.6%) do pray
albeit irregularly (see Figure E.7).
1.2 Most of the respondents give obvious support to the Catholic identity of schools. As much
as 95.7% of the CEO members clearly support the religious identity of the schools. The
remaining respondents tend to lend a more passive support (see Figure F.1). In connection
with this, the majority of the respondents concur and desire that their office continues to be
a very good place to grow closer to God (see Figures F.2-F.3). Looking at the graph of the
different Catholic features of Catholic Education Office, we notice that the respondents
either think the current situation is ‘ok’ or might even be attended more. They specifically
indicate they want to strengthen involvement in social justice projects (3.86/5), the
ecological awareness: care for nature and the environment (3.81/5) and the openness
towards different cultures, beliefs and life philosophies (3.75/5). These results show that the
Catholic Education Office in Brisbane is not just a Catholic 'in name' but that the office is also
lived and experienced by its’ members as a religious environment.
36
1.3 The Post-Critical Belief Scale results demonstrate that the vast majority of the respondents
prefer Post-Critical Belief (see Figures B.2-B.7). Post-Critical Believers are aware of the –
sometimes justified – religious criticism and of the growing multitude of religious and
philosophical fundamental life options within present society. Nevertheless, they choose to
relate themselves intrinsically to the symbols of a particular religion, namely the Catholic
tradition, in order to establish a personal relationship with a transcendent reality. Post-
Critical Belief attempts a new, fresh, outside of the box and creative way of looking and
interpreting the present context in order to shape Christ's dream for mankind in a new time.
This option of Symbolic Belief is a very significant building block for the office’s Catholic
identity. It offers the best support for the processes that most likely encourage the Catholic
identity of Catholic Education offices (but also schools) such as Recontextualisation efforts
and Dialogical endeavours.
1.4 The outcome of the Melbourne Scale, which considers the theological perspective
concerning the gap between a pluralising context and Christianity, exhibits that the majority
of the respondents currently (94.9%) and normatively (99.3%) identify their office’s
theological typology as an environment of Recontextualisation (see Figures C.2-C.8) where
the Catholic faith is reinterpreted and understood in the midst of a quickly changing and
pluralising world. These results are very significant because the Recontextualising model is
committed to the continuous development and renewal of tradition, which is characteristic
for the historical development of Christianity itself. Because of this, a Recontextualising
environment itself becomes a part of this ongoing tradition. The results of Brisbane’s Catholic
Education Office indicate specific attention for and reflection about the changing context of
today's society and its' relation to Christianity. This process of reflection on the (religious)
context in which the office is situated, is very important from a perspective of
Recontextualisation. Given the specific pluralising and Secularising context of today's society,
the choice of the respondents for Recontextualisation is of great importance while it will
uphold the office’s Catholic identity in the long run.
1.5 The results of the Victoria Scale, which considers the amount of openness for diversity in
relation to the Catholic identity, show that the respondents recognise the pedagogical
identity option of the Dialogue School type at their current office (see Figures D.2-D.8). The
respondents indicate they also prefer this pedagogical type for the future. This is a very
promising result because this type combines a maximal openness for social and religious
diversity with an explicit choice for the Catholic tradition as a preferred partner in the
conversation. Important to point out is that dialogue not only implies the conversation with
religious diversity in society, but also with the religious tradition in which the office is
situated. Furthermore, within the context of the Dialogue School attention is focused on the
specific manner in which the dialogue inspires and shapes the office’s/school community in
words and actions. The Catholic Education Office’s choice for the Dialogue School model will
help in sustaining its Catholic identity in a rapidly changing world.
37
1.6 The large majority of the respondents resist External Critique (see Figures B.2-B.7) and
Institutional Secularisation (see Figures C.2-C.7). This concurs with the earlier mentioned
strong affiliation of the majority of the respondents with the Christian faith (see Figure E.5)
and the explicit support of a large amount of CEO staff for an organisation /school with a
Catholic Identity (see Figure F.1). Also the results of the Victoria Scale show that the
respondents resist a Colourful and Colourless School on both the factual and ideal level
(Figures D.2-D.8).
