Strategies for solidarity education at Catholic schools in Chile: Approximations and descriptions from the perspectives of school principals

Abstract

This research project sought to learn how solidarity education is manifested in Chilean Catholic schools, considering the perspectives of school principals, programme directors and pastoral teams. Eleven Chilean schools were studied and the information gathering techniques applied included: a questionnaire, semi-structured individual interviews and group interviews. The grounded theory model was used to analyse the data. The results describe contexts of emerging solidarity education strategies and one perceives a variety of degrees of effort, bi-directional fields of action and traditional attitudes associated with charity. There is an overall sense of solidarity-in-transition, ranging from welfare-oriented action to promotional activities, channelled through training processes. Strengths, weaknesses, challenges and the need for outside support for the schools are highlighted in order to assure effectiveness and sustainability for the programmes.