Catholic Teacher Preparation and Faith Permeation: An Exploratory Case Study

Fawcett, Brett Graham

Catholic Teacher Preparation and Faith Permeation: An Exploratory Case Study

dc.contributor.advisor	Burns, Amy
dc.contributor.author	Fawcett, Brett Graham
dc.contributor.committeemember	Kawalilak, Collen
dc.contributor.committeemember	Winchester, Ian
dc.date	2024-11
dc.date.accessioned	2024-09-16T17:42:11Z
dc.date.available	2024-09-16T17:42:11Z
dc.date.issued	2024-09-12
dc.description.abstract	The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore the ways that Catholic postsecondary institutions were perceived by their Catholic educator graduates to prepare Catholic teachers for the work of faith permeation in Catholic schools. Faith permeation is the process of integrating Catholicism into every aspect of a Catholic school. Church teaching suggests that a sort of permeation should also exist in Catholic postsecondary institutions and that their graduates should be equipped with qualities that are similar to those the Church expects of its teachers. This study therefore set out to explore the ways that Catholic teachers felt they were prepared for permeation by Catholic postsecondary institutions using qualitative methods and a critical realist ontology. The case studied was Alberta Catholic educators who hold an education-relevant qualification from a Catholic postsecondary institution and have worked in a Catholic school for at least one full school year. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven such educators to explore how they practice permeation and how the Catholic postsecondary institutions they attended informed their practice. Document analysis was also conducted into the standards used to assess Catholic teachers in Alberta, which found that they align with the Church’s expectations for teachers. The findings suggested that permeation is a structure that operates through both the implicit and the explicit curriculum of a school and that the Catholic postsecondary institution is a concrete universal with the causal power to effectively prepare teacher graduates for permeation through its explicit and implicit curriculum, including graduates who were not well-formed when they entered the institution. However, this power can be mitigated if instructors are perceived to contradict Church teaching either in their overt instruction or in the way they live their lives, as well as by other ways the postsecondary institution is mediated. Recommendations are made regarding Catholic postsecondary teacher preparation based on the research. The findings of this study provide a foundation for future research into the ways that Catholic teachers can be formed to effect faith permeation in Catholic schools.
dc.identifier.citation	Fawcett, B. G. (2024). Catholic teacher preparation and faith permeation: an exploratory case study (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/119718
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Catholic teacher preparation
dc.subject	Catholic faith permeation
dc.subject	Catholic postsecondary institutions
dc.subject.classification	Education--Religious
dc.subject.classification	Education--Teacher Training
dc.subject.classification	Education--Curriculum and Instruction
dc.title	Catholic Teacher Preparation and Faith Permeation: An Exploratory Case Study
dc.type	doctoral thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Education Graduate Program – Educational Research
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Education (EdD)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.