Leadership and Religious Schools: International Perspectives and Challenges 9781472553065, 9781441172976

Leadership in religious schools is a complex and often misunderstood subject. Educational leaders must perform the dual

225 4 2MB

English Pages [222] Year 2013

Report DMCA / Copyright

DOWNLOAD PDF FILE

Recommend Papers

Leadership and Religious Schools: International Perspectives and Challenges
 9781472553065, 9781441172976

  • 0 0 0
  • Like this paper and download? You can publish your own PDF file online for free in a few minutes! Sign Up
File loading please wait...
Citation preview

Preface Much discussion and research has been attributed to the significant role school leaders play in creating effective learning environments (Christie & Limerick, 2004; Dubrin & Dalgish, 2003; Golanda, 1991). Much of the leadership literature as it applies to educational leadership in general has sought to classify effective leaders as those who are able to fulfill a critical role in rallying teachers towards enhancing progressive learning opportunities for students (Barth, 2001; Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2004). Though these insights arising from the general body of literature are relevant to effective leadership in religious schools, they are not entirely adequate for the development of leaders in these schools. Religious schools have special characteristics of their own, which means that the formation of effective leadership in religious schools requires the consideration of issues in addition to those that are common to all schools (Chapman & Buchanan, 2012). This collection of edited works has been put together to encourage leaders and potential leaders in religious schools to think more broadly and critically about their roles as leaders. There are various dimensions to leadership in religious schools (Buchanan, Chapter 8), and the contributors to this volume explore many of these dimensions from a range of perspectives. Leadership involves leading with some end, or ultimate values, in mind. Gellel (Chapter 2) and D’Souza (Chapter 3) explore the ultimate values of education in a religious school. Three chapters deal with case studies of how leaders in religious schools can work within the particular cultural and political environment in which they are located. Du Preez (Chapter 4) explores how leadership in human rights can promote social change. Kollontai (Chapter 5) and Yablon (Chapter 6) each explore (based on their own very different experiences) how leaders in religious schools can promote a culture of peaceful coexistence in a multifaith community. The final collection of chapters considers the ways in which generic problems of leadership assume particular hues in schools that have a religious foundation. Stern (Chapter 7) explores some of the problems leaders encounter with inclusion and exclusion among their students—and with the

9781441172976_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd vii

10/19/2012 4:24:45 PM

viii

Preface

exclusion that the role of leader necessarily entails. Lavery (Chapter 9) shows how pre-service teachers can be trained for servant leadership. Engebretson (Chapter 10) suggests ways in which leaders in religious schools may best deal with secularization of the community in which the school operates. Mushin Canbolat, Ismail Albayrak and Kath Engebretson (Chapter 11) discuss the key characteristics of good leadership in Hizmet schools and suggest that they may be offered to leaders in other educational settings, including religious schools, around the world. I thank my friends and colleagues who have so expertly contributed to this volume and express my appreciation to the scholars who dedicated their time and expertise to the task of peer reviewing the chapters in this collection in accordance with current academic practice. I have been delighted and immensely stimulated by reading the chapters as they have arrived on my computer. I trust that my delight and stimulation will be shared by leaders apprising leaders in many religious schools. Michael T. Buchanan Australian Catholic University

References Barth, R. S. (2001). Learning by heart. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Chapman, J. D. & Buchanan, M. T. (2012). The learning journey: Lifelong professional learning for leaders in faith-based schools. In D. Aspin, J. D. Chapman, R. G. Bagnall & K. M. Evans (Eds.), International handbook of lifelong learning (2nd edn). (pp. 547–56). Netherlands: Springer. Christie, P. & Limerick, B. (2004). Leadership as a field of study. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 25(3), 3. Dubrin, A. & Dalgish, C. (2003). Leadership: An Australian focus. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd. Golanda, E. L. (1991). Preparing tomorrow’s educational leaders: An enquiry regarding the wisdom of utilizing the position of assistant principal as an internship or apprenticeship to prepare future principals. Journal of School Leadership, 1, 266–83. Lunenburg, F. C. & Omstein, A. C. (2004). Educational administration (4th edn). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

9781441172976_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd viii

10/19/2012 4:24:45 PM

Foreword In many countries, religiously affiliated schools retain a prominent place in educational offerings. The strength of enrolments in these schools, in a range of cultural contexts, also speaks powerfully of their ongoing role. It is somewhat surprising, however, that there remains a dearth of quality literature on the particular challenges that are faced by those in leadership positions in religious schools. Leadership of a religious school can easily, and mistakenly, be seen as a conventional position with an added dimension. This idea was captured well in a conversation I had some years ago with a principal of a prominent religious school, who remarked that his job involved all the challenges of leading what he called a “normal” school, but with the added difficulty of giving the school a religious flavor. This notion of leadership in religious schools is bound to be inadequate as it is, in essence, a deficit model. The religious school is seen in this approach as being like the secular school except for a tangential interest in an additional element that complicates rather than substantiates the school’s mission. A far sounder approach, represented in this volume, is that leading in the religious schools involves an intrinsic understanding of the importance of the religious character of the school, and that this is not something that can be seen as an added extra. There is a well-established literature on the critical role that leadership plays in shaping and directing school culture. To be effective, educational leaders must be immersed in the social context that their schools operate in. This reality can often be quite complex. There is a tendency, however, to see the phenomenon of religious schools, even in the secular West, as a relatively unnuanced category. The reality, as reflected in this book, is quite different, and this impinges directly on the capacity of school leadership to provide vision, oversight and management. To lead a religious school in a country with deep and abiding religious roots brings with it a range of challenges that may not be evident in different contexts such as in more secular cultures or in places where even nominal religious allegiance gives rise to political and

9781441172976_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd ix

10/19/2012 4:24:45 PM

x

Foreword

social tensions. There is the added dimension of the importance of religiously affiliated schools in the globalized education debate as many schools retain a religious connection and see this as a critical part of adapting to rapid social change. This edited volume is a most valuable addition to the scholarly discourse on leadership of religious schools. It strikes a very attractive balance between theoretical and practical concerns with a clear bias towards providing a framework for effective leadership. Its focus on the centrality of religion and its international perspective are most welcome. Professor Richard Rymarz PhD, EdD. University of Alberta

9781441172976_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd x

10/19/2012 4:24:45 PM

Contributors ISMAIL ALBAYRAK is a professor at Australian Catholic University and holds the Fethullah Gulen Chair in the Study of Islam and Muslim-Catholic Relations at Australian Catholic University. He completed his Ph.D. at Leeds University in the United Kingdom. Prior to his current appointment, he was an assistant and associate professor at Sakarya University/Turkey, where he taught and published in the areas of Qur’anic Studies, Contemporary Approaches to the Qur’an and Orientalism. He is also interested in the formal and informal education of Muslims, their place and activities in a globalized world together with the study of interfaith dialogue and tolerance education. MICHAEL T. BUCHANAN is a senior lecturer at Australian Catholic University. He is a member of the National School of Religious Education and lectures in the postgraduate courses in religious education curriculum and leadership in religious education. He is the author of Managing curriculum change in religious education: An inside perspective from school leaders in religious education, and coauthor of An introduction to Catholic education: Current perspectives, and Cornerstones of Catholic secondary religious education. Michael is also the editor of Religious Education Journal of Australia and publishes regularly in national and international scholarly journals. MUHSIN CANBOLAT is the regional coordinator of the Selimiye Foundation. His doctoral research at the Australian Catholic University focuses on the educational vision of Fethullah Gulen. He studied theology at the Divinity Faculty of Marmara University. MARIO O. D’SOUZA is an associate professor and dean of the Faculty of Theology at University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto. His research and teaching areas include: the philosophy of education; religion and education; and pluralism, personhood and democracy.

9781441172976_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd xi

10/19/2012 4:24:45 PM

xii

Contributors

PETRO DU PREEZ is an associate professor at North-West University (Potchefstroom) in South Africa. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Stellenbosch in 2008. Her research foci includes: curriculum studies and human rights for diverse education environments. Petro’s research involvement includes national and international projects and publications. She has presented several papers and published widely on topics of human rights in education for multicultural and multireligious environments. KATH ENGEBRTSON is an associate professor, lecturer, researcher, writer and doctoral supervisor in the School of Religious Education at Australian Catholic University. Her current research interests are interfaith education, the role of the Catholic school in relation to the local church community, professional standards for teachers of religious education and freedom of religion in relation to religiously affiliated schools. She is widely published both nationally and internationally, and along with colleagues from Australian Catholic University and overseas she is one of the editors of the International handbook on the religious spiritual and moral dimensions of education as well as the International handbook of inter-religious education. Her three most recent books are: In your shoes: Inter-faith education for Australian religious educators (2009); Cornerstones of Catholic secondary religious education: Principles and practice of the new evangelization (2008, with Marian de Souza, Michael T. Buchanan and Richard Rymarz), and Connecting: Teenage boys, spirituality and religious education (2007). ADRIAN-MARIO GELLEL is a senior lecturer in Catechetics and Religious Education and a member of both Faculties of Theology and of Education, University of Malta. He has defended his PhD dissertation on meeting individual differences in the religious education classroom through adaptive teaching at the Università Pontificia Salesiana in Rome. During these past years he has published and researched in the fields of children’s spirituality and religious education. Adrian is also actively involved in the ministry within the Maltese Archdiocese. Currently, he is the diocesan responsible for Catholic religious education in state and private schools.

9781441172976_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd xii

10/19/2012 4:24:45 PM

Contributors

xiii

PAULINE KOLLONTAI is a professor and deputy dean in the Faculty of Education and Theology at York St John University, UK. Her research is focused on religion in society, particularly looking at religion, peace and reconciliation. Pauline teaches in the area of religious studies. SHANE LAVERY is an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Notre Dame, Australia Fremantle Campus, where he coordinates the postgraduate program. He has taught service learning and social justice to pre-service secondary teachers since 2004. His teaching and research in this area has led him to believe strongly in the life-changing influence a well-structured Christian service-learning program can have on the leadership formation of pre-service teachers. JULIAN STERN is a professor of Education and Religion, and dean of the Faculty of Education and Theology, at York St John University, UK. He was a schoolteacher in the South of England for 14 years, and has also worked for 18 years in teacher training, research and consultancy in five universities (the Institute of Education, London, the Open University, Brunel University, the University of Hull and now York St John University), in partnership with numerous schools, local education authorities, government agencies and other organizations across this country and internationally. He has published 11 books and several dozen articles for trainee teachers, experienced teachers, teacher trainers and academics, most recently on involving parents in schools, on homework, on RE teaching, on schools and religions and on the spirit of the school. YAACOV YABLON is the head of the Educational Counseling Program in the School of Education at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. He deals with affective aspects of behaviour and learning, and his research focuses on peace education, high-risk behaviours of children and prevention programs.

9781441172976_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd xiii

10/19/2012 4:24:45 PM

9781441172976_Prelims_Final_txt_print.indd xiv

10/19/2012 4:24:46 PM

Leadership and Religious Schools

3

investment funds, ideas, goods and services, people, and businesses beyond domestic and national boundaries into a larger international realm which, in turn, has the effect of increasing the interdependence and interconnectedness between various people, cultures, ethnic groups, government entities, and organizations from different locations into a wider global arena. (Litz, 2011, p. 47)

Globalization has been perceived as a standardization of culture which ‘operates through the imposition of a one-windowed view of the world’ (Bottery, 2006, p. 11). The growing influence of sociocultural globalization enables people to consume any type of food, be present at any religious ceremony and pay attention to any kind of news report, music or sporting event in virtually any location throughout the world. The influences of globalization are interpreted as the advent of new and distinct transnational forms of global culture, governance and society (Bruff, 2005; Held & McGrew, 2007). One of the concerns regarding the impact of globalization is that it may result in giving people a superficial understanding of ideas, thoughts, meaning and values, and make them perceive these as negative or manipulative influences on their profound convictions (Bottery, 2006; Tikly, 2001). The effects of globalization (including economic globalization) can lead to drastic changes in societies, and Litz (2011) has argued that it is crucial that global forces and pressures are accurately identified by school leaders. Leaders need to lead schools effectively so that they can respond to large-scale changes arising from the complex and multifaceted process and/or dimensions of globalization: In addition, educational leaders need to be aware of the fact that globalization can take on many forms and it is becoming increasingly evident that they will need to use several dimensions with which to frame their work in the coming years. (Litz, 2011, p. 49)

A lack of attention by educational leaders on the impact of global forces may result in schools, including religious schools, losing their way and relevance. Adrian Gellel has responded to the challenges of globalization in Chapter 2 of this book. He considers how leaders of religious schools might effectively address the challenges and remain authentic to the educational mission of the

9781441172976_Ch01_Final_txt_print.indd 3

10/19/2012 4:43:55 PM

4

Leadership and Religious Schools

religious tradition to which the school belongs. While his insights are drawn from the Christian tradition, he acknowledged that all instruments built by humans, including educational institutions, are oriented towards change according to the tools or technologies humans create. Gellel argues that the challenges arising from globalization have the potential to endanger or make vulnerable the very existence of religious schools depending on which part of the globe they are situated. He notes that, with the arrival of globalization, economic considerations and policies have become more influential in shaping almost every aspect of human life and institution. These include both local and international governance as well as educational policies and school curricula which are particularly being conditioned by economic considerations. Leadership in religious schools must constantly bear in mind the values and worldview which centre on a passion for humanity, a solid anthropological vision, so that the quality of these schools goes beyond the achievement of raw academic scores and truly contributes to the holistic development of individuals and societies. Globalization has also contributed to the increasing formation of multicultural societies in virtually every Western democracy as well as other nation-states. Mario O D’Souza observes that the growth of multicultural societies has contributed to the promotion of principles of secularism, and that Western democracies seem unable to accommodate or respond to the many and diverse forms of religious and cultural identities present within such communities. In Chapter 3 of this collection, D’Souza argues that growth in multiculturalism can lead to miniaturization of the human identity. It can distort the positive role that religion and culture play, and it can sour aspirations for positive orientation towards the common good and democratic well-being of all members of society. He claims that, in the midst of multicultural diversity, limiting human identity to religion and culture on the one hand and secularism on the other leads to the miniaturization of the citizen and eventually the fragmentation of society. In Chapter 3, D’Souza maintains that educational leaders in religious schools must perform the dual task of encouraging religious identities and relating them to citizenship, but ultimately to the common good. Educational leaders need to make religious

9781441172976_Ch01_Final_txt_print.indd 4

10/19/2012 4:43:55 PM

Leadership and Religious Schools

5

identity relevant to the whole school community, but they also need to expand on how human identity is conceived and how it is manifested in the democratic square. Given these challenges, learning and leadership take on a special importance in religious schools. Uncertainty as a consequence of globalization has caused unrest in many countries and frequent changes in the nature of schooling throughout the world. In Chapter 4 of this book, Petro du Preez identifies one of the new responsibilities expected of a school leader: he/she is required to assist in the recognition of human rights through education. She argues that the process of addressing human rights education is even more complex in religious schools where human rights values are sometimes seen as contradicting the value system of the religious beliefs that these schools uphold. The overarching issue in Chapter 4 that du Preez is concerned with is the responsibility of school leaders in religious schools for a curriculum based on human rights. This responsibility entails not only being accountable for human rights education, but also ensuring that human rights education is explored via diverse approaches to human rights education. This leads to several questions relating to the practice leaders of religious schools should adopt in terms of their responsibility to foster a human rights culture in their schools. She suggests that, in the midst of multicultural diversity, leaders in religious schools need to teach and lead for diversity, and this imposes a responsibility on a school leader to be accountable for a human rights based curriculum. According to du Preez (2009), a human rights based curriculum does not limit itself to narrow interpretations of human rights and its supposed value system. In fact, a truly human rights based curriculum is one that welcomes a diverse range of beliefs and values, that allows human beings to be committed to their beliefs and values and that requires human beings to be open to the commitments of others as well. The principle which should be adopted is one of dialogue that enables extensive use of the richness and wisdom embedded in the faith community. In multicultural societies or nations with mixed ethnicity, race and religions, the existence of religious schools is sometimes controversial. Pauline Kollontai reveals in Chapter 5 that religious schools have the

9781441172976_Ch01_Final_txt_print.indd 5

10/19/2012 4:43:55 PM

6

Leadership and Religious Schools

potential to divide, isolate, segregate and ghettoize children on religious grounds. If this occurs, there is the danger of adding to, or creating, fragility in terms of a lack of social trust and a breakdown of social cohesion. Kollontai argues that if these traits of intolerance, prejudice and hatred that are found across the globe are to be overcome, then it is vital that leadership in religious schools plays its part. The type of leadership required is one that promotes inclusive learning environments and respect for all. She claims that the starting point for such learning environments rests with the leaders themselves. Consideration needs to be given to the actual purpose of religious schools within diverse social contexts, and a key challenge is to build inclusive learning communities while fostering the particular religious foundation to which the school belongs. A way forward, Kollontai argues, is to encourage school leaders and teachers to face the challenge by identifying what is actually meant by an inclusive learning community and to envision how it might be brought about. Effective leadership in religious schools requires that leaders be willing and able to consider ways to develop and nurture a collegial atmosphere and work dialogically to establish a collective vision and purpose which reflects the reality of the students and their communities. Adopting a peace-education approach across the school curriculum in religious schools provides a significant way of fostering inclusive learning communities oriented towards the advancement of social cohesion and social trust. Kollontai draws on perspectives from Christian and Muslim schools in Bosnia–Herzegovina contexts. Yaacov Yablon is also concerned with the interplay between peace and education and draws on insights from Jewish and Muslim school students in Israel. He argues that religion and religious schools have the potential to play a positive role in fostering peace among diverse religious and cultural groups. In Chapter 6, Yablon proposes that this potential is frequently overlooked: religion and religious schools are time and again perceived as divisive and polarizing, and to some extent a source of intergroup conflict. Yablon proposes that contact between members of conflicting groups is a way to enhance positive relationships and schools, including religious schools, have an important role to play in facilitating purposeful contact. In Chapter 6,

9781441172976_Ch01_Final_txt_print.indd 6

10/19/2012 4:43:55 PM

Leadership and Religious Schools

11

Golanda, E. L. (1991). Preparing tomorrow’s educational leaders: An enquiry regarding the wisdom of utilizing the position of assistant principal as an internship or apprenticeship to prepare future principals. Journal of School Leadership, 1, 266–83. Held, D. & McGrew, A. (2007). Introduction: Globalization at risk? In D. Held & A. McGrew (Eds), Globalization theory: Approaches and controversies. Malden, MA: Polity Press. Hunter, J. (2010). To change the world: The irony, tragedy and possibility of Christianity today. Oxford Scholarship. Retrieved from www.oxfordscholarship.com/ view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730803.001.0001/acprof-9780199730803-chapte r-7?rskey=HjbyOq&result=2&q=elitism. Johnston, D. & Sampson, C. (Eds) (1994). Religion: The missing dimension of statecraft. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. Klenke, K. (2007). Authentic leadership: A self, leader and spiritual identity perspective. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 3(1), 68–97. Lavery, S. & Richards, J. (Autumn, 2006). Service-learning: More than just volunteering. Principal Matters, 17–8. Litz, D. (2011). Globalization and the changing face of educational leadership: Current trends & emerging dilemmas. International Education Studies, 4(3), 47–61. Lunenburg, F. C. & Omstein, A. C. (2004). Educational administration (4th edn). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. McNamara, N. (2002). Religious leadership in the contemporary Catholic school: Through the lens of church documents. Journal of Catholic School Studies, 80(2), 37–53. Marzano, R. J., Waters, T. & McNulty, B. A. (2005). School leadership that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Robinson, V. (2007). School leadership and student outcomes: Identifying what works and why. Winmalee, NSW: ACEL Monograph Series. Rule, P. (1968). Jesuit and Confucian? Chinese religion in the journals of Matteo Ricci SJ 1583–1610. Journal of Religious History. Gallagher 11(10), 105–24. Sergiovanni, T. J. (2000). The lifeworld of leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Shahid, S. (2011). Educational leadership: Change through self understanding. Bulletin of Education and Research, 33(1). Retrieved from go.galegroup.com. ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA277994000&v=2.1&u=acuni&it=r& p=AONE&sw=w. Spillane, J. P. (2004). Educational leadership source. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 26(2), 169–72.

9781441172976_Ch01_Final_txt_print.indd 11

10/19/2012 4:43:55 PM

2

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization through an Education Anchored in Christian Anthropology Adrian-Mario Gellel

There are various characteristics that make our species unique, all of which are interrelated and each of which influences the development of the others. Among the characteristics that define who we are as human beings are our abilities to construct tools, adapt to new contexts as well as to learn and to pass on that learning to future generations. Education has always been an essential tool to foster development and progress. Like other instruments developed by humans, educational systems change according to context and to the tools humans create. From the oral transmission of lore, to apprenticeships to formal schooling, every generation has reinvented the educational system to suit its needs. From the dawn of human civilization, religious institutions have been at the fore in providing education and in structuring curricula. In this regard, from the School of Alexandria in the second century of Christianity, to monastic and cathedral schools, to universities in the Middle Ages to the establishment of schools and colleges throughout the modern and contemporary ages in different parts of the world, Christianity has played a significant role in constructing the identity of Western society and in the development of communities worldwide. Through education, Christian communities have helped in the development of new frameworks, paradigms and knowledge that has facilitated and at times instigated progress. Today, with the advent of globalization, economy has become central in shaping every aspect of human life. Local and international governance, and

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 13

10/19/2012 4:43:12 PM

14

Leadership and Religious Schools

accordingly, educational policies and curricula, are also being conditioned by economic considerations. While sharing similar challenges, depending on which part of the globe they are situated, religious schools face specific challenges as well that might jeopardize their very existence. More than ever, Christian school administrators are called to ground their leadership in a passion for humanity and in a solid anthropological vision so that the quality of their schools goes beyond raw scores and truly contributes to the holistic development of individuals and societies. This may be the tool that makes a difference and counteracts other tools, developed particularly by Western society, that have brought us to the present global crisis.

A world of change Humanity is the only species that is changed by the same tools that it creates. Indeed, much of the change is generated by the conceptions of material or abstract tools. Thus, for instance, the invention of the wheel in prehistoric times and, similarly, computer technology today have not only eased our toil, but they have changed the way we experience time and space and have, consequently, radically changed who we are. This continuous transformation of humanity has been going on since our very first appearance on earth. Nonetheless, even though change is a constant of our species, the pace with which it occurs has been rapidly increasing. The rapidity with which change is occurring tends to alienate the human community from the paradigms it is creating and the changes that it is undergoing. It seems that wealth and progress have become an end in themselves rather than a means of reaching fulfilment and stability. This may be due to a number of intricate developments that have occurred over the past centuries. Our world is a complex one, and no treatise can fully explain the reality that we live in. However, a number of indicators might help us understand the complexity and rapidity of the experienced changes. One of the earlier major tools was surely the invention of writing some 5,500 years ago. As Ong (1982) rightly points out, literacy has changed the human psyche and culture. It has opened up new possibilities in the way people

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 14

10/19/2012 4:43:12 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

15

think, plan, trade and produce. Printing and the invention of communication technologies continue to build upon this original invention and continue to radically transform us. The ongoing shift from a verbal culture to a visual culture, as well as the move from oral culture to print to digitalization are clear examples of this. Yet, what most probably contributed to the present global situation has been the progressive development of the concept of Self and what Taylor (1989, 1991) has termed as the ‘Ideal of Authenticity’, that is, being true to oneself, discovering the true self so as to realize one’s potential. In the quest for this Ideal, the West has erroneously constructed tools that have been responsible, among others, for 1. the distancing between science and religion, and thereafter of a more fragmented and positivistic way of viewing reality, 2. the capitalistic ethic and the counter-reactions to it, 3. an individualistic approach to life, and 4. an instrumental mentality. One immediately notes that what is here being labelled as a tool is in itself an essential cog in the large machine of human transformation that is still in the process of being created. Every tool changes human reality and instigates the development of other tools. For Taylor, the modern concept of Self and of Authenticity was consolidated by the split in Christianity between Protestantism and the Catholic Church. The Reformation brought with it many new concepts, or rather highlighted some of the hidden concepts. Among these new ideas we find a new concept of identity and the affirmation of ordinary life. These specific tools that were constructed in Western society prompted a chain of events and the construction of other tools that have brought about a globalized scenario. Paradoxically, even though the human population has become exceedingly large, globalization has rendered it so small. A sense of global citizenship was already felt by Marx and Engels a century and a half ago. In their Das Kapital, they came to the conclusion that society was based on class inequity where a few people in a country had the capital while the majority were poor workers. In their conclusions, they called for a global united front to

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 15

10/19/2012 4:43:12 PM

16

Leadership and Religious Schools

change this situation. Yet, the tools, mainly financial and economic, developed by the West to minimize the disparity existent within Western countries have instead brought about disparity between countries (Milanovic, 2011). The increase in global population, conservatively estimated to reach the 9.6 billion mark in 50 years time (United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs, 2011), the dramatic increase in the need for natural resources and the strong influence of international economic realities on local politics put enormous restraints on sustainable development and on prospects of peaceful coexistence. Furthermore, due to its peculiar socio-political development, the West has cultivated a fragmented personal and social reality, with individualism at the root of most of the malaise that Western society is experiencing. Nonetheless, the future may not be bleak, since with their own inventiveness humans are still capable of transforming themselves and their own environment through the development or reconstruction of ‘tools’. In these past few decades, international bodies such as the United Nations, even though perceived by many to be weak on what matters most, have been able to create and reinvent tools for the benefit of humanity. Such is the case of the Universal Charter of Human Rights and its ongoing process of ratifications and international reviews. Local communities often set their benchmarks on internationally identified principles and embark on a process of review, slow and limited as it may be, of their laws and policies. The provision of formal education is a case in point. After being acknowledged as a fundamental human right, international institutions have worked to see that all countries implement policies and laws that guarantee access to free primary education for all. While admittedly the current situation is far from ideal, there have been substantial advances in the past decades.

The world of education Education is an indispensable tool for human development and existence. Every generation of human beings has been involved with the education of its young through diverse methods. Schools have existed from very early in

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 16

10/19/2012 4:43:12 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

17

the development of human civilization. For instance, archaeological evidence in Iraq shows that by the late third millennium BCE, formal schools already existed in ancient Sumer (Prellezzo & Lanfranchi, 1995). Their development was only possible after the invention of writing. Indeed, schools were initially developed as a means of teaching reading and writing, yet within a few centuries they developed into centres of learning and treasure houses for those who love acquiring knowledge. Yet humanity needed to wait another five millennia before understanding the value of mass education. Education was mainly directed toward the formation of rulers and leaders. An education that is accessible to all was only envisaged by visionary politicians, philosophers and saints, who were moved by a deep understanding of what it means to be human and to be part of the human community. The reason these ideals did not take root was most probably due to the social conditions prevalent and the lack of understanding and faith in human potential. It is, however, striking that the list of persons and/or institutions who in the past two millennia directed their efforts at educating the European population contains a great majority of persons attached to the Christian community. One can mention, among many other examples, the institution of monastic schools in the middle ages, the edicts of Charlemagne and his immediate successors, the strengthening of cathedral schools through the Third Lateran Council (1179) and, consequently, the institution of universities all through medieval Europe, the dedication of Martin Luther to the reorganization of schools and the myriads of schools led by religious congregations aimed at educating the poor. All these efforts are to be understood as seeds that eventually contributed to the formation of a solid humanism, both Christian and secular, which over these past few decades has led to the conviction and belief in human dignity and equality (Pagden, 2003; Witte, 1998). It was these tools of understanding of human dignity and equality which, together with a number of socio-historic circumstances, led to the widespread institution of public schooling in the West, and eventually to a mounting international pressure to provide free education to all children. During the past 60 years, education has finally been recognized as a universal right (for instance, United Nations, 1948; United Nations, Economic

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 17

10/19/2012 4:43:12 PM

18

Leadership and Religious Schools

and Social Council, 1966). Even though there are still millions of children who do not have access to education one should note that with the Dakar framework (UNESCO, 2000) governments have increased their efforts and tangible results are being achieved, even though at a slower rate than desired (UNESCO, 2011). The right to education was spurred by the value of equal opportunities in education and was developed in the wake of the French and American revolutions, and also as a result of the greater sensibilities of minority groups and the lower social classes. Starting from the second half of the nineteenth century, the value of equality led the governments of Western nations, as well as educationalists and psychologists, to increase their efforts in providing equal educational opportunities to all citizens (Glaser, 1977; Morgan 1997). This principle is still evident in most of the national policies on education. In this context the education act of the United States is revealing. The education act No Child Left Behind (2001) incorporates and amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It purposely changes the title of the latter incorporated act to ‘Improving the Academic achievement of the disadvantaged’, precisely to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. (United States of America, House of Representatives, 2002, section 1001)

However, together with this laudable human rights perspective on education, from the 1960s, a subtle shift in emphasis began to creep in as a new understanding of the value of education began to take root. Patrinos and Psacharopoulos (2011) highlighted the link between education and economic development: The more the investment in education the more the income produced. This was based on the simple observation that more educated labour gave better output than less educated workers. The theory was then expanded in the 1980s through the understanding that education not only enhanced productivity but also increased efficiency and national economic outcomes. For instance, in 1984, Psacharopoulos, as cited by Patrinos and

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 18

10/19/2012 4:43:12 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

19

Psacharopoulos (2011), estimated that education was responsible for an increase of between 12 per cent and 25 per cent of the national income in six countries. This simple realization paved the way for a series of national and international policies that directly injected more capital, or exhorted more investment, in education. The increase in compulsory school years, the incentives to attract more students to higher education institutions, the diversification of higher educational systems and the direct investment in lifelong learning have been some of the main steps taken in Western societies. These were, of course, important positive developments except that they were brought about more for economic reasons and the benefit of the state and less for the fulfilment of the individual. The fall of the European Communist regimes in 1989 have, to a considerable extent, legitimized such a capitalistic economic model. Also, a number of socio-historical and technological factors have favoured the advent of globalization. Consequently, economy has taken on a further central role in shaping politics, culture, society and, consequently, education. Beginning in the 1990s, the European Union increased its attention on and its investment in education that began to be understood as a means of tackling the rise in unemployment (Commission of the European Communities, 1995). The recession experienced at the beginning of the 1990s led the then-European Community to focus more on job creation and the development of work. This was seen as a means of improving social integration, enhancing equality of opportunity as well as taking care of the requirements of the economy, namely, competitiveness and job creation (Commission of the European Communities, 1993). This policy line was reconfirmed and further narrowed to focus on job creation and economic growth through the Lisbon Strategy (European Union, Council of the European Union, 2000), the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy (European Union, European Parliament 2005) and more recently by the adoption of the Europe 2020 (European Union, European Commission, 2010; European Union, European Council, 2010a & b). It’s true enough that, besides economy, these policy documents always mention the need to have an education that contributes to social cohesion but there is no doubt that economic concerns are seen as being far more important.

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 19

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

20

Leadership and Religious Schools

One of the major consequences for education, arising from these economic concerns, has been an increased emphasis on competency based learning. This was further reinforced by the development of a European Qualifications Framework (European Union, European Parliament and Council of the European Union, 2008), and thereafter the development of National Qualification Frameworks, the identification of key competencies for lifelong learning (European Union, Education and Culture DG, 2007) and the setting of targets, such as the reduction of early school leavers and the increase in graduates in the 30–34 age cohort (European Union, European Commission, 2008, 2010). Education is increasingly being tied to the development of flexible workers. The developments over these past two decades have led the European Union to promote a competency based education that equips ‘citizens with the skills and competences which the European economy and European society need in order to remain competitive and innovative, but also by helping to promote social cohesion and inclusion’ (European Union, Council of the European Union, 2011, C70/1). The educational developments in the European Union are but one example of what is occurring in Western countries. For instance in the Melbourne Declaration, the Australian Ministers of Education acknowledged that ‘improving educational outcomes for all young Australians is central to the nation’s social and economic prosperity and will position young people to live fulfilling, productive and responsible lives’ (Australia, Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2008, p. 7). Such a displaced importance given to the economy has unduly emphasized the value of competition, not allowing much space for the values of solidarity and cooperation. Each country is geared in a competitive race to improve and raise educational standards. The increased importance given to such international assessment programmes as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PRILS) continues to confirm the adamant determination of local governments to improve scores and their country’s ranking against that of other countries. Ultimately, the understanding seems to be that the lower a country’s ranking, the lesser are the possibilities of attaining economic growth and consequently

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 20

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

21

of being able to maintain or achieve better standards of living. Given the current ecological crisis, one should question whether the prioritization given to such an education/economic model and the values that ensue from it will in the long term prove to be harmful to the human community and to the world in which we live.

Implications for effective leadership in faith schools Together with the values of human dignity and the belief in equality, globalization, individualism, overemphasis on the economy and its deriving values are all resultants of tools that the human community has been constructing over the past centuries. The true power of the human community lies in the realization that it has the ability to consciously resort to tools that can transform the community. This long and tortuous process of transformation can mainly occur through education. Education is a moral and political venture. The current curricula developed in most Western countries are a clear testimony to this. The undue preoccupation with economy and job creation, or more precisely the preoccupation with the creation of wealth, is primarily contributing to the development of curricula that perpetuate the same identities that cause the malaise of modernity. Religious schools necessarily operate in this global scenario. However, even though they are required to follow national standards, it does not mean that they cannot contribute to different processes. The principle which should be adopted is one of dialogue that is able to make good use of the richness and wisdom embedded in the faith community. It is important to realize that we may be at a point of no return, and it is useless to imagine a future which is built on the nostalgia of the past. The tools that have been created and utilized by the human community in these past centuries have irremediably changed our identity and our way or relating with ourselves, with others and with creation itself. Yet, this does not mean that we cannot hope to change the course of history. If it is able to draw from its generational wisdom, the faith community has all the resources and potential

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 21

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

22

Leadership and Religious Schools

to contribute to a new future. This can be mainly done through its educational institutions. Speaking about the malaise of modernity and the Ideal of Authenticity, Taylor (1991) insists that we must continuously engage in a battle of the mind and the heart. This can be mainly done through a work of retrieval, that is, identifying and articulating tools and meaning, and through a work of persuasion, that is, a ‘struggle’ to convince others to search for and apply these tools. The leader in a religious school context needs to be aware of and conversant with his/her faith tradition so as to make the dialogue with society possible. The leader, together with his/her team, needs to be empowered through the wisdom of his/her own faith community in order to discern the tools that have been created. Not all tools that are presently employed are corrupt. Certainly, most of these tools are intrinsically good. The problem lies in the displacement of priorities. Furthermore, the leader and his/her team need to be conversant with the wisdom of their faith community in order to retrieve those tools that can contribute to a sustainable and equitable balance. This process which educational leaders need to go through is the same empowering process that students in faith schools need as well. It is only by becoming aware of the tools that regulate and sustain the general societal framework that they may become analytical and critical. In this way, religious schools would be contributing towards the formation of strong conscious identities capable of transforming societies.

The contribution of Catholic education It is precisely because of their power to change people and communities that the existence of religious schools is often contested. These contests or oppositions are normally motivated by secular arguments and/or by an awareness of the power that education has on the way students are formed. The particular philosophy of education that guides faith schools is perceived to be counter-cultural or, in some circumstances, subversive. In this regard, Catholic schools are often accused of being elitist, sectarian, indoctrinators

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 22

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

23

and promoters of social divisiveness and racism (see for instance, Baker & Riordan, 1998; Hand, 2003; Siegel, 2004), and that consequently students should be protected from this kind of schooling which only limits their autonomy (Siegel, 2004). However, throughout these past decades, various researchers have pointed out the prejudice of such arguments showing how Catholic schools meet the needs of the disadvantaged communities, achieve academic excellence and promote leadership, social justice and values of community and solidarity (for instance, Greeley, 1998; Grace, 2003). Among Christian denominations, the Catholic educational system is by far the largest and oldest system worldwide. According to Pittau (2000), by the end of the second millennium, there were some 175,000 Catholic kindergarten, primary and secondary schools serving some 55 million children. It is in the light of this reality that, for the purpose of this book, we will examine the tradition of Catholic education and its potential for making a valid contribution in the current global scenario. A second reason for examining this particular tradition of religious schools lies in the fact that, with its highly centralized system, the Catholic church is proving to be a leading global force on a number of matters and thus may have the resources to give an impetus to local church schools when facing challenges. During this last century, the Catholic Church has successfully become a transnational reality (Casanova, 1996, 2005). Between the first and second Vatican Councils (1869–1965) the church successfully completed its aggiornamento, where it escaped from the ghetto it had placed itself in through its rigid opposition to modernity. The increasing number of papal encyclicals and other church teachings on matters related to secular global issues, the role of the Holy See in international conflicts and in promoting peace and the ever-increasing public visibility of the pope are, according to Casanova (2005), three main elements that guarantee the Catholic Church an active and influential role in global and local politics. In this regard, Catholic education is understood to be part of the church’s evangelizing mission that may be defined as the mission to proclaim the Gospel anew so as to enable humanity to live up to its own vocation in an intimate relationship with the Blessed Trinity (see for instance, the Bishops of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, 2007).

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 23

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

24

Leadership and Religious Schools

Catholic schools do not just follow national guidelines. Although autonomous, they have to subscribe to an intricate system of religious congregational networks and diocesan controls and ensure basic conformity with the principles of Catholic education, guided by norms and guidelines issued by the Holy See. In this sense, Catholic schools are not only influenced by local identity and conform to local requirements but also especially shaped by the universal character of the Catholic Church. While it is undeniable that there had been and still are religious motives in the setting up of educational institutions, it is equally true that the establishment of most of these institutions was spurred by a passion for humanity. The goal of each of these thousands of schools is guided by the understanding and belief of the Catholic Church in the education of the whole human person (Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, 1977). It is precisely in retrieving the meaning of the term ‘person’ and in rediscovering its centrality that Christian schools may dialogue with society and may counterbalance the effects of the current tools that society employs.

Catholic understanding of the human person We are so used to employing the term ‘person’ when referring to the human being that we do not realize that in its essence this word is steeped in theological discourse. The term and its meaning do not find any parallel in either classical or Oriental cultures since the understanding of person departs from a Christian theological understanding of the personal nature of God. It was through the Christological and Trinitarian formulations that the church contributed to the definition of the notion of the human person. Etymologically, the word person derives from the Greek prosopon (face) and the Latin persona which referred to the mask used in classical Greek and Roman theatres to identify the actor with a role. In the early formulations, Tertullian (c.160–210) used the word ‘person’ for God because of its ability to suggest individuality. Later, the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, c.330–379, Gregory of Nyssa, c.330–395 and Gregory of Nazianzus, 329–389), developed the use of the word ‘person’ not only to highlight the distinctiveness

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 24

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

25

of the persons of the Holy Trinity but also to point to the relational nature of the Trinitarian God (Rudman, 1997). It was, however, Augustine (354–430) who in De Trinitate links the idea of the ‘persons’ of the Trinity with the fact that humans are created in the image of God and are therefore also persons. In so doing, Augustine transferred the divine aptitudes of individuality and communion to the definition of the human person. In his definition of the human person, Augustine insisted on irreducible uniqueness. A few years later, Boethius (c.480–524), a Roman lawyer, defined ‘person’ as an individual substance with a rational nature. This implied that the human person referred to an individual who is able to think, to understand and reflect upon him/herself and is able to dialogue and therefore act freely. Individuality, relationality and rational autonomy are the three main elements that defined the term person. The essence of humans, created in the image and likeness of God, lies in their being persons, by nature unique individuals open to others. Together with this definition, Christian theology derived the concept of wholeness. Humans are not a summation of parts, but a whole. They are wholly body, just as much as they are wholly soul (Brynes, 2002; Ladaria, 1995). This understanding is derived from the theologies embedded in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. While there is no direct definition of the human being, the Hebrew Scriptures, especially in the first chapters of Genesis, do reflect a specific understanding of what it means to be human and the reasons for existence. The creation accounts were constructed well after the biblical community reflected on their primary experience of exodus. In reflecting on human existence and creation, the Jewish community was reacting to the then most common narrative in the region. The Mesopotamian creation story found in Atrahasis puts forward the thesis that humans were created to take over the toil of lower gods who had rebelled against the high-class gods. The experience and belief of the Jewish community in a loving and saving God contradicted the idea that humans were created solely for rendering service to the gods. Thus, in constructing their account, the Jews concluded that God created human beings out of love, in His own image and likeness, as His stewards on earth. The latter notions were indeed revolutionary for those times, given that according to the major traditions in the region only kings or pharaohs were living images of the gods, and thus their stewards on earth. It immediately transpires that through their

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 25

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

26

Leadership and Religious Schools

creation story, Jews understood human individuals as having a proper dignity due to their being created in the image and likeness of God. Furthermore, human dignity is a result of their being created with a ruah (Spirit) that allows their participation in divine life. Indeed, according to Genesis, humans share with animals their being created with basar (flesh) and nefes (soul), but they receive ruah (Spirit) from God. The latter term, which is normally used in the Bible when speaking of God, denotes the openness of the human being to the divine reality (Ladaria, 1995). Humans are special because every individual receives ruah at the moment of conception and is capable of transcendence. The sacred scriptures point to the intimate bond that exists between every human person and God. Humans are placed at the summit of creation, and notwithstanding their originating sin which intrinsically altered their relationship with God and wounded their being, they are still placed at the heart of time through God’s loving grace and saving action. The God of Israelites and of Jesus Christ is a God who values the human community and individual persons and acts not only to restore their lost dignity but also to give them a higher dignity, offering the possibility of being recreated in and through the resurrected Christ. The mystery of incarnation is a logical conclusion to the way God related with humanity. The act of dwelling in the simple tent among the Israelites returning from exile in Egypt (Ex 25, 8), and in the temple of Jerusalem (1 K 9, 1–3), as well as the proclamation of Wisdom that she has been sent to take root among privileged people (Sir 24, 9–18), are among the main signs of God’s intent of sending the Word to become flesh and dwell among us (Jn 1, 14). The importance of the mystery of incarnation lies with its theological derivation that God became human in order for humans to share in divine nature (2 Pt 1, 4; Ladaria, 1995).

