Early childhood teachers’ spiritual and faith formation experiences: initial findings from The T.I.T.U.S. Project

Abstract

Research on teacher formation emphasises the need for teachers in Catholic schools to be involved in ongoing, purposeful, professional and spiritual formation (Franchi and Rymarz 2017). Contextually, Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) requires teachers of Religious Education (RE) in Catholic schools to participate in ongoing professional development, including opportunities for spiritual and faith formation. This paper presents initial findings from a project that engaged twelve Catholic early childhood RE teachers from one Western Australian school in a series of formative sessions. The project was named The T.I.T.U.S. (Testament In Teachers Using Scripture) Project and comprised four sessions that offered teachers opportunities for spiritual and faith formation through the use of Scripture. A qualitative approach to the research design was employed and data gathered included survey, journaling and semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed through a process of thematic coding. The initial findings provide insight into early childhood RE teachers??? perspectives of their own spiritual and faith formation.