1.7 Brisbane’s Catholic Education Office is an office with a significant amount of diversity
concerning the ethnic background of the staff members. The survey results show a diversity
of 17 nationalities (see Figure E.3). Concerning the religious affiliation of the respondents
there is a rather large homogeneity present (see Figure E.4). From the perspective of the
ECSIP research, attention and openness for diversity is considered a major strength for
Catholic Education Offices. The Dialogue School, which is the theologically preferable point
of view, is after all the obvious combination of Christian identity within a religiously diverse
society. Jesus himself went from place to place to encounter a vast diversity of 100 people.
He strived to build a respectful and pedagogical relationship with all those he encountered,
always referring to his ceaseless testimony of the love of God. Therefore, Catholic Dialogue
Schools or organisations are a service to society in their effort to offer quality education and
personal formation to a very diverse population. Being a Catholic school/organisation
implies helping diverse students and adults to achieve the best of their abilities, taking each
student's/adults’ specific background and talents into account. Religious and cultural
diversity can serve as a positive opportunity for developing a Dialogue School pedagogy (see
Figures D.2-D.8) that fosters a Recontextualisation of Catholic identity, both personal and
institutional (see Figures C.2-C.8).
1.8 Throughout the survey research attention for pastoral care and liturgy seems to be present
at the office. The celebration of faith and prayer are clearly practiced within the office and
might even increase according to the adults (see Figure F.4). Creating opportunities for CEO
members to encounter the 'ontological referent' is considered very important from the
perspective of the ECSIP research.
The survey outcome signifies that most of the respondents at the Catholic Education Office in
Brisbane presently recognise its Catholic identity. There is a notable recognition and support for the
Catholic identity of the office coming from the respondents not only as a formal label but also
experienced and lived. Similarly, the respondents show that they have the aptitude to confirm,
uphold and contribute to a Post-Critical understanding of the Christian faith in their context and
exert efforts that allow the Dialogical manner of Recontextualising their office's Catholic identity to
prosper.
38
2. Potential challenges and critical questions
The outcome of the surveys in the Catholic Education Office in Brisbane shows that overall the
people involved support their office’s Catholic identity. However, a close look at the results points
out some of the important potential challenges in the area of Catholic identity.
2.1 Because of the noticeable small resistance towards Relativism, it is important to be vigilant
that CEO members do not exchange Post-Critical Belief with Relativism, which is a
hermeneutic but religiously unbelieving cognitive stance. This action is important since Post-
Critical Belief functions as the basis that enables the reinterpretation of the Catholic faith
tradition today (Recontextualisation) in a way that is mindful of the pluralising cultural
context (Dialogue School). Post-Critical Belief differs from Relativism because people are
existentially engaged with a particular perspective – the Christian faith! – and a personal
relationship with the God of Jesus Christ. For Post-Critical Believers, religious symbols refer
to a transcendent reality and are not simply interchangeable with other symbols and frames
of reference that are supposedly merely culturally and historically determined and therefore
contingent.
2.2 Many CEO members rely too strongly on a direct, one-to-one correlation of the Catholic
faith to present-day values and sensitivities and settle for the 'least common denominator'
with other fundamental life options among the office’s population (see Figures C.2-C.8). In
the Melbourne Scale this is named Christian Values Education: people try to express and
communicate the Catholic identity of the school/office in supposedly universal values such
as love, friendship, compassion, care, solidarity, respect, etc. Values are of course a vital and
important component of the Christian tradition, but a superabundance of them becomes
problematic. Especially when they make us blind for the particularity and specificity of the
Christian faith. Christian Values Education flows from the theology of the Second Vatican
Council that justly emphasises the connection between 'faith' and 'life'. This approach has
been very successful for a long time as long as the Confessional background was sufficiently
recognisable and the gap between Christianity and culture had not become too big. In such
circumstances, Christian Values Education can become a binding factor for different groups.