Implications for the Christian education-leader The consequences of this peculiar anthropological understanding were far-reaching. Through this tool, Christians have contributed to developing new ways of relating, of accessing and constructing culture and of serving

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 26

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

27

others. For the past two millennia, Christian anthropology has motivated saints and saintly persons to be committed to and pioneers in, among others, charitable and social services, the arts, the sciences, politics, academia and education. The belief that God creates every individual person, and that in the same act of creation He calls the person to a life of communion with Himself, is fundamental to the understanding of dignity and the place the person enjoys in creation (Ladaria, 1995; Sanna, 1994). The consequence of this special dignity makes the human person an end in him/herself. In Christian tradition, the person is understood as an absolute value that cannot be instrumentalized for any worldly reality, be it society, economy or work (Benedict XVI, 2012; Sanna, 1994). It is thus not difficult to understand that, for Christianity, the main aim of education is the holistic formation of the human person (Benedict XVI, 2012; Maritain, 2001). Education should help the individual person come to fulfilment (Benedict XVI, 2012; Byrnes, 2002; Maritain, 2001; Second Vatican Council, 1965). The centrality of the human being is shared both by the community of believers and by secular Western society in general. However, in the Christian tradition, the human being is not merely understood in a functional way, as a rational being, or as a social animal, but as a being capable of entering into communion with God. It is this definition that grants value, dignity and essence to the individual. The Christian education-leader needs to be conversant with this theological understanding. Committing the ethos of the school to this perspective means centring education on according high respect to nurturing students’ individuality, relationality and rational autonomy. This implies careful attention to influencing the school’s hidden curriculum, designing extracurricular activities, choosing texts and syllabi and above all collaborating with parents and the believing community. Through Christian schools, the benefits that humanity has obtained using this tool are laudable. The Christian education-leader should aim at forming strong identities who can critically analyze society and the frameworks that it uses, and who can contribute not only by drawing on principles but also on concrete examples of success stories both from the past and from the present.

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 27

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

28

Leadership and Religious Schools

At a time when there is more concern about the economic impact of education than the personal development of the individual, the philosophy which guides Catholic education points to rediscovering the human person as central to the educational process. Here it is not a question of which philosophy is best equipped to respond to the needs of our times, but rather one of not displacing priorities. The high esteem that Catholic schools enjoy all over the world is not a direct result of religious beliefs but rather a result of the philosophical view of the human person, a view that is in total harmony with the Catholic faith (Brynes, 2002). The philosophy driving Catholic education, and indeed Christian education, is not in opposition to the aspirations of the human community; rather it facilitates and enhances human fulfilment.

References Australia, Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. (2008). Melbourne Declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Retrieved on 24 June 2011, from www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/ National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf. Baker, D. P. & Riordan, C. (1998). The ‘eliting’ of the common American Catholic school and the national education crisis. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(1), 16–23. Benedict XVI. (2012). Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration of the world day of peace. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Bishops of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory. (2007). Catholic schools at the crossroads: Pastoral letter of the bishops of NSW and ACT. Sydney: Bishops of NSW and ACT. Byrnes, J. T. (2002). John Paul II and educating for life. Moving toward a renewal of Catholic educational philosophy, New York: Peter Lang. Casanova, J. (1996). Global Catholicism and the politics of civil society. Social Inquiry, 66(2), 356–73. —. (2005). Catholic and Muslim politics in comparative perspective. Taiwan Journal of Democracy, 1(2), 89–108. Commission of the European Communities. (1993). Growth, competitiveness and employment: The challenges and ways forward into the 21st century – White Paper, Luxemburg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities Retrieved on 20 January 2011, from europa.eu/documentation/official-docs/ white-papers/pdf/growth_wp_com_93_700_parts_a_b.pdf.

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 28

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

29

—. (1995). White paper on education and training: Teaching and learning – Towards the learning society. Retrieved on 20 January 2011, from europa.eu/documents/ comm/white_papers/pdf/com95_590_en.pdf. European Union, Council of the European Union. (2000). Presidency conclusions, Lisbon European Council. Retrieved on 26 March 2004, from ue.eu.int/ueDocs/ cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/00100-r1.en0.htm. European Union, Education and Culture DG. (2007). Key competences for life long learning – European reference framework. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. European Union, European Commission. (2008). Improving competences for the 21st century: An agenda for European cooperation on schools. Retrieved 20 January 2011, from ec.europa.eu/education/school21/sec2177_en.pdf. —. (2010). Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Retrieved on 20 January 2011, from europa.eu/press_room/pdf/ complet_en_barroso___007_-_europe_2020_-_en_version.pdf. European Union, European Council. (2010a). Conclusions, EUCO 13/10 (17 June 2010). Retrieved on 20 January 2011, from ec.europa.eu/eu2020/pdf/council_ conclusion_17_june_en.pdf. —. (2010b). Council conclusions on the role of education and training in the implementation of the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy (2011/C 70/01) www.consilium. europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/educ/119282.pdf. European Union, European Parliament. (2005). European Parliament resolution on the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy. Retrieved on 28 January 2011, from www. europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P6-TA2005–0069+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN. European Union, European Parliament and Council of the European Union. (2008). Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning. Retrieved on 20 January 2011, from eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do? uri=oj:c:2008:111:0001:0007:en:pdf. Glaser, R. (1977). Adaptive education: Individual diversity and learning. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston. Grace, G. (2003). Educational studies and faith-based schooling: Moving from prejudice to evidence-based argument. British Journal of Educational Studies, 51(2), 149–67. Greeley, A. (1998). Catholic schools at the crossroads: An American perspective. In J. M. Fenheney (Ed.), From ideal to action: The inner nature of a Catholic school today. Dublin: Veritas.

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 29

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

30

Leadership and Religious Schools

Hand, M. (2003). A philosophical objection to faith-schools. Theory and Research in Education, 1(1), 89–99. Ladaria, L. F. (1995). Antropologia Teologica. Casale Monferrato: Piemme 1995. Maritain, J. (2001). Per una filosofia dell’educazione. Brescia: La Scuol. Milanovic, B. (2011). Global inequality. From class to location from proletarians to migrants. Policy Research Working Paper 5820. The World Bank, Development Research Group, Poverty and Inequality Team. Retrieved on 29 September 2011, from www.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/PE/2011/08677.pdf. Morgan, H. (1997). Cognitive styles and classroom learning. Westport, CT: Praeger. Ong, W. (1982). Orality and literacy. London: Routledge. Pagden, A. (2003). Human rights, natural rights, and Europe’s imperial legacy. Political Theory, 31(2), 171–99. Patrinos, H. A. & Psacharopoulos, G. (2011). Education: Past, present and future global challenges policy research working paper 5616. The World Bank, Human Development Network, Education Team. Retrieved on 29 September 2011, from www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/03/29/0001 58349_20110329095336/Rendered/PDF/WPS5616.pdf. Pittau, G. (2000). Education on the threshold of the third millennium: Challenge, mission and adventure. Catholic Education. A Journal of Enquiry and Practice. 4(2), 139–52. Prellezo J. M. & Lanfranchi, R. (1995). Educazione e Pedagogia nei solchi della storia: Vol. 1, Dall’Educazione atica alle soglie dell’Umanesimo. Torino: SEI. Rudman, S. (1997). Concepts of person and Christian ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education. (1977). The Catholic school. Retrieved on 25 October 2010, from www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/ documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_19770319_catholic-school_en.html. Sanna, I. (1994). Chiamati per nome. Antropolgia teologica. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): San Paolo. Second Vatican Council. (1965). Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum Educationis (28 October 1965). Retrieved on 11 October 2011, from www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/ vat-ii_decl_19651028_gravissimum-educationis_en.html. Siegel, H. (2004). Faith, knowledge and indoctrination: A friendly response to Hand. Theory and Research in Education, 2(1), 75–83. Slavin, R. J. (1936). The philosophical basis for individual difference according to saint Thomas Aquinas. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America.

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 30

10/19/2012 4:43:13 PM

Responding to the Challenges of Globalization

31

Taylor, C. (1989). Sources of the self: The making of modern identity. London: Harvard University Press. —. (1991). The ethics of authenticity. London: Harvard University Press. UNESCO. (2000). Dakar Framework for Action, Education for All: Meeting our collective commitments, Retrieved on 15 March 2009, from unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0012/001211/121147e.pdf. —. (2011). The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education. EFA global monitoring report 2011. Retrieved on 29 September 2011, from unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0019/001907/190743e.pdf. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2011). World population prospects: The 2010 revision. New York: United Nations. United Nations, Economic and Social Council. (1966). International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966. Retrieved on 15 March 2009, from www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_cescr.htm. United Nations, General Assembly of the United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved on 15 March 2009, from www.un.org/en/ documents/udhr. United States of America, House of Representatives. (2002). No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Retrieved on 9 October 2011, from www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/ esea02/107–110.pdf. Witte, J. (1998). Law, religion, and human rights: A historical Protestant perspective. The Journal of Religious Ethics, 26(2), 257–62.

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 31

10/19/2012 4:43:14 PM

9781441172976_Ch02_Final_txt_print.indd 32

10/19/2012 4:43:14 PM

3

The Miniaturization of Human Identity: The Human Subject as the Foundation for Leading and Learning Amidst Diversity Mario O. D’Souza CSB

Leading and learning in the context of democratic pluralism, set against the backdrop of cultural, religious and moral diversity, is a relatively new experience and growing responsibility, and much political deliberation and academic scholarship has been devoted to these relationships and contexts. This chapter does not pretend to even hint at the condition of human identity amidst this diversity – a topic too vast and necessarily interdisciplinary – but rather reflects upon why, in the face of individualism and relativism, a return to the person, as subject, is the true foundation to lead and to learn even, and perhaps particularly, in the context of faith-based schools. It is through the self-reflective process of appropriation of knowledge and truth, and a personal intellectual, moral and spiritual conversion that human beings transform themselves into human subjects. The miniaturization of human identity, cultural, ethnic or religious, needs to be replaced by the expansion of human identity through critical, intelligent and self-reflective personal, communal and civic engagement, particularly amidst plurality and diversity.

Cultural shift There is no shortage of theories describing the shifts in culture amidst diversity and pluralism, and one succinct description that houses the overall condition of this cultural shift is offered by the Canadian philosopher and theologian

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 33

10/19/2012 4:42:19 PM

34

Leadership and Religious Schools

Bernard Lonergan in his understanding of the ‘transition from a classicist world-view’ to one of ‘historical mindedness’ (Lonergan, 1974, pp. 1–9). Human subjects must now exchange the certainties and convictions of the classical world, best depicted in the seemingly stable, timeless, enduring and universal values and truths of the liberal arts and the humanities for a historically minded world which is now bereft (some would say freed) of seemingly enduring values (some would say constraints), a process that requires human subjects to integrate their concrete and contingent experiences with universal and objective truth, but at all times through the nurturing of a responsible human subjectivity, which is the foundation of any real objectivity. It is this conviction that frames this chapter. Most Western democracies have evolved into multicultural societies. This evolution has, for the most part, not been the fruit of intentional cultural or sociological planning, nor has it been the result of a vision of the political superiority of pluralism over monoculturalism, though this superiority has certainly been maintained (Axworthy & Trudeau, 1990, p. 360). While this multicultural evolution may well be the result of immigration, it is generally agreed that the larger intellectual lenses to view the evolution of this cultural terrain are modernism to postmodernism, the latter characterized by its shifting, unstable and tenuous nature. (Some include ‘critical theory’ to this list (see, Bhola, 2002, p. 183).) Now, we learn that postmodernism gives way to performatism, a monist theory, defined in aesthetic terms of a work constructed within a unified frame where the ‘reader or viewer . . . has to opt for a single compulsory solution to the problem raised within the work at hand’ (Eshelman, 2008, p. 1). It is the notion of performatist subjectivity that is of greater concern here: As a reaction to the plight of the postmodern subject, who is constantly being pulled apart and misled by signs, the performatist subject is constructed in such a way that it is dense or opaque relative to its milieu. This opacity is, admittedly ambivalent, since it achieves a closed unity at the expense of participation in a viable social environment of some kind. Moreover, the closed opaque subject runs the risk of incurring the enmity of its surroundings by virtue of its very singularity and inscrutability. (Eshleman, 2008, p. 8)

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 34

10/19/2012 4:42:19 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

35

Performatism is a third lens to view Western societies that have been characterized as a ‘cult of distraction’ whose ‘meaninglessness and emptiness’ is depicted by a frantic speed which robs society of ‘the intellectual and linguistic tools to separate illusion from reality’ (Hedges, 2010, pp. 44, 45, 48). Individualism and relativism have marked this cult of distraction, and performatism announces the formal advent of the self-referential human subject, in need of no more than a frame, either chosen or imposed. And while these frames may even include the seeming self-transcendence of a moral code or religious belief, it is the self-containment, self-enclosure, and selfabsorption of performatism that defeats human self-transcendence, which is never apart from life in community with others. Human identity, because of the overarching contingent and empirical nature of culture, cannot be worked out in isolation and apart from dialogue. One’s individual and personal identity, says Charles Taylor, ‘depends on dialogical relations with others’ (Gutmann, 1992, p. 34). While the formation of the human identity is always a dialectical relationship between the individual, the group and the culture of their time and place, the following convictions sum up the perennial search for one’s own identity: ‘all individuals are, in some respects, like all other individuals’; and ‘all individuals are, in some way, like no other individual’ (Connerley & Pedersen, 2005, pp. 76, 77). It is this relationship and tension between the personal and the communal that surely motivates educational leaders to call for ‘transformational ethics’ that ‘reaches beyond self-interest for some higher ideal, something heroic’ (Starratt, 2006, p. 65). However, reaching beyond selfinterest requires a prior authenticity and self-reflective capacity.

Human miniaturization The concept of human miniaturization is developed by Amartya Sen (2006), and he does so in the midst of a work on human identity in relation to ‘the illusion of destiny’. Sen understands human miniaturization by distinguishing ‘identity disregard’ which ‘takes the form of ignoring, or neglecting altogether, the influence of any sense of identity, on what we value and how we behave,’ from ‘singular affiliation’ which ‘takes the form of assuming that any person

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 35

10/19/2012 4:42:19 PM

36

Leadership and Religious Schools

pre-eminently belongs, for all practical purposes, to one collectivity alone – no more no less’. Thus with all the goodwill in the world, when relations between civilizations and groups are framed exclusively as ‘dialogue between religious groups’ or ‘friendly relations between different communities’, then a ‘serious miniaturization of human beings precedes the devised programs for peace’ (Sen, 2006, pp. 20, xiii). The cults of Western individualism and relativism are happy in each other’s company, and in the midst of cultural and moral diversity they appear as an easy and seemingly uncomplicated way of ensuring harmony and accommodating differences. In collapsing distinctions and consequences, and by bequeathing individual decisions, choices and actions to the uncritical and unreflective human subject, relativism, like individualism, contributes, in my estimation, to another form of human miniaturization. In the face of the possibility of infinite individually constructed identities, a general disregard of uncritical personal identity, in its personal, communal and civic manifestations, renders the human subject to be bedecked by relativism; it is the same relativism that then moves into the vacuum created by the demise of metanarratives and is then declared as the first principle assuring tolerance and respect. Relativism thus reduces the complexity of the human subject, not only philosophically and theologically, but socially and politically as well by placing complete emphasis upon the uncritical individual and communal autonomy and self-realization. For its part, religious fundamentalism in seeking to ensure religious identity conflates it with the totality of human identity and, again, ignores or rejects the other dimensions of identity, particularly the communal and civic. Leaders of faith-based schools must face these challenges to human miniaturization for they threaten the relationship between communal education and democratic health, as well as the integral growth of human persons beyond a univocal religious or materialistic identity. Both religion and education develop worldviews, and both should develop them towards life in common and within one’s historical tradition. And as we are never apart from ‘the efficacy of history’, the ‘appropriation of a tradition is historically different’, not that this suggests an imperfect understanding, but rather is an aspect of understanding (Gadamer, 2004, pp. 69, 300). We are increasingly cognizant of the dogmatic and doctrinal distinctiveness of

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 36

10/19/2012 4:42:19 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

37

religions, and of late the world has been plagued by too many examples of the anxiety of preserving religious distinctiveness through violence. In this environment, the miniaturization of human beings disregards two glaring truths. First, that human identities are more than religious identities or material, secular identities, and second, that all ‘understanding is interpretation, and that all interpretation takes place in the medium of language (Gadamer, 2004, p. 390). Pluralist societies need a vocabulary that is less dominated and less burdened by religious identity and secular material identities; they need a vocabulary that includes the citizen as a person, and society and community as the very precondition for human identity: Man’s [sic] conscious activity makes him aware of his being a self, an individual knowing who and what he is, encountering and interacting with others, continually sharing existence with them in the world of matter and in that of spirit, himself situated at the meeting place of both. (Wallace, 1977, p. 84)

Human identity and the common good Human subjects, and I understand that term as the complex relations of identities that include moral, religious, aesthetic, cultural, historical, linguistic, political, intellectual and communal dimensions, gravitate towards community and society. Consequently, we may ask why persons seek to live in community. One philosophical position suggests that persons tend by nature towards communion with others, and that they seek life in community as a means of actualizing their desire for ‘communications of knowledge’ and expressions of ‘love’ (Maritain, 1972, p. 47). A community of persons is essentially moral in nature, for it is linked to the nature of human subject, a being whose destiny includes but surpasses space and time. Human subjects are called to transcendence and yet are historical; created and yet manifested through culture; intellectual and yet revealed through the concrete; and free and yet contained within the contingencies of space and time. Human persons also seek society as the foundation for their liberty and freedom, and so the

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 37

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

38

Leadership and Religious Schools

[c]rucial question [confronting] human liberty concerns which path shall lead to this progressive unification: unification by external forces and compulsion [or] unification by internal forces . . . by the progress of moral conscience, by the development of the relationship of justice, law and friendship, by the liberation of spiritual energies. (Maritain, 1947, p. 32)

There is no denying that external forces and constraints shape and mould the human subject, but authenticity and freedom are the fruit of internal forces and convictions. Given the contingency of culture and political and civic life, it would not be injudicious to say that social entities, social goods and the moral life of a society depend upon human thought, choice and decision; ‘social entities are clearly not mind-independent’ (DeLanda, 2006, p. 1). The rising concern for social justice in the context of education is a natural outcome of a globalized education, and a concern for the environment has enriched and broadened our conception of social justice to include all levels of creation. Issues of diversity and social justice, particularly in the context of multiculturalism, have been critically examined by educators, who maintain that an almost exclusive attention has been paid to the concerns of women and minorities without comparable attention to the ‘spheres of politics, culture, and the economy’ (Steinberg & Kincheloe, 2009, p. 6). There also appears to be a natural, intrinsic relationship between an understanding of social justice and a striving for and a realization of the common good. While the common good has usually been associated with Catholic thought of the Thomistic school, it is Thomistic philosophy that continues to engage the idea of the common good amidst pluralism (see Schram, 1991). The classical worldview of Thomism had the natural wherewithal to hold a theory of the common good in place, mainly as it was secured on a single religion and culture and within religious and political hierarchies. The situation, of course, is very different in liberal democratic societies that appear, perhaps out of necessity and expediency, to have constricted the common good to those features that flow from a life bound together by economic and political union, a union characterized by religious and cultural pluralism. This univocal narrowing of the common good seems to become another contributor in the further miniaturization of human beings.

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 38

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

39

Striving for the common good amidst plurality and diversity is difficult and potentially divisive, particularly if one were to suggest that the common good, because the good of human subjects comprises material, intellectual and principally moral dimensions (see Maritain, 1953, p. 142). The stress on the moral finds an echo in another work which maintains that authentic teaching, learning and leadership are ‘moral activities because they engage both teachers and students in a deeper understanding of the nature and purpose of their lives and in determining how they can best contribute to the greater good of society’ (Duignan, 2006, p. 129). The purpose here, however, is to reflect on the use of the term ‘common good’ in the context of a diverse society. It may well be asked whether we must settle for common goods instead of the common good (see Hostetler, 2003, p. 348). However pragmatic the notion of common goods may be, it simply adds new layers of complexity in a political square already burgeoning with diversity. The idea of common goods, because it needs so many qualifications, runs the risk of contributing to human miniaturization, while the common good because of its unifying nature and dependence on human authenticity contains the seeds for human expansion amidst diversity. Certainly concepts such as ‘human person,’ ‘human development’ and specially ‘human perfection’ will not find universal agreement, but they are essential for the integral growth of society; they must not remain the intellectual possession of theorists alone. One work on the common good is particularly helpful in that, while acknowledging the difficulty of defining that term, particularly in the face of diversity, it goes on to suggest that a way forward is to consider the ‘common good’ heuristically. This suggestion places responsibility in discovering the components of the common good, not known in any significant detail, within a community of persons, a responsibility, therefore, that is both individual and communal. What is additionally significant about this work is that it combines an ontological and a practical understanding of the common good. Is any notion of the human good rooted in an appreciation of human nature inevitably an affront to human liberty? If the common goods of cooperation are those which people freely choose, can it be meaningful also to speak of goods which are set for them by their nature, or by the nature of reality? Would they not become their goods as ends of their action after they have

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 39

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

40

Leadership and Religious Schools

chosen them? Relying on the notion of a heuristic concept . . . it could be possible to combine the ontological and the practical, since both nature and common good name realities which are not yet known, but are the intended objects of process of discovery (ontology, nature) and construction (practical, common good). (Riordan, 2008, p. 73)

It is this heuristic understanding of the common good which rises as a bridge between political societies stranded, on the one hand, on the banks of individualistic relativism, and isolated by the singularities and eclipsing identities of ethnic cultures and religions, on the other. Again, leaders of faith-based schools have the responsibility of assisting not only in identifying the common good within a particular faith-tradition but also in expounding how that good must be of service to others outside that tradition. A heuristic understanding of the common good can enable educational leaders to encourage others to look on the diversity of society as a sociological, psychological and historical evolution and, more importantly, as a progression of consciousness, with necessary ethical and moral implications, rather than viewing diversity and plurality suspiciously as accidents of immigration or as the fields for relativism.

The human subject as foundation In the absence of a leisurely space for philosophical and theological distinctions, I speak of human subjects instead of human persons (recognizing the Christian tradition of the term ‘human persons’) as a result of my reading Bernard Lonergan. Two matters stand out regarding his use of the term ‘subject’. First, ‘the subject is a substance that is present to itself, that is conscious. When I say “I,” I am already conscious, I am a subject. But if I say “he” or “she,” I may be talking of someone who is asleep, not conscious, just substance but only potentially subject.’ And second, ‘the subject’s responsibility contracts to arriving at truth’ (Lonergan, 2000, pp. 83, 87). Lonergan looks on human subjectivity as a dynamic construct, and he sees the flourishing of human subjectivity as a means to respond to the charge that relativism and individualism are here to stay, and secondly, as a

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 40

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

41

response to the cultural, conceptual and intellectual changes that occurred in the shift from a classical to a historically minded world. Classicists, he says, are not pluralists; they look for the ‘specific nature’ of things by basing their assumptions on ‘stability, immutability, and fixity’. Pluralists disagree. They maintain: ‘Human concepts are products and expressions of human understanding, that human understanding develops over time, and that it develops differently in different places and in different times.’ Second, the pluralist differs from the classicist by acknowledging the historicity of the human condition, that is, the relationship between meaning, values and human intelligence, and the development of human intelligence ‘cumulatively over time, and that such cumulative development differs in different histories’. Classicism is not mistaken in its belief that there is something ‘substantial and common to human nature and human activity’. However, ‘its oversight is its failure to grasp that something substantial and common is also something quite open’. Finally, while the charge of the relativist that ‘the meaning of any statement is relative to its context’ is true, ‘it does not follow that the context is unknown or, if it is unknown, that it cannot be discovered’ (Morelli, 1997, pp. 437, 438, 439). Lonergan’s distinctions and his threefold movement from cognitional theory, to epistemology, to metaphysics can be neatly summed up as a critique of ‘sheer immediacy’ (Lawrence, 1993, p. 64). Human subjects are manifested through language, and language is the foundation upon which meaning and value are secured. Thus we are reminded, that ‘educational experience is always hermeneutical experience . . . learning always involves interpretation’ (Gallagher, 1992, p. 39). Human subjects must free themselves from their self-imposed prison of immediacy, and they do so by asking questions, which are ultimately guided by meaning and value. Human subjects also grow in freedom, authenticity, self-appropriation and integrity through the distinctions between what Lonergan calls the ‘differentiation of consciousness’, and this may be summarized as the stages of cognitional and intellectual evolution from a world governed by sheer immediacy, almost instinctual and narrowly within the material order, to a world ‘mediated by meaning’, ‘expression’, ‘values’ and ‘interiority’ (Lonergan, 1972, pp. 302–5). In the context of plurality and diversity, Lonergan suggests

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 41

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

42

Leadership and Religious Schools

that the fuller the human subjects understand the ‘polymorphism’ of their being, the better they will be able to understand themselves and others. And while he acknowledges that intellectuals are not a ‘superior race’, there is, nevertheless, a ‘primacy of the intellect in human makeup’ (Lonergan, 2005a, pp. 224, 321). It is important to quickly dispel any sense of intellectualism to Lonergan’s thought. While there are levels of the differentiation of consciousness and various levels of insight, the key lies in the human desire to ask questions, questions at the level of one’s experience and which, through the act of questioning, become the source of one’s transcendence and freedom and the ability to come to new horizons of knowing and understanding. He says, ‘Intelligent people are not confined to universities; we find them everywhere, in every walk of life, on every level of culture, in every type of human activity’ (Lonergan, 2005a, p. 88). Common sense, then, plays a central role in Lonergan’s thought, and he sums up one reflection under the title ‘common sense as intellectual’. Common sense arises from a ‘flow of questions’, a ‘clustering of insights’, and is aimed not at ‘universal definitions and universal propositions . . . [but] at guiding concrete action, and is expressed not in rigorous fashion, but by communication’. Finally, ‘common sense does not desire to communicate in any technical – [specialized] – fashion’ (see Lonergan, 2005a, pp. 88–9). In understanding why the human subject is the dynamic foundation in the midst of plurality and diversity, Lonergan says that choice, and not external constraint, determines who the subject is and becomes; we acquire our knowledge through the contingent world; that our knowledge is never complete; thus one is never born a human subject, one continually grows into one’s subjectivity through freedom and choice (Lonergan, 2005b, pp. 172, 223, 262, 237). Spurred on by the first line in Aristotle’s metaphysics that all human beings desire to understand, Lonergan says that human subjectivity matures when the subject realizes that knowing is more than ‘a matter of taking a good look’, that objectivity is more than ‘seeing what is there to be seen’ and reality is more than what is ‘given in immediate experience’ (Lonergan, 1974, p. 241). To structure the transcendence of human knowing, he introduces four transcendental principles: be attentive, be intelligent, be

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 42

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

43

reasonable and be responsible. These four principles can remain at the level of pure intention; they move from intentionality to actuality through the four levels of consciousness: experiencing, understanding, judging and deciding (Lonergan 1972, pp. 13, 14). In the midst of diversity, the responsibility for human subjects to continuously seek truth through their acts of freedom and choice becomes imperative, and is an essential means to ensure fellowship and community. Human subjects must do their living individually, but always relationally with an eye towards the collective. The contemporary varieties of human miniaturization all assume, each in their particular way, that human identity is fixed and can be enclosed with a frame. I share Lonergan’s conviction that with the breakdown of a larger and unifying cultural scaffolding, human identity is continuously constructed psychologically, socially, culturally, spiritually and historically (see Lonergan, 2005a, p. 320). However, growth in human subjectivity is contextual and in relation to a tradition, culture, history and other sources of value and meaning; it is always in the context of a horizon and ascending to newer horizons of meaning. Authentic living requires objective knowing, communicated through tradition, religion and other sources of meaning and value, but it is subjective appropriation of objective knowing. The opportunity that Lonergan’s position offers to educational leaders in the midst of religious and moral diversity is twofold: appropriation of a particular faith tradition, and second, the implications of that tradition in relationship to all the other dimensions of human identity – political, civic, cultural, intellectual, social and moral – through his four principles: be attentive, intelligent, reasonable and responsible. All four principles are housed in the human subject but directed outward through intentionality and choice initiated through questions.

The human subject and leading and learning amidst diversity Lonergan’s short essay ‘Dialectic of Authority’ refers to leadership indirectly by way of authority. While ‘authority is legitimate power’, the ‘source of power is cooperation’, and ‘as the source of power is cooperation, so the carrier of

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 43

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

44

Leadership and Religious Schools

the power is community’. However, a community also needs a ‘common field of experience’, to assist ‘common judgments . . . and aims’. ‘Without this, there arises distrust, hostility, and violence.’ Power rises from the ‘world of immediacy’, and ‘a world mediated by meaning and motivated by values’. Finally, ‘authenticity makes power legitimate. It confers on power the aura and prestige of authority. Unauthenticity leaves power naked. It reveals power as mere power’ (Lonergan, 1985, pp. 5–8). These convictions act as the backdrop to my understanding of leading and learning amidst diversity. Multicultural societies are complex and often divided, divisions that are usually covered over by a veneer of tolerance and accommodation. Multiculturalism is a concept that cannot be formulated once and for all; it needs regular nurture and continuous linking to citizenship and the common good. Apart from an often-fleeting introduction to democratic pluralism, many immigrants to Western societies are still shaped by ‘pre-modern identities’, ‘tribalism’ and ‘ethnic nationalism’ that stand in the way of an integration that Western democratic multiculturalism presupposes as a means to arrive at a consensus amidst diversity (Kymlica, 2007, p. 20). Furthermore, many religious believers cannot fully support pluralism and diversity as that would mean endorsing lifestyles and choices that go against their religious beliefs (Pike, 2008, p. 116). Leadership amidst religious diversity is undoubtedly a dual task: confirmation and strengthening of believers in a particular faith tradition, and second, keeping that tradition in relationship with those of different faiths, not at the level of doctrine and creeds, nor simply reduced to civic cooperation alone, but at the level of engagement of human subjects striving for authenticity, self-appropriation and the search for truth and justice. The literature on educational leadership acknowledges that the cultural shifts from modernity to postmodernity, and a climate of individualism and relativism must give way to ‘relatedness versus rationality’ and ‘collectivist’ versus individual goals (Dimmock & Walker, 2011, pp. 22–3). All this changes the way educational leaders must lead and the manner and readiness with which they are followed. Thus, educators point to the importance of ‘virtue ethics over deontology and consequentialism’. The notion of the self as emerging through ‘engagement with others’ is another feature. Leaders should be the first to move away from sharply defined positions of individualism and the ‘autonomous

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 44

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

45

subject of the Enlightenment’ in favour of viewing leadership as relational within groups, communities and institutions (Knights & O’Leary, 2006, p. 129). It is acknowledging the glaring dangers not simply of an egotistical leader or one whose sole aim is the exercise of power, but also of leaders who are unwilling to go through a personal transformation and intellectual and moral conversion, thus refusing to emerge as leaders of communities of human subjects rather than a collection of individuals. ‘Modern postheroic leadership turns out to be less about who you are or into which family you are born than about what you have learned and what you do as a part of a group’ (Nye, 2008, p. 16). Leading others in a manner that encourages them towards authenticity, subjectivity and the search for the truth is hardly a sentimental journey or some fuzzy unarticulated spiritual goodwill. It is rather an open-ended invitation and thus potentially dangerous. Such leaders’ strength must reside in their subjectivity and self-appropriation of the truth, which is ultimately the only safeguard as others move towards the as yet unknown manifestation of their subjectivity and appropriation; this is because a desire for subjectivity and appropriation, as the history of the world attests, does not always come to fruition and can fail to culminate in a straight, life-giving and selfless line. Leading others to learn is not mainly about the absorption of knowledge, but is an active process of mind. Learning is about constructing meaning and understanding . . . it is about making sense – intellectually and emotionally – of the world. The emphasis is less on putting information in and more about expanding existing knowledge . . . constructing new understandings. (Southworth, 2006, p. 86)

Leaders in faith-based schools usually lead students who belong predominantly to one faith tradition, though such leaders are also increasingly responsible for students from other religious traditions as well. There are many models for such schools, but one model for faith-based schools, with a religiously diverse student population, is to ensure that all the students have the opportunity of religious instruction in their tradition. This is the first step towards protecting against miniaturization, either from an inordinate attention to religious distinctiveness or ignoring it all together. Religious instruction may not be just another subject in the curriculum, but its educational value emerges when it is

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 45

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

46

Leadership and Religious Schools

put into relationship with the rest of the curriculum as well as with everything else that constitutes the educational climate of the school, that is, religion in the context of a diverse community of human subjects. The second step, and one related to Lonergan’s thought, is to educate the diverse student population in the context of their history and time, of course, but also within their cultural context amidst different, competing and even conflicting worldviews. The raising of questions and the process of self-appropriation through the answers is a further protection against miniaturization. Communal and personal identity within pluralist societies can be strained by the requirement that such identities forfeit their distinctiveness through a ‘melting pot’ theory (associated with the United States) as a means to ensure national unity or, on the other hand, where a cultural ‘mosaic’ (associated with Canada) preserves cultural identities as a character signifying national strength (Skerrett, 2011, p. 216). Given Lonergan’s analysis of a shift from a classical to a historically minded world, both views, it appears to me, are problematic if unaccompanied by elaboration. Too often both theories are wrapped up in sentimental nationalism devoid of elaboration. A melting pot theory ignores the dynamism of human subjects immersed in their own personal, familial and ethnic histories and traditions; it ignores their own conscious horizons; history and memory cannot and should not be obliterated by political zeal; and history has recorded the fatal consequences of such errors. For its part, the mosaic theory celebrates diversity for its own sake, and is unable to respond to the complexity of human personhood, identity and flourishing which are situated but transcend personal and communal identities. The human subject as other is different for complex reasons, and not simply as a showcase for cultural novelty. Gadamer (2004) reminds us, time and again in Truth and method, that all understanding is both linguistic and interpretative, and while students learn in different ways, he introduces an unexpected twist by declaring a priority and primacy to the sense of hearing. Like Lonergan’s (2005b) concern for sheer immediacy, Gadamer cautions saying, ‘pure seeing and hearing are dogmatic abstractions that artificially reduce phenomena.’ But then goes on to say why hearing is granted this primacy: ‘When you look at something, you can also look away from it by looking in another direction, but you cannot “hear away”’. He says that there is a priority of hearing over sight. ‘The language

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 46

10/19/2012 4:42:20 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

47

in which hearing shares is . . . universal in the sense that everything can be expressed in it’ (Gadamer, 2004, pp. 80, 458). Gadamer’s emphasis on hearing and Lonergan’s underscoring striving for transcendence through the asking of questions seem to be inextricably linked. In an age that celebrates the disproportionate prominence of the visual, the primacy of hearing echoes a refreshing restatement of St Paul’s conviction, found in the tenth chapter and seventeenth verse of the Letter to the Romans, that faith comes from hearing. Educational leadership may not be about who you are but what you do, but in the midst of a diversity and plurality of beliefs and ideas, the doing must surely be expressed in more than actions for education is about communication, and while all communication is not linguistic, the educational experience in order to be shared and communally reflected upon must be housed in language, particularly for those acts of communications not primarily dependent upon language. Hearing and leadership are therefore inextricably linked, and hearing must assume a particular priority in an educational context. The asking of questions, as Longeran (2005b) proposes, gives prominence to hearing: being attentive, intelligent, reasonable and responsible within a community of human subjects necessitates that they hear one another, not just about their convictions and certitudes but also of their struggles, uncertainties and fears. Contemporary culture’s increasing dependence upon the visual as well as the inescapable recognition of cultural and religious differences can overpower the unifying and transforming nature of hearing the other as other. It has been correctly maintained that it is not sufficient to find ‘intellectual common ground’ to questions as to what we owe each other and what our understanding of the good life is in the midst of plurality. That such intellectual ground is not sufficient because we have often acted contrary to this common ground, and worse, acted ‘as if there were no answers to questions such as: is there meaning to our existence and the pain that it brings us? And if there is a larger meaning to this universe, what is the place of our humanity in that meaning – are we necessary to it, irrelevant or irritating? We must come to know how we are to overcome our fears, temptations, and hesitations that prevent us from doing what our hearts tell us is right, just and loving’ (Purpel & McLaurin, 2004, p. 225). There is, unquestionably, a transformative power when one hears the other speak on

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 47

10/19/2012 4:42:21 PM

48

Leadership and Religious Schools

such matters; there is an undeniable revelation of the self as well as growth of the self in the context of a particular time and amidst the variety of their specific experiences. If education is ultimately about questions of meaning, fulfilment and happiness, questions that refuse the alluring and speedy satisfaction of the answers of a materialistic and consumer-driven culture, then, once again, hearing occupies a place of primacy. Habermas’s theory of communicative action suggests that self-determination and self-realization are always relational. However, he also links the relationship of the observer and speaker in a social perspective, and the hearer encountering the other in dialogue and learning as a result (Habermas, 1992, pp. 192, 172). Finally, the spiritual dimension of education should resist its narrowing down to religious categories. The variety of the curriculum is a good tonic against human miniaturization as its various components reveal the created order in all its diversity. We come to know creation not just religiously, but also mathematically, chemically, historically, biologically as well as through literature, art, music, etc. Each subject teaches truth, but each according to its own methods, and all those truths are then appropriated by the one unified human subject, the student. Educational understanding is not solitary but participation in a tradition Thus education has decided ‘axiological, moral, teleological, ethical and ontological dimensions’ (Gadamer, 2004, p. 291). Purposeful educational leadership is concerned not only with intellectual acquisition but also with how students, and teachers, become ‘contributing members of society. This means that students become organic intellectuals . . . not only to become literate but also to use their facility with language to bring about radical changes in society . . . It is not sufficient for students to become adept and proficient in reading the word without also becoming adroit in reading their world’ (Dantley, 2003, p. 282).

Conclusion Educational leadership takes many forms, and its context and environment will necessitate the inclusion of some and the exclusion of other elements. The changed cultural environment understandably resists one model or style

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 48

10/19/2012 4:42:21 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

49

of leadership, not just because of the multitudinous concrete differences of human nature, but because of the different contexts within which that nature must now flourish and manifest itself. Faith-based schools have the advantage of a particular vision of the good and how that good influences education and why that education must be communal and individual, rather than private. Faith-based schools are potentially divisive, however, if they are only directed by their vision of the good and its implications for education in isolation from communal and civic relationships. Such schools run the risk of becoming closed in a framework of performatism. The return to the human subject may appear from the outside to be just another intellectualized version of individualism and relativism. I have tried to show why that is not the case. A nostalgic yearning for a hierarchical and culturally unified world takes our attention away from the dynamic task at hand of leading others to authentic living and choosing amidst diversity. Faith-based schools must be publicly accountable, as their students must take their active place as future adult citizens. Leading and learning, founded upon human subjectivity, are necessarily open, contextually dynamic activities, and ever dependent upon human subjectivity.

References Axworthy, T. & P. E. Trudeau. (1990). Toward a just society: The Trudeau years. (Patricia Claxton, Trans). Markham, ON: Viking. Bhola, H. (2002). A discourse on educational leadership: Global themes, postmodern perspectives. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 21(2), 181–202. Connerley, M. & Pedersen, P. (2005). Leadership in a diverse and multicultural environment: Developing awareness, knowledge, and skills. London: Thousand Oaks. Dantley, M. (2003). Purpose-driven leadership: The spiritual imperative to guiding schools beyond high stakes testing and minimum proficiency. Education and Urban Society, 35(3), 273–91. DeLanda, M. (2006). A new philosophy of society: Assemblage theory and social complexity. London: Continuum. Dimmock, C. & Walker. A. (2011). Educational leadership: Culture and diversity. London: Sage Publications.

