Abstract
This paper presents the policy context of Ontario (Canada) education for Catholic teachers. The analysis suggests that a seminal policy related to Aboriginal education compels Catholic teachers to profound considerations of what it means to teach in the Catholic faith. More specifically, it suggests that the policy, when juxtaposed to the other policies and practices, force Catholic teachers to account for ideological and political implications related to their practice. It is argued that Catholic teachers are bound to analyze critically the tensions and complexities of Aboriginal students’ epistemic realities and the profound socio-political implications that contribute to a new and different level of professional and moral responsibility.
Highlights
Catholic teachers are expected to embody the Gospel values in their pedagogy and practice that reflect the rich moral tradition of Catholic education (Institute for Catholic Education, 2007)
The expectation remains that Catholic teachers effectively and meaningfully infuse dimensions of the Catholic faith into the standardized curriculum mandated by the Ontario Ministry of Education (OME)
By first presenting the contextual background of Ontario education policies and practices related to Catholic teachers, provincial curriculum, and public accountability, and second by establishing the theoretical context of the analysis, it is argued that the Framework policy compels Catholic teachers to profound considerations of what it means to teach in the Catholic faith since it requires an examination of broader curricular and pedagogic issues
Summary
Catholic teachers are expected to embody the Gospel values in their pedagogy and practice that reflect the rich moral tradition of Catholic education (Institute for Catholic Education, 2007). Catholic teachers are responsible for interpreting and authoring programs and curriculum to meaningfully engage Catholic students through theoretical, spiritual, and philosophical terrains. To add to these responsibilities, Catholic teachers are not immune to the measures of public accountability in Ontario that score and rate students and schools in grades three, six, and nine according to externally imposed large-scale assessments, thereby contributing to the expectations that Catholic students will favorably compare with their peers from the various coterminous boards of education. The First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework (2007) (the Framework) identifies Aboriginal students’ unique learning needs, their socio-cultural and linguistic traditions, and the significance for schools and teachers to authentically represent these differences in their classroom practices. The resulting achievement gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students is influenced by socio-historical realities of colonial assimilation practices (Cajete, 1994)
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