The charismatic sustainability of a Catholic school ethos by newly recruited educators : a case study

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative research is to find how a Catholic school ethos can be transmitted, mastered, and fostered within a local Church school setting, particularly amongst the newly recruited educators. Although the evangelical mission of the Church, “Go and teach all nations” (Matt 28), is clear, on the other hand, influential progressive currents promoted by an ever-growing secular society are leaving their mark on the Catholic school’s climate. Consequently, this research attempts to explore how a Church school with a solid ethos, although challenging, can create a Catholic culture and identity founded on the values of the Gospel and the Catholic traditions. This study aims to equip NREs to truly master and foster the Catholic school’s ethos in their everyday school experience, in order to be able to pass it on to the school’s community through daily rituals, activities and through the hidden curriculum. This depends highly on the Catholic school’s SLT, and this study strives to challenge the role of the SLT in fostering and implementing the Catholic vision and mission within a Catholic School community. In fact, this research attempts to provide valuable insights and recommendations to Catholic school SLTs as to how the Catholic school ethos can be transmitted and practised in practical and effective ways.