However, if they continue with Christian Values Education today, people have to concede,
adapt and ultimately drop the Christian religious perspective in order to make the
compromise sufficiently broad and plausible for all involved. The continuous use of a
Christian Values Education strategy against the background of disappearing Confessionality
and a growing pluralisation can lead to increasing Secularisation.
2.3 Another important challenge is the perception and experience of many respondents (46.7%
agree + 40.9% vacillate) of an active strategy of Reconfessionalisation within the current
office. On the ideal level the amount of respondents that resist this strategy of
Reconfessionalisation (from 12.4% on the factual to 18.3% on the ideal level) increases. This
is a potentially polarising discussion that could stall and even harm the identity development
39
of the office. The question of the plausibility of the Christian tradition in relation to the living
environment of people today and to the presence of other philosophical options risk to be
left unspoken or approached in merely apologetic terms, whereby the plurality of views and
practices is not a theme nor a source of richness. According to ECSIP, great care should be
taken to keep the conversations at the office from becoming Reconfessionalising in a
Monological way. Though some level of Reconfessionalisation is necessary for
Recontextualisation to occur, these efforts must be carried out in Dialogue with the growing
diversity that exists at the office. Reconfessionalisation and Recontextualisation can be
framed as processes that work together, always moving forward, relating faith symbolically
to its surroundings and yet affirming its uniqueness. A clear and effective communication of
Recontextualisation of the Catholic faith may reassure staff members that leadership
members are not simply trying to reinstate some 'old- fashioned', uncompromising Catholic
Confessionality, but rather rediscovering treasures from the tradition and applying them to
their own lives.
2.4 So, it is an important challenge for the office’s leadership and staff to continue to clearly,
creatively and effectively Recontextualise the Catholic faith tradition in the light of present-
day cultural evolutions. It is true that a large amount of the respondents do take a clear
normative option for Recontextualisation, as was mentioned earlier. Still, one always needs
to be able and prepared to answer the ever present challenge of: "show us how the Catholic
faith and the Catholic identity of the office/school is truly meaningful for our lives today."
3. Recommendations KU Leuven
It is a crucial step in any successful management process to have a sufficient analysis and
understanding of the unfolding reality. The ECSIP process aims to present this analysis and
understanding as well as provide a new vocabulary and conceptualisations that are useful to think
and talk effectively about the Catholic identity of schools and organisations. After having examined
and analysed the data from the Catholic Education Office in Brisbane, the staff of KU Leuven Faculty
of Theology and Religious Studies have listed these recommendations in order of perceived priority.
Recommendations are indeed just that – recommendations – and it will be up to each office to
engage with and take ownership of their ECSIP report in a practical, inclusive and engaging manner.
3.1 The prevailing trend towards Relativism among the respondents should be critically assessed
and guided so that it becomes more of an Awareness of Contingency, the consciousness that
there exists a diversity of religious and philosophical views and practices that can make a
valuable contribution albeit they all remain products of their historical and cultural contexts
and need continuous reinterpretation and discernment. Such Awareness of Contingency
could very well support the development of Post-Critical Belief among adults. However, it
must be avoided that the CEO members develop pure Relativism that states that all
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fundamental life options are of equal value (or indeed ultimately stripped of value), merely
subjective and interchangeable options that ultimately do not matter.
3.2 Considering the task of the Catholic Education Office, we suggest encouraging the discovery
of new ways of reading and integrating the Bible that promote critical hermeneutical
processes, and integrating them in the Catholic identity of the office in general including its
manifold Catholic features (see Figure F.4). When Post-Critical Belief is the leading cognitive
approach with some Awareness of Contingency to back it up, the respondents can become
more aware e.g. of the important distinction between the 'world behind the text', the 'world
of the text' and the 'world before the text'. It is important that the CEO members get
acquainted with the most recent methodologies and approaches in biblical interpretation.
