The Education and Formation of Teachers for Catholic Schools: Responding to Changed Cultural Contexts

The much documented sociological and cultural developments which offered significant challenges to Catholic education in recent decades have played no small part in changing the composition of the Catholic teaching force. A weakening of religious practices and an increase in more personalised understandings of spirituality are now especially prominent in the younger generations of Catholics. As this is the pool from which Catholic teachers of the future will come, it is vital to look afresh at the way we offer support and faith formation. More formal Catholic teacher education processes have to address these challenges by making a commitment to thorough theological education in a range of institutions which are both academically rigorous and pastorally supportive.