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 49

10/19/2012 4:42:21 PM

50

Leadership and Religious Schools

Duignan, P. (2006). Educational leadership: Key changes and ethical tensions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Eshelman, R. (2008). Performatism, or the end of postmodernism. Aurora, CO: Davies Group. Gadamer, H. G. (2004). Truth and method. (Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall, Trans). London: Continuum. Gallagher, S. (1992). Hermeneutics and education. Albany: State University of New York Press. Gutmann, A. (Ed.) (1992). Multiculturalism and the politics of recognition: An essay by Charles Taylor. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Habermas, J. (1992). Postmetaphysical thinking: Philosophical essays. (William M. Hohengarten, Trans). Cambridge: The MIT Press. Hedges, C. (2010). Empire of illusion: The end of literacy and the triumph of spectacle. Toronto, ON: Vantage Canada. Hostetler, K. (2003). The common good and public education. Educational Theory, 53(3) 347–61. Knights, D. & O’Leary, M. (2006). Leadership ethics and the responsibility to the other. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(2), 125–37. Kymlica, W. (2007). Multicultural odysseys: Navigating the new international politics of diversity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lawrence, F. (1993). The fragility of consciousness: Lonergan and the postmodern concern for the other. Theological Studies, 54(1), 55–94. Lonergan, B. (1972). Method in theology. New York: The Seabury Press. —. (1974). A second collection: Papers by Bernard J. F. Lonergan. W. Ryan & B. Tyrrel (Eds). London: Darton, Longman & Todd. —. (1985). A third collection: Papers by Bernard Lonergan. F. Crowe (Ed.). London: Geoffrey Chapman. —. (2000). Topics in education. R. Doran & F. Crowe (Eds). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press. —. (2005a). Understanding and being. E. Morelli & M. Morelli. (Eds). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press. —. (2005b). Phenomenology and logic. P. McShane (Ed.). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press. Maritain, J. (1947). The rights of man and natural law. (Doris Anson, Trans). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. —. (1953). The range of reason. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. —. (1972). The person and the common good. (John Fitzgerald, Trans) Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 50

10/19/2012 4:42:21 PM

Miniaturization of Human Identity

51

Morelli, M. & Morelli, E. (Eds) (1997). The Lonergan reader. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press. Nye, J. (2008). The powers to lead. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pike, M. (2008). Faith in citizenship? On teaching children to believe in liberal democracy. British Journal of Religious Education, 30(3), 113–22. Purpel, D. & McLaurin. W. (2004). Reflections on the moral and spiritual crisis in education. New York: Peter Lang. Riordan, P. (2008). A grammar of the common good: Speaking of globalization. London: Continuum. Schram, G. (1991). Pluralism and the common good. American Journal of Jurisprudence, 36, 19–124. Sen, A. (2006). Identity and violence: The illusion of destiny. London: Allen Lane. Skerrett, A. (2011). On identity, diversity, and educational change. Journal of Educational Change, 12(2), 211–20. Southworth, G. (2006). Learning-centered leadership. In B. Davies (Ed.), The essentials of school leadership (pp. 75–92). London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Starratt, R. (2006). Ethical leadership. In B. Davies (Ed.), The essentials of school leadership Brent Davies (pp. 61–74). London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Steinberg, S. & Kincheloe. J. (2009). Smoke and mirrors: More than one way to be diverse and multicultural. In St Steinberg (Ed.), Diversity and multiculturalism: A reader (pp. 3–22). New York: Peter Lang. Wallace, W. (1977). The elements of philosophy: A compendium for philosophers and theologians. New York: Alba House.

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 51

10/19/2012 4:42:21 PM

9781441172976_Ch03_Final_txt_print.indd 52

10/19/2012 4:42:21 PM

4

A Human Rights-Based Curriculum for Religious Schools: The Responsibilities of School Leaders Petro du Preez

The role of school leaders has traditionally been oriented towards accountability in terms of students, the overseeing of teacher and children discipline in schools and managing the implementation of curricula (Heystek, Nieman, van Rooyen, Mosoge & Bipath, 2008; Valentine & Prater, 2011). In an everchanging context where social realities reflect the complex diversity among human beings, political and economic turbulence, and uncertainty as a result of globalization, the return of the nation-state and unrest in many countries in the world, the nature of schooling has changed (Hornberg, 2002). School leaders in the context of marketized education systems thus face new forms of accountability and responsibility. In the last decade, new ways of understanding the role of school leaders, teachers and children have led to national training programmes for school leaders throughout the world in an attempt to redefine the responsibilities of school leaders. Examples include the Netherlands (Bakker, Miedema & Van der Kooij, 2007) and South Africa (Bush, Kiggundu & Moorosi, 2011; Louw & Zuber-Skerrit, 2009).

Emerging human rights discourses and the changing roles of school leaders: Introductory comments One of these new responsibilities of school leaders is to assist in the process of realizing the goals of human rights education. Human rights education

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 53

10/19/2012 4:39:47 PM

54

Leadership and Religious Schools

has become increasingly important since the 1990s – the post-Cold War era – in response to force and violence, and in the name of social, political and economical transformation in the spirit of equality and equity (Lenhart & Sovalainen, 2002). It is important to note that human rights education is not limited to valuing and respecting the rights of others, but includes advocacy in education contexts that can guarantee conditions in which human rights can prosper (Tibbits, 2002, p. 160). Hornberg (2002) argued that human rights education should be included in general education because it has the potential to emancipate children socially, economically, culturally and nationally, and because it exposes them to interculturalism (p. 190). This is because human rights education, which is a practical form of education based on lived experiences, includes identity formation and ways of understanding diversity. However, the value of intercultural learning through human rights education may lead to tensions between value systems in education contexts (Du Preez & Roux, 2010). The process of addressing human rights education is even more complex in religious schools where human rights values are sometimes seen as contradicting the value system of the religious beliefs upheld in the school. As Hornberg (2002) points out, human rights as a universal construct is often in tension with intercultural ideals and values, which is mostly a particularist construct (p. 191). The purpose and nature of human rights education differ considerably from one context to the next. Although human rights are often conceptualized as a universal construct, we need to be aware that human rights are context specific and determined by the history of a particular country. Tibbits (2002), for example, points out that although the raison d’être for human rights education may overlap at times, it differs vastly from that in post-totalitarian countries, to developing countries, to older democracies. This does not mean that these reasons do not overlap at times. Tibbits (2002) argued that in post-totalitarian contexts, human rights education is often oriented to development of civil society, the protection of the rule of law and minority rights. In developing countries, human rights is often focused on economic and community development and women’s rights, whereas older democracies are more often concerned about reform in terms of economic rights and the

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 54

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

A Human Rights-Based Curriculum

55

protection of refugee and/or migrant rights (Tibbits, 2002). During the past 17 years, South Africa, like many other sub-Saharan countries has shifted its perspective in response to the local discourse of the time. However, it seems that the country’s commitment to transformation has resulted in an ample focus on economic and community development, especially of previously marginalized groups (Carrim & Keet, 2005). Slovakia’s debates and those of other former communist countries, however, are examples of human rights education for civil society and the protection of the rule of law (Kusy, 1994). Australia and Germany are examples of older democracies that are mostly concerned with economic rights and the protection of refugee and/or migrant rights (Hornberg, 2002; Oliver, 2009; Tascón, 2008). It is important for us to realize that in most cases we share the need for human rights education, but that our understanding of its nature and the purpose we ascribe to it, differ from one context to the next. We can therefore never adopt ‘one size fits all’ approaches to human rights education. Much more research needs to be undertaken to clarify questions of human rights education and the curriculum (Carrim & Keet, 2005; Du Preez, 2008; Hornberg, 2002). Moreover, Tibbits (2002) stressed the need to explore good leadership in relation to human rights as a means to initiate social change. In this chapter, I respond to this challenge. Research that has been conducted in South Africa on approaches to human rights education is introduced first followed by an exploration of the nature of a human rights-based curriculum. Gaining an overview of one country’s experiences might assist others in the process of inculcating human rights in education. Third, a discussion regarding ways of thinking about different values systems such as human rights values and cultural and religious values that are often viewed as a challenge in religious schools’ curricula is undertaken. The chapter concludes with an exploration of the specific responsibilities that a school leader has regarding curriculum work in a human rights culture in religious schools. Most of these explorations are based on research that several colleagues and I have conducted since 2005. These explorations are also based on questions that remained unanswered or have only been partly addressed in these research endeavours.

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 55

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

56

Leadership and Religious Schools

Research in human rights education: From awareness, values and transformation to accountability and full responsibility Human rights are viewed in many countries as a way to attain social, political and economical renewal and to heal a divided society (Carrim & Keet, 2005). Human rights, apart from its legal application, is based on an inherent moral nature that can assist in creating shared values in diverse contexts (Du Preez, 2005; Du Preez & Roux, 2010; McCowan, 2010). The question of what a human rights-based curriculum entails is one of a search for values and a moral compass in a divided society characterized by unrest and uncertainty. Like many other countries, South Africa has had to rigorously define its understanding of values in the curriculum after the abolition of apartheid and the infusion of a human rights culture in a new democratic society (Asmal & James, 2002). Two particularly important research projects were recently conducted in South Africa to gain clarity on the nature of a human rights-based curriculum. Both these projects were funded by the South African Netherlands Partnership on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD) and included researchers from most of the provinces in South Africa and research partners from the Netherlands. The first of these research projects was conducted between 2005 and 2009: ‘Understanding human rights through different belief systems: Intercultural and interreligious dialogue’ (Roux, Du Preez, Ferguson, Jarvis, Small & Smith, 2009). The project resulted in a conceptualization of the notion of human rights values as a shared value construct for a diverse society (Roux, Du Preez & Ferguson, 2009) and a subsequent programme for in-service professional development in terms of human rights in the curriculum (Du Preez & Roux, 2008, 2010). The programme was also successfully implemented in pre-service teacher development in various universities in South Africa. Towards the end of this project, the study was expanded to include children’s views and experiences of human rights teaching-learning (Simmonds, 2010). This research project can be described in terms of the values and awareness agenda of the practice of human rights education (Tibbits, 2002, p. 163). This is because it focused on aligning the curriculum with human rights in an attempt to promote knowledge about, in and for human rights (Çayir, 2002). In this

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 56

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

A Human Rights-Based Curriculum

57

context, stakeholders in the field of education are often perceived as critical consumers of human rights rather than social activists for human rights (Tibbits, 2002). Here human rights education is more concerned with respect and sensitization towards human rights values that communities share and less with social activism for large-scale transformation. The second project was entitled: Human rights education in diversity: Empowering girls in rural and metropolitan school environments 2010– 2013. This project responded to some of the issues that emerged during the first project. It aimed to use human rights education to empower girls in diverse contexts by sensitizing them to respond to subtle and noticeable discrimination emanating from their cultural, religious and traditional contexts. The first round of this research aimed to obtain an understanding of how girls experience human rights in a context where they are often subjected to various forms of discrimination. Their voices were documented in narrative form and promoted self-reflection on human rights violations. The results of this research (Du Preez & Simmonds, 2011) informed the next phase of the research which aimed to unite mothers and teachers of the girls who participated in the first round. The mothers and teachers were grouped in communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) so that they could address some of the concerns that were voiced by the girls and the concerns could be incorporated in curriculum processes in the classroom. This research project can be described in terms of the transformation agenda of the practice of human rights education because it aimed to empower a specific target group through reflection, and it relied on experiences of human beings in terms of human rights violations as a way of promoting authentic human rights education (Tibbits, 2002). These research projects addressed human rights education in the values and awareness realm and in the transformational realm. There seems to be a need for more research in the realm of accountability. This realm, according to Tibbits (2002), requires leaders to work towards guaranteeing the rights of the human beings they lead and in this sense is activist oriented. The focus here is on the responsibilities of leaders when it comes to human rights education. In the discussions below I address the need for accountability in terms of human rights education and how school leaders can learn from this.

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 57

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

58

Leadership and Religious Schools

It is important to note that we also need research in the intersectional realm of approaches to human rights education, that is, the intersection between the values and awareness realm, the transformational realm and the accountability realm. Human rights education cannot be developed only as a value system in the curriculum, or as a transformational tool. We also need to investigate the responsibility of leaders in this regard and to develop an understanding of human rights that takes account of all three approaches. In my view, addressing the intersectional realm will lead to a comprehensive process of researching human rights education for curriculum purposes. In addition, we need to remember that these approaches need to be aligned with other value systems in society. This adds another dimension to our understanding of human rights in education which will inform our way of conceptualizing a human rightsbased curriculum.

The nature of a human rights-based curriculum From what was discussed earlier, we realize that the values and awareness approach has direct implications for curriculum processes on a micro- or classroom level. This is because the classroom is the place where we can teach and learn about human rights. It is also the place where value systems that coincide with human rights values can be dialogued. This requires a three-pronged approach to human rights in the curriculum. First, we need to create a space in the curriculum where children can explicitly learn about human rights in terms of its content, the discourses that highlight the need for human rights awareness and the key documents that guide our understanding of human rights (Du Preez, 2008). Second, we need to address human rights matters in all subject areas (Du Preez, 2008). For example, we could use human rights texts during language classes. In this way children will be exposed to the content and applications of human rights education in a variety of contexts. They will have a practical demonstration of how important human rights are in all aspects of life. Third, we need to infuse human rights as a value system in all aspects of the life of the school community (Du Preez, 2008). In this way,

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 58

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

A Human Rights-Based Curriculum

59

we send out a message that human rights values are important and could unite us in diverse contexts, even those that are not homogenous. Approaching human rights from this perspective requires that teachers be knowledgeable about the content of human rights and its significance as a value system, and its practical application. We also need to reach a consensus on the transformational potential of human rights. Put differently, the ultimate goal of human rights education is to transform society. It is therefore important to understand the transformational potential of human rights in a particular social context. Human rights education cannot be limited to what happens at school, so this knowledge and experience must be extended to the larger community. The community’s input in terms of human rights education should thus also be recognized and included when curricula are planned. In terms of curriculum-development theories, we need to use theories that allow for a three-pronged approach as well as the participation of community members. Such a theory should also have the potential to transform children into agents of social change (McLaren & Crawford, 2010, p. 147). One such theory is described by Posner (2009, p. 258) as the critical consciousness perspective on curriculum development. Before we explore this perspective, it is important to understand its philosophical roots, since these will help to justify why such a perspective is the most desirable one when developing a human rights-based curriculum. The critical consciousness perspective is rooted in theories related to critical pedagogy, more specifically on critical praxis theory. Critical pedagogy assumes that through critical praxis (self-reflective thought and action) children will problematize and challenge social realities which they experience (McLaren & Crawford, 2010, p. 147). Critical pedagogy is oriented toward emancipation, toward prioritizing the most vulnerable human beings in society; it values historicizing of experiences, and is dialectical because it emphasizes the relationship between an individual and society, and the interactions between practice and theory (McLaren & Crawford, 2010, p. 148). Critical praxis entails three processes and two contexts. Self-reflection, reflective action and collective reflective action are the processes, while its contexts include authentic dialogue between human beings and the

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 59

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

60

Leadership and Religious Schools

social reality in which they exist (McLaren & Crawford, 2010). In terms of curriculum development, a critical consciousness perspective will include the following process: teachers and other education stakeholders or social actors (parents, activists, school leaders, children, etc.) generate themes that represent the social reality for the particular contexts; together, these education stakeholders engage in a cooperative dialogue to select the most important themes for the curriculum; materials about these themes are collected and circulated for critical reflection (both individually and collectively); and action is taken accordingly (Posner, 2009). In terms of teaching and learning, problems that emanate from the selected themes are identified by children and teachers; the problems are researched; a plan of action is formulated to address the problem; and the plan is implemented and evaluated in terms of its efficacy in re-examining the problem (McLaren & Crawford, 2010). This was the approach that was used in the second research example discussed above. In human rights education, the themes should be context specific. In order to realize its transformational potential, a variety of stakeholders should be included in the process of curriculum development. Teaching and learning should be problem based and action oriented to enhance the potential of the learning experience to filter through to practice. However, we need to realize that human rights education that transcends the classroom situation is not moonshine and roses. As mentioned earlier, the universalist understanding of human rights and its often particularist interpretation leads to conflicts in understanding and applying human rights as a value system in the curriculum. This leads to the question of whether we should promote cultural and religious values or human rights values.

The dialectical nature of cultural and religious values and human rights values The question of what value system should be promoted in schools is one that should rely on a variety of inputs and perspectives. Some might argue that human rights values do not need to be promoted in religious schools that already have an established value system. Taking a different view, others

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 60

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

A Human Rights-Based Curriculum

61

might argue that the application of human rights values exceeds narrow cultural and religious interpretations of values. Yet another school of thought contends that human rights values and cultural and religious values could be intertwined and negotiated in a particular context. Whatever the case, the two important points to be noted are that a value system cannot be imposed upon a community, and that no two communities are homogeneous. Communities need to engage in dialogues to establish which morals they value, and what is most needed for a particular environment given its unique heterogeneities. Dialogue is also required for us to understand the relativity of our interpretations of seemingly homogeneous values. For a discussion of the debate on what values and whose values, see Du Preez and Roux (2010). The infusion of human rights values in any school curriculum is inevitable for two reasons: first, it is a means for people to learn about diversity in society; and second, human rights values are inherently positive values that can be shared beyond local boundaries. The infusion of human rights values is thus even more important for a religious school where religious homogeneity often prevails. A human rights-based curriculum does not limit itself to narrow interpretations of human rights and its supposed value system. In fact, a truly human rights-based curriculum is one that welcomes a diversity of beliefs and values, that allows human beings to be committed to their beliefs and values but that expects human beings to be open to the commitments of others too (Du Preez, 2009). In this sense we can describe a human rights-based curriculum as one that grants the opportunity for a dialectical relationship between diverse value systems, with the common aim of collectively working towards transforming humanity for the better.

The responsibilities of school leaders in a human rights-based curriculum The question that this chapter is concerned with is the responsibility of school leaders in religious schools regarding a human rights-based curriculum. As mentioned earlier, this responsibility entails not only being accountable

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 61

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

62

Leadership and Religious Schools

for human rights education, but also ensuring that human rights education is approached from its intersectional realm. This leads to several questions relating to the practice school leaders should adopt in terms of their responsibility to foster a human rights culture in their schools. Next, several of these responsibilities will be discussed. Each section will commence with a summary statement of the responsibility of the school leader in terms of a human rights-based curriculum in the context of a religious school.

Leadership and value awareness School leaders should be open to value systems other than their own: they should be the link between the school and the local community, and they should support professional learning that augments value awareness. A central part of human rights education is the value dimension that underpins it. A school leader should have clarity of purpose in terms of the vision and values of a school (Jansen, 2011, p. 166). This vision and values should serve the needs of the local community and the broader society. With regard to values, the balance between human rights values and cultural and religious values should be maintained. This might be a daunting task because it requires a leader to embrace and be open to various value systems or interpretations of these in order to recognize the dialectical nature of value systems. Incorporating human rights in the formal curriculum is not sufficient; human rights values should filter through or be infused in the entire school organization and the larger community in order to be effective. This means a school principal is responsible not only for infusing human rights in the school, but also for linking the school and the community. A school leader then becomes the facilitator of dialogue to address ‘us-them’ dichotomies that often lead to apparently conflicting value systems. Values awareness, especially when it concerns human rights, requires well-developed individuals. School leaders have the responsibility to create professional learning initiatives for teachers (and in some instances the larger community) to become au fait with human rights education. Here, the motivational role of the leader gains prominence: merely granting access to

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 62

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

A Human Rights-Based Curriculum

63

professional learning is not enough, school leaders have to ensure that this learning influences the way curricula are developed and school organization is structured. In this sense, school leaders themselves should lead by example through being scholars. Jansen (2011, pp. 166–7) notes that people often learn more by observing leaders than listening to them and refers to this type of leadership as exemplary leadership.

Leadership for critical praxis School leaders should be profound facilitators of dialogue, hear their own voice, and overcome dichotomies that hinder the realization of a human rights-based curriculum. Leadership for critical praxis requires that the school leader plays a central role in dialogical curriculum development for critical consciousness. The leader should be the facilitator in this process. Du Preez (2008) argued for profound facilitation that is not control orientated but allows for open communication. A profound facilitator transforms the usual ways in which human beings understand and construct their social world in an attempt to make them think (and act) differently. In addition, a school leader who adopts this position would promote honesty, empathy, openness and commitment, while valuing equality and humility (Du Preez, 2008). Jansen (2011) described the leadership style that disrupts and enables new ways of understanding the world as countercultural leadership and states: ‘To be a strong leader, do what people do not expect; love those you are expected to hurt; forgive those who do not deserve it. Surprise your followers by generosity when it is least expected’ (p. 168). Leadership for critical praxis necessitates critical reflection and collective action. The responsibility of the school leader is to reflect on his/her own practice. One way of doing this is to ‘hear one’s own voice’ and realize that social change starts from inside (Jansen, 2011, pp. 168, 172–4). To hear one’s own voice requires mindfulness to overcome the categories one is often trapped in, the automatic behaviour one often reveals, and the act of thinking from one perspective only (Langer, 1989). Once we start hearing our own voice, we free ourselves from the constraints we place on ourselves and on those around us.

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 63

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

64

Leadership and Religious Schools

Overcoming dichotomies such as policy and practice, our values and their values, my understanding and your understanding is a central part of school leaders’ responsibilities. As a matter of fact, this process of overcoming dichotomies is at the heart of praxis. Praxis is also at the heart of human rights education, because human rights education necessitates that the theory goes over into practice (Çayir, 2002).

Leadership as activism School leaders should promote activism as a teaching-learning methodology that could overcome dichotomies, endorse a caring ethical disposition among human beings and enable sustainable societal transformation. As a school leader one must not only monitor to see that the human rights of children, teachers and other human beings in the community are not violated, but also guarantee that they are not violated (Tibbits, 2002). Being accountable on this level makes heavy demands. Not only do leaders have to oversee human rights education in the curriculum, but also ensure that human rights education emanates in actual practice. In this regard, Roth (2010) states: ‘Activism implies not just knowing something abstractly but being able to concretely and knowledgeably bring knowing to the problems at hand’ (p. 278). In this way, the theory/practice divide could be reduced, marginalized groups could be emancipated and social transformation could occur. This leads us to see a school leader as innovator, caregiver and change agent. However, human rights education cannot be the sole responsibility of the leader: all social actors have to be part of the process and become agents of change through activism. Mihr and Schmitz (2007) argue that human rights activists have often failed in their projects because they do not fully exploit human rights education as a strategic and sustainable tool in their campaigns. More specifically they state that ‘while claims of impartial activism based on legalistic strategies have the benefit of lifting human rights groups above the fray of politics, the promotion of human rights norms remains a deeply political and contentious struggle. We argue that a greater emphasis on HRE [human rights education] strengthens transnational ties and local support for international human rights standards and leads to societal mobilization beyond the narrow nongovernmental sector’

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 64

10/19/2012 4:39:48 PM

A Human Rights-Based Curriculum

65

(Mihr & Schmitz, 2007, pp. 973–4). The process underlining the infusion of human rights in education is an important responsibility to be undertaken by school leaders. School leaders should recognize that this norm-driven process requires not only cognitive involvement, but emotional involvement as well (Mihr & Schmitz, 2007). This means that activism has to be seen as part of the teachinglearning process (Roth, 2010). This consciousness raising makes it possible to effect transformation and endorse ethical responsibility in a caring manner (Roth, 2010).

Leading from the intersection: Some concluding reflections Leading from the intersection imposes a responsibility on a school leader to be accountable for a human rights-based curriculum. A school leader not only has to monitor the rights of human beings, but also guarantee them through active application. An awareness of human rights and values has to pervade the entire school environment: there has to be a clear acknowledgement that the ultimate goal of human rights education is the transformation of society. Here the critical conscious perspective to curriculum could become important since it enables a wide variety of input. Various inputs are important since they open up the possibility for dialogue which is a prerequisite when a variety of value systems meet in a social context. Leaders in religious schools have a particular need to teach and lead for diversity. A human rights-based curriculum in a religious school context could facilitate this process and create opportunities for human rights activism. This requires a balance between commitment to one’s own beliefs and values and openness to those of others.

References Asmal, K. & James, W. (2002). Spirit of the nation: Reflections on South Africa’s educational ethos. Claremont: New Africa Education. Bakker, C., Miedema, S. & Van der Kooij, J. (2007). Dimensions of school identity formation. Research about and with principals of Dutch elementary schools.

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 65

10/19/2012 4:39:49 PM

66

Leadership and Religious Schools

In C. Bakker & H. Heimbrock (Eds), Researching RE teachers. RE teachers as researchers (pp. 155–73). Münster: Waxmann. Bush, T., Kiggundu, E. & Moorosi, P. (2011). Preparing new principals in South Africa: The ACE school leadership programme. South African Journal of Education, 31, 31–43. Carrim, N. & Keet, A. (2005). Infusing human rights into the curriculum: The case of the South African revised national curriculum statement. Perspectives in Education, 23(2), 99–110. Çayir, K. (2002). Human rights education scenarios. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 2(2), 398–400. Du Preez, P. (2005). Facilitating human rights values across outcomes-based education and Waldorf education curricula. M.Ed. thesis, Stellenbosch University. —. (2008). Dialogue as facilitation strategy: Infusing the classroom with a culture of human rights. Ph.D. thesis, Stellenbosch University. —. (2009). Thinking about knowledge amidst religious diversity: Epistemic relativity and its impact on religion in education. Alternation, 3, 91–111. Du Preez, P. & Roux, C. (2008). Participative intervention research: The development of professional programmes for in-service teachers. Education as Change, 12(2), 77–90. —. (2010). Human rights values or cultural values? Perusing values to maintain discipline in multicultural schools. South African Journal of Education, 30(1), 13–26. Du Preez, P. & Simmonds, S. (2011). Understanding how we understand girls’ voices on cultural and religious practices: Toward a curriculum for justice. South African Journal of Education, 31(3), 322–32. Heystek, J., Nieman, R., Van Rooyen, J., Mosoge, J. & Bipath, K. (2008). People leadership in education. Cape Town: Heinemann. Hornberg, S. (2002). Human rights education as an integral part of general education. International Review of Education, 48(3–4), 187–98. Jansen, J. (2011). We need to talk. South Africa: Bookstorm and Pan Macmillan. Kusy, M. (1994). Human rights education, constitutionalism and their interrelations in Slovakia. European Journal of Education, 29(4), 377–89. Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. Lenhart, V. & Savolainen, K. (2002). Human rights education as a field of practice and of theoretical reflection. Review of Education, 48(3–4), 145–58. Louw, I. & Zuber-Skeritt, O. (2009). Reflecting on a leadership development programme: A case study in South African higher education. Perspectives in Education, 27(3), 237–46.

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 66

10/19/2012 4:39:49 PM

A Human Rights-Based Curriculum

67

McCowan, T. (2010). Reframing the universal right to education. Comparative Education, 46(4), 509–25. McLaren, P. & Crawford, J. (2010). Critical pedagogy. In C. Kridel (Ed), Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies (pp. 147–8). Los Angeles: Sage Publications. Mihr, A. & Schmitz, H. P. (2007). Human rights education (HRE) and transnational activism. Human Rights Quarterly, 29, 973–93. Oliver, P. (2009). Australian Human Rights Commission education update – February 2009. Primary & Middle Years Educator, 7(1), 27–8. Posner, G. (2009). Models of curriculum planning. In U. Hoadley & J. Jansen (Eds), Curriculum: Organizing knowledge for the classroom (pp. 253–60). Cape Town: South Africa: Oxford University Press. Roth, W. (2010). Activism: A category for theorizing learning. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 10(3), 278–91. Roux, C. D., Du Preez, P. & Ferguson, R. (2009). Understanding religious education through human rights values in a world of difference. In W. Meijer, S. Miedema & A. Lanser-van der Velde, (Eds), Religious education in a world of difference (pp. 67–84). Muenster, Berlin, New York, Muenchen: Waxmann. Roux, C. D., Du Preez, P., Ferguson, R., Jarvis, J., Small, R. & Smith, J. (2009). Understanding human rights through different belief systems: Intercultural and interreligious dialogue. South Africa: Final SANPAD report. Simmonds, S. R. (2010). Primary school learners’ understanding of human rights teaching-and-learning in classroom practice. M.Ed. dissertation, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. Tascón, S. M. (2008). Narratives of race and nation: Everyday whiteness in Australia. Social Identities, 14(2), 253–74. Tibbits, F. (2002). Understanding what we do: Emerging models for human rights education. International Review of Education, 48(3–4), 159–71. Valentine, J. & Prater, M. (2011). Instructional, transformational, and managerial leadership and student achievement: High school principals make a difference. NASSP Bulletin, 95(1), 5–30. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 67

10/19/2012 4:39:49 PM

9781441172976_Ch04_Final_txt_print.indd 68

10/19/2012 4:39:49 PM

5

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach in Religious Schools: Perspectives from Bosnia–Herzegovina Pauline Kollontai

In societies of mixed ethnicity, race and religion, the existence of religious schools is a source of controversy. The disagreement over such educational establishments centres around the arguments that religious schools serve to divide, isolate, segregate and ghettoize children on the grounds of religion. If children are separated in learning environments, then the danger is that social cohesion and social trust within society would become more fragile and under threat. As children become adults would their faith-based education have constructed a worldview which is divisive and intolerant towards others who do not share their particular religious belief? Richardson points out that faith-based schooling which does not also include a broadly based religious curriculum, ‘fails to prepare children for the realities of life in a very diverse world and at its worst it leads to the rigid separation of children into different confessional camps during a very formative period in their lives’ (Richardson, 2004, p. 20). Furthermore worldwide, the number and diversity of faith-based schools is growing in a vast array of geopolitical, ethno-religious contexts, some of which are in the midst of violent upheaval and others are facing the challenges of peace building (Lawton & Cairns 2005; Shah 2006; Symes & Gulson, 2005). Therefore, if religious schools are to participate in helping overcome these traits of intolerance, prejudice and hatred found in various manifestations across the globe, then the type of leadership in religious schools must be appropriate to the task. This leadership must promote inclusive learning environments that promote respect for all.

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 69

10/19/2012 4:37:41 PM

70

Leadership and Religious Schools

This chapter will explore the inclusion of a peace-education curriculum as presented in the Toledo guiding principles on teaching about religions and beliefs in public schools (ODIHR, 2007) and the initiative Education for peace curriculum in post-conflict Bosnia–Herzegovina (Institute of the Balkans, 2004) where tensions between the main ethno-religious groups continue to exist. The issues and challenges of integrating such a curriculum will be considered in terms of the leadership from school and religious leaders, the children’s learning experience and changes in the overall ethos of the schools.

Models of religious schools Those who oppose religious schools usually fail to recognize that such schools can be divided into moderate and strong versions. Unfortunately, the tendency among the oppositionist lobby often appears to be unable to recognize that within religion there are teachings and values which promote respect for each other and seek the common good of all human beings. There is a significant body of writing which looks at these two models (De Ruyter & Miedema, 2000; Grace, 2003; Halstead & McLaughlin, 2005; McDonaghu, 1998; Short, 2002; Walford, 2002; Waltzer, 2003). This section of the chapter provides a brief overview of the key aspects of these issues. Research on the strong expression of religious schools shows that a strong cultural identity is promoted where the presence of multiculturalism has no place in the curriculum (Short, 2002). An example of this type of school is that of the Dutch Reformed Church. Research by De Ruyter and Miedema (2000) shows that in these schools, children are not encouraged to develop independent and critical thinking skills. The presentation of gender roles is a central part of the teaching material and the overall ethos of these schools does not attempt to promote understanding or respect for people of other faiths. Such schools represent communities who want to ensure that their way of life in all its aspects is continued throughout generations. Waltzer refers to this as ‘totalizing’ in the sense that adult members of these communities ‘believe they have a right to reproduce themselves – that is, to do whatever is necessary to pass their way of life onto their children’ (Waltzer, 2003, p. 126). The key issues

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 70

10/19/2012 4:37:41 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

71

identified in these studies do conflict with a liberal, pluralistic approach to learning to live together in diverse societies as the emphasis in strong identity religious schools is centred on maintaining the purity of the religion and culture of the children and protecting them from other beliefs and ideologies which (according to them) do not represent the truth. Studies on the moderate version of religious schools led many scholars to argue that these schools can be compatible with the aims of liberal education in religious diverse societies. The way in which this is achieved is shown through numerous studies of which only a small number are referred to here. McDonaghu’s study (1998) argued that moderate versions of religious schools teach children to understand and appreciate their own religion, but they are also able to explore other faith traditions. The reality of some schools pursuing this type of educational ethos and policy is evidenced in the work of Walford (2002) on Muslim schools, Grace (2003) on Catholic schools and Short (2002) on Jewish schools. In these schools, the encounter with other religious traditions is provided through multicultural/religious curricula, employing teachers from outside the schools’ faith perspective, and giving opportunities for the children to engage with members of other faith groups. So what does the recognition and understanding of these two broad models of faith-based schools offer to the ongoing controversy of allowing such schools to exist and to the fact that some are government funded? First, it provides an important counter-dialogue to the sometimes hysterical arguments presented in the media and policy debates. Second, as Halstead and McLaughlin argue, criticism should be given to the claim that all faith schools are divisive, and instead a way forward is to recognize that ‘particular faith schools in particular contexts may be divisive in [only] some sense of the term’ (Halstead & McLaughlin, 2005, p. 61). Third, the issue about why some communities feel the need for faith schools and what particular model this takes is important, and this often gets lost in the discussions and debates.

Controlling religious influences in state education Until the late nineteenth century, in the territories which became known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929, the role of religious communities was

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 71

10/19/2012 4:37:41 PM

72

Leadership and Religious Schools

prominent in providing education in private schools, mainly accessed by the ruling elites. Under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian provincial government, a plan was devised to establish public education across these territories partly because a large number of the population, especially in Bosnia–Herzegovina (BiH), were found to be illiterate and partly as a means to limit the influence of religious communities and their schools on political issues. Following World War II and the establishment of the communist Federation of Yugoslavia a new approach to the structure and organization of education was put in place which provided free education: ‘The schools were open to all children regardless of their religious, ethnic or social background’ (Russo, 2000, p. 2). Learning about religion was not part of the curriculum, and any confessional religious education took place either in the home or at the church, synagogue or mosque. Following Tito’s death in 1980 and the economic and political instability, religion began to play a more prominent role in society. In many schools, the content of the curriculum and the language in which it was delivered became determined by what was the majority ethnic group attending individual schools. The three new nation-states to emerge after the 1991–1995 war, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia–Herzegovina, all adopted constitutions providing for freedom of religion. BiH remains the most ethnoreligiously mixed. In a territory of 31,816 square miles, there is an estimated population of about 3.9 million people: ‘Muslims constitute 45 per cent of the population, Serb Orthodox Christian 36 per cent, Roman Catholics 15 per cent, Protestants 1 per cent, and other groups including Jews 3 per cent’ (United States Department of State (USD), 2009, p. 1). In BiH the law on religious freedom ensures legal status of churches and other religious communities/ organizations and prohibits any form of discrimination against any religious community. However, the Freedom of Religion Act (2004) is being used by some to extend their nationalist interests by ‘seeking to create educational systems and curriculum that panders to their religious, ethnic, and political wishes and to create separate schools for children based on ethnic origin, ultimately divided on the basis of their parents’ religion’ (Russo, 2000, p. 6). Given the controversial role that religion has often played in relations between Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, it is not surprising that conflicts exist among and

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 72

10/19/2012 4:37:41 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

73

between the population and policy makers, particularly in BiH, over the place of religion in schools and how it is delivered in the curriculum.

A religious politicization of education The current situation in BiH as regards relations between religio-ethnic groups is complicated because the country was divided into two entities: Republica Serbska (RS) and the Muslim-Croat Federation (MCF) following the 1991– 1995 war. In both entities education is decentralized and allows for significant local decisions within the education sector as to what is taught and how (e.g. the emphasis on particular historical events, promoting a particular religion and culture, and the language in which lessons are delivered). During the first few years after the war, school curricula throughout RS and MCF included looking at other parts of the world, but the majority of these schools do not teach the history, culture and religion of each of the three main communities in their own country. For example, schools in RS ensured that religious education is focused exclusively on Serbian Orthodox belief. In the MCF schools, depending on the majority community they serve, Croat or Bosniak, each taught a view of history which emphasizes the persecution of either Croat Christians at the hands of Bosniak Muslims or vice versa. The negative effect which the education system was having on peace building in BiH appeared not to have penetrated the consciousness of the federal minister of Education, who in 1997 decided to introduce a policy which segregated children during lessons in national subjects – history, language, literature, music, art – and also religion. This was considered by some ‘as a way of protecting legitimate rights of identity and culture . . . [but in reality] . . . it endorsed the general practice of segregating children for lessons in the national subjects’ (Low-Beer, 2001, p. 2). International criticism forced the withdrawal of the policy within a few months, but nationalist and religious agendas continued to make slow progress in ‘establishing a long-term, peaceful integration of religion into Bosnian schools’ (Russo, 2000, p. 11). What had occurred as a consequence of the war was that schools which under the communist era had taught no specific

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 73

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

74

Leadership and Religious Schools

religious belief were now in many situations turned into quasi-faith-based schools, which operated on an exclusivist approach to the curriculum. A number of reports and studies since 2008 describe the education system as ‘highly politicized, a reflection of the country’s lingering struggles with ethnic division’ (Alic, 2008, p. 1). Most schools can be described as ethnically clean schools because the majority groups’ religion and culture dominate the national subjects. Religious education has developed in the school system, but it is a ‘model of mono-religious learning’ (Tanovic, 2009, p. 2) which assists in segregation and discrimination. The model of the ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ is being promoted. In situations where there are a sufficient number of students of a minority religious group, ‘legally the school must organize religion classes on their behalf. However, in rural areas there are usually no qualified religious representatives available to teach’ (USDS, 2009, p. 3). Stuebner explained this further noting that, ‘The common explanation by the authorities is that it is not possible to provide teachers for a handful of students who are adherents of religions other than the main one’ (Stuebner, 2009, p. 10). There appears a lack of understanding on the part of politicians and educational professionals that this could be solved if teacher training included the opportunity for some if not all students to study a number of religions and learn the educational methods and approaches to deliver religious education in schools in a nonconfessional way. Some schools that have students from other ethno-religious groups operate the model of two schools under one roof, which initially after the war was meant to be a transitional measure (UNICEF, 2009, p. 1). Alic wrote about Capljina’s primary school as an example of the two schools under one roof model, ‘Under this concept, Bosniak and Croat pupils and teachers use the same school facilities but have no contact with one another, and follow divergent ethnic-based curricula’ (Alic, 2008, p. 2). Another example is of Stolac High School, located in southeastern Bosnia on the border with Croatia: Stolac has a Croatian majority, and students use the high school in two shifts with Croatian students attending school in the morning and Bosniak students attending in the afternoon. This compromise was meant as a temporary solution until the adoption of a national curriculum, which has

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 74

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

75

yet to happen. On the first day of Bosniak students using the building, Croat school staff piled up chairs to build a barrier to separate the children when the shifts changed. (Cerkez-Robinson, 2009, p. 5)

Promoting and enforcing on schools an ethnic and religious identity is also achieved in a number of other ways such as naming schools after military commanders or politicians involved in the recent war who were members of one of the religio-ethnic communities; and in schools where the students come predominantly from a particularly religion, then it is common to find the symbols and pictures of this religion dominating school corridors and classrooms.

Putting peace education into the curriculum In this section, two examples of attempts in BiH schools to teach subjects underpinning them with values of openness, empathy and democracy across the curriculum are considered. Both are examples of approaches trying to transform the worldviews of teachers and students ‘from a conflict orientation to a peace orientation’ (Clarke-Habibi, 2005, p. 33). These examples are therefore considered in the context of peace education which aims ‘to empower learners with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to end violence and promote a culture of peace’ (Teachers without Borders (TWOB), 2008, p. 2). Peace-education theory identifies two distinctions: negative and positive peace. The negative aspect focuses on stopping conflict once it has started, and the positive aspect motivates individuals and communities to develop cultures of peace which are less likely to use violence. The key principles of peace education include the following: l

l

l

a learning environment where both the teacher and the students teach and learn from one another through equitable dialogue; establishing democratic classrooms that teach cooperation and promote positive self- esteem among students; teachers serving as peaceful role models to help counteract images of violent behaviour that young people encounter;

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 75

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

76 l

l

l

Leadership and Religious Schools

combining academic study with practical application towards societal transformation; analyzing issues in a holistic way that accounts for the past, present and future, and includes the personal, local and global levels; and promoting values such as compassion, equality, interdependence, diversity, sustainability and nonviolence.

These principles are not just applicable to what takes place in the classroom but also to what needs to be reflected in all aspects of the life of the school, including the style and nature of leadership and management by the senior staff.

