Between and betwixt: Catholic teachers in English secular schools

Abstract

This article gives voice to Catholic teachers working in secular English schools. Their experience is an under-researched area and, despite a wealth of teaching on the vocation of the teacher, the specific vocation of the Catholic teacher in a secular school receives scant attention from the Catholic Church and researchers. Through in-depth interviews, participants articulated their idiographic experiences of inhabiting a liminal space. The main themes arising from the data were a strong sense of vocation, the absence of a metanarrative in the schools and the teachers’ strong awareness of their Catholic identity. The findings challenge school leaders, the Catholic Church and the government to recognise the presence and experience of Catholic teachers in secular schools and to be attentive to their experiences and needs. The teachers themselves are challenged to acknowledge and value their own worldview and develop their understanding of the relationship between their religious commitment and their practice.