Thirty years ago, as a postgraduate student completing my master’s degree in education, I was invited to choose an area of ‘comparative education’ to research. It was not a decision to take lightly since the essay would form a significant part of my overall assessment profile. I was 22 years old, a newly qualified teacher,…
When I became a mother, I did what most new parents do. Made promises to myself about how I would raise my children. I consulted books on feeding, spoke endlessly to friends and family about coping with behaviour and setting boundaries, and I made plans to ensure they would always read, play music, exercise regularly…
Recently, while teaching an undergraduate course on contemporary issues in Catholic education, I became aware of how constrained freedom of speech has begun to feel for many young adults. These are final-year Catholic student teachers who are intelligent, thoughtful and on the cusp of professional life. The class encouraged them to engaging with complex and…
Religious Education occupies a curious place in public life. It is endlessly debated, poorly understood and easily sidelined. Although it asks some of the biggest questions pupils will face at school, it is increasingly treated as though it matters least. That neglect is no longer abstract. It is now playing out in courts and classrooms,…
If sacramental preparation moves out of schools, the first and hardest hit will be those on the margins—the children whose families are already struggling with poverty, instability or fractured relationships with the Church writes Roisín Coll My final class of the semester met this week. It was a room full of soon-to-qualify Catholic primary…