Putting Toledo into the curriculum On 18 December 1995, the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) established its mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The OSCE Mission activities include, promoting democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society and monitoring and advancing human rights. Both these areas of work involve looking at the management and role of education in schools. In 2007, OSCE and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights established a working group of experts to write and publish the Toledo guiding principles on teaching about religion and beliefs in public schools (2007) in an international effort to help overcome expressions of prejudice, misunderstanding and negative stereotypes related to religion and belief across Europe and other parts of the globe. The aim of Toledo is to promote a confluence of civilizations rather than a clash. The guiding principles are designed to ‘offer practical guidance for preparing curricula for teaching about religions and beliefs, preferred procedures for assuring fairness in the development of curricula, and standards for how they could be implemented’ (ODIHR Advisory Council, 2007, p, 10). These principles were not written with the intent of proposing a curriculum for the subject area, nor do they present or discuss approaches to teach the subject matter. The framework for the Toledo guiding principles is that of human rights as established in the legal

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 76

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

77

framework of international law. Thus, phrases such as, ‘the parent or legal guardian have the right to have their children educated in accordance with their religious or philosophical convictions . . . [and] . . . that children, as autonomous individuals, should enjoy the freedom of religion or belief in their own rights as do adults’ appear in the documentation explaining Toledo (ODIHR Advisory Council, 2007, pp. 34–5). It is also noted that although teachers have the right to their own beliefs ‘a range of restrictions may legitimately may be placed upon teachers when they are working to ensure the rights of parents and children are respected when teaching about religions and belief – or indeed, when teaching about any subject’ (ODIHR Advisory Council, 2007, p. 37). The state should ensure that the rights of minority rights must be respected and addressed in schools: ‘States should consistently adhere to the fundamental principles of equality and non-discrimination . . . and should approach minority education rights in a proactive manner . . . creating conditions for minorities to participate in a meaningful way’ (ODIHR Advisory Council, 2007, pp. 37–8). Toledo has ten guiding principles for the educators. In summary, these require the subject to be taught in a fair and accurate way by properly trained teachers in an environment which respects human rights, freedom and civic values, and nurtures a spirit of mutual respect. Mention is made of the use of appropriate pedagogical skills to help sensitive and respectful interaction between students, and the use of textbooks and other materials should avoid prejudicial content or anything which reinforces negative stereotypes. Working group members were drawn from across the world and included Mr Jakob Finci, president of the Jewish community of BiH and chairperson of the Inter-Religious Council of BiH; Professor Sima Avramovic from the University of Belgrade, Serbia; and Mr Claude Kieffer, director of the Education Department, OSCE Mission in BiH. The Toledo guiding principles were translated into Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian and received endorsement from each region’s religious leaders. Further work between OSCE, the Goethe Institute and nongovernmental organizations led to the development of the Culture of religions course. This course, described as a ‘secular course’, draws upon students’ own religious perspectives and knowledge to explore the main religions of BiH:

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 77

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

78

Leadership and Religious Schools

Deeply rooted in Bosnian and Herzegovina’s reality, the course gives the students the practical skills to recognise, understand and appreciate the religious diversity reflected in the society in which they live, and to be able to engage in constructive dialogue with people of different faiths. ‘The aim of the course is that we learn about tolerance and respect for one another,’ says a teacher from Banja Luka. (Kozak & Aristedidou, 2009)

This course is not taught from the traditional, confessional approach to religious education. It aims to provide a complementary education to the existing confessional religious education, without challenging and/or affecting the existing practice or right to confessional religious education (Tanovic, 2009, p. 3). Students are encouraged to explore the four major religions present in their country through an interdisciplinary approach which uses a historical, cultural and social lens. In January 2009 the ministry of Education for Republican Serbska introduced it as a compulsory course for all first-year secondary school students, and later it was piloted in the Brcko District. However, as Stuebner points out, although there is much interest in the culture of religions course, its implementation has not happened across the whole of BiH (Stuebner, 2009, p. 11). Reasons for this appear to be a combination of the influence of politicians and religious leaders on members of school boards, directors and teachers. In a briefing, OSCE states that education, like other public institutions, faces problems of ‘political influence, interference and manipulation which are visible in the appointment of school boards, directors and also the teachers themselves’ (OSCE, 2010, p. 1). The OSCE recognizes that, ‘as a result, positions are not necessarily awarded to the most qualified people, or to the people selected according to appropriate appointment systems, but rather to those who are politically or ethnically associated with those in power’ (OSCE, 2010, p. 1). It would also appear that the same happens in terms of religious influence, interference and manipulation. The OSCE Mission has been monitoring the work of school directors, school boards and education inspectors for several years now. Their reports continue to show that ‘the democratic mechanisms lack transparency, accountability, effectiveness and efficiency’ (OSCE, 2010, p. 1). Most schools, particularly in

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 78

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

79

the teaching of religion, remain unable to counteract political and religious manipulation. The teaching of religion and culture has not undergone the same scrutiny in schools as has the teaching of history and language; hence religion and culture continue mainly to be taught in a way that does not encourage engagement across religious groups.

Education for peace programme Some progress has been made, however, with the Education for Peace (EFP) programme, administered by the International Education for Peace Institute, Switzerland. The EFP programme is based on three premises: ‘unity, not conflict, is the main force in human relationships; (2) worldview is the main framework within which all human individual and group behaviour takes shape; and (3) peace is the main outcome of a unity-based worldview’ (EFP-International, 2009, p. 1). Whereas the Toledo guiding principles were located predominantly in a legal framework, the EFP programme is predominantly located in the framework of education with a specific emphasis on peace education. Hence, in the EFP’s statement about its purpose and vision, it is stated that ‘No civilization is truly progressive without education and no education system is truly civilizing unless it is based on the universal principles of peace’ (EFP, 2008, p. 2). The aim is to have a systematic educational approach and plan of action ‘to educate children and youth, their parents, teachers, and leaders in the principles of peace’ (EFP, 2008, p. 2). To achieve this there are a number of key tasks, which include ongoing training of teachers and other school staff in the fundamentals of peace education; support for teachers to integrate peace principles of peace education into all subject areas; cultivation of student creativity, particularly through the use of the arts; as well as taking activities into the community. The EFP was initially piloted in six schools across the country in three primary and three secondary schools with the help of EFP programme staff consisting of teachers and other education professionals and school support staff. The six schools were typical of those schools described earlier where education was taught and delivered in environments which tended to retain division, ignorance and fear across the communities. An important point

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 79

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

80

Leadership and Religious Schools

to note is the fact that the EFP programme, unlike the culture of religions course designed along the lines of Toledo, has been used by all three ethnic communities within the education sector. During the pilot phase, some 400 school staff, 6,000 students and 10,000 family members undertook the programme. Significant effort was put into the pre-training of the school staff, including administrators, through an 8-day intensive training seminar on the fundamentals of peace education. Another two training seminars were held during the school year. The training sessions were designed ‘to equip all school staff with knowledge of the principles of peace, to provide them with an opportunity to process their own experiences of conflict, and to build a new vision of human nature and the dynamics of a culture of peace that would permeate every aspect of school life’ (Clarke-Habibi, 2005, p. 42). Themes addressed in the training sessions included, l

l

l

l

l

l

l

biological, psychological, social, moral and spiritual aspects of human development; the nature and dynamics of unity in the context of diversity; the dynamics of violence in the family, school environment and society, and the way to deal with these dynamics; transformation of the worldview and behaviour from a conflict orientation to a peace orientation; universal principles of human rights and responsibilities, including gender equality as a prerequisite for peace, and application of these principles in daily life; principles, practices and ethics of democracy and leadership for peace; and the psychological needs of traumatized children and adults, and the dynamics of the process of healing (Clarke-Habibi, 2005, p. 41).

Following the initial training, teachers worked, with the support of the EFP team, to integrate the principle of peace into their subject areas, identify appropriate pedagogical tools and design relevant teaching materials. Many teachers were confronted with having to change their teaching styles from those which tended to be very didactic and directive to those which encouraged

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 80

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

81

more student interaction and creativity. A few months into the programme it was evident that ‘both teacher and students demonstrated skills in a number of areas including: methods of decision-making, listening to and considering the ideas of others, moderating the tendency to dominate, helping to care for the unity of the group, and appreciating differences’ (Clarke-Habibi, 2005, p. 47). Within 2 years of EFP being introduced in six schools, a 2-year certificate programme in peace education was introduced and made available to 200 teachers. This capacity building of local teachers enabled the next phase of rolling EFP into more schools. The EFP programme also involves community involvement at both regional and national levels. Throughout the year, intraschool and interschool events are held to enable students, school staff, parents and family members to come together and talk about their ideas of peace, ‘applying the principles of peace to the context of society and the world at large’ (EFP, 2008, p. 3). The wider impact of EFP is on intercommunity relationships shifting more from a situation of hostility, fear and mutual suspicion to one of more understanding and respect. Evidence of this is found in the communities of Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Travnik, where friendships have developed among students from different religio-ethnic communities and they include visits to homes and intercommunity visits outside the organized regional events. This has been mirrored in some places where school staff, parents and family members ‘began to share stories, even in public settings, about the positive qualities of other ethnic groups during the war’ (Clarke-Habibi, 2005, p. 46). These examples demonstrate that through EFP a culture of healing develops as individuals learn the importance of being at peace with themselves and to work and be at peace with others (Clarke-Habibi, 2005; Close, 2011). The success of the pilot programme was evidenced by recognition and endorsement of the six participating schools and their communities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all the regional ministries of Education in BiH. As a result, by 2006 the EFP programme was established in 112 schools out of the 2,200 schools in BiH. In 2007, a 5-year plan was agreed on by the Bosnian government with the aim of incorporating EFP in all schools in BiH.

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 81

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

82

Leadership and Religious Schools

The leadership challenge: Creating inclusive learning communities At the heart of the two case studies presented earlier, the key challenge is about providing inclusive learning communities. As Williams-Boyd writing about schools in general argues, ‘Educational leaders are faced with a rising tide of challenges that reflect the angry times we live in. Schools are confronted with children who carry the adult trappings of a world bent on its own destruction’ (Williams-Boyd, 2002, p. 173). This is an essential issue for religious and nonreligious schools, and especially for schools which are in post-war contexts. The critical issue is about the way in which religious school leaders (principals, assistant principals, subject leaders, teachers, and teaching assistants) use their professional knowledge and skills alongside a sense of their own humanity to build and sustain educational experiences for their students, which promotes empathy and social trust. The starting point for all school leaders is themselves. Working in a religious school normally reflects a commitment to a particular faith perspective on the part of the individual. What is the purpose of religious schools within diverse social contexts as regards a teacher with a certain faith perspective? If the answer is that religious schools are meant to be confessional, in the sense of either presenting or ignoring religious difference in a dogmatic and divisive manner, then such individuals may not be able to participate in leadership which builds inclusive learning communities, while maintaining the particular religious foundation of a school. Given this reality, staff appointment panels do need to be very clear in communicating the approach and ethos of a school. The Toledo programme described earlier recognizes the rights of the individual staff member to his/her religious belief, but imposes certain restrictions when he/she teaches religion, culture or the history of minority communities. A healthier approach would be to have the staff recognize the importance of and be committed to teach their subjects in a nonbiased way. The wider challenge for principals, assistant principals and teaching staff is to understand what is meant by an inclusive learning community, and how it can be effected. First, it is necessary for principals to develop and nurture

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 82

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

83

a collegial atmosphere and work dialogically with their teams in establishing a collective vision and purpose which reflects the reality of the students and their communities. It is important to share this vision and purpose with parents and other stakeholders. It is one thing to have written down a vision and purpose, but a totally different thing to affirm and articulate this not only among the staff and students but among parents, religious leaders and the wider stakeholders as well. And when necessary ‘education leaders need to challenge un-ethical and immoral practices wherever they find them. They may not always be in a position to change the root causes, they should at the very least, name the offending issues and register their dissent’ (Selznic, 1992, p. 345). So, the message here is to have courage, take risks and engage in creative problem solving. The leadership style has to be relational which promotes an open, listening and democratic school which recognises that one of the main goals of education is peace. Second, the process of bringing about an inclusive learning environment entails a curriculum which teaches about a range of religions, not from an exclusivist approach but from an inclusivist or pluralist approach, without challenging and/or affecting the existing practice or right to confessional religious education. All other subjects must be taught in a balanced manner in terms of content and emphasis. This is called for in both case studies discussed. Essential for the success of students being able to explore and express their views is a safe learning environment and educational goals that support all students irrespective of their religious, ethnic and national identities. Finally, all levels of leaders in religious schools need to reassert education as a ‘moral enterprise’ (Fullan, 1993, 2003), which involves ‘the cultivation of virtues’ (Starratt, 2004) and promotes ethical responsibility to care for each other and oneself. In doing so then there will be a ‘reclaiming of the moral, ethical and spiritual domains of leadership’ (Fullan, 2003, p. 108) which sadly in many religious and nonreligious schools in BiH is too often subjected to religious and political agendas. How do leaders in religious schools know whether the education they impart is helping to build peace rather than destroy it? Simply, by witnessing all staff and students ‘transform each day into something special, something unforgettable, something that enables the human spirit to soar and, giddy with the joy of the moment know who they

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 83

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

84

Leadership and Religious Schools

are’ (Starrat, 2004, p. 145). And another way is suggested by McGettrick, who writing especially about Christian schools notes, ‘Perhaps we know we are succeeding in education when each person treats their neighbour as a brother or sister’ (McGettrick, 2005, p. 105).

Conclusion In post-war BiH a confessional model of religious education has come to dominate the whole school curriculum. The dominant religio-ethnic identity within regions of the country has become the filter through which most if not all subjects within the curriculum are presented. The result is that education has become a tool used by religious and political elites whose main concern is maintaining their power basis by promoting across generations the sense of division through concepts of suspicion, farce and mistrust. Education in this context has become a tool for the destruction of peace not its establishment. The scenario plays itself at various levels, even down to ensuring that in some schools, classes begin at different times to avoid contact between children of different religio-ethnic groups. The need for peace education, particularly the model of EFP, permeating all aspects of the education system becomes more urgent as the economic and political situation across the country deteriorates and political corruption increases. These two factors alone are sufficient to to increase tensions between communities. The core issue is how to democratize the education system and remove it from the grip of ethno-national religious fundamentalism. The two models presented in this chapter provide useful insights into how this can be achieved. Although, it would seem that the EFP programme has more potential, because of the dominance and emphasis on the use of education as a transformative tool than the Toledo principles, which emphasize the legal context and have a more hierarchical approach to finding a solution. The ultimate challenge lies in transforming the management and leadership of schools from one that does not appreciate diversity to one that does. Only when the education system promotes and celebrates this diversity is it likely that future generations, even

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 84

10/19/2012 4:37:42 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

85

amidst disagreement between various communities, will be able to resolve such disagreements through peaceful means.

References Alic, A. (2008). Bosnian and Herzegovina: Two schools under one roof. Chalkboard, transitions online, Open Society Institute’s Education Support Program. Retrieved on 24 October 2011 from chalkboard.tol.org/ bosnia-and-herzegovina. Cerkez-Robinson, A. (2009). Bosnia’s ethnic divisions are evident in schools. Seattle Times, 22 August. Clarke-Habibi, S. (2005). Transforming worldviews: The case of education for peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Journal of Transformative Education, 3(1), 33–56. Close, S. (2011). Education for peace: An evaluation of four schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In H. B. Danesh (Ed.), Education for peace reader, Victoria, Canada: EFP Press. De Ruyter, D. J. & Miedema, S. (2000). Denominational schools in the Netherlands. In M. Leicester, C. Modgil & S. Modgil (Eds), Education, culture and values, Vol. 5, Spirituality and religious education (pp. 133–41). New York: Falmer. EFP Report (2008). A country-wide peace education program in Bosnia and Herzegovina. HDIM.NGO/241/08, OSCE. EFP-International Briefing. (2009). Towards a civilization of peace. Retrieved on 23 September 2011 from www.efpinternational.org. Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of education reform. London: The Falmer Press. —. (2003). The moral imperative of school leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Grace, S. (2003). First and foremost the Church offers its educational services to the poor: Class, inequality, and Catholic schools in context. International Studies in the Sociology of Education, 13(1), 35–54. Halstead, J. M. & McLaughlin, T. (2005). Are faith schools divisive? In R. Gardner, J. Cairns & D. Lawton (Eds), Faith schools: Consensus or conflict? (pp. 61–73). Abingdon: RoutledgeFalmer. Kozak, P. & Aristeidou, P. (2009). OSCE mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Retrieved on 14 June from 2011.www.oscebih.or.vorg/puDiic/aeiauit. asp7a=6&article=show&id=2341.

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 85

10/19/2012 4:37:43 PM

86

Leadership and Religious Schools

Lawton, D. & Cairns, J. (Eds) (2005). Faith schools: Consensus or conflict? London: RoutledgeFalmer. Low-Beer, A. (2001). Politics, school textbooks and cultural identity: The struggle in Bosnia–Herzegovina. Paradigm, 2(3), 1–8. McDonaghu, K. (1998). Can the liberal state support cultural identity schools? American Journal of Education, 106, 463–94. McGettrick, B. (2005). Perceptions and practices of Christian schools. In R. Gardner, D. Lawton & J. Cairns. Faith schools: Consensus or conflict? Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ODIHR Advisory Council. (2007). Toledo guiding principles on teaching about religions and beliefs in public schools. OSCE, Warsaw, Poland: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. OSCE Briefing (2010). Education institutions and legislation. Retrieved on 10 August 2011 from www.oscebih.org/Default.aspx?id=6&Lang=EN. Richardson, N. (2004). Sharing religious education: The possibility of an inclusive approach to R. E. in Northern Ireland. Research Resources for Religious Education, Occasional Paper No. 2. Belfast: Stranmills University College. Russo, C. J. (2000). Religion and education in Bosnia: Integration not segregation? In Brigham Young University Law Review. Retrieved on 24 May 2011 from findarticles.com/p/articles/mI_qa3736/is_200001/aI_n8883462/. Selznic, P. (1992). The moral commonwealth: Social theory and the promise of community. Berkeley: University of California Press. Shah, S. J. A. (2006). Educational leadership: An Islamic perspective. British Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 363–85. Short, G. (2002). Faith–based schools: A threat to social cohesion? Journal of Philosophy of Education, 36(4), 559–72. Starratt, R. (2004). Ethical leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Stuebner, R. (2009). The current status of religious coexistence and education in Bosnia and Herzegovina. United States Institute of Peace Briefing Washington DC: USIP Publications. Symes, C. & Gulson, K. N. (2005). Crucifying education: The rise and rise of new Christian schooling in Australia. Social Alternatives, 24(4), 19–24. Tanovic, L. (2009). Religion and education. Unpublished paper given at the LI Congress in Cairo, October 2009. Teachers without Borders (TWOB). (2008). What is peace education?’ Retrieved on 11 August 2011 from teacherswithoutborders.org/page/what-peace-education.

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 86

10/19/2012 4:37:43 PM

Adopting a Peace-Education Approach

87

United States Department of State. (2009). Report on international religious freedom – Bosnia and Herzegovina. Retrieved on 23 August 2010 from www.unhcr.org/ refworld/docid/4ae861576e.html. UNICEF. (2009). Safe environment for children in divided and segregated schools in Middle Bosnian Cantons. Phase I, Briefing. Retrieved on 10 September 2011 from www.genesis-bl.org/projekti/projekt_20/index_En.html. Walford, G. (2002). Classification and framing of the curriculum in evangelical Christian and Muslim schools in England and the Netherlands. Educational Studies, 28(4), 403–19. Waltzer, M. (2003). What Rights for Illiberal Communities? In D. Bell & A. De Shalit (Eds), Forms of justice: Critical perspectives on David Miller’s political philosophy (pp. 457–69). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Williams-Boyd, P. (2002). Educational leadership. New York: ABC–CLIO Ltd.

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 87

10/19/2012 4:37:43 PM

9781441172976_Ch05_Final_txt_print.indd 88

10/19/2012 4:37:43 PM

6

Education towards Peace Leadership: The Case of Jewish and Muslim School Students in Israel Yaacov Yablon

Educators and schools play an important role in enhancing positive relationships between conflict groups worldwide. Coexistence education should be designed to advance thinking that supports tolerance and understanding towards members of out-groups, and to eliminate moral exclusion. Such an education should include the endowing and development of skills such as cooperation, empathy and problem solving (Harris & Morrison, 2003). Nonetheless, the goal of peace education is to promote moral development and coexistence, however the question of the proper way to achieve this goal is still open. The present chapter discusses the concept of peace education as well as developments in the study of contact interventions, with a specific focus on the inclusion of both cognitive and emotional components. It then suggests how religion can be used to promote peace building in general and between Jewish and Muslim students in particular. Three types of intervention are examined: primary, secondary and tertiary, and the use of religion in each type of intervention is described. The basic assumption is that interventions can be applied at different stages of the conflict. At each stage, religion can be used for enhancing positive relations and for changing schoolchildren’s thinking from hatred to peace.

Peace education The broad heading of peace education has evolved to include an enormous variety of meanings and programmes (Harris, 2002). The UNICEF Peace

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 89

10/19/2012 4:36:50 PM

90

Leadership and Religious Schools

Education Working Group defines peace education as ‘the process of promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to bring about behaviour changes that will enable children, youth, and adults to prevent conflict and violence, both overt and structural, to resolve conflict peacefully and to create the conditions conducive to peace, whether at an intrapersonal, interpersonal, inter-group, national or international level’ (Fountain, 1999, p. 1). Within this broad definition, peace education today refers to programmes such as conflict resolution, citizenship, democratic education, personal ethics, nonviolence, human rights, feminism and many others, as will be detailed henceforth. Salomon (2002) classifies peace education programmes according to three distinctive categories: (1) Programmes for groups in intractable conflict. These programmes are designed to change group members’ misperceptions of the other and to develop a sense of responsibility towards the other. (2) Programmes for enhancing understanding and collaboration among groups in a single multicultural society. Such programmes may work to reduce tensions between majority and minority groups within a nation, ensure equality between ethnic groups and enhance coexistence among religious groups. (3) Programmes for regions where peace prevails. In these cases, the main concern is imparting education about peace rather than education for peace. Although not directly suggested by Salomon, this third category can also be expanded to include programmes that promote positive self-oriented behaviour, nonviolent behaviour, moral values and environmental education.

The philosophy of peace education Peace education is based on a philosophy that encompasses diverse and evolving meanings of peace. The definition of peace has broadened over the years to include positive and negative meanings, to deal with micro- and macrolevels and to respond to a variety of interactions and relationships – international, domestic and communal, environmental and personal. Rather than preferring one definition to another, peace education programmes respond to each of the definitions; thus they cater

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 90

10/19/2012 4:36:50 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

91

to many different needs. UNESCO (2000) listed some 600 peace research and training institutes around the world which address different aspects of peace and present a great variety of the current peace philosophy. Scholars see different types of peace education as the continuation of John Dewey’s progressive education, his concepts of society and democracy and his emphasis on the role of education (Gur-Ze’ev, 2001). The underlying philosophy of peace education can be understood by reviewing the evolution of peace thinking, whose meaning has changed over time and across cultures (Groff, 2002; Harris, 2003). The initial definition of peace, which is still widely held by the general public (Harris, 2002), can be referred to as negative peace. By this definition, peace is either the absence of war or a balance of power between international or national forces. This perspective of peace underlies many other peace definitions. However, according to this point of view, peace is defined by what it is not rather than by what it is. A later view of peace follows Galtung’s (1973) pioneering work in the field of peace education and his important distinction between negative and positive peace. Negative peace corresponds to the traditional definition of absence of war or any direct violence between groups. Positive peace is the absence of any structural violence that results from social structure, especially inequality and injustice within that structure. For example, structural violence is a situation in which people starve or suffer from sickness because they are denied food and medical services that are available in that society. According to this definition, peace is not only the absence of violence, but it also reflects collaboration and integration between groups and nations that remove the causes of violence. Galtung (1973) expanded the field of peace education to the study of human rights and development (Harris, 2002), arguing that additional perspectives of peace add a meaningful emphasis to the elimination of physical and structural violence at microlevels. These perspectives unfolded in the 1970s and 1980s, following the works of feminist scholars such as Reardon (1988), Brock-Utne (1985) and Boulding (2000), who extended both positive and negative peace into the individual level. These scholars argued that social circumstances do not receive sufficient attention, and that societies that are not at war do not necessarily have peace, as there is domestic violence within them. This perspective means that the concept of peace applies not only at the macrolevel

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 91

10/19/2012 4:36:50 PM

92

Leadership and Religious Schools

(country or nation), but also at the microlevel. Hence, true peace should include the abolition of any violence, harm or discrimination among ethnic groups, religious sects, families and individuals. Other perspectives of peace emphasize that it is a more holistic structure that exists within complex systems, with diversity perceived as a source of strength. The core of these perspectives is the perception of the need for coexistence and harmony between different cultural, ethnic, racial and religious groups. This view of peace as ‘intercultural peace’ stresses the need to eliminate violence as well as the need to ensure positive co-evaluation among cultures; it also supports the acceptance of the notion that a multicultural society and a diversity of groups strengthen humanity (Groff, 2002). Even broader perspectives of peace extend beyond human relationships to include environmental and ecological life forms (Huckle & Sterling, 1996). According to these perspectives, Earth is seen as a complex living system of which humans are only one part, and the destruction of the natural habitat is seen as a threat to modern life. Thus, taking care of the fate of our planet is an important goal, and peace is a holistic concept that includes responsible treatment of the bioenvironmental systems (Verhagen, 1999). Groff (2002) points to an additional perspective in the evolution of peace thinking. Derived from ancient Eastern and Western cultures, this perspective includes all other perspectives mentioned earlier, and emphasizes the need for ‘inner peace’. This spiritual approach sees the individual’s inner peace as an essential component for living, and as the necessary precondition for a peaceful world. The personal focus is based on the rationale that one must first find peace within oneself in order to establish all other peace relationships.

Enhancing peace via contact between conflict groups Contact between members of conflict groups has become one of the most common ways to enhance positive relationships among conflicting groups. Allport’s Contact Hypothesis (1954) and Sherif ’s famous Robbers’ Cave study (1966) both serve as a reference point for studying contact as a way

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 92

10/19/2012 4:36:50 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

93

to enhance positive intergroup relationships. Following these pioneering works, many studies were designed to reveal both theoretical and practical implications of contact as a means for peace intervention. It should be noted that although the idea of creating face-to-face encounters between groups seems very simple and promising, not all programs yield positive results, and contact by itself is most likely not enough to create positive change (Brewer, 1996; Hewstone & Brown, 1986; Maoz, 2011; Salomon, 2002, 2011). The failure of contact intervention programmes has been accounted for in several ways. One explanation is that contact alone is not enough, and that special conditions are required for constructive contact that would bring about positive change. Several scholars (e.g. Harris & Morrison, 2003; Pettigrew, 1998; Salomon, 2011; Tal-Or, Boninger & Gleicher, 2002) have indicated some important conditions necessary for creating the desired positive change. These include the idea that group contact should take place in a supportive environment that could provide a fruitful base for the development and establishment of positive relationships. Equal status between the groups was also found to be a fundamental condition for effective contact, as it helps create an environment in which similarities are reinforced and stereotypes or prejudices are challenged and possibly condemned. Another aspect of successful contact is related to the frequency and intensity of the contact. It is argued that only close and sustained interaction between group members can provide the opportunity for self-disclosure and for the deconstruction of false conceptions. Finally, it is important that interaction between the groups be based on an environment of cooperation that allows the development of close friendships. The failure of contact activities may also be related to cognitive aspects of the meetings. Participants in contact interventions may not confront their misconceptions about their counterparts, but instead may use the information they gather through those encounters to reinforce their preliminary, false perceptions (Koehler, 1990). Maoz (2002) suggests that contact interventions are ineffective because they do not necessarily address each of the participating groups’ agendas, and may ignore or refuse to discuss certain topics that are important to one side. Maoz challenges the core idea

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 93

10/19/2012 4:36:50 PM

94

Leadership and Religious Schools

of contact activities by showing that to a certain degree they actually lack intergroup interaction. Most of the studies on peace education programmes, and therefore most of the findings, address either the situational or the cognitive aspects of intergroup encounters. A comprehensive review (Harris, 2002) of operational peace-education programmes indicates that many programs were designed on the basis of cognitive theories. Consequently, research has focused on the underlying force driving the cognitive processes targeted in those programmes, and has looked at the effect that these programmes had on the participants.

Affective aspects of peace-education programmes Traditionally, cognitive rather than emotional processes were seen as the basis for positive intergroup contact (Paolini, Hewstone, Voci, Harwood & Cairns, 2006). The assumption was that providing information regarding the counterparts enhances positive relationships, as it reduces ignorance and presents meaningful knowledge about conflict groups (Mackie & Smith, 1998). Recent studies, however, show that while cognitive processes have a positive contribution, affective experience is more critical for successful change in opinion (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). For example, Islam and Jahjah (2001) found that emotions are crucial components of racial attitudes and affective measures are better than cognitive measures as predictors of attitudes towards minority groups. Edwards and von Hippel (1995) indicated that affect-based attitudes tend to be expressed with greater confidence than cognition-based attitudes, and Tropp and Pettigrew (2005) showed that affective aspects have a special role in defining contact-prejudice relationships, underlining the effect of contact on prejudice. Moreover, Esses and Dovidio (2002) found that participants who were focused on their emotions rather than on cognition exhibited greater willingness to meet with members of their conflict group. Esses and Dovidio suggested that regardless of the effect of emotions on intergroup relations via intergroup contact, the emotional aspect is important in order to promote intergroup contact in the first place. Thus, not only are

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 94

10/19/2012 4:36:50 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

95

emotions seen as an important mediator of positive relations via contact, they also are considered crucial for initiating such contact. Further research on emotions as a means of intergroup contact focuses on the relationship between specific emotions and positive contact-intervention outcomes. Based on a meta-analysis of contact intervention studies, Pettigrew and Tropp (2006) concluded that reducing anxiety is more important for the elimination of prejudice via contact than increasing knowledge of the out-group. Pettigrew and Tropp estimated that 20–25 per cent of the effect of contact in decreasing prejudice is attributed to a reduction in intergroup anxiety. Stephan and Stephan (2000) suggested that such anxiety is a result of symbolic or realistic intergroup threat. According to their Integrated Threat Model, a realistic threat is a threat to political and economical power, or to physical well-being, while a symbolic threat is a threat to the value system, belief system or to the worldview of the in-group. Empathy has also been suggested as a meaningful mediator in enhancing positive intergroup relationships via intergroup contact (Dovidio et al., 2004). Empathy is important because taking the perspective of members of the conflict group, focusing on their thoughts or imagining how one would feel in their situation, may reduce intergroup prejudice and foster positive contact. Dovidio et al. (2004) pointed out five different mechanisms that could explain how such ‘perspective taking’ might enhance positive relationships with another group. These mechanisms include generalizing positive feelings towards larger groups, increasing interest in the welfare of others, arousing feelings and perceptions of injustice, changing cognitive representations of target group members and refraining from stereotyping by taking the perspective of a member from a different group.

Religion and peace building While various studies point to different situational, cognitive and emotional aspects that may be addressed in peace encounters, the role of religion has been mainly overlooked in this context (Cox et al., 1994; Fox, 2001). Indeed, there has been growing attention to the role that religion can play in interfaith

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 95

10/19/2012 4:36:50 PM

96

Leadership and Religious Schools

dialogue (e.g. Brantmeier, Lin & Miller, 2010; Engebretson, de Souza, Durka & Gearon, 2010). However, most studies that related to religion found it to be a destructive factor in intergroup relations (e.g. Fox, 1999; Huntington, 2003; Kamaara, 2010). Religion is a key factor in understanding various intractable intergroup conflicts worldwide, and history has seen many violent acts that were rationalized and fuelled by citing religious reasons (e.g. Kimball, 2002). Allport (1966) suggested that ‘there is something about religion that makes for prejudice and something about it that unmakes prejudice’ (p. 447). In the present chapter it is suggested that religion can be used as a basis for enhancing positive intergroup relations rather than serving as a polarizing factor. As religion comprises both cognitive and affective aspects, it might be a catalyst for peace and a successful basis for peace encounters among believers of different faiths. It should however be noted that this chapter is not based on an assumption that religious people hold peaceful attitudes towards others, nor that someone who is not religious cannot be driven towards peace. It is rather suggested that religious motives and beliefs can be used for enhancing peace among believers. Peace education is seen as a process which can be achieved by enhancing specific values, attitudes and beliefs that are part of the individual’s religion and can be used for the goal of enhancing positive relations. Thus, religion plays an important part in believers’ lives, helping them interpret what they see or experience, and guiding their actions. People use religion as a motivation for either positive or negative acts. Silberman, Higgins and Dweck (2005) suggested that a theoretical framework of ‘meaning systems’ be applied to the study of religion and used to explain the dynamic function of religion in people’s lives, including their striving for either war or peace. Such meaning systems refer to cognitive structures as well as to emotions, goals and acts that can illuminate the processes by which religion affects people’s lives. More importantly, religious people, like any other group of people, have an idiosyncratic meaning system through which they perceive and interpret reality. This system is unique in that it is based on a belief in what is sacred, and on a belief that one’s acts carry spiritual rewards. It follows that believers whose religion inherently acknowledges the importance of peace would be more committed to a peaceful way of life than

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 96

10/19/2012 4:36:50 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

97

people who do not attribute a religious meaning to peace. In addition, within religious meaning systems, values that enhance peace are usually inherent (Gopin, 2000). These values include, for example, explicit encouragement of nonviolence, selfless love and compassion that relate to the belief that all people are created in the image of God. The importance of forgiveness, empathy and understanding of others – including enemies – are also salient values in many religions, as are humility and self-criticism. When these common values are presented to conflict groups, they could help to support positive interactions between group members and foster tolerance and understanding. Attempts to use religion for enhancing peace have been made on various levels. For example, a group of world religious leaders (Buddhist, Catholic and Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Protestant and Jewish) met in Geneva in October 1999. The group issued the Geneva Spiritual Appeal (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1999), calling for peace and asking to ensure that religion not be used to justify future violence. Referring to similar initiatives, Johnston and Sampson (1994) suggested that religion-based peaceeducation programmes are more effective in reaching individuals and leaders than ones that are based on social or political agendas. Thus, emphasizing religious values that shape the individual’s meaning system, or stressing these values through educational programmes or intergroup encounters, can be used to advance positive relations between individuals and conflict groups.

Encounters between Israeli Jewish and Muslim pupils The conflict between Jews and Arabs in Israel relates to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the national aspirations of the Zionist and Palestinian movements and their struggle over territory, nationality and self-identity. Although it may seem that the Jewish–Arab conflict is mainly over territory, it is also deeply rooted in a struggle between ideologies that has religious and cultural origins (Bar-Tal, 2007). Religion is embedded in all aspects of this conflict – it appears in the struggle over control and ownership of the holy places, and in the religious reasons given for going to war or for seeking peace. The very nature

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 97

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

98

Leadership and Religious Schools

of the conflict impedes the development of transcendent identities of the two peoples, as it stresses a negative interdependence wherein asserting one group’s identity requires negating that of the other (Kelman, 1999). Both Judaism and Islam, however, view peace as part of the religious aim to realize God’s kingdom on earth. One origin of the word Islam is salam which means ‘peace’. According to the Quran (e.g. 60:8), relationships with non-Muslims should be based on justice, mutual respect and cooperation. Judaism teaches that all humankind is commanded to live righteous lives and calls for world repair (tikun olam) (Shakdiel & Shalvi, 1998). According to Jewish tradition, the whole of the Torah aims at promoting peace (e.g. book of Talmud, Tractate Gittin, 59b). If religion is part of the individual’s meaning system (Silberman et al., 2005), and if religion inherently acknowledges the importance of peace rather than violence, then it is suggested that it is possible to use these beliefs in order to enhance peace. Johnston and Sampson (1994) note that both individuals and leaders are often better equipped to influence peaceful relations through religion rather than through other political or social means. Thus, emphasizing religious values, or stressing these values through educational programmes or during intergroup encounters, may create positive relations between individuals and conflict groups. Not only do both Judaism and Islam assign religious meaning to peace, they may also serve as a common denominator that can bring people together. It has been shown that pointing to similarities among participants in peace education programmes may advance positive change (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Thus, it is important to discuss common aspects of group members’ lives, values, beliefs, shared experiences and traditions. In the case of religious groups, religious customs can be a topic for discussion, easily revealing similarities between group members. Specifically, where Judaism and Islam are concerned, it seems that followers of both religions share many ideas and similar customs (Peters & Esposito, 2006). Both these two religions are monotheistic and share some core beliefs regarding the creation of the world, afterlife and ideas of good and evil. Believers of both religions are required to offer daily communal prayers; they read sacred texts and scholarly writings that share the idea of a revealed Scripture;

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 98

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

99

they adhere to religious laws that are based on oral tradition; and they are committed to practices of fasting, dietary restrictions and charity. Adolescents of the two faiths may also share experiences that relate to clothing and modesty, (forbidden) sexual relations before marriage and the development of religious identity. All these can be used as a basis for interaction between members of the two faiths and for building peace relationships between them.

Forms of peace-enhancing intervention Enhancing peace between students can be based on various strategies. In focusing on peace leadership, we should discuss how educators can facilitate peace activities and their possible special contribution in religious schools. All peace programmes, at both the micro- and macrolevels, are based on peace-education pedagogy that emphasizes personal responsibility in the peace-building process. Peace education addresses the core of a person’s values and includes both the acquisition of theoretical concepts about peace and violence, and practical skills on how to enhance peace in its broad sense (Harris, 2002). Religion can advance positive intergroup relations through three main intervention strategies defined by the stage in which intervention takes place. Primary intervention aims at prevention prior to conflict, secondary intervention aims at restoring stability once conflict has already arisen and tertiary intervention aims at reducing residual resentment following conflict resolution. Primary intervention involves activities designed to prevent specific problems from developing in the first place (Gilliland & James, 1993), with the goal of reducing the occurrence of future problems. School programmes that focus on values, citizenship education and human rights are classified as prevention programmes, as they are designed to develop life skills, enhance interpersonal and intercultural communication, educate for tolerance and foster positive relations with others. The goal of such programmes is to prevent antisocial behaviour, to allow individuals to contribute to their society, and to emphasize cooperation, tolerance and understanding between different social groups. These programmes are designed for the general population without

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 99

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

100

Leadership and Religious Schools

any distinction concerning the moral stages of the individuals or their mutual relationships with others. These programmes are not intended to change immoral behavior but to advance positive moral development. In this context, Jewish and Muslim religious values such as love, respect and tolerance should be stressed, as well as shared beliefs in the right of worship, freedom of religion and respect for believers and holy places. Secondary intervention programmes are aimed at working with individuals or groups in crisis in order to restore stability and reduce the impact of distress (Capuzzi & Gross, 2000), by preventing escalation of an existing problem to an irreversible point. These programmes should therefore be used when hostility already exists, in the presence of conflict and tension between two groups and in cases in where peace, in its broad sense, is disturbed. Basically, most existing contact intervention programmes fall under this category and take place when tension already exists (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Using religion at this point could facilitate intergroup dialogue and create initial trust. The common base of faiths can be used to successfully bring students from two conflict groups to a meaningful encounter (Yablon, 2010). In addition, when religious leaders, such as rabbis or imams, express mutual understanding, their believers may be more inclined to restore conflicted relationships once crises occur. Tertiary intervention programmes aim at reducing the amount of residual hostility once crises are resolved (Capuzzi & Gross, 2000). For example, these programmes may strive to lessen emotional pain, give support in order to reinforce and rebuild strength and prevent relapse. The contribution of religion to hostility reduction is seen in meetings among religious leaders. For example, when Britain’s chief rabbi and the pope met in October 2010, the rabbi was quoted as saying that his experience was ‘an epiphany’ (de Lisle, 2010), thus strengthening the trust between believers of the two religions. When Pope Benedict XVI visited the Jewish holy places in Israel in May 2009, he met with Israel’s chief rabbi, and the coverage of that visit in the Israeli media helped in creating positive interfaith relations. Although these examples apply to the Jewish and Christian faiths, they could occur also between Jewish and Muslim leaders.

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 100

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

101

The role of school leadership Peace education always needs to be relevant and suitable to a specific school society, and must cater to the particular needs of the students. Identifying students who should participate in primary, secondary or tertiary programmes is therefore of highest importance and one of the first roles of educators in planning peace encounters. The embodiment of social intergroup relations in any two different societies, and even in subgroups of two prototype groups, is unique and should be addressed differently (Yablon, 2007). All students can, and probably should, participate in peace programmes. However, interventions should match their characteristics and should be designed to meet their needs. From this point of view, on a practical level, it is suggested that preliminary evaluation of the social relationships should become an essential part of any peace programme, and that the same program should probably not be implemented for different social groups. In addition to identifying the intervention strategy and designing a programme that responds to the needs of the participants, educators should take the more general context of the peace programme into account. It was already suggested that educational programmes, especially peace programmes (Bar-Tal, 2002), that involve the whole society, not just the school, are more fruitful and successful. The idea is that what happens in schools cannot be disconnected from the social atmosphere and society to which the school children belong. It is therefore suggested that efforts should be made to include additional members of the society in the programme or in other similar programmes at the same time. For example, similar programmes can take place simultaneously for students and adults or for children and their parents. Also, local leaders such as members of the municipal council, artists, religious leaders and even the school teachers themselves can play an active role in the programme designed for students. They can, for example, lecture their students about their own point of view, self-experience in intergroup relationships or present a scholarly review. Even showing their support by coming for a visit, addressing a note or participating in one of these activities can make an important contribution.

