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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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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Melbourne Scale, CEO members

PCB Scale, CEO members

Victoria Scale, CEO members