Twelve Months On: Navigating the Disparity Between Vision and Reality for Religious Education Teachers in Australian Catholic Schools

Abstract

This study builds on previous research exploring the formation needs and experiences of Early Career Teachers (ECT) in Catholic Schools in an Australian regional context, particularly concerning their understanding of Catholic identity and the teaching of Religious Education. Conducted twelve months after the previous study, ‘And Now I’m Teaching in a Catholic School’ – The Experiences of Early Career Teachers (ECT) in Lismore Catholic Schools and What Can Be Learned to Support Their Formation: A Preliminary Study (Challinor, Lancaster & Rymarz, 2022), follow-up interviews with twelve ECTs indicated an ongoing cognitive dissonance between the expressed ideal of Catholic education and the lived reality in Catholic schools. The study highlights the importance of ongoing staff formation and mentoring for ECTs. Three vignettes are provided as composite accounts of the range of ECTs engaged in the study, and the various challenges and learning opportunities experienced in their early years of appointment are highlighted. Further research is planned in four years to understand how the experience of ECTs continues to evolve and what can be learned to support their retention and continual formation.