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 101

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

102

Leadership and Religious Schools

Another aspect which those who lead peace programmes should take into account is the participants’ motivation to take part in the programme. Here religion should also be taken into account, and it can be used to enhance students’ motivation. Thus, for interventions to be successful, participants should have an intrinsic motivation to seek for peace, and if such a motivation is absent at the onset of the intervention, it should be developed through the programme. When such intrinsic motivation exists, lower levels of prejudice are expressed (Glaser & Knowles, 2008), both in public and in private situations (Peruche & Plant, 2006). Studies show that individuals display more willingness to interact with others when they have increased motivation to control prejudiced reactions (Towles-Schwen & Fazio, 2006). Intrinsic motivation also yields less biased attitudes towards members of conflict groups (Olson & Fazio, 2006), and inhibits automatic negative responses towards out-group members (Maddux, Barden, Brewer & Petty, 2005). Peruche and Plant (2006) found that individuals who are intrinsically motivated react more positively to training and exhibit lesser intergroup bias than individuals who are extrinsically motivated. Using religious ideas in order to inherently motivate students towards peace may be easier than using other content for meetings. Thus, if students already hold attitudes and beliefs according to which it is important to treat members of other faiths with respect, then actualizing these beliefs and enhancing positive behaviour might be easier. Students of different faiths may be natural candidates for participating in peace encounters, and they can be encouraged to lead intergroup change. Instead of providing students with a rationale that points out the importance of peace programmes, religious aspects can be emphasized as a motivation for such encounters.

Conclusion Unfortunately, many peace-education interventions end unsuccessfully (Harris, 2002; Maoz, 2011; Salomon, 2002, 2011; Yablon, 2007). Had these programmes relied more heavily on religious sentiments, their outcome might have led to more positive intergroup relations. In times when many people

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 102

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

103

regard themselves as followers of a religious tradition (Kimball, 2002), religion may serve as a powerful tool for enhancing peace. Rather than seeing religion as a cause of conflict, the present chapter suggests that religion may be quite beneficial in initiating successful intergroup encounters that employ a host of different intervention strategies. In the harsh reality of the Middle East, as well as in many other regions around the world, any religious dialogue that may lessen hate and promote cooperation and understanding should be greatly supported, especially when such a dialogue may by itself be seen as a part of a religious belief in a better world.

References Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley. —. (1966). The religious context of prejudice. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 5(3), 447–57. Bar-Tal, D. (2002). The elusive nature of peace education. In G. Salomon & B. Nevo (Eds), Peace education: The concept, principles and practices around the world (pp. 27–36). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. —. (2007). Living with the conflict: Socio-psychological analysis of the Jewish society in Israel. Jerusalem: Carmel (in Hebrew). Boulding, E. (2000). Cultures of peace: The hidden side of history. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Brantmeier, E. J., Lin, J. & Miller, J. P. (Eds) (2010). Spirituality, religion, and peace education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Brewer, M. (1996). When contact is not enough: Social identity and inter-group cooperation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 20(3–4), 291–303. Brock-Utne, B. (1985). Educating for peace: A feminist perspective. New York: Pergamon Press. Capuzzi, D. & Gross D. R. (2000). Approaches to prevention. In D. Capuzzi & D. R. Gross (Eds), Youth at risk: A prevention resource for counselors, teachers, and parents (pp. 23–39). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Cox, H., Sharma, A., Abe, M., Sachedina, A., Oberoi, H. & Idel, M. (1994). World religions and conflict resolution. In D. Johnston & C. Sampson (Eds), Religion: The missing dimension of statecraft (pp. 266–84). Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press.

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 103

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

104

Leadership and Religious Schools

de Lisle, R. (2010). Chief Rabbi: My meeting with the pope was an ‘epiphany’. Catholic Herald, Retrieved on 28 February 2008, from www.catholicherald. co.uk/news/2010/10/18/chief-rabbi-my-meeting-with-the-pop e-was-an-epiphany/. Dovidio, J. F., ten Vergert, M., Stewart, T. L., Gaertner, S. L., Johnson, J. D., Esses, V. M., Riek, B. M. & Pearson, A. R. (2004). Perspective and prejudice: Antecedents and mediating mechanisms. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(12), 1537–49. Edwards, K. & von Hippel, W. (1995). Hearts and mind: The priority of affective versus cognitive factors in person perception. Personality and Social Psychological Bulletin, 21(10), 996–1011. Engebretson, K. de Souza, M. Durka, G. & Gearon, L. (Eds) (2010). International handbook for interreligious education. New York: Springer Esses, V. M. & Dovidio, J. F. (2002). The role of emotions in determining willingness to engage in intergroup contact. Personality and Social Psychological Bulletin, 28, 1202–14. Fountain, S. (1999). Peace education in UNICEF. NY: UNICEF. Fox, J. (1999). The influence of religious legitimacy on grievance formation by ethnic-religious minorities. Journal of Peace Research, 36(3), 289–307. —. (2001). Religion as an overlooked element of international relations. International Studies Association, 3(3), 53–74. Galtung, J. (1973). Peace: Research, education, action. Copenhagen: Christian Ejlers. Gilliland, B. E. & James, R. K. (1993). Crisis intervention strategies. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Glaser, J. & Knowles, E. D. (2008). Implicit motivation to control prejudice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44(1), 164–72. Gopin, M. (2000). Between Eden and Armageddon: The future of religion, violence and peacemaking. New York and London: Oxford University Press. Groff, L. (2002). A holistic view of peace education. Social Alternatives, 21(1), 7–10. Gur-Ze’ev, I. (2001). Philosophy of peace education in a postmodern era. Educational Theory, 51(3), 315–36. Harris, I. (2002). Conceptual underpinnings of peace education. In G. Salomon & B. Nevo (Eds.), Peace education: The concept, principles, and practices around the world (pp. 15–25). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Harris, I. M. (2003). Peace education at the end of a bloody century. Educational Studies, 34(2), 336–51. Harris, I. M. & Morrison, M. L. (2003). Peace education. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 104

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

105

Hewstone, M. & Brown, B. (1986). Contact is not enough: An inter-group perspective on the ‘contact hypothesis’. In M. Hewstone & R. Brown (Eds), Contact and conflict in inter-group encounters (pp. 1–44). Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Huckle, J. & Sterling, S. (1996). Education for sustainability. London: Earthscan Publication. Huntington, S. P. (2003). The clash of civilizations and the remaking of the world. New York: Simon & Schuster. Islam, M. R. & Jahjah, M. (2001). Predictors of young Australians’ attitudes toward Aboriginals, Asians and Arabs. Social Behavior and Personality, 29(6), 569–79. Johnston, D. & Sampson, C. (Eds) (1994). Religion: The missing dimension of statecraft. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. Kamaara, E. K. (2010). The role of inter-religious education in fostering peace and development. In K. Engebretson, M. de Souza, G. Durka & L. Gearon (Eds), International handbook for interreligious education (pp. 659–72). New York: Springer. Kelman, H. C. (1999). The interdependence of Israeli and Palestinian identities: The role of the other in existential conflicts. Journal of Social Issues, 55(3), 581–600. Kimball, C. (2002). When religion becomes evil. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins Publishers. Koehler, D. J. (1990). Persistence of conflicting views (Working paper No. 10). Stanford Center for Conflict and Negotiation. Mackie, D. M. & Smith, E. R. (1998). Intergroup relations: Insights from a theoretically integrative approach. Psychological Review, 105, 499–529. Maddux, W. W., Barden, J., Brewer, M. B. & Petty, R. E. (2005). Saying no to negativity: The effects of context and motivation to control prejudice on automatic evaluative responses. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 19–35. Maoz, I. (2002). Conceptual mapping and evaluation of peace education programs: The case of education for coexistence through inter-group encounters between Jews and Arabs in Israel. In G. Salomon & B. Nevo (Eds), Peace education, the concept, principles, and practices around the world (pp. 259–69). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. —. (2011). Does contact work in protracted asymmetrical conflict? Appraising 20 years of reconciliation-aimed encounters between Israeli Jews and Palestinians. Journal of Peace Research, 48(1), 115–25. Nevo, B. & Brem, I. (2002). Peace education programs and the evaluation of their effectiveness. In G. Salomon & B. Nevo (Eds), Peace education, the concept, principles, and practices around the world (pp. 271–82). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 105

10/19/2012 4:36:51 PM

106

Leadership and Religious Schools

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations human rights (1999). Geneva spiritual appeal. Retrieved on 8 February 2008, from www. unhchr.ch/html/menu2/spirit.htm. Olson, M. A. & Fazio, R. H. (2006). Reducing automatically activated racial prejudice through implicit evaluative conditioning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(4), 421–33. Paolini, S., Hewstone, M., Voci, A., Harwood, J. & Cairns, E. (2006). Intergroup contact and the promotion of intergroup harmony: The influence of intergroup emotions. In R. J. Brown & D. Capozza (Eds), Social identities: Motivational, emotional, cultural influences. Hove, UK: Psychology Press. Peruche, B. M. & Plant, E. A. (2006). Racial bias in perception of athleticism: The role of motivation in the elimination of bias. Social Cognition, 24(4), 438–52. Peters F. E. & Esposito, J. L. (2006). The children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49(1), 65–85. Pettigrew, T. F. & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 751–83. Reardon, B. (1988). Comprehensive peace education: Educating for global responsibility. New York: Teachers College Press. Salomon, G. (2002). The nature of peace education: Not all programs are equal. In G. Salomon & B. Nevo (Eds), Peace education, the concept, principles, and practices around the world (pp. 271–82). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. —. (2011). Four major challenges facing peace education in regions of intractable conflict. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 17(1), 46–59. Shakdiel, L. & Shalvi, A. (Eds) (1998). Tikkun Olam. Jerusalem: The Shachter Institute for the Study of Judaism (in Hebrew). Sherif, M. (1966). Group conflict and cooperation. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Silberman, I., Higgins, E. T. & Dweck, C. S. (2005). Religion and world change: Violence and terrorism versus peace. Journal of Social Issues, 61(4). 761–84. Stephan, W. G. & Stephan, C. W. (2000). An integrated threat theory of prejudice. In S. Oskamp (Ed.), Reducing prejudice and discrimination (pp. 23–46). Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum. Stomfay-Stitz, A. M. (1993). Peace education in America, 1828–1990: Sourcebook for education and research. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. Tal-Or, N., Boninger, D. & Gleicher, F. (2002). Understanding the conditions and processes necessary for inter-group contact to reduce prejudice. In G. Salomon

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 106

10/19/2012 4:36:52 PM

Education towards Peace Leadership

107

& B. Nevo (Eds), Peace education, the concept, principles, and practices around the world (pp. 89–108). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Towles-Schwen, T. & Fazio, R. H. (2006). Automatically activated racial attitudes as predictors of success of interracial roommate relationships. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42(5), 698–705. Tropp, L. R. & Pettigrew, T. F. (2005). Differential relationships between intergroup contact and affective and cognitive dimensions of prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(8), 1145–58. UNESCO (2000). World directory of peace research and training institutes. Paris: UNESCO. Verhagen, F. C. (1999). The earth community school: A back to basics model of secondary education. Green Teacher, 59(1), 28–31. Yablon, Y. B. (2007). Contact intervention programs for peace education and the reality of dynamic conflicts. Teachers College Record, 109(4), 991–1012. —. (2010). Contact as a means of inter-religious engagement: The role of religious culture in peace-building activities. In K. Engebretson, M. de Souza, G. Durka, G. Gearon & L. Gearon (Eds), International handbook for interreligious education (pp. 497–512). New York: Springer.

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 107

10/19/2012 4:36:52 PM

9781441172976_Ch06_Final_txt_print.indd 108

10/19/2012 4:36:52 PM

7

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders Julian Stern

Principals and head teachers (hereinafter referred to as principals) are open to requests from and responsible for supporting every member of the school community, and are also exposed to the gaze of the school’s governing body, public bodies and politicians responsible for education, and the news media. One of the things that such leaders have to learn, that is rarely discussed, is the potential for loneliness in leadership. And knowing about their own loneliness will help leaders understand the potential for loneliness in schooling in general. They will then be able to create more inclusive schools. Leaders should understand ways of being without or beyond loneliness, and they need to appreciate the difference between healthy and unhealthy inclusion and exclusion. This includes ways of being sociable, connected and in dialogue with the people around them. It also includes having appropriate opportunities for solitude – for healthy ‘aloneness’ (Tillich, 2002). Solitude has a strong religious tradition, from the monasticism of Bernard to the meditative solitude of Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Being able to retain a place for solitude is vital for reflection, even if the self-knowledge that results can be uncomfortable. Schools should enable solitude, and should also be able to host some loneliness in a congenial way – rather than treat the lonely and the loners as being ‘wrong’. The implications are considerable for principals leading inclusive schools.

Inclusion and exclusion: How to include without excluding All school leaders will be familiar with the issues of inclusion and exclusion, among the most important themes in educational research and policy in recent

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 109

10/19/2012 4:34:43 PM

110

Leadership and Religious Schools

years. They will also most likely know quite a bit about loneliness. This chapter suggests that it is only by putting loneliness in the context of inclusion and exclusion that leaders will be able to tackle loneliness effectively. First, then, how do school leaders understand inclusion and exclusion? The dominant – and perfectly sensible – meaning of inclusion is to join in with a group or organization. Educational inclusion in this sense means joining in with the people and activities of the school. Likewise, the dominant meaning of exclusion is to be unable to join in with a group or organization. Such inclusion and exclusion are politically significant. The history of people being treated as ‘insiders’ or ‘outsiders’, as a result of class, ‘race’, ethnicity, gender, religion, or schooling, for example, has been an important incentive for reform and revolution. Yet when people are asked about being included, they sometimes say that they feel most included when they are left to work on their own, alone (Stern, 2009 cited in Hatfield, 2004). Children in school are often aware of the value of being alone. Andrew, aged 8–9, explained why his ‘special’ or ‘magical’ place was special: ‘because I feel safe and not, and alone but not bad alone’ (Ng, 2011). Being able to be ‘alone, but not bad alone’ is important to children and adults alike. One of the more touching moments in the film Gregory’s Girl (Forsyth, 1981), is when the principal (described as ‘headmaster’), played by comedian Chic Murray, is shown, filmed through a door, playing the piano entirely for his own amusement. He is interrupted by pupils looking at him through the door. ‘Off you go, you small boys’, he says, and continues playing the piano. This brief account of a principal achieving aloneness in the midst of a busy school is a good description of what anyone might need in school: a time for healthy solitude. The history of sociology provides some clues to the relationship between inclusion, exclusion, loneliness and solitude. Durkheim (1952, 1973), for example, describes modern societies as exhibiting mostly ‘mechanical solidarity’, that is, a division of labour in which each person has a specific role in a large-scale organization. Those who do not have a place in such an organization might be in this position as a result of, for example, unemployment or divorce or lack of membership in a relatively close-knit religious community – Durkheim indicates Judaism, Roman Catholicism

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 110

10/19/2012 4:34:43 PM

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders

111

and Anglicanism as three such religious groups (Durkheim, 1952, pp. 72–3, 152–70). People will suffer from exclusion which in its pathological forms is described as either egoistic (resulting from lack of collective activity) or anomic (resulting from lack of regulation) (Durkheim, 1952, p. 278). Prioritizing ‘joining in’, and having a place in a social group, provides what might be called the mainstream view of inclusion and exclusion, and the mainstream view of loneliness as ‘wrong’. There are those who see aloneness of all kinds as pathological (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008), or as being the preserve of ‘wild beasts and gods’ (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002, p. 173, quoting Francis Bacon). A critic of this view of society, Ricks, notes that ‘[i]t is an awful satire and epigram on the temporalism of the modern age that nowadays the only thing people can think of using solitude for is punishment, gaol’ (in Rouner, 1998, p. 181). However, prior to Durkheim’s (1952) subtle portrait of anomie, Marx sketched a sociological account of alienation, a condition he said was created not by being prevented from joining in social or economic organizations, but by being included in them. Participating in capitalist systems, in particular, led to alienation by separating people from their essence. Private property, he said, involves ‘human self-estrangement, and therefore . . . the real appropriation of the human essence by and for man’, while communism involves ‘the complete return of man to himself as a social (i.e., human) being’ (Selsam & Martel, 1963, p. 305, quoting Marx’s Economic and philosophical manuscripts of 1844). Although Durkheim and Marx had very different theories of society, both stressed the social nature of humanity. Durkheim highlighted the possible loss of humanity when a ‘naturally social’ person was alone, and Csikszentmihalyi (2002) continues in that tradition of emphasizing ‘natural sociability’. Marx (in Selsam & Martel, 1963) highlighted the possible loss of humanity when a person was forced into a social system that appropriated what was essential to humanity, although his only alternative was quite a different social system (i.e. communism). It is suggested here that the contrasting concepts of anomie and alienation can both be applied to schools. Alienation in its Marxist form, and in earlier and parallel religious and psychological senses, describes forms of suffering that can be the result of being made a part of a group – a group that makes a

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 111

10/19/2012 4:34:43 PM

112

Leadership and Religious Schools

person feel estranged from him/herself, or in Conroy’s Roman Catholic and post-Marxist approach, estranged (Conroy, 2009). It is a powerful description of a form of alienated ‘joining in’. Within schools, some pupils and former pupils talk of particular subjects or activities in school when they felt alienated by being made to join in. For example, physical education for those who dislike physical contact or who are self-conscious about their own bodies; mathematics for those who find the subject intellectually alien; or religious education and collective worship for those who are offended as a result of their own religious or anti-religious beliefs. Any aspect of a school might be alienating for a particular pupil. One former colleague of this researcher, who later gained a doctorate, found that ‘reading aloud round the class’ was the most alienating aspect of her schooling. She could not read at the time, and as an adult found that she was dyslexic. As the teacher started the reading round the class, she assumed that the teacher knew what she was doing. Therefore, each time that it came to her turn to read aloud, she said to herself, ‘this time, I’ll be able to read.’ Looking at the words, nothing happened. The repeated shock of rediscovering her inability to read was traumatic and alienating. (A similar finding is in Robert, 1974, p. 18.) Other pupils feel estranged by being made to join in as an aspect of their personal identity, including their gender, sexuality, ethnicity and ‘race’. Boys forced to be ‘boyish’ and girls forced to be ‘girlish’, for example, can mean alienation for those boys and girls who are not comfortable in those stereotyped roles. In summary, both inclusion and exclusion should be understood as paradoxical concepts. A person in school may suffer from alienation (and related forms of suffering such as loneliness) from being included just as he/ she can suffer from anomie (and related forms of suffering such as loneliness) from being excluded. Principals need to understand these complexities, for the sake of their school communities as well as for their own sake.

Selfhood, individualism and loneliness Adam (aged 8–9) comments that when alone outdoors he ‘felt happy, I felt lonely, looking up at the sky’ (Ng, 2011). He was not, it seems, contrasting

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 112

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders

113

happiness with loneliness, but feeling happy even in his loneliness, looking up at the sky. Wordsworth writes that he ‘wandered lonely as a cloud’, but that poem seems to be more about being alone than loneliness – as clouds are implausibly described as ‘lonely’. This illustrates one of the most surprising characteristics of loneliness. It is not a universal emotion independent of culture, but means different things in different times and places. In some times and places, it is hard to find evidence that loneliness exists at all. The closest comparison, to those brought up in the ‘modern’ West, is what is referred to as the blues – an emotional state described by African Americans in music called ‘the blues’, and often deemed inaccessible to others, even those who can copy the guitar riffs and sing the right words. John Lennon’s wonderful account of loneliness – Yer Blues (starting with the lines ‘I’m lonely, wanna die’, and going downhill from there) – was his attempt to show that loneliness was the white British version of the blues. But ‘the blues’ and ‘loneliness’ are not the same. Or, rather, it is difficult to say with any authority that they are the same, and there are people who argue that one or the other emotion is simply not accessible to or understandable by other people. The word ‘lonely’, in the English language, seems to have been first used authoritatively by Shakespeare. Coriolanus talks of his aloneness, ‘Like to a lonely Dragon’. Although he is here referring to his banishment (his literal alienation), Coriolanus seems just as lonely – just as alienated – when returning to power, at times even exploiting his ‘lonely dragon’ status, ‘fear’d and talk’d of more than seen’ (Coriolanus, Act IV, scene 1). The more personally alienated Shakespeare figure is Cordelia in King Lear. Dumm describes her, motherless and unable to lie to her father, as ‘the first lonely self ’ and ‘our first modern person’ (Dumm, 2008, pp. 13–4). Cordelia ‘speaks a new language, one of lonesomeness and longing, marking a path toward the healing of divisions of the self and the social that is, paradoxically, to define the isolated self of the modern era’ (Dumm, 2008, p. 18). Although ‘[l]ove is all we need to overcome absence’, nevertheless some absence remains. ‘[L]oneliness is the absence we cannot overcome’ (Dumm, 2008, p. 15). How does this concern school leaders? Understanding loneliness and other forms of suffering associated with separation is important for leaders, who themselves are separated in various ways from the people around them, and the

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 113

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

114

Leadership and Religious Schools

people whom they lead. As one principal said, ‘[t]he isolation and loneliness is the most difficult thing’ as he ‘underestimated the pressures from all the different audiences you have to respond to’ (Times Educational Supplement (TES), 1996). For leaders in faith-based schools, it is worth exploring an example of a religious leader suffering through separation or isolation, to see whether ‘loneliness’ was experienced by the person. The example given is of Moses, as described in Hebrew scriptures and subsequent religious scholarship. Moses is described by Wiesel as the loneliest character in the Bible (Rouner, 1998, p. 6), and his solitude ‘is linked to his extraordinary talents, virtues, and responsibilities as our people’s supreme leader’, and therefore ‘embodies the very concept of leadership with its collective triumphs and personal disillusionments’ (Wiesel, in Rouner, 1998, p. 128). It is certainly true that Moses was on his own, that he was something of a stranger to himself, discovering himself to be Jewish among the Egyptians and later finding that his own people objected to his leadership. Perhaps Moses was lonely. But the accounts we have of him show him as angry more than lonely, and show him, like Job, complaining to God as well as to the people he led: ‘The loneliest and most insulted man in the Bible, Moses has problems either with God who is too harsh with His people, or with His people who too often rebel against God’ (Wiesel, in Rouner, 1998, p. 138). He suffered, and this was often as a result of his separation. He struggled on, doing work that he did not seem to enjoy, because he thought he must do that work, and even at the end of his life, he could not lead his people into the Promised Land, but died alone in a cave. Wiesel goes on to describe the essential separateness of leaders: Naturally, a true leader cannot function without those whom he or she leads. By the same token, the leader cannot work or live in their midst as one of them. Hence the ambivalence of his or her position. There must be some distance between the leader and those being led; otherwise the leader will be neither respected nor obeyed. A certain mystique must surround the leader, isolating him or her from those whose servant he or she is called upon to be or has been elected to be. Is there a leader, here or anywhere, who does not find time to complain about the terrible solitude at moments of decision? Moses himself felt compelled to complain, aloud. (Wiesel, in Rouner, 1998, pp. 128–9)

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 114

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders

115

This is certainly a convincing account of the potentially isolating consequences of leadership, supported by recent research of Kelchtermans, Piot and Ballet (2011) on principals as lonely ‘gatekeepers’. It is also a convincing account of why a person can lead a worthwhile life that is not a happy life. Leaders need to recognize these possibilities. Rather than succumbing to loneliness or to other forms of despair, Moses seems to have developed ways of dealing with solitude. His persistence, stubbornness, anger, fortitude and courage are among the qualities that shine through, more than what we now call ‘loneliness’. The sense of loneliness as culture specific, then, leaves modern readers wondering why there seems to be so much loneliness about today in schools – even if it is something of a ‘taboo’ emotion, rarely admitted. One answer to this puzzle is the modern emphasis on a particular form of individualism. Individualism is both a ‘source of worry’ and also “what many people consider the finest achievement of modern civilization’ (Taylor, 1991, p. 2). Modern individualism leaves people ‘enclosed in their own hearts’ (Taylor, 1991, p. 9). This sort of failed transcendence can be associated with versions of alienation and anomie: alienation (in the sense described earlier) because individuals can be separated from what they feel they deserve (or their ‘essence’, in Marx’s account), and anomie because individuals who are not ‘regulated’ by society may feel the loss of selfhood and morality itself (which may lead to the ‘immoral’ act of suicide, in Durkheim’s account). Loneliness can be described as a disease of individualism. All that remains of Descartes’s cogito ergo sum (I think therefore I am) is the ‘I am’, a lonely state that is a kind of death. Clare describes this vividly in his poem I Am, written while confined to his sanatorium. “I am: yet what I am none cares or knows, / My friends forsake me like a memory lost,” he begins, and after describing both the certainty of his existence and its loneliness, ends with a longing: I long for scenes where man has never trod; A place where woman never smil’d or wept; There to abide with my creator, God, And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept: Untroubling and untroubled where I lie; The grass below – above the vaulted sky.

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 115

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

116

Leadership and Religious Schools

Clare sees himself as lying beneath the sky, not unlike the boy Adam – happy and lonely ‘looking up at the sky’ (Ng, 2011), and he also indicates the sleep of death, with the sky ‘vaulted’ as a church roof. The modern epidemic of loneliness is therefore connected to modern individualism, well described by the philosophy of Descartes and the plays of Shakespeare.

Understanding loneliness of pupils, staff and school leaders Pupils, staff and school leaders can all suffer from loneliness, and can all contribute to overcoming loneliness. Starting with pupils, their loneliness is to be understood in a number of ways. Pupils can be rejected by fellow pupils, and this may lead to loneliness. The friendless or ostracized child is familiar to schools, and ostracism is the most common perceived cause of loneliness. Responses by schools include persuading children to befriend the friendless, either in class or at playtime or lunchtime. Some schools have in recent years set up benches in the playground where a friendless child can sit and where other children are persuaded to go to invite the friendless into their playgroups. Other semiformal approaches include buddying systems, and many informal ways of persuading children to join in groups of friends. Being included in such groups is valued by many pupils, as they say in response to questions about when they feel most included in school (Hatfield, 2004). It may not work for everyone, but it is clearly valued by those for whom it does work. When less recognized, the perception of pupils is that they are rejected by their teachers or other staff. Schools are intensely ‘personal’ places, and pupils may feel rejected by teachers, even if the teachers do not project any rejection towards them (Sometimes, teachers do indeed want to reject children, but that is rarely regarded as professionally appropriate, notwithstanding some recent policymakers promoting what many regard as the antiprofessional ‘naming and shaming’ and ‘zero tolerance’.) The sense of pupils being rejected by staff seems to arise most commonly when pupils do not meet staff expectations in terms of behaviour or studies. To ‘tell off ’ children, or to give low marks to children, while demonstrating that you are doing this for the benefit of the child, is a challenging task– and one achieved

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 116

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders

117

by numerous teachers. Nevertheless, on some occasions criticism of behaviour or work simply feels like rejection, whatever the skills of the teacher. In those circumstances, pupils may use this rejection as a way of endearing themselves to groups of pupils, as in the sociological studies of school subcultures of Hargreaves (1967, 1982), focusing on pupils’ search for dignity, or Ball (1981) on the subcultures themselves. By doing this, pupils can avoid the tendency to loneliness. However, others – especially those with few pupil-friends – will suffer the rejection by teachers directly and withdraw into loneliness. More explicit rejection by the school – in the form of being sent home from school, or being sent to a school’s ‘inclusion unit’ (a paradoxical phrase used in many UK schools) – will also be significant. However, just as teachers may find low-level disruption of children more stressful than out-and-out physical assaults (a counter-intuitive finding from the Elton Report, DES 1989), pupils may find small signals of rejection (a frown, a mispronounced name, laughter in response to a mistake) more likely to elicit a sense of loneliness than an event leading to being sent home from school. Many children will feel the support offered by a teacher or a lunchtime supervisor who persuades another group of children to play with them. However, there are other children who are happiest when they are on their own. (In other contexts, the former children might be referred to as ‘extroverts’, the latter as ‘introverts’, but this opens a different debate altogether.) Amy, aged 11, notes both the need for ‘sociable’ inclusion and the need to give someone time alone, in response to a question about what she would do if another person was feeling troubled: I would just try and cheer them up and get them to come and join in a game, but if they don’t want to, then just let them be for a couple of minutes and then come back again and see if they’ve changed. (Quoted in Stern, 2009, p. 92)

Similarly, for Beswick, if a child is ‘a happy loner’, then ‘the best thing to do is just let them be’ (Beswick, 2011, p. 56). Taking children who want to be alone away from the comfort of their own company, and pushing them into discomforting social situations can be damaging. It can certainly lead to greater loneliness, not least because it pathologizes the very situation – a form

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 117

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

118

Leadership and Religious Schools

of solitude – that is most comforting. One of the greatest poets of loneliness, Larkin, writes of having learned to think of his comforting solitude as ‘vicious’. As he grew up, Larkin found ‘sociability’ getting in the way of the solitude he wanted. He needed solitude and yet ‘Our virtues are all social’; so he described himself as more vicious than virtuous, when seeking solitude (in Best Society, Larkin 1988, pp. 56–7, and quoted and analysed in Bradford, 2005, p. 78). Larkin seems to have been damaged by being made to believe that sociability is the only way to be virtuous, and pupils in school are repeatedly told the same. Social skills are assessed from the earliest years of schooling, while the skill of being comfortably alone is rarely encouraged and even more rarely assessed. It was Wordsworth who was the poet of ‘positive’ versions of solitude, describing in the Prelude (book four), ‘When from our better selves we have too long / Been parted by the hurrying world, and droop, / Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired, / How gracious, how benign, is Solitude.’ Solitude as gracious is quite a contrast to solitude as vicious, and the job of schools might be to encourage children to experience the former more than the latter. Children and adults can come to understand different forms of solitude and loneliness, through the poems of Larkin or the paintings of Lowry (quoted as saying ‘had I not been lonely none of my works would have happened’, www.thelowry. com/ls-lowry/his-life-and-work/), and may even learn through their example that loneliness can be turned into something creative. If they are allowed some solitude, they may also manage to avoid the rather unhappy lives of those two lonely figures. Staff, including school leaders, may also be lonely in school, and this in turn affects the students. As Robert says: Since students are directly affected by the actions and attitudes modelled by their teachers, efforts must be made to create environments that enable teachers to achieve professional satisfaction, which I believe is the key factor in improving education. Teachers who do not achieve professional self-worth suffer a type of loneliness and pain that may influence from thirty to one hundred and fifty students each day. Professional loneliness can be defined as the feeling experienced by teachers that no one cares about them or what they do in the schools; that they are not really important or influential; that they are just expected to hold the

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 118

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders

119

lid on; that the expedient course of action is the way to survive. (Robert, 1974, p. 4)

Staff may suffer as a result of actual or perceived rejection by pupils and/or by other staff in the school, by aspects of the school such as the materials and textbooks used or the pedagogy expected, and by numerous groups outside the school with a ‘stake’ in the school, not least the inspectors and auditors. Policymakers, at the local and national level, can sometimes cause a perception of rejection among school staff. This may be due to the nature of the policy itself, the way it has been developed or implemented (often with little professional input and testing), or simply due to the number of policy changes over the years. The ability of a teacher to feel fully engaged in the educational system is likely to diminish, to the extent that the policies he/she is expected to support enthusiastically one year are disparaged and ditched the next year. Some of the school staff responded with an ironic attitude or learned cynicism towards policies (Hoyle & Wallace, 2005) indicating a lack of values. This lack shows up in the workplace and results in loneliness (Yilmaz, 2011). Other staff may simply feel rejected and, in some circumstances, this can lead to loneliness. Leaders of faith-based schools should have ready access to values that can be infused into the school, and thereby decrease the possibility of anomic loneliness. However, access to faith-based values may also lead some leaders to misuse those values in such a way as to make some people in the school (perhaps those who are less committed to the religious values) feel lonely and alienated – a form of exclusion wherein they have to endorse values or practices with which they disagree. Understanding loneliness is much harder than what its ordinary and ‘everyday’ status in society suggests. The aspect of loneliness least covered in the literature is the nonsociable way out of loneliness, by being happy in solitude.

Good solitude and good loneliness The literature on solitude and loneliness lacks a clear description of the virtue that Larkin (1988) believed did not exist – the solitude virtue. More than this,

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 119

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

120

Leadership and Religious Schools

research on loneliness, such as the well-validated questionnaire developed by Russell (reported in Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008, p. 6), privileges sociability in such a way that someone can score high on ‘loneliness’ without ever feeling lonely – especially if they are comfortable with themselves, alone and/or are very close to one or two people but do not have a network of friends. This ‘pathology’ of being alone is also reflected in popular culture, especially in America, in songs (both sung by the apparently very lonely Elvis) such as You’ll Never Walk Alone (Rodgers and Hammerstein) and No One Stands Alone (Lister). As the psychologist Storr says, ‘Psychotherapists, including myself, have taken as their criterion of emotional maturity the capacity of the individual to make mature relationships on equal terms,’ and have usually ‘omitted to consider the fact that the capacity to be alone is also an aspect of emotional maturity’ (Storr, 1988, p. 18). It is important, therefore, to be able to describe the positive virtue or character strength associated with solitude, alongside the sociable virtues and strengths. This would help make the models of loneliness, in scientific studies, closer to the lived experience of loneliness and nonlonely solitude. The English term that seems best to capture a rich description of a virtue associated with solitude is the term enstasy (with a Greek etymology, but a translation from the Sanskrit samāda), as used in translations of Hindu and Buddhist religious texts. Enstasy is a contrast to the more common religious term ecstasy. Whereas ecstasy refers to going beyond oneself, escaping oneself, enstasy refers to being ‘contented in the self alone’. A key passage in the Bhagavad-Gītā (book II vv. 54–58) involves Arjuna asking Lord Krishna about enstasy. The enstatic person ‘puts from him all desires / that prey upon the mind, / Himself contented in the self alone’, and, ‘rejoices not at whatever good befalls him, / Nor hates the bad that comes his way’ (Zaehner, 1992, p. 326). This quality of enstasy is the one most often represented in statues of the Buddha, as in the statue at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. The Buddha has his hands overlapping and his eyes half-shut, while sitting cross-legged. It is described specifically as a Samāda Buddha – an enstatic Buddha. What about schools? Research on loneliness rarely even mentions schools, and even more rarely mentions good versions of solitude, or the relationship

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 120

10/19/2012 4:34:44 PM

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders

121

between solitude, loneliness, inclusion and exclusion. One of the last emotional taboos of today’s society seems to be the loner, the enstatic. Rufus writes of loners as ‘a minority, the community that is an anticommunity’ (Rufus, 2003, p. xvi). Nonloners, she says, take offense and ‘call us names’: Crazy. Cold. Stuck-up. Standoffish. Aloof. Afraid. Lacking in social skills. Bizarre. Unable to connect. Incapable of love. Freaks. Geeks. Sad. Lonely. Selfish. Secretive. Ungrateful. Unfriendly. Serial killers. (Rufus, 2003, p. xvi)

‘Yet here we are’, she continues, ‘not sad, not lonely, having the time of our lives amid their smear campaign’: We are the ones who know how to entertain ourselves. How to learn without taking a class. How to contemplate and how to create. Loners, by virtue of being loners, in celebrating the state of standing alone, have an innate advantage when it comes to being brave – like pioneers, like mountain men, iconoclasts, rebels, and sole survivors. Loners have an advantage when faced with the unknown, the never-done-before, and the unprecedented. An advantage when it comes to being mindful like the Buddhists, spontaneous like the Taoists, crucibles of concentrated prayer like the desert saints, esoteric like the cabalists. Loners, by virtue of being loners, have at their fingertips the undiscovered, the unique, the rarefied… . A knack for visions. A talent for seldom being bored. (Rufus, 2003, p. xviii)

Larkin’s (1988) companion as the great poet of loneliness is Dickinson. She writes of ‘another loneliness’ and thereby even recovers the positive qualities of loneliness itself, as well as solitude. It is not a lack of friendship that makes for this form of loneliness, ‘But nature, sometimes, sometimes thought’. ‘And whoso it befall’, she continues, ‘Is richer than could be revealed / By mortal number’ (Dickinson, 1970, p. 502, poem 1116). Dickinson is rare. She provides a genuine celebration of loneliness itself, and not just solitude, as being of positive value. Moustakas and Moustakas (2004) have a similar approach, and Lewis (2009) makes a fine pitch for a distinctively American culture of the ‘lonesome’, as a positive characteristic. But Dickinson (1970) remains unusually positive about loneliness. That is not to say that loneliness is free of suffering. There is no way of avoiding suffering, but, as with learning in general

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 121

10/19/2012 4:34:45 PM

122

Leadership and Religious Schools

and many of life’s most important experiences, suffering is intertwined with a number of the most important and, ultimately, valuable experiences.

Conclusion: Overcoming and hosting loneliness It is time, though, to conclude. What should school principals be doing about loneliness? The trivial – if well-meant – response would be to outlaw aloneness. This is the basis of the ‘campaign to end loneliness’ (campaigntoendloneliness. org, targeting older people), and it was the basis for a famous advertising campaign for Strand cigarettes. The strap-line of the cigarette advert was ‘You’re never alone with a Strand.’ The campaign was quickly withdrawn, as the loneliness taboo was too strong. Who would want to buy a cigarette associated with being alone? (It is tempting to say the same of the bench for the friendless, mentioned earlier.) Outlawing aloneness would not be right. However, school principals do need to find a range of ways to deal with loneliness. First, they need to take account of those for whom aloneness or solitude, and even loneliness, is itself a strength and comfort. These people – the Larkins (1988) and the Dickinsons (1970), not to mention the Buddhas – might find positive value in separation, and might be further damaged by being forced into an alienating ‘joining in’. Solitude can be a choice, as in the poem/song from the seventeenth century, O solitude, my sweetest choice (words by Kathryn Philips, music by Henry Purcell). Schools might replace some loneliness and alienation with solitude, creating a more enstatic school. They could do this simply by allowing for positive uses of silence, including the very brief and powerful silences of ‘thinking time’ that are so helpfully added to classrooms otherwise dominated by instant answers. They could make places for quiet contemplation – as many faith-based schools manage with chapels – and for quiet reading, sitting and observation. They could do it by studying and acknowledging the value of some of the great enstatics – the adventurers, the religious, the pioneers, missionaries and rebels described by Rufus (2007). Other than this, schools should also be better ‘hosts’ for loneliness: places where lonely children are better served. One of the leading writers on childhood

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 122

10/19/2012 4:34:45 PM

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders

123

bereavement talks about staff in schools who are ‘lost for words’ when dealing with bereaved pupils (Holland, 2001). When anxious teachers were asked what they felt about a bereaved child, they often said, ‘I feel really sad that they have lost a parent.’ They were then told, ‘Well, why don’t you say that to them?’. The same goes for loneliness. Asking a child who seems lonely, ‘Are you feeling lonely?’, and, if the child is, being prepared to talk about that, is a good start. It may not – in the short term, it probably will not – overcome the loneliness, any more than expressing your own sadness to a bereaved child will stop the child grieving. But it will ‘host’ the loneliness far more congenially, and stop the child from getting the idea that loneliness is a bad thing or a taboo. In such ways, schools can become lonely-friendly, a nice oxymoron. By presenting the positive value of solitude, this chapter might be considered to ignore social connection. That would be a misunderstanding. Social connection among members of the school community remains absolutely central to the personal and educational value of schooling. So schools should not only be enstatic and lonely-friendly, but also provide ways of making members of the school community more connected and help overcome loneliness to some extent. Central to the spirit of the school research (Stern, 2009) was the idea of dialogue. Dialogue is a way of creating a more friendly school, with the flourishing of friendship (in the tradition of Aristotle) being the sign of the absence of tyranny. The dialogic school is one in which a great deal of loneliness can be overcome. MacBeath says that school leaders have often described how, ‘[i]n the daily routine, there was never enough time to give to others or to focus on oneself and one’s own needs’, which often contributed to ‘the loneliness of their jobs’, and this is the result of a lack of dialogue (MacBeath, 2011; Yilmaz, 2008). It is through coaching that MacBeath reports a space for dialogue, and ‘[f]or those who felt lonely or oppressed by the unrelenting demands of their roles the coach filled the void and was someone to speak to, an oasis of calm and unconditional listening’ (MacBeath, 2011, p. 118). In this and other ways, a great deal of loneliness can be overcome, but not completely. Some parts of us will always remain lonely, as the theologian Tillich reminds us: ‘the loneliness of guilt and the loneliness of death’ (Tillich, 2002, p. 7). If that is true, then guilt and death must also be recognized and hosted in schools, along with loneliness. What is more, education may create

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 123

10/19/2012 4:34:45 PM

124

Leadership and Religious Schools

loneliness, as ‘knowledge is not the end of the story, but rather the beginning of a new, qualitatively different chapter . . . involving the transformation of the protagonist’ (Salmon, 1995, p. 19). This will always be challenging, and, ‘like Adam, we may find that we must buy our knowledge dearly’, and ‘[w]hat we know may make us lonely in our social worlds’ and ‘may impose responsibilities we would far rather not possess’ (Salmon, 1995, p. 20). Perhaps what is needed, therefore, is the honest school.