This not only holds true for the more common biblical passages that are easy to work with,
but in particular also for those texts that are considered difficult and sensitive such as the
creation account, parables, miracle stories, etc. In dealing with these texts, one should be
very careful not to lapse into a mono-correlation which works as long as the Confessionality
is present, but becomes counterproductive when one is no longer able to comprehend the
traditions from the past. If, however, the correlations are multiple and take the plurality of
society and the Christian tradition into account, these efforts can fit into a policy of
Recontextualisation.
3.3 Although the tendencies towards Secularisation are very small or even non-existent at the
Catholic Education Office in Brisbane, the recommendation for CEO members to witness of
their own faith and of the way they experience the presence of the transcendent in their
own lives, might be helpful for those CEO members who have to guide and help schools
developing their Catholic identity. Nothing is more powerful than the testimony of one's own
passion for religion. After all, from the early beginnings the Christian faith itself spread
primarily through people who testified of the importance of Christ and God in their lives.
Spreading faith happened particularly ex auditu: by speaking and hearing about it. Also today
this is a powerful strategy. However, it is important that this witnessing of faith by CEO staff
should be expressed in a context without any compulsion.
3.4 Given the support for Christian Values Education by the respondents on the factual and ideal
measurement levels (see Figures C.2-C.8), it must be stressed that this approach will not
sustain the office’s Catholic identity in the long run. It is important to rethink and evaluate
critically the common practice of Christian Values Education both in the content and the
methodology of imparting the Catholic faith tradition. Christian Values Education focuses on
commonly shared moral values, that are presumably 'Christian values' and at the same time
'compatible' with present-day culture, whereby the attention to the religious foundation and
specific expressions of Catholic belief tends to waver. In a context where the overlap
between culture and faith gradually disappears, Christian Values Education leads to the
gradual, inadvertent loss of the office’s Catholic identity. Thus, there is a need to discern
how to make sure Christian Values Education efforts do not mask the attempts for real
Recontextualisation and that the former are not preferred over the latter. Therefore it is
41
recommended to revise the practices or documents which are imbedded in this approach in
order to make them more in consonance with a Recontextualised approach. It is very
important to clearly differentiate the Recontextualisation efforts from Christian Values
Education, aware of the long-term effects of the latter that does not foster the office’s
Catholic identity and, instead, leads to its eventual loss in Secularisation (see Figures C.4-
C.8).
3.5 Figures C.2-C.8 show a significant group of respondents recognise an approach of
Reconfessionalisation at the current office. The opposition towards this type increases on an
ideal level. Within the scope of Reconfessionalisation, there is an attempt to offer and
represent the power and the beauty of the Catholic tradition in a clear and unadulterated
way. The question of the plausibility of the Christian tradition towards the context of people
today and towards the presence of other philosophies of life is left undiscussed or is
addressed in an apologetic way. The plurality of religions and philosophies of life are not
considered as a source of abundance. The respondents might need to have a more careful
discernment of the way they employ Reconfessionalisation. While some
Reconfessionalisation is needed, the Reconfessionalising efforts must be undertaken with
caution and even better, must be approached from a Recontextualising perspective. For
example, it might be interesting to involve CEO members to Recontextualise certain religious
symbols or practices. If the office should decide on modernising the rather 'traditional'
crosses (if this has not happened already), it could be considered to create some
contemporary crosses together. Also making a ritual out of putting these crosses in place
could help all members to be attentive and attach meaning to this religious symbol and of
what it refers to. Being continuously focused on a Recontextualised approach is very
important in view of improving the office’s Catholic identity features as mentioned in Figure
F.4.
