“Have They Learned to Swim Around in the Big Puddle?”: Cultural Awareness and Engagement of Christian High School Students

Abstract

This article assesses to what extent and how 18 Protestant and Catholic religiously based high schools in Alberta, British Columbia, and Washington state prepare students for cultural awareness and engagement. All schools claimed to educate students to make constructive and significant differences in culture and society. While this was evident in most schools, the range, depth, and kind of cultural perception and immersion usually depended on the initiatives of individual teachers rather than on school-wide planning. Almost all schools involved their students in service activities both locally and overseas, but these were seldom well integrated with their curricula. Nevertheless, the results of the study challenge the commonly assumed stereotype that religious schools isolate students from culture and neglect social justice issues.