References Ball, S. J. (1981). Beachside comprehensive: A case study of secondary schooling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Beswick, K. (2011). Just me, myself and I: There’s a big difference between being a loner and being lonely. Some children just enjoy their own company. Junior: The World’s Finest Parenting Magazine, issue 139, March, 54–6. Bradford, R. (2005). First boredom, then fear: The life of Philip Larkin. London: Peter Owen. Cacioppo, J. T. & Patrick, W. (2008). Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. New York: Norton. Conroy, J. C. (2009). The estranged self: Recovering some grounds for pluralism in education. Journal of Moral Education 38(2), 145–64. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). Flow: The classic work on how to achieve happiness. London: Rider. Department of Education and Science (DES) (1989). Discipline in schools: Report of the Committee of enquiry chaired by Lord Elton. London: HMSO. Dickinson, E. (1970). The complete poems. London: Faber and Faber. Dumm, T. (2008). Loneliness as a way of life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Durkheim, E. (1952). Suicide: A study in sociology: Translated by John A Spaulding and George Simpson: Edited with an Introduction by George Simpson. London: Routledge. —. (1973). Emile Durkheim on morality and society: Selected writings: Edited and with an introduction by Robert N Bellah. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Forsyth, B. (writer, director) (1981). Gregory’s girl. Lake Films. Hargreaves, D. H. (1967). Social relations in a secondary school. London: Routledge.

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 124

10/19/2012 4:34:45 PM

Loneliness, Solitude and Inclusion for Leaders

125

—. (1982). The challenge for the comprehensive school: Culture, curriculum and community. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Hatfield, E. (2004). Feeling included? A critical analysis of the impact of pedagogy on inclusion in a primary school. Unpublished master’s dissertation, Hull, UK: University of Hull. Holland, J. (2001). Understanding children’s experiences of parental bereavement. London: Jessica Kingsley. Hoyle, E. & Wallace, M. (2005). Educational leadership: Ambiguity, professionals & managerialism. London: Sage. Kelchtermans, G., Piot, L. & Ballet, K. (2011). The lucid loneliness of the gatekeeper: Exploring the emotional dimension in principals’ work lives. Oxford Review of Education, (37)1, 93–108. Larkin, P. (1988). Collected poems: Edited with an introduction by Anthony Thwaite. London: The Marvell Press and Faber and Faber. Lewis, K. (2009). Lonesome: The spiritual meanings of American solitude. London: I. B. Taurus. MacBeath, J. (2011). No lack of principles: Leadership development in England and Scotland. School Leadership & Management, 31(2), 105–21. Moustakas, C. & Moustakas, K. (2004). Loneliness, creativity & love: Awakening meanings in life. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris. Ng, Y.-L. (2011). Spirituality in the classroom? Unpublished draft doctoral thesis, York St John University, York. Robert, M. (1974). Loneliness in the school (What to do about it). Niles, IL: Argus. Rouner, L. S. (Ed). (1998). Loneliness. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. Rufus, A. (2003). Party of one: The loners’ manifesto. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo. Salmon, P. (1995). Psychology in the classroom: Reconstructing teachers and learners. London: Cassell. Selsam, H. & Martel, H. (Eds) (1963). Reader in Marxist philosophy: From the writings of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. New York: International Publishers. Stern, L. J. (2009). The spirit of the school. London: Continuum. Storr, A. (1988). Solitude. London: HarperCollins. Taylor, C. (1991). The ethics of authenticity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tillich, P. (2002). The eternal now. London: SCM. Times Educational Supplement (TES) (1996). Lonely leaders. Times Educational Supplement 12 July 1996.

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 125

10/19/2012 4:34:45 PM

126

Leadership and Religious Schools

Yilmaz, E. (2008). Organizational commitment and loneliness and life satisfaction levels of school principals. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 36(8), 1085–96. —. (2011). An investigation of teachers’ loneliness in the workplace in terms of human values they possess. African Journal of Business Management, 5(13), 5070–5. Zaehner, R. C. (Ed. and Trans.) (1992). Hindu scriptures. London: Everyman.

9781441172976_Ch07_Final_txt_print.indd 126

10/19/2012 4:34:45 PM

8

Leadership Dimensions in the Exercise of Leadership in a Religious School Context Michael T. Buchanan

School leadership is concerned with developing and maintaining a culture open to exploring opportunities for school improvement that ultimately enable the achievement of improved educational goals and outcomes for all students. Recent research and policy development in the international arena conveying insights into leadership and learning in school communities have informed school improvement in many educational systems (Chapman & Buchanan, 2009). These insights are also relevant to leadership in religious schools. However, there are unique considerations that extend beyond the general body of educational literature that need investigation in order to enhance effective leadership in religious schools (Chapman & Buchanan, 2012). It is vital that these considerations be explored because one of the leadership challenges encountered by leaders of religious schools is the need to foster the religious identity of the school to the extent that it underpins its curriculum and entire culture (Belmonte, 2007; Miller, 2007). Effective leadership in religious schools requires highly competent educational leaders who have a clear understanding of the religious identity of the school as an integral part of its educational identity as well as the ability to bring that identity to life for the benefit of the entire school community. A recent study focusing on school leaders’ management of a major curriculum change in Catholic religious schools indicated that there are various dimensions of leadership associated with the role of leadership (Buchanan, 2010). The participants involved in the study identified six dimensions of leadership. They perceived that these dimensions were constantly exercised by leaders they considered to be effective, including principals, deputy principals, faculty leaders and teachers.

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 127

10/19/2012 4:33:59 PM

128

Leadership and Religious Schools

The dimensions of leadership exercised by leaders in religious schools include, but at are not exclusive to, religious leadership, faith leadership, spiritual leadership, ministerial leadership, educational leadership and curriculum leadership. Effective leadership in religious schools may be enhanced by a leader’s understanding of and willingness to exercise these dimensions of leadership. The following sections provide an overview of these leadership dimensions (in the context of Catholic religious schools) arising from the aforementioned research (Buchanan, 2010). While each leadership dimension will be considered separately, it is imperative to state from the outset that these dimensions of leadership are exercised sometimes individually and at other times simultaneously.

Religious leadership In a Catholic school, the principal is the recognized leader responsible for the overall educational accomplishments and well-being of the students. Traditionally, the principal’s leadership was rather autonomous and the religious-secular formation of the students was determined by the principal (Canavan, 1986). One of the key leadership challenges facing leaders today is the ability to provide religious leadership that preserves and strengthens the religious identity of the school (Belmonte, 2007). Increasingly, religious leadership in Catholic schools as well as in schools of other faith communities is undertaken by lay individuals (Litchfield, 2006). The religious leadership dimension requires a leader to be open to continuous growth in the knowledge of the religious tradition with which the school is associated. This includes a deep understanding of the philosophical, theological and historical insights into Catholic ethos and culture as well as into the purpose of Catholic education (Belmonte, 2007). Opinions differ over how leaders may arrive at a deep understanding. According to Jacobs (2005), lay leaders need the same formation as the vowed religious in order to provide effective religious leadership within a school community. Offering the same formation experiences to the vowed religious and the lay faithful who serve as leaders in Catholic schools implies there is no overt

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 128

10/19/2012 4:33:59 PM

Leadership Dimensions in Religious School Context

129

distinction made between the formation needs of either. John Paul II (1988) has acknowledged that through the laities’ baptismal dignity, they have acquired a secular character which is distinct from the formation of ordained ministers. Therefore, to replicate the formation of lay educational leaders in ways identical to that of ordained ministers and the vowed religious is a compromise that may diminish the giftedness of each. Opportunities designed to cater for the formation of the laity in terms of religious leadership should be explored. A recent study that investigated the leadership challenges for Catholic lay principals in Australia identified certain programmes and experiences that lay principals found beneficial to their own formation as religious leaders within the school community. These included professional mentoring, tertiary studies and a natural connection to Catholic culture. The principals who participated in the study stated that contact with an experienced educational leader who was able to act as a professional mentor was significant in their own religious leadership formation. Mentoring enabled them to articulate what it means to be the religious leader of a Catholic school community (Belmonte, 2007). The lay principals regarded the completion of tertiary studies in religious education as another significant formation experience impacting upon their ability and confidence to offer effective religious leadership for the school community. They were able to learn and communicate a well-developed understanding of the Catholic tradition and apply it in a realistic way while exercising their religious leadership dimension within the school community. For principals who had completed their studies in religious education, their growth in understanding the Catholic tradition and its practices had facilitated a greater awareness not only of their own journey but also of how the principals themselves operated in the Catholic context (Belmonte, 2007, p. 1). In addition to professional mentoring and tertiary qualifications in religious education, Belmonte found that ‘a principal in a Catholic school essentially requires a natural connection with the Catholic faith that is caught as much as taught’ (2007, p. 1). This connection was described as emanating from experiences such as involvement in parish life, their own experiences as students in primary and secondary education in a Catholic school context and their own experiences of teaching and leadership in Catholic schools.

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 129

10/19/2012 4:33:59 PM

130

Leadership and Religious Schools

Religious leadership in an educational context is a public role within the school community and within the church (Crotty, 2005, 2006). Members of the school community and the wider Catholic community have preconceived expectations about how such leaders should act and behave. The public face of the leader must be in line with the ideals and expectation of what it means to be Catholic in today’s world. If a leader’s action and behaviour are out of step with such expectations, then conflicting messages might be received by the rest of the community and result in confusion. Religious leadership is also symbolic; leaders are often called on to lead the school in prayer, to offer spiritual and moral guidance and to be symbols of justice and peace. The exercise of religious leadership is also symbolic as it is visible not only as the public face of the school but also as the public face of the church. Religious leadership requires the ability to promote the religious life of the school, and to ensure that the religious ethos, values and beliefs are reflected throughout the school. The formation of school policies must be in harmony with religious ethos, values and beliefs. It is also imperative that religious leadership play its part in the development and evaluation of school curriculum including subject curriculum. Religious leadership in this context should allow individual subjects to be taught according to their own method (Congregation for Catholic Education, 1977) and should respect the autonomy of each subject taught in the curriculum while remaining focused on the aims of the Catholic school which are concerned with the integral formation of the whole person (Congregation for Catholic Education, 1990).

Faith leadership Faith has become very much integral central part of our secular life in addition to being associated with religious contexts (Dantley, 2005). Now, more than ever, school leaders in the twenty-first century need to be effective faith leaders. Future generations are entitled to be formed in the knowledge that encountering a faith dimension in one’s life and community should be a realistic option that helps individuals and communities envision hopeful possibilities (Buchanan, 2011). Faith is prophetic in that it enables people and

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 130

10/19/2012 4:33:59 PM

Leadership Dimensions in Religious School Context

131

communities to contemplate a better future – one not yet realized. As Dantley (2008) indicated, ‘Our faith releases us to envision a better future that leads to our acting and constructing assiduously a new reality that can be replete with changes grounded in justice, equity and morality’ (p. 8). Faith leadership is needed to help people, especially our children, to grow in the wholeness and fullness of life where justice, equity and morality are seen as real virtues envisioned in prophetic faith encounters. Schools need leaders who are in tune with the faith dimensions of leadership. A leader’s faith, management and leadership skills form an intricate union and influence one another in the exercise of daily leadership. Religious schools need faith leaders, ‘who will stand up, set the organisational course, and persevere, as a result of their belief in both faith and in the mission of the organisation’ (Brinckerhoff, 1999). There are certain skills which are necessary for effective faith leadership, and most leaders need to develop these to lead others in the right direction. These skills include the ability to motivate, innovate, communicate, demonstrate flexibility and believe in the value of lifelong learning (Brinckerhoff, 1999). Leaders require these skills to carry others in the school along with them by motivating them. The leader must be well versed in the faith traditions and teachings of the religion not only to articulate a body of knowledge but also to transmit and demonstrate a natural acceptance of these in their own lives and daily practice. The words and actions of a leader must be aligned. Members of a school community watch the leader and learn from his/her daily actions about what it means to be a faith leader. Where the words and actions of a faith leader are clearly aligned, the leader has the potential to motivate staff and students into prophetic faith action (Dantley, 2005). Where there is disparity between the words and actions of a faith leader, the momentum and energy within the school community will be reduced, and a level of scepticism is likely to arise, especially among staff members; and this may lead to poor morale in the school and a lack of motivation. Another set of skills required of faith leaders relates to the ability to innovate. Catholic schools are grounded within a 2000-year religious tradition where members of the community look towards its leaders

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 131

10/19/2012 4:33:59 PM

132

Leadership and Religious Schools

to convey to them religious traditions in a realistic way as befitting a contemporary world. In order to do this, effective leaders need to be very innovative and encourage members of the school community to be the same. Faith leadership involves the ability to remain constantly focused on the faith, mission and values of the organization. This focus forms the bottom line against which decisions that affect the school should be assessed. This is no easy feat as religious schools must adhere to school improvement trends and policies as directed by various sources such as education departments, federal and state governments as well as (in the case of Catholic schools) their own organizational bodies. Not all sources are necessarily aligned with the mission and values of the school. Ultimately, faith leadership must enable school communities to participate in society while at the same time make decisions which are harmonious with the faith, mission and values of the religious tradition to which the school belongs. Leaders of religious schools must be able to effectively communicate with people both from within and outside the organization. There are many ways in which leaders can develop their communication skills. He/she needs to communicate effectively both at the personal level and in public and other forums (Brinckerhoff, 1999). Furthermore, faith leaders also need to be flexible. Leaders who are flexible can respond in diverse ways to the needs of an organization. This skill is vital for leaders of faith-based schools that have been steeped for a very long time in a faith-based or religious tradition. Faith leadership entails leading people through change in a positive way. People are more likely to go through change with the leader rather than go through change for the leader (Brinckerhoff, 1999). Faith leadership may be drawn upon by leaders of religious schools to encourage schools to be open to learning and to practise new ideas and initiatives, as well as constantly review their procedures. A leader will not be able to demonstrate flexibility unless she/he is open to new ideas and a willingness to advance and update his/her knowledge. A commitment to lifelong learning enables the leader to consider other possibilities and processes that lead to better learning outcomes and achievement for students.

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 132

10/19/2012 4:33:59 PM

Leadership Dimensions in Religious School Context

133

Spiritual leadership Nurturing the spiritual dimension of the school community requires spiritual leadership that is informed about the religious tradition to which the school belongs. Attention to the spiritual dimension in the context of a religious tradition is not always an easy feat as Holtschneider and Morey (2000) discovered – particularly within the context of Catholic education. Their research found that school leaders struggle with their own lack of understanding and clarity about the Catholic intellectual religious tradition. They are not sure about the extent to which they can emphasize moral and religious leadership on lay professionals in schools. They are unclear about how overt they should be in their focus on religion within the school. This lack of awareness has the potential to compromise a leader’s ability to freely and spontaneously attend to the spiritual dimension within the context of his/ her role as school leader. These complexities as well as a lack of understanding tend to compromise the potential to reach a precise understanding of the spiritual dimension as it applies to education or how it might be articulated. Furthermore, in a faith-based organization, such as a Catholic school, some individuals’ experiences of a spiritual dimension may be aligned with secular rather than religious contexts (Buchanan, 2009). Attention to the spiritual dimension within a secular context has influenced curriculum and leadership initiatives. In fact, national curriculum initiatives in the United Kingdom have addressed a spiritual dimension of education and alluded to its emergence within a secular context (Carr & Haldane, 2003). Furthermore, a recent study into the leadership actions of school leaders also revealed that attention to the spiritual dimension in a secular context assisted principals in carrying out various aspects of their role. Forty head teachers in the United Kingdom and forty school principals across Australia participated in the study. It was found that school principals drew upon a form of secular spirituality particularly in situations when they were faced with critical incidents and the day-to-day pressures of school leadership. Secular spirituality in this context was perceived as those actions and responses by leaders that were ‘based explicitly or implicitly upon foundations of personal

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 133

10/19/2012 4:33:59 PM

134

Leadership and Religious Schools

and ethical belief . . . which allows interpersonal engagement and sustainability of both personal and institutional self-belief ’ (Flintham, 2006, p. 6). These two examples of the spiritual dimension in a secular context provided a glimpse into its application rather than a precise explanation. Thatcher (1999) argued that a specific explanation would be difficult to arrive at because there is a lack of agreement about what signifies the spiritual dimension beyond the realm of religion: Spiritual leaders are committed to developing a legacy with students and staff for their life journeys. In this way, they reinforce the holistic nature of education – intellectual, physical, emotional, ethical and spiritual development. In short, such leaders emphasise an unshakeable belief in an education not only about ‘doing’ and ‘having’, but one which also addresses ‘being’ and ‘becoming’. Spiritual leaders not only articulate this belief, but model it in their practice. (Neidhart & Carlin, 2009, p. 117)

The potential for teachers to encounter the spiritual dimension in their professional as well as other aspects of their lives should not be ignored, especially by school leaders. If leaders can provide opportunities for teachers to nurture the spiritual dimension in their own lives, they will be better able to recognize it in their students and in turn intentionally plan for this dimension to be encountered by the students engaged in holistic learning and development (Buchanan & Hyde 2008; Hyde 2008). The spiritual dimension has been an integral part of authentic leadership for a long time as it emanates from our tribal spiritual wisdom (Filson, 2006), and according to Neidhart (2000) this dimension of leadership is not an extra but rather an integrated aspect of daily life which gives meaning and depth to it.

Ministerial leadership Historically, ministerial leadership referred to the delivery or experience of the sacred ministry of the Word (which involves the teaching and preaching of the gospel message with a canonical mandate from ecclesiastical authority)

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 134

10/19/2012 4:34:00 PM

Leadership Dimensions in Religious School Context

135

and sacred ministry of the Sacraments (which involves administering the sacraments of the church to the faithful). The exercise of sacred ministry has been solely the responsibility of those in ordained ministry, and traditionally the laity were perceived as the passive recipients of the sacred ministry (Aumann, 1997). In fact, during the nineteenth century, Pope Leo XIII (1884) decreed that ministerial leadership was the authority of bishops who had the power to delegate sacred ministerial responsibilities to their priests. In Nobilissima Gallorum Gens he stated: ‘Let the authority of their Bishops be sacred to the priest; let the latter be convinced that their ministry will be neither holy, nor profitable, nor respected, if it be not exercised under the guidance of their Bishops’ (Leo XIII, 1884, n. 8). Furthermore, recognizing the intelligence of lay Catholic writers in his day, Pope Leo XIII cautioned that for the sake of unity within the church, the laity ‘willingly submit to those “whom the Holy Ghost has set as Bishops to rule over the Church of God”; let them respect their authority and never undertake anything against the will of those they should look on as their leaders in the battle for Catholic interests’ (Leo XIII, 1884, n. 9). During the second half of the last century, the lay members of the church were encouraged to take a less passive role in the ministerial functions of the church. Pope Pius XII (1957) encouraged the laity to be involved in Catholic action. The term ‘Catholic action’ owes its papal interpretation to Pope Pius XI who defined it as the ‘the participation and the collaboration of the laity with the apostolic hierarchy’ (Pius XI, 1931, n. 5). Against this backdrop of papal direction, further clarification was needed regarding the role of the ministerial leadership exercised by the laity (Aumann, 1995). This came in the apostolic exhortation Chritifideles Laici (John Paul II, 1988) which distinguished between the ministries derived from holy orders and those derived by right of baptism and confirmation. Chritifideles Laici (John Paul II, 1988) acknowledged that all who are baptised in Christ share a common dignity in that they have the same filial grace and vocation to perfection imbued with a sense of common salvation, hope and undivided charity. Therefore, this one dignity which flows from baptism is bestowed on each member of the lay faithful, together with ordained

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 135

10/19/2012 4:34:00 PM

136

Leadership and Religious Schools

ministers and men and women religious, and consequently they all share in a responsibility for the church’s mission (John Paul II, 1988, n. 15). The lay faithful, through their baptismal dignity, possess a secular characteristic that distinguishes them from members of the ordained ministry (John Paul II, 1988, n. 15). However, given that ordained ministers possess a ministry that is fundamentally ordered to the service of the entire church, it must be acknowledged that the ministerial priesthood is totally necessary in order to enable the lay faithful to fully participation in the mission of the church (John Paul II, 1988, n. 22). In an attempt to distinguish between the ministerial role of the ordained ministry and the lay faithful, the role of the latter has been referred to as ministry, and the role of the former is referred to as sacred ministry (Aumann, 1997). This distinction was expressed in Chritifideles laici: The various ministries, offices and roles that the lay faithful can legitimately fulfil in the liturgy, in the transmission of the faith, and in the pastoral structure of the Church, ought to be exercised in conformity to their specific lay vocation, which is different from that of the sacred ministry. (John Paul II, 1988, n. 23)

The lay faithful, who participate in the mission of the church by committing themselves to the service of Catholic education, play a significant role in the church ministry. Such teachers, like others within the school community, need leaders who have the capacity to exercise ministerial leadership responsibilities in the day-to-day life and running of the school. With the rise in lay leadership in Catholic schools after the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) many Catholic education systems throughout Australia instituted religious education leaders to support lay school principals in the religious leadership dimension of the school. Traditionally, these roles had a bias towards the exercise of ministerial leadership. In fact Fleming’s (2002) research into the role of leadership in religious education in Melbourne schools revealed a strong leaning towards the employment of leaders of religious education who were capable of carrying out the ministerial leadership functions associated with this position. Studies by Crotty (2002, 2005) also focused on leadership in religious education in Sydney schools. Crotty’s (2002, 2005) research

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 136

10/19/2012 4:34:00 PM

Leadership Dimensions in Religious School Context

137

portrayed leadership in religious education as bidimensional, arguing that it was both a ministerial role within the church and an educational role. The ability to fulfil the dual dimensions of the role was compromised to the extent that leaders in religious education tended to ignore the educational demands of the role and focused upon fulfilling the ministerial dimensions even though those appointed to the role were experienced and qualified educators. Some principals in Catholic religious schools throughout Australia have responded to this challenge by acknowledging their own responsibility to exercise ministerial leadership. Furthermore, the role of leaders in religious education and the composition of school leadership teams have distinguished between the ministerial and education functions of leaders of religious education.

Curriculum leadership A recent study into the way leaders in religious schools managed curriculum change (Buchanan, 2010) revealed that these leaders needed to be in tune with key understandings of curriculum usage. In exercising their curriculum leadership responsibilities, the leaders needed to demonstrate a clear vision and understanding of how the curriculum functions across the year levels in order to ensure there were no gaps or unnecessary overlays. At the same time they needed to be aware of the interchange between syllabuses and curriculum because several public accredited courses in Australia were presented in the form of a unit syllabus. Curriculum leadership needs to ensure that the links between the philosophy, values and goals of the school curriculum are clearly articulated. Curriculum leadership requires a comprehensive understanding of the vertical curriculum as well as the formal curriculum. Many schools have appointed curriculum leaders to manage the implementation of curriculum. However, school leaders are responsible for the curriculum and must take responsibility for its ability to foster student achievement. School leaders must be able to exercise a level of curriculum leadership that is underpinned by an understanding of the various concepts of curriculum that may inform the design and delivery of curriculum. The following section provides a brief

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 137

10/19/2012 4:34:00 PM

138

Leadership and Religious Schools

overview of some of the key conceptualizations of curriculum identified by Moore (1991). These include curriculum and syllabus; curriculum across the year levels; curriculum incorporating all subjects and activities, formal and hidden curriculum and curriculum inclusive of social institutions.

Curriculum and syllabus The terms curriculum and syllabus are sometimes, inappropriately, used interchangeably. A study design of state-accredited courses is often referred to as ‘curriculum’ when in fact it is a ‘syllabus’. This is largely because it conveys the content which will form the basis of assessment in a particular subject or unit. Viewed in this light, curriculum is confined to the content specifications in a particular subject at a particular year level for the purposes of assessment. In some schools, a curriculum overview is presented more in the form of a syllabus than a curriculum. This can be problematic for teachers who perceive such presentations as a comprehensive curriculum, because curriculum is much more that an overview of content areas and assessment tasks.

Curriculum across the year levels The way in which a subject is planned across a number of year levels is sometimes referred to as curriculum. Statements about or descriptions of a vertical curriculum typically contain the basic principles on which the curriculum is structured. These include the major topics or content areas covered and how they are sequenced across the year levels. In addition, they also include suggested teaching strategies and possible assessment procedures; and the skills and content areas become progressively more challenging to meet the students’ development. Such statements give directions to teachers, who prepare themselves to teach specific groups of students helping them achieve the goals set.

Curriculum incorporating all subjects and activities The full range of subjects and activities a school offers across all year levels is sometimes referred to as the formal curriculum. Generally there are

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 138

10/19/2012 4:34:00 PM

Leadership Dimensions in Religious School Context

139

statements or descriptions of the formal curriculum, and they typically contain the basic philosophy, values and goals of the school as a whole and how these are expressed or achieved through a full range of subjects taught and other planned activities. The orientation of all subject curricula towards the philosophy, values and goals of the school provides a robust platform to ensure that students as well as teachers clearly understand the mission of the school. In the context of a religious school it is vital that leaders have the ability to lead the school in presenting government-directed curricula in conjunction with the philosophy, values and goals of the school.

Formal and hidden curriculum Curriculum is made up of both the ‘formal curriculum’ and the ‘hidden curriculum’ The hidden curriculum can be understood as that whose values the school reflects. However, the hidden curriculum can foster unintended learning from the consequences of what actually happens within the school. For example, schools may intend to reflect and inculcate the value of uniqueness and dignity of human beings as individuals, but in reality may be promoting elitism, sexism and racism. Another example might be the attitude towards the treatment of the poor. In some schools, social justice programs emphasize a preferential option for the poor, but at the same time the school’s enrolment policy might suggest that a student’s enrolment will be terminated if the school fees are not paid by a certain time.

Curriculum inclusive of social institutions A curriculum is inclusive of all social institutions. To understand what happens in any particular school, we need to realize that a school operates under pressures because of its interrelationships with a host of other social institutions such as families, churches, trade and industry, universities, and state and federal governments for example. All of these have a direct bearing on what and how teachers teach and what and how students learn. For example, many schools for girls are committed to educational approaches that empower girls to believe that they can do anything they want in terms of career and life choices. However, in the context of some religious schools, the faith traditions

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 139

10/19/2012 4:34:00 PM

140

Leadership and Religious Schools

to which the school belongs may have clear lines of distinction between gender roles and human choices. One or more (or even all) of these aspects of how curriculum is used may be applicable in each school setting. It is vital that school leaders have knowledge about the factors that inform the structure of curriculum in their particular school if they are to be successful in fulfilling the intended education and religious mission of the school.

Educational leadership Educational leadership is ultimately concerned with school improvement through the development of effective programs to enable all students to achieve learning outcomes. This type of leadership should be the priority of all schools. In the context of religious schools, the values underpinning any school-improvement initiative must be the aligned with the religious tradition in which the school is situated. Ciriello (1993) has emphasized the following aspects of educational leadership as integral to the Catholic context. Those responsible for exercising educational leadership must demonstrate symbolic and cultural leadership, apply a Catholic educational vision, promote staff morale, recognize leadership among staff members, promote growth through interpretation and research, identify and effect change and attend to personal growth and development. In the context of Catholic schooling, the personal growth of the leader as well as his/her professional development has a significant impact upon the quality of life and best interests of those involved in the school community (Ciriello, 1993). The Congregation for Catholic Education (formerly the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education) has emphasized the importance of both the personal and professional growth of leaders and educators. This is a distinctive feature of leadership in religious schools, and it is embedded in the belief that the purpose of education is the integral formation of the human person (SCCE, 1982). Educational leadership requires leaders in religious schools to foster social conditions that allow colleagues to grow as persons and become more authentic, wiser and autonomous educators and

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 140

10/19/2012 4:34:00 PM

Leadership Dimensions in Religious School Context

141

leaders (Duignan, 2007). Catholic schools staffed with such colleagues provide the correct environment for ‘the development of all the human faculties of students, together with preparation for professional life, formation of ethical and social awareness, becoming aware of the transcendental and religious education’ (SCCE, 1982, n. 17). The religious dimension of the school is central to the educational dimension, and leaders who separate the two have misunderstood the ethos of Catholic education. Current leaders are in a very good position to convey job satisfaction as well as highlight the importance of this role of Catholic education to future potential leaders. As educational leaders they must keep abreast of current research and promote education growth within the school community, interpret the insight emanating from research as well as be able to identify and effect change. Educational leadership in religious schools (as well as other schools) must take responsibility for their own professional and personal formation because ultimately this system of education is committed to the integral formation of the whole person and it requires leaders who are able to give effect to this commitment.

Conclusion School leadership is a diverse and complex role. Many schools have school leadership teams, with members of the team involved in leading specialized areas. Individuals on these teams are appointed to assist the principal of the school who has the ultimate responsibility for the leadership of the school. The ultimate leader needs to be conversant with all aspects of school leadership. The aspects of school life and leadership of religious schools extend beyond an educational dimension because they are also responsible for fostering the religious identity of the school. Effective leadership in religious schools requires leaders who are also able to exercise religious, faith, spiritual, ministerial, curriculum and educational dimensions of leadership. These dimensions are not separate from each other but rather inform each other and are sometimes exercised simultaneously. A religious school, like other schools, needs leaders who are effective. Effective leadership in a religious school requires that all the

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 141

10/19/2012 4:34:00 PM

142

Leadership and Religious Schools

educational goals are achieved in a way that gives positive expression to the religious identity of the school.

References Aumann, J. (1997). On the front lines: The lay person in the church after Vatican II. New York: Alba House. Belmonte, A. (2007). Leadership challenges for Catholic lay principals in Australia. Perspectives on Educational Leadership, 1–2. Brinckerhoff, P. (1999). Faith-based management: Leading organisations that are based on more than just mission. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Buchanan, M. T. (2009). The spiritual dimension and curriculum change. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 14(4), 385–94. —. (2010). Managing curriculum change in religious education: An inside perspective from school leaders in religious education. Saarbrücken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing. —. (2011). Faith leadership: A model for educational leadership contexts. Journal of Catholic School Studies, 83(2), 44–51. Buchanan, M. T. & Hyde, B. (2006). The role of the religion teacher: Ecclesial and pedagogical perceptions. Journal of Christian Education, 49(2), 23–34. Canavan, K. B. (1986). Perceptions and expectations of roles, services, structures and goals of the Sydney Catholic Education Office held by principals and CEO staff. Unpublished Ed.D. Thesis, The University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Carr, D. & Haldane, J. (Eds) (2003). Spirituality, philosophy and education. London: RoutledgeFalmer Chapman, J. & Buchanan, M. T. (2009). Learning for leadership in faith based schools. Paper given at BELMAS International Conference: Educational leadership. Where do we go from here? Sheffield, United Kingdom. —. (2012). The learning journey: Lifelong professional learning for leaders in faith-based schools. In D. Aspin, J. D. Chapman, R. G. Bagnall & K. M. Evans (Eds), International handbook of lifelong learning (2nd edn) (pp. 547–56). Netherlands: Springer. Congregation for Catholic Education. (1977). The Catholic school. Strathfield, NSW: St Paul’s. —. (1990). Religious dimension of education in the Catholic school: Guidelines for reflection and renewal. Homebush, NSW: St Paul’s.

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 142

10/19/2012 4:34:01 PM

Leadership Dimensions in Religious School Context

143

Ciriello, M. J. (1993). Formation and development for Catholic leaders Volume II: The principal as educational leader. Washington, DC: Department of Education, United States Catholic Conference. Crotty, L. (2002). Religious leadership in the Catholic school: The position of the religious education coordinator. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Sydney, Australia. —. (2005). The REC and religious leadership. Journal of Religious Education, 53(1), 48–59. —. (2006). Leadership in religious education: A critique from the Australian perspective. In M. De Souza, K. Engebretson, G. Durka, R. Jackson & A. McGrady (Eds), International handbook of religious, moral and spiritual education (pp. 779–98). Netherlands: Springer. Dantley, M. (2005). Faith-based leadership: Ancient rhythms or new management. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 18(1), 3–19. Duignan, P. (2007). Distributed leadership: Critique from a Catholic perspective. Presentation at 4th International Conference on Catholic Educational Leadership. Sydney. Filson, B. (2006). Leadership, tribal spiritual wisdom and the leadership talk. Buzzle.com. Retrieved on 22 June 2011 from www.buzzle.com/ editorial/5–16–2006–96348.asp. Fleming, G. P. (2002). An analysis of religious education coordinators perceptions of their role in Catholic secondary schools in the archdiocese of Melbourne. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Australian Catholic University, Australia. Flintham, A. (2006). The reservoirs of hope: Vital for survival. Principal Matters, summer (69), 6–8. Holtschneider, D. & Morey, M. (2000). Relationships revisited: Catholic institutions and their founding congregations (Occasional Paper No. 47). Washington, DC: Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Jacobs, R. (2005). Building spiritual leadership density in Catholic schools. Washington, DC, USA: National Catholic Educational Association. John Paul II. (1988). Chritifideles laici (Post-synod apostolic exhortation of his holiness John Paul II on the vocation and the mission of the lay faithful in the church and in the world). Retrieved on 22 June 2011 from www. vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici_en.html. Litchfield, R. G. (2006). Research for a movement. Religious Education, 10(2), 162–5.

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 143

10/19/2012 4:34:01 PM

144

Leadership and Religious Schools

Leo XIII. (1884). Nobilissima gallorum gens. Retrieved on 22 June 2011 from www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13cfn.htm. Miller, M. (2007) Catholic educational leadership in the 21st century. Keynote speech at 4th International Conference on Catholic Educational Leadership. Sydney. Moore, B. (1991). Religious education: Issues in methods in curriculum design. Underdale, SA: University of South Australia. Neidhart, H. (2000). Leadership spirituality in the context of Catholic education. In P. Duignan & T. d’ Arbon (Eds), Leadership in Catholic education: 2000 and beyond. Canberra, Australia: National Catholic Education Commission. Neidhart, H. & Carlin, P. (2009). Spiritual leadership in Australian schools: Can it enhance school leadership today? In N. C. Cranston & L. C. Ehrich (Eds), Australian school leadership today (pp. 104–22). Bowen Hills, QLD, Australia: Australian Academic Press. Pius XI. (1931). Non abbiamo bisogno. Retrieved on 22 June 2011 from www. papalencyclicals.net/Pius11/P11FAC.HTM. Pius XII. (1957). Guiding principles of the lay apostolate. Retrieved on 22 June 2011 from www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius12/P12LAYAP.HTM. Thatcher, A. (Ed.) (1999). Spirituality and the curriculum. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education (1982). Lay Catholics in school: Witnesses to faith. Homebush, NSW: St Paul’s.

9781441172976_Ch08_Final_txt_print.indd 144

10/19/2012 4:34:01 PM

9

Learning to Lead through Service: Key Insights for Effective Leadership in Schools Shane Lavery

Teachers, by the very nature of their vocation, are leaders. Their leadership can be linked with formal positions of responsibility. Principals, deputy principals, heads of learning areas, year-level coordinators or classroom teachers all have designated leadership roles. Teacher leadership is often informal – guiding, directing or supporting students, colleagues or parents in a variety of circumstances. The vast majority of teachers exercise leadership every single school day when they stand before a class and ‘lead’ their students in learning. Moreover, by the way they act, teachers implicitly model leadership behaviour for the young people in their care. Given the importance of leadership in the professional lives of teachers, two questions must be asked. First, what might be the core principles that underpin teacher leadership? Second, how then, might pre-service teachers be prepared for their forthcoming leadership obligations? In exploring the aforementioned questions, this research presents educational leaders with three points of deliberation as a means of enhancing effective leadership in schools. First, it argues the need to broaden the perception of school leadership beyond a hierarchical, managerial model to one that encompasses all members of a school staff, especially teachers. Second, it posits the place of servant leadership as a critical overarching model of leadership within schools, one that informs the way leaders might act. Third, it underscores the value of service learning as a practical way of developing leadership potential through service and consideration of others. In particular, the research highlights the positive impact that involvement in a

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 145

10/19/2012 4:32:15 PM

146

Leadership and Religious Schools

Christian service-learning program can have on the leadership development of pre-service teachers.

Educational leadership Historically, educational leadership theory was linked with positional responsibility, being firmly grounded in notions of authority and power. The focus lay with the hierarchical coordination of schools. Emphasis was placed on organizational efficiency over all other considerations (Crowther, Ferguson & Hann, 2009). While this need for organisational structure in schools has remained, more recent developments in educational leadership theory have centred on (1) the differing ways leadership can be understood and (2) the recognition that a variety of members of a school community can exercise leadership. Three models of educational leadership are considered, which highlight developments in the way school leadership is viewed and exercised. These leadership models are: transactional, transformational, and instructional (Lavery, 2011; Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2006). Transactional leadership most closely mirrors the more traditional approach to school leadership. Transactional leaders are concerned with the everyday transactions involved in the running of an organization (Duignan, 2006). This leadership style is characterized by leaders and followers being in an exchange relationship. That is, the role of the leader is seen primarily as ‘motivating followers to bring about intended outcomes, and to reward them appropriately’ (Tuohy, 1999, p. 169). The nature of this leadership tends to be instrumental with a focus on efficiency, effectiveness and achievement of production outcomes (Neidhart & Carlin, 2011). It is the leadership of the administrator who addresses the day-to-day management of the system, listens to the complaints and concerns of various participants, arbitrates disputes fairly, holds people accountable for their job targets and provides necessary resources for the achievement of stated goals (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 1993). Two important aspects of transactional leadership are that it is very common, and that it tends to be transitory ‘as there is no enduring purpose to keep the parties together once the transaction is complete’

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 146

10/19/2012 4:32:15 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

147

(Dubrin & Dalgish, 2003, p. 76). It is this leadership model, moreover, that continues to place leadership almost exclusively in the hands of positional leaders. Transformational leaders, on the other hand, serve to change the status quo by appealing to followers’ values and their sense of higher purpose; by reframing issues so that they are aligned with the leader’s vision and the followers’ values; and by operating on a higher level of moral development than their followers. They move group members beyond self-interest for the good of the group, organization or society (Dubrin & Dalgish, 2003). Moreover, as a result of working with such leaders, many group members have ‘faith, pride, enthusiasm, and a trust in what they are attempting to accomplish’ (Dubrin & Dalgish, p. 79). Such leaders inspire followers to greater commitment through shared purpose rather than through bureaucratic directives. The transformational mandate is thus a call to move from professional duty or contractual obligation to the empowerment of others (Osula & Ideboen, 2010). Within the educational sphere, transformational leadership attempts to advance schools ‘beyond first-order, surface changes to second-order, deeper transformations that alter the “core technologies” of schooling, such as pedagogy, curriculum and assessment’ (Hargreaves & Fink, 2006, p. 99). These ends are achieved through the pursuit of common goals, devolving authority to people in the organization, promoting procedures for teacher development and engaging people in collaborative problem-solving strategies (Hargreaves & Fink, 2006). Frequently proposed as an appropriate form of leadership for school principals (Crowther, Ferguson & Hann, 2009), transformational leadership promotes the notion that school leadership is not solely the province of positional authority. One of the more popular models of educational leadership in recent times has been the notion of instructional leadership, which emphasizes the central tasks of schools, namely teaching and learning. A common understanding of instructional leadership accentuates the role of principal as ‘resource provider, instructional resource, communicator and visible presence’ (Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2006, p. 18). That is, the principal ensures that teachers have what they need to adequately perform their duties, actively supports day-to-day

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 147

10/19/2012 4:32:15 PM

148

Leadership and Religious Schools

teaching, presents clear goals for the school and is highly accessible to staff (Marzano, et al., 2006, p. 18). Increasingly, however, instructional leadership has been seen as a significant role for teacher leaders (Zammit, et al., 2007). Duignan (2007), for example, maintained that authentic educative leaders pay close attention to the quality of teaching and students’ learning. They help create the conditions within which teachers and students take substantial responsibility for the quality of their own teaching and learning. They are primarily, educative in their intentions and outcomes. (p. 3)

Further, Crowther, Ferguson and Hann (2009) highlighted the moral, social, cultural and justice elements inherent in teacher-based instructional leadership. Transactional, transformational and instructional models of leadership each encapsulate important elements necessary for successful school leadership: organizational efficiency, vision, collegiality and a focus on teaching and learning. Each model delineates the importance of positional leaders. Further, transformational and instructional understandings of school leadership suggest that leadership in schools goes beyond those in designated leadership roles. Rather, these models underscore a notion of teacher leadership. There is, however, a further element to be considered – the stimulus for being an educational leader.