3.6 ECSIP suggests taking the existing diversity at the office as a positive opportunity to affirm a
Dialogical and Recontextualising Catholic identity instead of a threat or an opportunity to
water it down (see Figures E.4-E.6). From the perspective of Catholic identity, respect and
openness for 'otherness' must be highlighted. We encourage the shift from a 'secularisation
paradigm' to a 'pluralisation paradigm': a different way to approach and analyse cultural and
religious reality today brings about a new language to speak about fundamental life options
and religious beliefs, a new perspective to reflect on them and a new practice that is more
attuned to present-day realities. It is important to acknowledge, accept and engage cultural,
philosophical and religious diversity within the office. Taking each persons’ unique talents
into account and paying attention to those who are in need close by and far away could be
some examples of this focus on diversity. It would be recommended that the Catholic
Education Office actively would search for opportunities to welcome the "other" into the
community. After all, only when we’re confronted with someone who thinks, acts or beliefs
different, we feel ourselves encouraged and obliged to think about and articulate our own
specific identity. Catholic identity is manifested in the creation of an environment where
42
people are challenged to develop a deeper philosophical and religious thoughtfulness and
deliberation, each in his/her personal way, through the encounter with others and in
dialogue with a Catholic proposal of meaningfulness, liberation, salvation and fulfilment, that
is preached and lived in the community. The pertinent question is how to relate ourselves as
Catholics to other-believing people, how to be there for them in radical love and how to re-
establish our Catholic identity through that engagement, rather than how to safeguard a
'circle of the faithful'. Using processes of true dialogue, CEO leaders should invite staff
members to share their opinions on significant matters, in ways that genuinely take their
ideas into account. This will show staff members that their views and voices are important
to figures of authority. By providing a model of 'Catholics as listeners' as well as speakers,
leaders can help lend legitimacy to the process of dialogue. This will, in turn, aid efforts at
Recontextualisation and Reconfessionalisation as well as foster a Dialogue School type.
3.7 One of the best ways to communicate the Christian faith and to foster a living and fertile
religious community is to encourage various ways of praying individually and communally,
in ways that express continuity and fresh rediscovery of the treasure of Catholic spiritually
(see Figures E.7, F.2-F.4). ECSIP especially encourages the respondents to commonly search
for the diversity that exists within the Catholic tradition itself that can enrich their experience
of prayer in ways that encourage symbolic thinking and hermeneutical processes. Also
learnings from other subjects such as art, music, dance, biblical learnings, etc. are
encouraged to be integrated in personal and communal prayers. Actions of social solidarity
can also include prayers that include the needs of those most in need within the
respondents' immediate circle as well as those that relate to the needs of the most
vulnerable in the world. Actions that promote individual and communal prayer lives will also
enhance the office’s identity as a place to grow closer to God (see Figures E.7, F.2 and F.3).
3.8 As the office strives towards Recontextualisation and a Dialogue School model, the ECSIP
research considers it very important that it continues to form its leadership and staff in
matters of religion and Catholic identity. Staff formation is vital to the future of Catholic
identity. Ongoing training and formation for leaders and staff members on a cognitive but
also on a personal and spiritual level should enable them to relate to the Catholic faith in a
Post-Critical and Recontextualised way. It will give them the skills to critically evaluate their
attitudes and practices regarding e.g. their use of the Bible, their approach to Church history,
their view on revelation and redemption, their relation to other religions and philosophies
of life, etc. Furthermore, it will give them a language and the concepts to reflect and speak
about the religious identity among each other.
3.9 When feasible, we suggest establishing a team that can facilitate the review of Brisbane’s
Catholic Education Office’s ECSIP report, to plan and envision a contextual response, to
identify priorities, to implement plans and follow them up, to provide leadership and
promote collaboration, as well as to evaluate periodically and correct or adjust plans
accordingly.