Servant leadership Vision, management, collegiality and attention to teaching and learning are critical features in effective school leadership. Yet, what constitutes the underlying motivation fuelling such leadership? One possible answer lies in the desire to serve. Robert Greenleaf (1977) is often attributed with articulating the concept of servant leadership. Specifically, he argued that servant leadership ‘begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first’ (p. 13). Greenleaf stressed that at the heart of such leadership is the wish ‘to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served’ (p. 13). He concluded that the best test of servant leadership is: ‘Do those being

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 148

10/19/2012 4:32:15 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

149

served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?’ (p. 13). Moreover, he asked: ‘What is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?’ (p. 14). The central dynamic of servant leadership is nurturing those within an organization. Accordingly, crucial skills that the servant leader needs to develop include: appreciating the personal requirements of those within the organization; healing wounds caused by conflict; being a steward of the organization’s resources; developing the skills of those within the organization; and, being an effective listener (Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2006). In this way the servant leader empowers members of the organization. Sergiovanni (1992) noted that the school principal, as servant leader, is well placed to empower members of the school community through a common vision based on a ‘shared value system for living together (that) forms the basis of decisions and actions’ (p. 73). People are encouraged to do what makes sense as long as decisions embody the values shared by the school community. The emphasis shifts from what is simply needed for the school to function to one’s responsibility to the school community (Sergiovanni, 1992). As with transformational and instructional models of leadership, servant leadership presents a more collegial understanding of leadership where the principal inspires and promotes leadership in all members of the school community. Moreover, teachers, having been empowered as servant leaders, are ideally suited to exercise servant leadership in their own interactions with colleagues and with the students under their care. Servant leadership is a particularly meaningful model of leadership for religious schools in the Christian tradition. The notion of servant leadership is well grounded in the Gospel tradition. All four Gospels recount occasions when Jesus clearly challenged the authoritarian understanding of leadership (Lavery, 2009). In Mark’s Gospel, for example, following the disciples’ request for positions of honour, Jesus states, ‘Anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all’ (Mk 10.43–44). Similarly, Matthew notes that when Jesus criticizes acts of hypocrisy and vanity, he tells his disciples: ‘The greatest among you must be your servant’ (Mt. 23.11). During the Passover meal

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 149

10/19/2012 4:32:15 PM

150

Leadership and Religious Schools

Luke records that Jesus admonishes his disciples for arguing over who is the greatest with the words: ‘The greatest among you must behave as if he were the youngest, the leader as if he were the one who serves’ (Lk. 22.26). John’s Gospel has Jesus wash the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper and then state: ‘If I, the Lord and Master, have washed our feet, you should wash each other’s feet’ (Jn 13.14). It is not surprising that various commentators (Adair, 2001; Edwards, 1989; Nuzzi, 2000) argued that the most distinctive aspect of Jesus’s teaching on leadership is his emphasis that a leader is essentially a servant. In addition, there is an important symbolic meaning attached to the concept of leadership as service (Duignan, 2008). For example, when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples at the Last Supper, he was making a profound and meaningful gesture about how people should treat each other in community. He was not simply implying that his disciples should copy what he had done. Rather, he provided them with a broader framework of action and interaction ‘based on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual and also on the need for the collective to behave as a community of love’ (Duignan, 2008, p. 243). As a servant leader, Jesus was driven by love and clearly demonstrated that leadership is above all relational (Duignan, 2008; Edwards, 1989). For some, servant leadership might appear a weak approach to leadership. Consider, however, that it takes substantial confidence in one’s leadership skills to know how to empower others to assume leadership responsibilities. It takes commitment to place the interests of the organization above one’s own. It takes personal strength to repeatedly seek out and remove barriers to the optimal performance of others (Culver, 2009). Indeed, as Culver observed, ‘The weakest form of leadership can be that which relies solely on power brokerage’ (p. 123). At best, she deemed that the wielding of power results in compliance; at worst it leads to deep resentment ‘and all the dysfunction that results from that’ (p. 123). Servant leadership is not usually included as a comprehensive theory of leadership as are some other theories such as transformational, transactional or instructional leadership (Marzano, Waters & McNulty, 2006). However, the notion of servant leadership does provide an attractive mind-set as to why one would wish to be a leader, as well as an underlying set of principles as to ways one would exercise leadership, particularly for teachers. One practical way of

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 150

10/19/2012 4:32:16 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

151

exploring this form of leadership entails participation in community outreach, in particular, a service-learning programme.

Service learning Definitions of service learning vary considerably among those who embrace it. However, at its core, service learning is a method ‘under which students learn through active participation in meaningful, organised community service’ (Stafford, Boyd & Lindner, 2003, p. 10). The learning process is drawn from lessons of experience in performing the service work. Most service falls into the categories of welfare, empowerment and advocacy, and can include community involvement in such areas as AIDS education, the elderly, the environment, animal protection, poverty, immigrants, literacy, special needs and disabilities and social change (Kaye, 2010). As a teaching pedagogy, service learning is used in primary and secondary schools, and in universities, to enhance traditional modes of learning. From the perspective of those performing the service, there are three basic components to effective service learning: (1) there must be efficient preparation, which includes setting objectives for skills learned or issues to be considered; (2) students need to be mentored while performing the service; and (3), student experiences should be analysed through a process of reflection and debriefing (Lavery & Richards, 2006). There is also the important component of reciprocity between those serving and the person or group being served. In particular, those being served must control the service provided and define what the service tasks will entail. It is critical that the needs and dignity of those being served be respected at all times (Jacoby, 1996). Within religious schools and universities of a Christian tradition, service learning places experiential learning and service-learning methodologies in the context of the Gospel. There are three central elements to the notion of ‘Christian’ service learning. First, the concept of Christian signifies that the Gospel informs the service learning. Students interact and serve others with compassion as Jesus commanded: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 151

10/19/2012 4:32:16 PM

152

Leadership and Religious Schools

welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me’ (Mt. 25.35–36). Second, the term ‘service’ implies that students are actively engaged in outreach to the community. Third, learning is drawn from lessons of experience in performing the service work through a practice of guided reflection for students (Lavery, 2007). Such guided reflection may well include opportunities for prayer (Lavery & Hackett, 2008). Christian service learning, therefore, provides students with the opportunity ‘to develop and learn through thoughtfully organised service that: (a) is based on the Gospel imperative; (b) meets the real needs of the community; and (c) includes structured time for students to reflect on the service experience’ (Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia, 2006, p. 2).

Service learning and teacher leadership development A key tenet of service learning is that students have leadership roles as part of their organized service experiences (Cipolle, 2010). Broadly speaking, participation in service learning can enhance leadership development in two ways. First, service learning programmes provide opportunities to develop specific skills of leadership where students take initiative, solve problems, work as a team and demonstrate their abilities through helping others (Kaye, 2010). Second, service-learning experiences encourage active citizenship, participation in the community and civic responsibility (Gilding & Wallace, 2003). In particular, students can learn how to sensitively meet the needs of those whom they serve. This attribute is especially relevant for servant leaders who think ‘needs’ (Greenleaf, 1977). That is, leaders have the greatest positive impact when they respond to people’s basic human requirements (Sofield & Kuhn, 1995). If one holds that servant leadership is a key motivator informing the way teacher leaders operate, then the earlier the teachers are explicitly exposed to this form of leadership the better the skills they acquire. Service-learning units that form part of a tertiary teaching qualification offer pre-service teachers the opportunity to exercise leadership skills and develop a strong sense of empathy

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 152

10/19/2012 4:32:16 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

153

and civic responsibility. The Christian service-learning unit conducted in the School of Education at a university in Western Australia, provides one such example.

A Christian service-learning unit Through Christian service learning, students learn the theory underpinning social justice, and, at the same time, engage with the local community in actual, practical service activities. A series of lectures and workshops provide a theoretical understanding of social justice. Topics include: Catholic teaching on social justice; Poverty; Third World debt; Ecology; Theology of liberation; Indigenous Australians; and Refugees. These topics are explored in such a way as to provide a Christian context for the service. As part of the unit, pre-service teachers complete 12 hours of service. While they are provided with guidelines as to what is an appropriate placement, pre-service teachers are responsible for deciding where they will undertake their service learning. Placements undertaken include: learning support centres (both primary and secondary), care for the aged, the homeless, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, drug rehabilitation, refugees, dementia patients, people in prison, pregnancy support, horse riding for the disabled, Oxfam Community Aid, St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, soup vans and the Cancer Council. Specific time is allocated in the unit to prepare students for their 12 hours of service (Week 1), to monitor student progress (Weeks 4 and 6) and to analyse the experiences of the service (Week 9). Monitoring involves group discussion, where students share key experiences, successes and challenges. By way of analysis, students present a verbal presentation of their Christian service learning in the final workshop of the unit and submit a detailed journal. The unit is founded on the notion of integrating personal values and beliefs with volunteering by providing students with the opportunity to consider and contribute to the common good as espoused by the Gospel. Moreover, students are challenged through experiential learning and structured reflection to think critically on themselves, and on society (Freire, 1974). The theological concept

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 153

10/19/2012 4:32:16 PM

154

Leadership and Religious Schools

of metanoia, which means a ‘change of heart’ (Treston, 1994), underpins the unit. The unit thus aims to develop a culture of serving others, preparing young people for service leadership and promoting Christian values by attending to specific needs of the community, especially those of the underprivileged.

Methodology Two forms of data collection were used to explore ways leadership development is fostered in pre-service teachers undertaking the social justice Christian service-learning unit in the School of Education. The first involved an appraisal of experiences and reflections derived from description and analysis contained in student journals from 2004 to 2011, which the author read. The second entailed a review of placement supervisors’ written evaluations of pre-service teachers as they completed their Christian service learning during this time. In their journals, pre-service teachers were encouraged to reflect on both positive and negative elements of their service experience, what they were discovering about society and what they were learning about themselves. Pre-service teachers were asked to consider how they had been influenced, challenged and stimulated by their experiences. Experiences and reflections on service undertaken were categorized under the frameworks of: The nature of Christian service learning, social awareness and transformation (‘change of heart’). Both oral and written permission was obtained from students to use material contained in the journals. Anonymity of participants was guaranteed by the use of pseudonyms. An important component of this Christian service-learning unit involves placement supervisors submitting an evaluation of their students’ performance. This evaluation confirms that the student has completed the requisite hours and allows supervisors the opportunity to comment on how effectively the pre-service teacher has undertaken the service. Evaluation takes the form of a School of Education document in which placement supervisors grade students in a range of categories using a four-point scale: Excellent, Very Good, Good and Fair. Categories include: punctuality and general behaviour, cooperation

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 154

10/19/2012 4:32:16 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

155

and willingness, level of engagement with clients, level of engagement with staff, ability to comprehend instructions, acceptance of criticism, standard of work, initiative/ability to work unsupervised and ability to deal with difficult situations. Placement supervisors are also invited to make comments where applicable. These grades and comments constitute the second form of data for the study.

The nature of Christian service learning Comments by pre-service teachers make it clear that Christian service can be challenging, requires a certain personal sacrifice and can often lead to the pre-service teacher discovering some hard truths. That is, Christian service learning is not some simple ‘feel-good’ experience. Examples include: ‘I think the most significant experience to come from my placement would be a realisation of my own selfishness’; ‘many of the stories I heard tonight were sad and desperate, often the same women returning on an endless cycle of dependence on men, drugs and refuges’; ‘today my heart broke . . . all these young people could talk about was when they were going to get their drugs and alcohol. One young girl told me who she was going to have sex with that night; it was a security guard from one of the local shopping malls.’ Such comments highlight the apparent paradox of Christian service learning: the misunderstanding that hard or difficult experiences are bad, and hence inappropriate for students. The very opposite is, in fact true, as illustrated in the following extract: After having spent a relatively short time working with children who have special needs, my experience has certainly forced me to take a long hard look at my own life and the values I consider to be important . . . My placement experience has highlighted who and what are really important in life. Our secular and materialistic society portrays (especially through the media) wealth, sex and fame as the ultimate goals to be sought in life. The last few weeks have confirmed beyond doubt that it is people of all shapes and sizes, the communities we live in, and the people that we work and interact with, who are the real treasures in our midst.

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 155

10/19/2012 4:32:17 PM

156

Leadership and Religious Schools

Intrinsic to Christian service learning is the opportunity to grow by processing such challenging experiences. It would be incorrect, however, to think that Christian service-learning experiences generate only critical or negative responses. On the contrary, preservice teachers often derived much optimism from their experiences: ‘My community service engagement was one of the most rewarding and beneficial tasks I have had to complete through my course so far’; ‘I have enjoyed it . . . I have learnt that some people so selflessly devote themselves to other people, and this gives me faith in society’; ‘I admire these [blind] people incredibly, I believe they would have to be extremely brave and very trusting of the people around them to deal with everyday life’; ‘Overall, I have had a fantastic time volunteering on this mini-camp.’

Social awareness Without deep reflection, Christian service learning equates to volunteerism (Lavery & Richards, 2006). The unit requires pre-service teachers, both in their journal writing and in discussion, to engage in social analysis by critically reflecting on their service-learning experiences. Two prominent themes emerge from student reflections: frustration at a system, which either discriminates against or ignores people in need, and a realization of the dangers of stereotyping. Frustration at what pre-service teachers see as unjust structures and behaviour is a common reaction. Examples include: ‘Government economic rationalism dominates the way health issues are addressed in the media and/or promoted in Australia’; ‘One thing continues to confront me, and that is the prejudice and ignorance that exists in society’; ‘I think ignorance underpins the concept of the disabled as “them”’. One pre-service teacher, assigned to help a Year 10 student who had recently missed considerable schooling due to emotional problems, remarked, ‘I was appalled at how her teachers did not seem to be particularly concerned with helping her to catch up or even include her in class or group work.’ Another pre-service teacher raised the following questions after spending time with the elderly: ‘When

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 156

10/19/2012 4:32:17 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

157

will society get the priorities right? How can we sit by and let these people feel alone and unimportant when they hold the key to our past? Why is so little value placed on getting old in Western culture?’ Pre-service teachers also commented on the dangers of typecasting. Three examples serve to illustrate the point. The first is from a pre-service teacher who worked with refugees: It is now clear to me that stereotyping and pre-judgments only serve to break down communities and to separate people. It is important to remember that despite age, sex, race and culture, we are all human beings; we are all the children of God, and therefore should treat each other as brothers and sisters.

A second example involves a pre-service teacher who reflected that her service learning had made her aware of her critical and judgmental nature: ‘[T]his service-learning component has been a major learning curve for me. It has taught me that I don’t have a right to judge and categorise someone who I don’t even know.’ As she further remarked: ‘We do not know people’s backgrounds and life story. Therefore, we do not have the right to label and judge people.’ The third example derives from experiences of working with a soup van. The pre-service teacher noted the ‘impossibility’ of fitting particular people ‘into the mould of the needy’. As he remarked: ‘Not every Indigenous Australian I saw on the street was in need of soup; not every middle aged white Australian in a suit was not in need of soup.’

Transformation As well as engaging in social analysis, pre-service teachers undertaking the Christian service-learning unit are challenged to reflect personally on their experiences. The underlying question is: To what extent does community engagement based on the Gospel have a transformative influence on the individual? Student comments suggest a strong transformative effect. Key themes among student responses are the notions of service, personal development and a sense of compassion.

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 157

10/19/2012 4:32:17 PM

158

Leadership and Religious Schools

Where social analysis asks what can governments and people in authority do to address social ills, transformation invites the question: What can I do? One student explains: It is my responsibility to act where I see injustice, to educate about the effects of racism, exclusion, and marginalisation. It is my responsibility to take care of the environment, to live in a non-violent way, to be involved in and to involve others in issues which threaten social justice. It is my responsibility to stir myself from my comfort zone and ensure against complacency. It is my responsibility to care.

This sense of service was reflected in many pre-service teachers’ desire to persist with their community service even after the unit finished: ‘I’m going to continue to work at St. Pat’s for as long as my Unit timetable permits, as it’s such a worthwhile and useful centre that helps so many different people in restoring their self-confidence and dignity’; ‘I learnt that I definitely want to make room in my life for some sort of volunteer work’; ‘This experience has encouraged me to take an active part in the community, to step out of my comfort zone and not be complacent’; ‘I will continue my involvement in this volunteer program and at the same time, seek to expand the realm of my education by participating in other forms of volunteer work.’ Pre-service teachers remarked on how involvement in Christian service learning enhanced their personal skills and development. One pre-service teacher, who spent time with the elderly, noted: ‘Even though there have been some unnerving experiences, overall I feel I have developed better communication skills and motivation in life.’ Another, who helped children with Down syndrome, wrote: ‘I found the placement experience invaluable to me as a person, father and as a member of society.’ A third example comes from a pre-service teacher who worked with children from disadvantaged backgrounds: ‘I feel that what I am taking away from this experience goes beyond a simplistic notion of empathy. I am now better equipped to try and understand children from such backgrounds. I hope that the skills I have learnt in working with challenging students will help me in my future career as a secondary schoolteacher.’ A strong factor in student responses was the sense of compassion and concern for those with whom they interacted. One pre-service teacher, who

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 158

10/19/2012 4:32:17 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

159

worked with prison inmates in the community re-entry program, commented on how these men’s freedoms were restricted and their lives ‘formatted by prison regulations’. She noted that ‘so many of the men in re-entry training today are being detained for their second or third time’. She went on to state: ‘This is not life; however, for some of them it is a way of life.’ Another preservice teacher, who took on the responsibility of mentoring a secondary student ‘at risk’ remarked: She was totally mesmerised by the painting, moving in for a closer look. She remained glued to the painting for quite some time completely in awe of it . . . This particular moment will stay with me for a very long time. To be honest, it was an absolute privilege to be there as she experienced that sort of enlightenment. It was almost as if someone had turned on a light for her and the whole room lit up. It had given her an appetite for something she had never tasted before. It was an amazing experience for both of us and enlightened me on how much I take for granted. I go to the art gallery all the time and having always been surrounded by art it never occurred to me that not everyone has these opportunities.

A third example derives from a pre-service teacher working with the St Vincent de Paul Society. He described a ‘counselling session’ with a young mother whose partner had deserted her: ‘Her three children are all under seven years of age, she doesn’t have a job, and she is trying to manage on a sole parent’s allowance.’ He commented on ‘the timidity in her face and quiet voice’, the fact that she was clearly ‘embarrassed to be back asking for help’ and the anger he felt that her partner ‘had up and left her in this situation’. After arranging financial and logistic support, he noted: ‘If only we could have done more!’

Supervisors’ comments: Leadership attitudes Placement supervisors are asked to grade students in a range of categories and are invited to make comments where applicable. Their comments have been consistently positive over the eight years that the unit has run. The vast majority of pre-service teachers have been graded highly (Excellent or Very Good) in the areas of behaviour, the standard of work, level of engagement with clients and staff as well as their ability to comprehend instructions, accept criticism,

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 159

10/19/2012 4:32:17 PM

160

Leadership and Religious Schools

show initiative and deal with difficult situations. These characteristics, the author would argue, are all highly desirable in a leader. Perhaps more instructive are the many favourable comments recorded by supervisors, especially given that the pre-service teachers are not volunteers of whom one might expect such qualities, but were all required to take a compulsory unit. Examples include: ‘very professional’; ‘was a pleasure to work with’; ‘showed empathy and worked extremely well with our clientele’; ‘shows excellent skills in all areas of this clinic’; ‘keen to understand the individual needs of each client she supported’; ‘her approach towards the students has been outstanding’; ‘has carried out her duties with diligence and enthusiasm’; ‘quickly developed a lovely rapport with all residents and staff ’; ‘what a treasure, really helpful, looked for things to do without instruction’; ‘he is really generous.’ It was not unusual for supervisors to indicate that they would welcome the pre-service teachers back ‘anytime’. Some have been offered paid employment: ‘If “Jess” was looking for a job I would be silly not to employ her!’ Such remarks indicate a high level of engagement, a preparedness to cooperate, and a willingness to contribute. Many of the supervisors’ comments also highlighted specific leadership qualities of the pre-service teachers. Such qualities include: taking initiative, being responsible, reliable, good communicator, positive, genuinely interested and adaptable. For example: ‘has shown excellent initiative in dealing with both patients and staff ’; ‘has implemented a pilot project with students at risk . . . has developed a strong rapport with a number of students, and this has had a strong positive influence on the students’ selfconfidence’; ‘professional, responsible, enthusiastic approach to working with community groups’; ‘has demonstrated great commitment in solving problems with our clients’; ‘has developed a rapport with some behaviourally challenged students, and, in turn, taught them to value education’; ‘he is an excellent role model and mentor for youth.’ On occasion supervisors commented on the pre-service teachers’ suitability for the profession: ‘I believe “Amy” will be an invaluable member of the teaching profession . . . she has a energetic approach to teaching, and overall, is generally a very lovely and co-operative person.’

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 160

10/19/2012 4:32:17 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

161

Conclusion The nature of teaching demands that teachers exercise leadership on a daily basis. What form this leadership takes, and how teachers are prepared for their leadership responsibilities, are obviously important educational considerations for those who lead schools. The teacher-leadership model that is proposed in this chapter blends organizational competence, collegiality and a vision of teaching and learning that is relational in disposition. It is a servant leadership grounded in an understanding of service and consideration for others. For religious schools in the Christian tradition, such a model is firmly rooted in the spirit of Gospel leadership as exhibited in the words and actions of Jesus. One practical way of developing and encouraging this style of leadership in teacher leaders is by active involvement in service-learning activities as part of their initial teacher formation. Many of the responses of pre-service teachers undertaking the Christian service-learning unit described in this chapter indicate that service learning not only allows pre-service teachers the opportunity to contribute to society in a meaningful way, it also enables them to gain valuable leadership experience. Moreover, the comments and evaluations of service placement supervisors illustrate the type of leadership skills pre-service teachers can acquire. As a final reflection, this study proffers three implications for ‘formal’ leaders in religious schools. First, given the significant function of service learning in the leadership formation of pre-service teachers, formal school leaders should be in regular dialogue with tertiary institutions to ensure that pre-service teachers have the opportunity to undertake service-learning classes. Second, consideration needs to be given to the possible role of service learning in the professional development of school staff. The author has prepared both Catholic primary and secondary school staff to participate in a day of service learning. Anecdotal evidence suggests that such days are highly beneficial, particularly in terms of individual initiative and responsibility as well as overall staff morale. Third, there is the potential for a Christian servicelearning programme to impact on the leadership development of school children. Preliminary research (Hackett & Lavery, 2011) into the attitudes and

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 161

10/19/2012 4:32:17 PM

162

Leadership and Religious Schools

actions of secondary school students indicates that such students can respond most positively to the opportunity to lead through acts of service.

References Adair, J. (2001). The leadership of Jesus and its legacy today. Norwich: Canterbury Press. Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia. (2006). Christian service learning framework for Catholic schools. Guidelines developed by the religious education and curriculum standing committee for the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia. Perth: Catholic Education Office of Western Australia. Cipolle, S. (2010). Service-learning and social justice: Engaging students in social change. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Education, Inc. Crowther, F., Ferguson, M. & Hann, L. (2009). Developing teacher leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Culver, M. (2009). Applying servant leadership in today’s schools (2nd edn). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education. Dubrin, A. & Dalgish, C. (2003). Leadership: An Australian focus. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons, Australia Ltd. Duignan, P. (2006). Educational leadership: Key challenges and ethical tensions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. —. (2008). Building leadership capacity in Catholic school communities: Is ‘distributed leadership’ really the answer? In A. Benjamin & D. Riley (Eds), Catholic schools hope in uncertain times (pp. 234–47). Mulgrave, VIC: John Garrett Publishing. Edwards, D. (1989). Called to be Church in Australia. Homebush: St Paul’s. Freire, P. (1974). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Education. Gilding, N. & Wallace, M. (2003). Youth development, service learning and schooling. Retrieved on 10 April 2009 from www.thesource.gov.au/ausyouth. Greenleaf, R. (1977). Servant leadership. New York: Paulist Press. Hackett, C. & Lavery, S. (2011). Student ministry: Youth ‘step up’ to lead and serve. Journal of Catholic School Studies, 83(1), 54–62. Hargreaves, A. & Fink, D. (2006). Sustainable leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 162

10/19/2012 4:32:18 PM

Learning to Lead through Service

163

Jacoby, B. (1996). Service-learning in today’s higher education. In B. Jacoby and Associates. Service learning in higher education (pp. 3–25). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publications. Kaye, C. (2010). A complete guide to service learning (2nd edn). Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc. Lavery, S. (2007). Christian service learning: Does it make a difference? Journal of Religious Education, 55(1), 50–3. —. (2009). Religious educators: Promoting servant leadership. Religious Education Journal of Australia, 25(1), 31–6. —. (Spring, 2011). Transactional, transformative and a servant! Principal Matters, 28–31. Lavery, S. & Hackett, C. (2008). Christian service learning in Catholic schools. Journal of Religious Education, 56(3), 18–24. Lavery, S. & Richards, J. (Autumn, 2006). Service-learning: More than just volunteering. Principal Matters, 17–8. Marzano, R., Waters, T. & McNulty, B. (2006). School leadership that works: From research to results. Heatherton, VIC: Hawker Brownlow Education. Neidhart, H. & Carlin, P. (2011). Strengthening religious identity in Christian schools. Religious Education Journal of Australia, 27(1), 23–9. Nuzzi, R. (2000). To lead as Jesus led. In T. Hunt, T. Oldenski & T. Wallace (Eds), Catholic school leadership: An invitation to lead (pp. 259–69). London: Falmer Press. Osula, B. & Ideboen, R. (2010). 10 winning strategies for leaders in the classroom: A transformational process. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Sergiovanni, T. (1992). Moral leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Sergiovanni, T. & Starratt, R. (1993). Supervision: A redefinition. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Sofield, L. & Kuhn, D. (1995). The collaborative leader. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. Stafford, J., Boyd, B. & Lindner, J. (2003). The effects of service learning of leadership life skills of 4-H members. Journal of Agricultural Education, 44(1), 10–21. Treston, K. (1994). Following the heart reflections on Christian leadership. Brisbane: Creation Enterprises. Tuohy, D. (1999). The inner world of teaching: Exploring assumptions which promote change and development. London: Falmer Press. Zammit, K., Sinclair, C., Cole, B., Singh, M., Costley, D., Brown a’Court, L. & Rushtor, K. (2007). Teaching and leading for quality Australian schools. NSW: Teaching Australia.

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 163

10/19/2012 4:32:18 PM

9781441172976_Ch09_Final_txt_print.indd 164

10/19/2012 4:32:18 PM

10

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age Kath Engebretson

To say that the phenomenon of secularization poses a particular challenge to religiously affiliated schools is to state the obvious. In this chapter two ways are outlined in which educators in religious schools may accommodate secularization while being faithful to their project of providing religionspecific education and opportunities for religious socialization to their children and young people. First, an inculturation-accommodation model is proposed and analysed using an example from Catholic missionary history. Later in the chapter, Hunter’s (2010) arguments against direct evangelization and his proposal of the theology of faithful presence are examined. The links between the two approaches and their implications for the religious education and socialization of young people are spelled out, before some practical conclusions are drawn. Above all, the task of this chapter must proceed on an agreed theory of secularization, and I have selected Charles Taylor’s (1991, 1999, 2007) analysis of the phenomenon as the chapter’s foundation, since it is the only theory of secularization that admits to what many educators intuitively know, that secularization is ultimately a spiritual, moral and religious phenomenon.

Taylor’s stages one and two: The separation of church and state and the decline of religion Taylor sees secularization not as the decline and gradual death of religion, but rather as the result of privatization of religion and the rise of other spheres for considering what is good and true. His argument is that secularization

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 165

10/19/2012 6:02:31 PM

166

Leadership and Religious Schools

is actually a moral and spiritual movement, and that it began to develop when people realized that they could be moral, even spiritual, without belief in God (Taylor, 1999). This, he argues, began with the separation of the church and the state that was a legacy of the Reformation. For those who followed the Reformists, the Reformation did away with the principle that there was a sharp distinction between the sacred and the profane, between the holy and the ‘world’ which formerly had been seen as the locus of temptation and evil. It questioned the belief that only in rejecting the world was God’s gift of redemption achieved. It denied that redemption was only mediated in certain places (churches), times (feasts) and rituals (Taylor, 1999). Kings and priests were no longer seen as essential mediators between the sacred and the profane. In contrast, a key teaching of the Reformists was that redemption could be achieved by faith alone, and they rejected the notion of a mediating class between people and God (de Leon & van Leeuwen, 2003). The Reformation set in motion the key ideas of modernity (approximately dated from the 1500s to the middle or late twentieth century). The ideas around which modernity settled were the metanarratives of reason, optimism, universality and objectivism. In particular, reason and science were the narratives through which modernity claimed the world could be understood. Reason was considered the greatest of the human faculties, and it was considered that by reason alone life could be understood and superstition eradicated. While in the ‘age of belief ’ (de Leon & van Leeuwen, 2003, p. 79) God and God’s divine law were considered to be the sources of morality, scientism and its methodological relation – positivism – gradually developed, reaching prominence in the early nineteenth century. Under the influence of this rational narrative, people became less willing to believe ideas for which there was no empirical evidence. Science was deemed to have unique access to the truth, and it rejected metaphysical and religious ways of thinking. In scientism and its positivist methodology logical and mathematical ways of gaining knowledge were considered to be the only worthwhile ones, and intuitive, introspective ways of seeking knowledge were rejected (Taylor, 1999).

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 166

10/19/2012 6:02:31 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

167

Taylor’s stage three: The search for the authentic self As a result of the influence of rational narrative, during modernity a new emphasis on the self as the agent of reason and action arose. The purpose of life became one of self understanding, personal fulfilment, happiness and a search for how to be true to oneself. Taylor has referred to this as ‘ethics of authenticity’ (1991). The search for authenticity introduced a new kind of individualism that had deep implications for the individual’s relationship with organized religion, indeed with any external agency which sought to limit the self. New kinds of religion and spirituality arose as did the number of people declaring themselves to be atheistic or agnostic. Much more than this, however, there was an affirmation of ordinary human life, which put the ‘centre of gravity of goodness in ordinary living, production and the family’ (Taylor, 1999, p. 22). With the churches no longer the sole arbiters of goodness, the human community itself arose as the locus for decisions about good and evil. Thus, Taylor points out, modern liberal political culture is characterized by an affirmation of universal human rights – to life, freedom, citizenship, self-realization – which are unconditional and available to all. These rights, he claims, could not have come about except for the distancing from institutional Christianity. ‘This culture has flourished where the casing of Christendom has been broken open and where no other single philosophy has taken its place, but the public sphere has remained the locus of competing ultimate visions’ (Taylor, 1999, p. 18). For Taylor, the self-seeking authenticity is a positive aspect of secular culture. It leads individuals to seek authentic ways of being human and to search for what is right for them in every sphere of human life, including religion and spirituality. As Taylor says: ‘The religious life or practice that I become part of must not only be my choice, but it must speak to me, it must make sense in terms of my spiritual development as I understand it’ (Taylor, 2007, p. 486). Even for today’s young people who have been raised in a religious tradition, there are many options for expression of religion and spirituality, including the option of being indifferent to them. Therefore Taylor proposes that secularization has three stages: (1) the separation of church and state;

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 167

10/19/2012 6:02:31 PM

168

Leadership and Religious Schools

(2) a decline in formal religious belief and practice; and (3) changes in the ways in which people choose to be spiritual and/or religious, changes that are particularly related to a search for authenticity. Berger (1999) also points to the pervasive religiosity of the so-called secular Western world, particularly noting the rise of conservative religion in the Catholic and Protestant traditions and the attraction of Pentecostal Churches. The world, Berger claims, is more religious than ever.

Secularization and young people who attend religiously affiliated schools How can Taylor’s stages of secularization help educators in religiously affiliated schools understand the culture of the young people they teach? An illustration of the decline in religiosity among younger Australian Catholics, a trend in most Western countries (Collins, 1999; Hoge, Dinges, Johnson & Gonzales, 2001; Mason, Singleton & Webber, 2007), can be found in the steady downward spiral of church attendance among younger generations. In the 0–24 age group, there were 235,000 thousand people attending Mass. By 2006, the number of attendees in the same age group had declined to 158,824 (Dixon, Kunciunas & Reid, 2008). There are now many studies that have examined the spirituality of young people in Western cultures, and they are alike in their finding that for most young people meaning in life is not to be found in belief in the transcendent, but in relationships with family and friends and with themselves (Collins, 1999). Studying the religious and spiritual lives of US teenagers, Smith and Denton (2005) labelled the ‘spirituality’ of these teenagers as moral therapeutic deism, a vague belief in a Supreme Being with a generalized ethic of goodness and fairness to others. The goal of life is personal happiness. The individualism which comes from this means that all choices are relative, and all choices are deemed to be good if they are what the individual wants. Indeed, in a certain genre of writing about this topic almost anything passes for spirituality, as the following extract from a much cited Australian writer illustrates: Spirituality, if grounded in reality and affirmative of life, can arise through our connectedness with others, society, nature and existence. This connectedness

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 168

10/19/2012 6:02:31 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

169

can restore flow and meaning to lives, make us feel part of a whole, enrich us by restoring faith in our community, connect us to ancestry and family life, ground us in our particular place, and alleviate the pain of being isolated, lonely and apart. (Tacey, 2010)

Tacey’s writing is typical of the genre of writing about ‘spirituality’ that effectively debars any analytical or philosophical deconstruction of the phenomenon since spirituality, according to this genre, cannot be analysed, and must be defined only in very broad terms. Carr (1996) has referred to this kind of spiritual language as ‘hardly more than a pious way of exalting or celebrating certain familiar aspects of human experience or endeavour – aspects of life moreover which may be entirely explicable in rational terms’ (p. 161). Without digressing too far into this argument, it is the consensus of researchers that the ‘spirituality’ of today’s young people is mostly not one that admits to the possibility of, or even seeks a relationship with, the transcendent. Yet this most fundamental proposition is at the heart of all of the great religions of the world.

The project of the religiously affiliated school: Religious education and religious socialization The secularization that has allowed the culture of rights to flourish and provided the freedom that nourishes the growth of many and varied religious and spiritual movements has brought about a concern for human flourishing across the world. In Australia, where 64 per cent of the population claim to be Christian but only 16 per cent attend Christian churches (Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2008), it is clear that the majority of those who call for a more humane policy on refugees, those who are vocal in their support of the needy, those who are first to offer help when families lose their homes and livelihoods to flood and fire are most often people who are not churchgoers. Indeed, the Australian values statement which is signed by all applicants for provisional, permanent and a small number of temporary visas expresses a number of values that the main religions also claim: Australian society values respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual, freedom of religion, commitment to the rule of law, Parliamentary

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 169

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

170

Leadership and Religious Schools

democracy, equality of men and women and a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces mutual respect, tolerance, fair play and compassion for those in need and pursuit of the public good. (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2011, p. 1)

In the great project to support human flourishing and equality, the voices of religions are voices among many. Yet this same secular age has given us the Holocaust and the nuclear bomb, as well as ‘inequality in the distribution of the goods of the earth, growing poverty, the more threatening impoverishment and exhaustion of the earth and its resources, hunger, sicknesses that threaten the whole world and the clash of cultures’ (Ratzinger, 2005, p. 1). In addition the culture of rights can sway all too easily towards protecting the rights of the individual against those of the group. The balancing of these two sets of rights has been referred to as a key task of the postmodern age by the Canadian Michael Ignatieff (2000). The rights revolution, he argued, must have a double aspect – enhancing our right to be equal, and protecting our right to be different. In the maelstrom of secular culture – with its many aspects that are good and true and its equally many that deny natural justice – is the religiously affiliated school, charged with the key task of educating young people about their own religion and the socializing them into that religion. In this they are entirely supported by the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights (United Nations, 1948) which declares that religions have a right to socialize their young people through education. The declaration upholds the rights of a religious group to express its identity and to communicate this identity in an unambiguous way to young people (See also Congregation for Catholic Education, 2009). How are religiously affiliated schools to both educate their young people about their own religion and attempt to socialie them into this religion when these very young people have secularization (in the three stages outlined by Taylor) embedded in their conscious and unconscious identity? This is the methodological issue to be explored in the rest of the chapter.

Inculturation: Matteo Ricci and China It may seem odd to tell the story of an Italian Jesuit in China in the sixteenth century as a model of religious education for Western secularized young people.

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 170

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

171

However, Ricci’s accommodation of Chinese culture into his teaching about Christianity helps educators to think about inculturation and accommodation between secular culture and religion as a way forward for religiously affiliated schools (Taylor, 1999). His accommodation method was a deliberate linking of aspects of Confucian culture with Christianity: Ricci is referred to by some Chinese historians as ‘the wise man from the west’. His knowledge of astronomy, mathematics and geometry gave him authority as well as opportunity for his evangelism. With integrity, humility and respect, his missionary goal was to link Confucian culture with Roman Catholicism; he developed an intensive knowledge of Chinese culture and recognized its positive value for Christianity. (Chung, 2010, p. 81)

The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) had been founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540 at the height of Catholic reform after the Reformation, and the society was eager to spread Christianity to China and India. Ricci arrived in China in 1583 and remained there until he died in 1610 (Chung, 2010). He had been very influenced by his novice master and mentor, Allessandro Valignano, who convinced his students of the ‘sweet and gentle’ way of missionary work, breaking from the tabular rasa style of mission that aided and abetted colonialism and brought foreign culture as well as foreign religion to lands where great religions and popular religion had flourished for generations (Chung, 2010). Arriving in the southern Chinese town of Zhaoqing in 1583, Ricci first became fluent in the Chinese language. A skilled linguist, in 1591, he began to translate the four books of Confucianism into Latin (Chung, 2010). In China there were three main religions, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. At first Ricci adopted the dress and lifestyle of a Buddhist monk, seeing parallels between Buddhism and Christianity in the Buddhist monks’ robes, chanting, their choice of celibacy and poverty, their temples, statues and some of their painted images (Chung, 2010). He wore the robes of a Buddhist monk and shaved his head and beard, becoming Chinese, he hoped, in order to win China for Christ. Several years later, however, Ricci and his companions realized that in China, unlike in Japan, Buddhist monks belonged to a lower social class. His lifestyle as a Buddhist monk, he realized, would do

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 171

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

172

Leadership and Religious Schools

little to commend him to the higher classes who were those most studious and conversant with religion. According to Chung: The highest class was occupied with religion, the people of the second rank were involved in judging temporal affairs, and the lowest rank was devoted to arms. They all believed in the five relationships (father–son, ruler–subject, husband–wife, elder–younger siblings, and friends). (Chung, 2010, p. 81)

In 1595, Ricci ceased to dress and live as a Buddhist monk and adopted the style of dress worn by the Chinese literati (literary intelligentsia). From that time he abandoned Buddhism and focused his efforts on accommodation between early Confucianism (rather than the neo-Confucianism that prevailed during his time in China) and Christianity. His evangelizing efforts focused on the question of whether it was possible to be both Confucian and Christian (Rule, 1968). The following analysis focuses on just two aspects of Ricci’s work, his accommodation of Confucian belief in the Lord of Heaven, and Chinese ancestral rites, with aspects of Christianity.

The Confucian Lord of Heaven and the Supreme Being of Christianity Ricci wrote: Of all the pagans who have come to the notice of Europe, I know of none who were in less error in the matter of religion than the Chinese of early antiquity. I have learned from their writings that they worshipped a supreme being, whom they called the King of Heaven or Heaven and Earth, apparently supposing that heaven and earth were animate and that, with the supreme being as soul, they made up a living body . . . The early Confucians worshipped God, who, all-powerful and all-knowing, rewards virtue and punishes sin. (Matteo Ricci, cited in Yang, 1961, p. 248)

After completing his translation of the Confucian Four Books, Ricci wrote his masterpiece, The true meaning of the Lord of Heaven. In his introduction to the book, Ricci embedded the five relationships (father–son, ruler–subject, husband–wife, elder–younger siblings and friends) and the three bonds

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 172

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

173

(king–minister, father–son, husband–wife) of Confucianism in the principle of the Supremely Honoured One, conceptualized as first Father and Creator of all (Chung, 2010). As Chung (2010) explains: Since humanity is created with the five basic virtues (humaneness, right conscience, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness) Ricci argues that the teaching of the universal Lord of Heaven refers to the Lord of heaven as the final and active cause as well as the cause of our moral and virtuous life. (Chung, 2010, p. 84)

Thus in the Lord of Heaven of the early Confucian texts, Ricci saw recognition of the Supreme Being. In his writings he emphasized the ancient Chinese religion as ‘natural religion’ that had been lost in contact with Buddhism or corrupted by atheism. His teaching of Christianity was not to destroy, but to complement this natural religion (Rule, 1968). His hermeneutic was to discover in the theism of early Chinese writings the Christian concept of God as Father and creator.