43
To conclude, the strengths and opportunities recognised by the ECSIP research at the Catholic
Education Office in Brisbane can be considered a source of inspiration and a strong support basis
for devising and implementing effective responses to the challenges that were also identified by the
research. On the basis of the survey results, the Catholic Education Office of Brisbane has a wide
base of support for Catholic identity from most of the respondents who joined the study. This
observation is the most vital strength that can help to uphold and foster the office’s Catholic identity
on both the current and normative levels. With these qualities and strengths, challenges, critical
questions and suggested recommendations, we would like to encourage and continue to support
the Catholic Education Office of Brisbane in its ongoing efforts to renew and enhance its Catholic
identity in its specific and continuously changing context. This includes a hermeneutical and
symbolic manner of engaging with religious beliefs and an identity model that Recontextualises
Catholic identity in a manner that is faithful to the original Christian inspiration and the Catholic
faith tradition, while opting for solidarity and dialogue with philosophical and religious diversity at
the office. From a theological point of view, we maintain that this multi-correlational didactical
approach does most justice to the dynamics of revelation and Christian faith tradition itself.
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REFERENCES TO ADDITIONAL LITERATURE
These publications and texts provide information about the theological background, the view on
Catholic identity, the religious education didactics and the typologies of belief styles and school
identity models that underpin the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project.
BOEVE, L., Interrupting Tradition. An Essay on Christian Faith in a Postmodern Context (Louvain Theological and Pastoral
Monographs 30), Leuven, Peeters, 2002.
BOEVE, L., God Interrupts History: Theology in a Time of Upheaval, London - New York, Continuum, 2007.
BOEVE, L., Beyond Correlation Strategies. Teaching Religion in a Detraditionalised and Pluralised Context, in H. Lombaerts
& D. Pollefeyt (ed.), Hermeneutics and Religious Education (BETL 180), Leuven, Peeters, 2004, 233-254.
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY LEUVEN & CATHOLIC EDUCATION COMMISSION OF VICTORIA LTD, Understanding and Interpreting the
Enhancing Catholic School Identity Report of Your School. A Guide for Principals and School Leadership Teams as they
explore the Survey Component of the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Process (CONSULTATIVE VERSION), Melbourne,
CECV, 2014.
LOMBAERTS, H. & POLLEFEYT, D., Hermeneutics and Religious Education (BETL, 180), Leuven, Peeters, 2004.
POLLEFEYT, D., The Difference of Alterity. A Religious Pedagogy for an Interreligious and Interideological World, in J. De
Tavernier et al. (ed.), Responsibility, God and Society. Theological Ethics in Dialogue. Festschrift Roger Burggraeve (BETL,
217), Leuven, Peeters, 2008, 305-330.
POLLEFEYT, D., Interreligious Learning (BETL, 201), Leuven, Peeters, 2007, 340 p.
POLLEFEYT, D., The Lustre of Life. Hermeneutic-Communicative Concept of Religious Education, English translation of
the Dutch article: De Luister van het Leven. Hermeneutisch-Communicatief Godsdienstonderwijs, in Narthex 13/1
(2013), 62-68.
POLLEFEYT D. & BOUWENS, J., Identity in Dialogue. Assessing and enhancing Catholic school identity. Research methodology
and research results in Catholic schools in Victoria, Australia (Christian Religious Education and School Identity, 1), Zürich
– Berlin, LIT-Verlag, 2014, ISBN 978-3-643-90550-5, 472 p.
POLLEFEYT, D., & BOUWENS, J., Framing the identity of Catholic schools. Empirical methodology for quantitative research
of the Catholic identity of an education institute, in International Studies in Catholic Education 2-2 (2010) 193-211.
POLLEFEYT, D., & BOUWENS, J., The Post-critical Belief Scale, the Melbourne Scale and the Victoria Scale ‘for dummies’,
unpublished interpretation manuals of the typological scales of the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project, K.U.
Leuven, 2009.
POLLEFEYT, D., & BOUWENS, J., Dialogue as the Future. A Catholic Answer to the 'Colourisation' of the Educational
Landscape, English translation of the Dutch article: Dialoog als Toekomst. Een Katholiek Antwoord op de Verkleuring
van het Onderwijslandschap, in P. Keersmaekers, M. van Kerckhoven & K. Vanspeybroeck (ed.), Dialoogschool in
Actie! Mag Ik er Zijn Voor U?, Antwerpen, Halewijn / VSKO / VVKHO, 2013, 49-60.
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