Ricci and the Chinese ancestral rites In general, in the Confucian culture of filial piety, reciprocal love and personal virtue Ricci saw a natural morality of a high order. Similarly in the cult of the ancestors he found much that complemented Christianity. The veneration of ancestors was an integral part of the Confucian tradition (Harris, 1966) and was universally carried out in all classes of Chinese society. The rituals varied from place to place but always included funeral ceremonies and ongoing sacrificial rites. Harris’s (1966) description of the rites is helpful for its details: Among the wealthy, internment frequently was postponed for months and sometimes years until an auspicious gravesite and day could be determined. Mourning varied from a few months for distant relatives, as reckoned in the patrilineal kinship system, to three years for a parent. The sacrificial rites took place before the tablets inscribed with the names of departed ancestors, which were installed on an altar in every household.. . . Cultic practice focused on direct lineal ascendants and was . . . significant for its integrating effect within the family and the close circle of kin around it . . .

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 173

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

174

Leadership and Religious Schools

Incense might be burned daily before the tablets and at regular intervals, and, on special occasions, offerings, accompanied by obeisances and prayer, were made of ‘meat, fruit, pieces of silk – or of paper in the case of the poor. (Harris, 1966, p. 111)

There were two ways of thinking about the veneration of the ancestors. Some insisted that within the rites the ancestors were worshipped as supernatural beings who could help or harm the living. With all of Chinese society participating in ancestral rites, they posed a formidable barrier to Christianity if this interpretation was taken. Rather than seeing the veneration of ancestors as a barrier to Christianity, Ricci held that the ancestor rites expressed respect and love for the dead, and that they constituted the service of the ancestor as the ancestor would have been served had he continued among the living (Harris, 1966). The ancestor cults and the values associated with them were fundamental to the culture of the Chinese and both official sanctions and group pressure meant that nonparticipation in them was unthinkable. In his characterization of the rites as functioning to knit the family and clan together and to pay respect to the ancestors, Ricci argued that continuation in the rites would not be a barrier to conversion to Christianity. Controversy over the real nature of the ancestral rites went on for over a century. During this time Emperor K’ang-hsi (1662–1722) of the Ch’ing dynasty publicly declared that the ancestor rites were commemorative and not worship. However, in Ex Quo Singulari (1742), Pope Benedict XIV forbade any further accommodation of ancestral rites. This papal policy deeply affected Christian conversions in China, and for centuries all Catholic missionary activity was banned there. In 1939 Pius XII, assured by the Chinese government that the ancestral rites were not religious, reversed the policy and permitted Chinese Catholics the veneration of ancestors and deceased family members. It was not until the Chinese communist revolution in 1949, 10 years later, that the Catholic Church would begin to flourish again in China.

Accommodation The adaptation of the external expression of religions to different cultures is referred to as accommodation (Rule, 1968). In his work of bringing

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 174

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

175

Christianity to China, Ricci accommodated much of what he saw in Chinese culture as complementing Christianity. In his presentation of Christianity, his arguments were always based on reason, he supported them from Chinese writings and he made special use of Confucianism (Rule, 1968). In other words, he immersed himself in Chinese culture, valuing it for its own sake and finding in it what could support his teaching. In the example of Matteo Ricci, a teacher in a religiously affiliated school can find ways to accommodate the good and true aspects of the secular culture in which the students are immersed, showing students the sources in their religion that teach these values, and modelling the relevance of their teaching about the religion and particularly of their witness to it. In accommodating aspects of secular culture the teacher of religion is never isolated from the culture, but holding to the distinctiveness of his/her religion seeks to understand the culture and learns to work within it ‘critically affirming and strengthening its healthy qualities and humbly criticizing and subverting its most destructive tendencies’ (Hunter, 2010, p. 275). To complement, pursue further and strengthen the inculturation image of Ricci among the Chinese, or the religious teacher among young people who are immersed in secularized culture, I will now develop Hunter’s (2010) Christian theology of ‘faithful presence within’ and apply it to the religiously affiliated school.

Theology of faithful presence within In explaining Hunter’s (2010) theology of ‘faithful presence within’ in this section, I will constantly refer to Christians as Hunter himself does, but the argument and the theology apply to all people of a religious vision. Christian biblical studies and theology have long led Christians to believe that they can, and indeed must, strive to change the world, and much of the rhetoric about the place of religion in education expresses this desire. However, world changing, Hunter claims, does not often work. Just as there have been times when the efforts of Christians have done great good, there have also been many times when their efforts, intentionally or otherwise, have led to harm.

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 175

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

176

Leadership and Religious Schools

Is ‘changing the world’ the right goal? Hunter’s argument is that the social theory that guides the religious person in the effort to change the world is flawed, because it is based on a view that culture changes when individual minds and hearts change. If enough minds and hearts are changed, the theory goes, culture will ultimately reflect Christian values and beliefs. Guided by this conviction, religious people have sought social change though direct evangelism, social action movements and often through political action. The heart of Hunter’s argument is that social change does not come about in these ways. At its deepest level, social change is effected through networks of operatives working with a common purpose at the heart of institutions which are centres of cultural production. In other words cultural change comes about through the ‘halls of power’ rather than on the social periphery where religious groups work. Furthermore, Hunter asks whether world changing is really the right goal for Christians or other people of faith, since it implies a problematic use of power and domination such as that exercised by the church in the Middle Ages, a use of power that aided and abetted corruption. Christians, he claims, wrongly conceive of power solely as political power. ‘In this’ he says ‘they mistakenly imagine that to pass a referendum, elect a candidate, pass a law, or change a policy is to change culture’ (2010, p. 275). When Christians do become political they must embrace a nihilistic culture which undermines many of the beliefs they hold dear.

How should Christians engage the world? A theology of ‘faithful presence within’ Hunter (2012) characterizes religions’ approaches to secular culture as (1) ‘defensive against’ – the position of the religious right; (2) ‘relevance to’ – the position of the religious left; and (3) ‘purity from’ – the position of radical religious groups such as the Anabaptists. These groups adopt their positions in relation to what they perceive most needs changing in the dominant culture. For the religious right it is secularization, for the religious left it is the

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 176

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

177

exploitation of people and the environment caused by capitalism and for the radical religious movements it is the violence and corruption of the market economy. Hunter argues that none of these positions is adequate to engage with the world today. Good intentions are not enough, and a strategy must be found that is different from the old models of engagement which cannot address this deeply secularized age. The strategy must be both faithful to the historic truths of faith and the call to holiness in the present, and must be adequate to the challenges of the time. Hunter offers a model of engagement which he calls ‘faithful presence within.’ To illustrate his model he quotes from the Book of Jeremiah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I Have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in Them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and Give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; Multiply there and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city Where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for In its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jer. 29:4–7: New American Standard Bible)

Jeremiah wrote the text from which this excerpt is taken from Jerusalem to the refugees in Babylon, to help them to find a way of living faithfully in exile. He did not advise them to be defensive against Babylonian religious culture, to be relevant to it or to seek purity from it, but to live within it in ways that were historically and theologically faithful to their own religious identity. He assumed that the exiles would be in Babylon for several generations. Neither nostalgia for a past that could not be recovered nor insurrection in the hope of being restored to Jerusalem was God’s plan for them. Exile was where God was at work. He advised them to settle in for the long term and to be ‘faithfully present within’ Babylon. More than this, they were to pray for their captors, the very people who had destroyed their homeland and Temple, because the welfare of the Babylonians was linked to their own welfare: The people of Israel were being called to enter the culture in which they were placed as God’s people – reflecting in their daily practices their distinct

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 177

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

178

Leadership and Religious Schools

identity as those chosen by God. He was calling them to maintain their distinctiveness as a community but in ways that served the common good. (Hunter, 2010, p. 278)

In short, a theology of faithful presence calls Christians to be faithful and distinctive in the circumstances in which God has placed them and to actively seek the human flourishing of the communities in which they live. This is a project for every Christian in all walks of life, and the ‘shalom’ (Hunter, 2010, p. 279) they enact they carry into every institution of which they are a part, and every new institution they found. They recognize that they share the world and their local communities with many traditions, communities, ideologies and religions, and that ‘faithful presence within’ implies a commitment to human flourishing in a pluralistic world.

Implications of ‘faithful presence within’ for religious educators in schools The first implication relates to language. Terms such as ‘redeeming the culture’, ‘advancing the kingdom’, ‘building the kingdom’, ‘transforming the world’, ‘reclaiming the culture’, ‘reforming the culture’ and ‘changing the world’, with their overtones of domination and power, are not useful in a pluralistic culture. A second implication is that differences among Christians and among religions must be ‘held lightly’ (Hunter, 2010, p. 280). In exile in a secularized world, differences about issues on the periphery between Christians and between Christians and other religions matter much less. A third implication is that religious educators must live in a secular culture in which they find much to affirm as well as much to critique, even to abhor. For all the good that can be embraced, especially the flowering of new approaches to spirituality and religion, there are dehumanizing and destructive trends that must be named for what they are and undermined. Among these are the facts of the preponderance of the world’s resources in the wealthiest countries, the commoditization of human beings thorough technology, dispositions that discriminate against people on racial, gender or religious grounds, materialism,

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 178

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

179

inflated individualism and the mentalities of ‘success’ that measure the worth of a person in career and financial terms rather than in terms of his/her intrinsic dignity.

Accommodation and faithful presence in the religiously affiliated school The task now is to bring all that has been considered into the world of the teacher leaders in the religiously affiliated school. Although many of them are affiliated with a religion, the psychological and social landscapes of the young people of the school are shot through both consciously and unconsciously with secularization. This means that if they have religious beliefs or practise religion, it is held by their society to be a private matter. Many of them will have disassociated themselves from their religion, and many others will never have known a religious tradition. Among these young people there will be a pervasive individualism in spirituality and religious expression and often a dominant spirituality which rejects belonging to a faith community for a personal search (often quite undefined). For many of them spirituality will be an eclectic collection of ideas from a range of religions and ideologies, and for a few others their religious beliefs will deeply define their identity. Not unrelated to the secularization of their age, there will be a good deal of religious illiteracy among these young people. In Christian schools the young people will no doubt come from a range of religious backgrounds, perhaps mostly nominally Christian, but there will also be young people of Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim traditions. The secular culture in which they live is one in which individualism is rife, there is an easy acceptance of human rights and equality, there is a sense that justice must be available to all and there is detailed knowledge through technology of the conditions of the world in ways previous generations have never had. Among these good things there are things to abhor and to be undermined, things that deny human dignity and may ultimately lead the young person to depression and despair. The culture of the religiously affiliated school is a sometimes chaotic mix of experiences,

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 179

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

180

Leadership and Religious Schools

relationships, spirituality, ideologies, religions and beliefs, all overlaid with the developmental tasks of the young. Entering such a culture and eager to witness within it Christianity, Matteo Ricci would first learn its language. He would immerse himself in the spoken and unspoken symbols of the culture. He would read its books, watch its films, listen to its music and use its technology. Most of all he would listen with attention to the young people who live in the culture trying to empathetically enter their world in order to know where in this culture goodness and truth can be found and where inhumanity and untruth lie. In all of his dealings with the young people of the secular age, he would be a ‘faithful presence within’. As a faithful Christian (or faithful follower of any other religion) his witness would be ‘sweet and gentle’ rather than noisily evangelistic, and he would work in all of his places and communities for the human flourishing of the community, the school and beyond. For a teacher in a religiously affiliated school, the other, that is the young people, immersed in secular culture and indeed the culture itself, are his/her partners in the dialogue towards authentic religion. If we substitute the word ‘teacher’ for ‘Ricci’ in the quotation given below, this reciprocal educational hermeneutic is underlined: The role of the Other in the formation of Ricci’s identity is certainly as important as the activity of Ricci’s Self. Though Ricci might have reacted in ways other than he did, in all cases the Other played a decisive role in the reactions he showed. One could even argue that the Other made it possible for Ricci to become who he became. (Standaert, 2010, p. 6)

Conclusion In this chapter I have argued that among the many theories of secularization, Taylor’s three-tiered theory in its description of secularization as a religious and spiritual movement is most convincing. I have shown how, once released from the domination of the church, secular culture has itself become the arbiter of values and morality, and has applied itself to human flourishing. The young people who attend religiously affiliated schools are both consciously and unconsciously marked by this culture. They are deeply secular, and if

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 180

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

181

they describe themselves as spiritual it is in the ordinary human experiences of relationships that they identify a nontranscendent ‘spirituality’. Using the example of Matteo Ricci in China, I proposed an inculturation-accommodation model which teachers in religiously affiliated schools may consider. This model seeks to understand the secular culture deeply, to work with it in deciding what is good and true, bringing to the conversation the insights of the religion. Complementing this model I have proposed Hunter’s theology of ‘faithful presence’ as a similar ‘sweet and gentle way’ of the religious educator engaging with the secular world the student inhabits: Do not act with zeal, do not put forward any arguments to convince these peoples to change their rites, their customs or their usages, except if they are evidently contrary to the religion and morality. What would be more absurd than to bring France, Spain, Italy or any other European country to the Chinese? Do not bring to them our countries, but instead bring to them the faith, a faith that does not reject or hurt the rites, nor the usages of any people, provided that these are not distasteful, but that instead keeps and protects them. (Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, 1659, cited in the Paris Foreign Mission Society, 2008, p. 5)

Neither model seeks to dominate or change secular culture but to affirm what is good and true within it and to critique what is unworthy of human dignity.

References Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2008). About Australia. Retrieved on 14 November 2011 from www.dfat.gov.au/facts/religion. html. Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship (2011). Australian Values Statement. Retrieved on 14 November 2011 from www.immi. gov.au/living-in-australia/values/statement/long. Berger, P. (1999). The de-secularization of the world: A global overview. In P. Berger (Ed.), The desecularization of the world: Resurgent religion and world politics. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Carr, D. (1996). Rival conceptions of spiritual education. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 30(2), 159–78.

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 181

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

182

Leadership and Religious Schools

Collins, S. (1999). Immanent faith: Young people in late modernity. In L. J. Francis (Ed.), Sociology, theology and the curriculum. London: Cassell. Congregation for Catholic Education. (2009). Circular letter to the presidents of bishops’ conferences on religious education in schools. Retrieved on 10 November 2011 from www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/ rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_20090505_circ-insegn-relig_en.html. Chung, P. (2010). Inculturation and the recognition of the other: Matteo Ricci’s legacy in the Christian-Confucian context. Studies in Inter-Religious Dialogue, 20(1), 79–98. De Leon, F. & van Leeuwen, B. (2003). Charles Taylor on secularization. Ethical Perspectives, 10(1), 78–86. Dixon, R., Kunciunas, A. & Reid S. (2008). Report on Mass attendance in Australia: National Count of Attendance, National Church Life Survey Australian Census. Retrieved on 14 November 2011 from www.ppo.catholic.org.au/researcharts/ researcharts.shtml. Hoge, D, Dinges, M. Johnson, M. & Gonzales, J. (2001). Young adult Catholics: Religion in the culture of choice. Washington, DC: University of Notre Dame Press. Hunter, J. (2010). To change the world: The irony, tragedy and possibility of Christianity today. Oxford: Scholarship. Retrieved on 14 May 2012 from www. oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730803.001.0001/acprof9780199730803-chapter-7?rskey=HjbyOq&result=2&q=elitism. Ignatieff, M. (2000). The rights revolution. Toronto, Canada: Viking. Mason, M., Singleton, A. & Webber, R. (2007). The spirit of generation Y. Young people’s spirituality in a changing Australia. Mulgrave, VIC: John Garratt. Paris Foreign Mission Society. (2008). Missions étrangères de Paris. 350 ans au service du Christ Paris: Malesherbes Publications. Pope Benedict XIV. (1742). Ex Quo Singulari: Papal Bull. Ratzinger, J. (2005). Europe’s crisis of culture. Lecture in the convent of Saint Scholastica in Subiaco, Italy. 01March 2005. Retrieved on 12 November 2011 from www.catholiceducation.org/articles/politics/pg0143.html. Rule, P. (1968). Jesuit and Confucian? Chinese religion in the journals of Matteo Ricci SJ 1583–1610. Journal of Religious History. Gallagher 11(10), 105–124. Smith, C. & Denton, M. (2005). Soul searching: The religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press. Standaert, N. (2010). Matteo Ricci: Shaped by the Chinese. The Online Journal of the British Jesuits. May 21, 2010. Retrieved on 5 December 2011 from www. thinkingfaith.org/articles/20100521_1.htm.

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 182

10/19/2012 6:02:32 PM

Religious Schools Engaging with a Secular Age

183

Tacey, D. (2010). Spirituality and mental health: The mystery of healing. In M. DeSouza, L. Francis & J. O’Higgins-Norman.D.Scott (Eds), International handbook of education for spirituality, care and wellbeing. Dordrecht: Springer. Taylor, C. (1991). The ethics of authenticity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. —. (1999). A Catholic modernity? In J. Heft (Ed), A Catholic modernity: Charles Taylor’s Marianist Award lecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. —. (2007). A secular age. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University. United Nations. (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved on 16 November 2011 from www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/. Yang, C. K. (1961). Religion in Chinese society: The first comprehensive sociological analysis of Chinese religious behavior. London, England: University of California Press.

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 183

10/19/2012 6:02:33 PM

9781441172976_Ch10_Final_txt_print.indd 184

10/19/2012 6:02:33 PM

11

The Hizmet Educational Movement: Its Insights for Educational Leadership Muhsin Canbolat, Ismail Albayrak and Kath Engebretson

Introduction Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim scholar and philosopher, is the author and inspiration of the worldwide Hizmet (Service) or Gulen Movement. The movement is dedicated to the service of humanity and it sponsors schools, colleges, health facilities, relief work and publishing and media outlets in Turkey and in more than a 100 countries throughout the world. While Fethullah Gulen is the author, figurehead and inspiration of the Gulen movement, it is supported by people from all walks of life, who participate in various capacities to the continuation and growth of the movement. Hizmet schools, of which there are hundreds across the world, focus on the values of empathy, service to the community and humanity in general, good local and global citizenship, the complementarity of intellect and heart and care for the environment. They are not religious or Islamist schools but espouse holistic approaches to education for high morals, peace and the common good of humanity. This chapter focuses on these schools, especially on the leadership required of their principals, and on the leadership values in Hizmet schools that may also inspire principals in other schools throughout the world including religious schools.

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 185

10/19/2012 4:29:30 PM

186

Leadership and Religious Schools

Brief biography of Gulen Fethullah Gulen was born in 1941, learning from his mother to read the Qur’an when he was 4 years old, and learning Arabic from his father. Inspired by his father’s love of learning, the young Fethullah memorized the Holy Qur’an. After studying Islamic law and spirituality, he gave his first sermon when he was 14, and from then on he preached in Amasya, Tokat, Sivas and Erzincan. In 1957 he was invited to visit Muzaffer Aslan, a student of Said Nursi (1878– 1960), an Islamic scholar and author of the Risale-i Nur Collection. Gulen began to read the Risale-i Nur Collection and it deeply influenced his life and philosophy. After an examination arranged by the Religious Affairs of Edirne in 1959 he was appointed to the Uc Serefeli Mosque as a second imam, serving over 2 years in this position. As with all male Turkish citizens, he served in the military and was discharged in 1963. After military service he stayed for approximately 1 year in Erzurum, then left for Edirne. He taught the Qur’an in the Dar al-Hadis Mosque, voluntarily serving as an imam and teacher, then in 1965 moved to Kirklareli as preacher. Yasar Tunagur in the Ankara High Religious Affairs Office insisted that Gulen go to Izmir as an administrator and teacher of the Kestane Pazari Qur’an course. At this time he was given charge of assisting Hajjis (pilgrims), and for the first time went to Hajj (Makkah) in 1968. It was spiritually a very fruitful trip for him. In the Aegean region he preached in Antalya, Aydin, Odemis, Tire, Salihli, Turgutlu and Denizli, and he also preached in coffeehouses. For 5 years he served without personal recompense in Kestanepazari, later was appointed to Edremit as preacher, and later still was transferred to Manisa, where he presented conferences on the Quran and science, Darwinism, social justice and the ‘golden generation’. He was transferred to Izmir in 1976 and served there until the military coup in 1980, after which he resigned and travelled around Anatolia, visiting his relatives and friends. He was arrested in Burdur in 1986 and released after interrogation. He preached in the Great Camlica Mosque after a 6-year break and went to the Hajj a second time. The journal Yeni Umit (New Hope) was published in 1988 and he contributed many articles to this journal.

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 186

10/19/2012 4:29:30 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

187

Gulen preached for 62 weeks in Valide Sultan Mosque (Istanbul, 1989–1990) about the Prophet Muhammed and his way of life, and these sermons were later compiled and published as a book (Infinite light). He also preached on a weekly basis in Istanbul and Izmir (1989–91). He encouraged educators and businessmen to invest in Central Asia, especially by opening schools. Gulen met with many politicians, was interviewed by journalists and appeared on television programmes in 1995 and thereafter. He emphasized the necessity of accepting everyone with their own identity for the benefit of the nation. He highlighted the importance of tolerance and dialogue and met with Pope John Paul II (1998) where he promoted interreligious dialogue. Since 1999, his diminishing health has required him to live in the United States where he continues to promote education, dialogue and religious tolerance. In 2001 the Turkish attorney general of the State Security Court filed a case against Gulen claiming that he was trying to establish a religion-based regime in Turkey, but he was finally found not guilty in 2008. His weekly Kirik Testi conversations have been released on the www.herkul.org, webpage since 2001, and these conversations continue to be published as a series of books.

The educational vision of Gulen Science in Gulen’s writings For Gulen, most of the problems we witness around us from educational institutions to government offices are generated by an incorrect understanding of science. First, it is vital to clarify what science is and what it is not, what we can expect of it and what its aims are. Gulen described the purpose of science in this way: ‘Science is to feel and understand the explanations of entities and various phenomena, also to comprehend what the physical world displays in front of us and realize the lofty purposes of the Creator’ (2000, p. 116). In Gulen’s view, education should be available to everybody. Knowledge should nourish citizens like blood in the veins; it should be a source of life to prepare human beings for every new day (Gulen, 2008b). The enthusiasm of the student is vital in education, for without it, the majority of people will stop

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 187

10/19/2012 4:29:30 PM

188

Leadership and Religious Schools

the learning process when they graduate from educational institutions. Gulen urges educators ‘to awaken the passion for science and truth’ (2008a, p. 69) to make education an ongoing process in life. He believes science should guide a person to the acknowledgment of God.

Education: A path o perfection Gulen asked the following questions to prompt readers’ thoughts about education. ‘How should we approach teaching and education? How should generations be educated? What, how and why should we teach them? Who is going to do this holy duty’? (Gulen, 1993, p. 117). In Gulen’s approach education is a holy duty as represented perfectly by prophets; and educators should continue undertaking this duty in the best possible way. Since the human being is the subject of education, understanding human nature is crucial. In Gulen’s view human nature contains negative propensities such as lust, anger and greed, that can be overcome by education: The purpose of education is to nurture and develop the feelings and emotions that were embedded in the quintessence of human beings for many different reasons and objectives, through a process of purification from some emotions that may appear to be detrimental and redirecting them towards exploring the path to human perfection and also to develop the feelings of virtue, fortitude of the freewill, the ability to think and passion for liberty. (Gulen, 1993, p. 114)

For Gulen ‘culture, strong spirit, morality and virtue are the greatest capital of a nation, and these should be nurtured by appropriate teaching and education’ (1993, p. 118). The moral and social life of a nation depends on education. History books give many examples of nations that have disintegrated because they did not give importance to the process of educating their citizens. Happiness is a concern for all, both at the personal and the national level. In Gulen’s educational philosophy ‘the happiness of a country and its stability relies on approaching the education of today’s generation seriously and preparing them for a future with integrity of heart and mind’ (1993, p. 113). The idea of considering heart and mind together, especially in the education of youth, was originally taken from Nursi and developed by Gulen.

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 188

10/19/2012 4:29:31 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

189

Gulen reminds his readers of one of God’s divine names, Rabb (educator and sustainer), to emphasize the importance of education. The prophets were the perfect educators who dedicated their lives to teaching. Therefore ‘learning and teaching are two heavenly, lofty duties. With this duty, the ability in the human soul is brought to the light and the individual becomes presentable to the community as a gift’ (Gulen 2000, p. 105).

The content of education Human life is valuable but very short; it is not long enough to learn everything. Gulen argued, as do many other educators, that we need to be selective in what we are learning. He says ‘true science and reflection could be obtained with spending time on essential subjects’ (2000, p. 106). For him ‘the subjects to learn and to teach should integrate human personality and should aim to explore the fine connection between inner world and entities and phenomena’ (2000, p. 105). Learning without digesting can sometimes be harmful. The lesson understood by students should be a step towards higher levels. Subjects taught in school should improve a student’s personality. Gulen argued that ‘all kinds of shallow learning and memorization that does not give brightness to the mind and a wing to the soul is a rasp that rasps the personality and a stroke that hits the heart’ (2000, p. 102). Education should be gradual and flexible suiting the needs of the person who is being educated. Gulen stated as follows: The facts of age and culture should be taken into consideration in the subjects taught to the youth, they should be aware of aims beyond the objects they see and subjects should be taught in an amount that they can grasp. (2000, p. 106)

School, the dwelling of angels The school is the place where educational activities take place. Personal identity that forms the nation builds up mostly in schools. Gulen describes the school as follows: ‘The school is a vital laboratory, the lessons are the elixir of life and the teacher is a holy expert of this mysterious treatment center’ (2000,

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 189

10/19/2012 4:29:31 PM

190

Leadership and Religious Schools

p. 101). In Gulen’s philosophy schools must teach comprehensive information to meet a person’s needs. A heart should be nourished as well as the mind, and earthly life should be taught as well as the hereafter. He says ‘A school is a place of learning, where everything related to this life and the next is taught, actually the life itself is a school, but we even learn life by the assistance of schools’ (2000, p. 101). For Gulen ‘a good school is a dwelling of angels that develops the virtues in personality and gives loftiness to the soul for its regular attendees’ (1979, p. 101).

Teacher, holy mentor The teacher is the crucial actor in education, and the teacher’s importance cannot be overstated. For Gulen ‘the teacher is the holy master who shapes life from birth to death’ (Gulen, 2000, p. 110). Teachers are the real social engineers in this world having a great influence on every moment of life of their students. Bearing in mind this influence, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are the people who shape and form society. Every creature is a symbol (with their colour, voice and shape) and a message to be understood and received, but many of us are not aware of that. Teachers translate what they mean to students and establish a connection between the human inner and outer world. Gulen says: ‘The real teacher is a person who establishes a relationship between life and conscience like a contact between receiver and conductor. He/she tries to feel the truth through everything and explains it with every language’ (Gulen, 2000, p. 104). For Gulen the teacher is not only a person who teaches in the classroom, but he/she takes on many forms. He/she could be found in different professions. Gulen argued that ‘the teacher appeared as philosopher, as ascetic and as dervish from time to time. He/she always strongly influenced his/her era’ (2000, p. 111). Clearly, the concept of the teacher for Gulen is beyond the classical definition of the teacher. Obviously, whoever is beneficial for the individual and community’s material and spiritual training and education, he or she is a real teacher. Just as a seed turns into a complete tree/plant in the hands of good farmer, a student turns into a perfect human being in the hands of a real teacher. ‘The real teacher is the sower and protector of a pure and clean seed’ (Gulen, 2000, p. 101). Gulen emphasized teacher and school rather than imam and mosque in his philosophy, and this enabled him to practise his

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 190

10/19/2012 4:29:31 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

191

services globally, as imam and mosque refers to Muslims only, whereas teacher and school refers to all humanity. His theology of social responsibility forced him to act globally. Gulen believes that all humanity collectively prospers or collectively perishes.

Commentaries on Gulen’s educational vision Service to humanity Hizmet (service) is a term used for all kind of activities of the Gulen movement. Every member of the movement expects religious rewards for the hizmet that they have undertaken. Agai (2003) noted that ‘hizmet for Gulen implies that a person devotes his or her life to Islam, serving for the benefit of others, which is beneficial for life after death’ (p. 59). Gulen understands Islam as a ‘way leading a person to perfection or enabling one to reacquire one’s primordial angelic state’ (Michel, 2003, p. 83). There are many ways to serve humanity, but for Gulen education is the best way along with establishing dialogue with other civilizations (Gulen, as cited in Gage, 2007). Carroll (2007) argued that ‘within his [Gulen’s] envisioned society, education is vital for all people to attain the basics of human existence’ (p. 76). The ultimate aim of all institutions and activities of the movement is to please God through educating human beings. An institution should be closed and an activity abandoned if it drifts from that aim and is not serving this purpose. For Gulen, human beings are not only physical creatures but composed of many different faculties. Thus we need to have a holistic approach to the education of human beings for the best results. Carroll (2007) compared Confucius and Plato on education and remarked that ‘he [Gulen], like his ancient colleagues understands the human self as a being comprised of corporeal, mental and spiritual components. Each of these components must be developed properly to achieve full human potential, and this development occurs through education’ (p. 71). Educating individuals is a lifelong process and the surest way to form an ideal society: The approach of the Gulen movement especially through its educational ‘agencies’ is from the grassroots upwards. It is the transformation

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 191

10/19/2012 4:29:31 PM

192

Leadership and Religious Schools

of individuals through education to facilitate the establishment of a harmonious and inclusive society based upon a liberal public sphere. (Williams, 2008, p. 790)

Furthermore, Agai (2003) remarked that ‘Gulen always has been concerned about creating a ‘Modern Muslim’ – that is an individual both steeped in the ethical values of Islam and possessed of a well rounded education in all branches of contemporary knowledge and science’ (p. 51).

Golden generation One of the aims of Gulen’s educational philosophy is to form the ‘golden generation’. For Agai (2003), ‘combining knowledge and human values, this new generation will solve the problems of future’ (p. 57). The main characteristics of this golden generation of ‘modern Muslims’ are faith, love, idealism and selflessness (Agai, 2003, p. 57). Forming such a generation is crucial to make the ideal society real. Gulen described some qualities of this generation in a speech he delivered in 1977. The first characteristic is love, behaving well towards enemies and friends. Being people of action is the second characteristic of this generation, and they should try for the salvation of others after improving their inner self. A further attribute is self-control. Yavuz (2003) remarked that ‘for Gulen, serving God means raising “perfect youth” who combine spirituality with intellectual training, reason with revelation, and mind with heart’ (p. 20). The golden generation should seek and obtain science as well as preserve their identity. ‘This generation embodies Gulen’s major aim, pious Muslims making use of science without adopting materialism and positivism and with a firm Islamic identity that unites them with ordinary people in Turkey’(Agai, 2003, p. 58). In the formation of the golden generation, girls are given equal consideration as are boys. ‘For years, Gulen publicly and privately encouraged the community to educate all children regardless of gender. Today, there are many schools for girls, and many of their graduates go on to universities’ (Yavuz, 2003, p. 30).

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 192

10/19/2012 4:29:31 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

193

Moral principles and values Values and moral education are important in Gulen-inspired schools. Although Gulen is a religious leader and religion is crucial in the movement’s motivation, teaching religion is not a primary goal of Gulen-inspired schools. Instead moral education is emphasized, especially through temsil (modelling a good character): The most striking point about these schools is that they do not teach religion, even though religious faith is a primary motive for their creation. Rather, they stress the teachings of ethics (ahlak), which are seen as unifying factor between different religious, ethnic, and political orientations. (Agai, 2003, p. 48)

These moral principles were considered to transform a generation into perfect human beings and perfect Muslims. Yavuz (2003) remarked that Gulen constantly refers to a common saying of the Prophet Muhammad that ‘Islam is about good morals, and I have been sent to perfect the good character’ (p. 25). Preserving national identity is important alongside academic achievements. ‘Cut off from traditional values, young people are in danger of being educated with no values at all beyond those of material success’ (Michel, 2003, p. 74).

Dialogue, peace, tolerance and human rights As the countries of the world come closer to each other every day, education has become important for establishing mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence among world nations. Gulen extends this idea to contend that the best way to serve humanity is to establish dialogue with other civilizations, to come together on some common ground, with mutual understanding and respect, and thus to work for peace, for cooperation among diverse peoples and for prevention of the clash of civilizations. Williams remarked that ‘Hojaeffendi encourages people to serve humanity both through education and through intercultural and interfaith activities and institutions. The goal is to bridge the gaps between peoples and to establish connections for the common good and peace’ (2008, p. 801). The differences are the reality of our world, but Gulen

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 193

10/19/2012 4:29:31 PM

194

Leadership and Religious Schools

seeks a common ground that is shared by all humanity. Today all humanity (not only Muslim or Christians) is facing similar problems. In order to solve these problems we need a common effort, and dialogue is the extension of his understanding of education. Lack of dialogue is the main reason for many problems in the family, classroom and society. Developing dialogue will lessen crises in the community. The Gulen movement raised the dialogue issue in the 1990s to help solve conflicts among different groups. ‘By raising moral and spiritual awareness through dialogue, the Gulen movement is in the forefront of emphasizing a common ground among Muslims and non-Muslims’ (Gage, 2007). Harmony and composition of different colours and voices create perfect pictures and music. Similarly, humanity can create a perfect living environment through the harmony of different cultures and beliefs: Different beliefs, races, customs and traditions will continue to cohabit in this (global) village. Each individual is like a unique being unto themselves; therefore the desire for all humanity to be similar to one another is nothing more than wishing for the impossible. For this reason the peace of this global village lies in respecting all these differences, considering these differences to be part of our nature and in ensuring that people appreciate these differences. (Gulen, as cited in Gage, 2007)

Michel (2003) argued that ‘the road to social justice is paved with adequate, universal education, for only this will give people sufficient understanding and tolerance to respect the rights of others’ (p. 74) The notion of justice and respect for the rights of others should be imbued into the members of society to create a more livable environment. The best vehicle to achieve that goal is, again, education. It is not only the establishment of justice that is hindered by the lack of well-rounded education, but also the recognition of human rights and attitudes of acceptance and tolerance towards others. Observations in the Philippine Turkish School of Tolerance (Michel, 2003) and remarks about Gulen-inspired schools in Kenya (Kalyoncu, 2008) indicate the positive effects of these schools in multireligious and ethnic environments: It [the Gulen Movement] absorbs conflicting pressures and eases tension within fragmented communities. It has transformed the potential to use

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 194

10/19/2012 4:29:31 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

195

coercive means to induce changes in political systems into peaceful efforts to produce beneficial services. It has, despite provocations and ill-treatment, never shown any inclination whatever towards violence or extra legal tactics of any kind. (Cetin, 2009, p. 104)

Gulen’s educational philosophy aims to cure core sources of conflict such as ignorance, poverty and dispute. Michel suggested ‘the new Gulen style of education is aimed at responding directly to the root causes of conflict. In doing so, he claims, it offers a sound hope for building more stable and harmonies societies. Educational reform is thus a key to development and progress in nations’ (2003, p. 78).

Role of parents For Gulen, parents, teachers, media and government agencies must work together and constantly revise the way they educate the young members of society to reduce the problems of tomorrow and to leave a better future for coming generations. Carroll (2007) suggested that ‘Gulen’s educational vision involves not only schools, but also families, communities, and media. All major components of society must be aligned in the work of educating the youth in all beneficial knowledge’ (p. 74).

Discipline Gulen emphasizes the importance of discipline to utilize time and limited resources effectively. He often talks about combining the knowledge of Medrese (school), the passion of Tekke (sufi lodge) and the discipline of the military for a complete education. Without discipline, achievements will not last long. ‘Those who are far removed from self-control and self-discipline, who have failed to refine their feelings, may seem attractive and insightful at first. However, they will not be able to inspire others in any permanent way, and the sentiments they arouse will soon disappear’ (Gulen, as cited in Michel, 2003, p. 78). In the Gulen version of the ‘ethics of vocation’, derived from Islam, we find the reason for the strong emphasis on work and discipline inside the movement.

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 195

10/19/2012 4:29:31 PM

196

Leadership and Religious Schools

The educational sector profits from this discipline in two ways. First people of the movement working outside the educational sector earn money that they invest in the educational sector and second teachers do their work with devotion even under very unfavourable circumstances because they perceive it as a duty to God. (Agai, 2003, p. 61)

Although discipline has many benefits, it also contributes to running the institutions smoothly and to the academic achievements of students.

Idealism Gage (2007) indicated that education to prepare students in science and law for jobs in materialistic bureaucracies adds to rather than mitigates global problems. Schools need to inspire ideals in students in order to raise the model human. Leading a life of luxury through obtaining a well-profitable job should not be the only outcome of educational institutions. Michel (2003) recorded Gulen’s view about the topic: When (people) are left with no ideals or aims, they become reduced to the condition of animated corpses, showing no signs of distinctively human life . . . Just as an inactive organ becomes atrophied, and a tool which is not in use becomes rusty, so aimless generations will eventually waste away because they lack ideals and aims. (p. 74)

For Kalyoncu (2008), ‘instilling such aspirations in students seems to be at the heart of the overall education the Light Academy schools provide in Kenya’ (p. 358). He witnessed how idealistic teachers could positively affect the achievements of a school: ‘The idealism and altruism of the teachers, who could normally utilize their academic credentials for lucrative jobs in Turkey and yet preferred to come to Kenya to teach, in a way is the greatest competitive advantage of the Gulen-inspired schools in Kenya’ (2008, p. 354).

Sincerity Sincerity always has priority in Gulen’s philosophy. Great achievements do not matter without sincerity. ‘Gulen’s understanding of duty, to serve humanity

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 196

10/19/2012 4:29:32 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

197

especially in the field of education, permits no expectation of material or political gain. Sincerity and purity of intention may never be harmed or contaminated’ (Unal & Williams, as cited in Cetin, 2009, p. 87).

Flexible approach Gulen-inspired education creates openness and flexibility that allows the movement to function on the world stage. Agai (2003) suggested ‘his educational philosophy, as demonstrated here, emerged in a particular social context and changes as conditions change. These internal changes have been possible because the Gulen movement is not ideological, but rather seeks to educate people through flexible strategies’ (p. 51). One example of being flexible is the curriculum of the schools: Equally there is no one conformist curriculum for the schools as they adopt the prescribed curriculum of the state within which they are placed. This leads towards an inclusive openness that is an attribute of the many expressions of the movement if coupled with an optimistic idealism about the future of humanity and the construction of a new social order. (Williams, 2008, p. 794)

Constructive efforts instead of political aims Gulen argued that instead of spending limited energy and resources on temporary daily politics we should invest in educating human beings. Thus the movement has no political agendas and objectives. Yavuz (2003) reported that ‘the movement avoided active politics but created access to educational institutions, media, the market, and other urban public spaces by establishing its own institutions or by using its followers’ connections’ (p. 31). This situation helps the movement to function easily on the world stage that contains many different countries with many different political views and governments: The Gulen Movement has systematically shunned contentious, political or direct action, preferring to remain, in principle and practice,

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 197

10/19/2012 4:29:32 PM

198

Leadership and Religious Schools

non-adversarial. It has, instead, in order to form and inform the public space, and to consolidate and revitalize participatory democratic processes, exerted itself in constructive efforts to draw contending individuals and groups to collaborate in a common spirit of service. (Cetin, 2009, p. 61)

Gulen’s educational philosophy in practice Gulen-inspired schools are private schools generally owned and operated by a foundation or company. The trustees of the foundation or owners of the company look after the physical condition of these schools, and they try to create the best possible learning environment for students without any expectations of profit. Administrators and teachers work closely for the achievements of the school. The staff include both members of the movement and some local teachers working together for the same purpose, to form the golden generation. Staff and pastoral care meetings are held to observe and enhance students’ academic and behavioural progress. Teachers attend regular seminars with their colleagues to share their teaching experiences and develop their teaching skills. These meetings provide a great opportunity for the personal development of newly graduated teachers. Well-equipped laboratories and dedicated teachers are recruited to raise the academic level of the students. Students are involved in national and international exams and competitions, to motivate them in their studies. Classroom teachers are generally supported by a university student helper. Through after-school activities, trips and camps, teachers gain students’ respect and establish healthy relationships with them. This creates a feeling of belonging among the students of the school, and they work harder to achieve more for the school. Regular home visits are organized to inform the parents about the progress of the student and the educational activities of the school. Through these visits, the school receives parents’ support, and it comes to understand the family background of students so as to help them further. The schools are bound by the curriculum that is prepared by the government’s educational department. Universal ethical values and local culture have an important place in the schools. Ethical values and local culture are ingrained

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 198

10/19/2012 4:29:32 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

199

with the help of activities and the exemplary conduct of teachers, or by teaching a related subject. Religion, race, gender and culture differences are respected and understood as essential parts of beauty and harmony. The schools try to instil lofty ideals in students, such as serving the well-being of others without material expectations, spreading love and tolerance and respecting diversity of belief and culture. A dormitory is constructed next to the schools where possible. This allows the school to organize students’ evening programmes and implement its educational and moral policies effectively. These dormitories are one of the most important aspects of the success of the Gulen-inspired schools. Conferences, seminars and trips are organized to establish close ties with community and businessmen, and to enhance planning and funding of Gulen schools. Graduates of the Gulen schools who study in universities help teachers to run after-school programmes. Ultimately, success comes with the cooperation and teamwork of the staff, who closely observe and help the students from their first day until they graduate, and even after the graduation.

Leadership in Hizmet schools There might be different practices according to conditions of the particular environment in which the school is established; however, usually the principal is appointed to a Gulen-inspired school through consultation of the higher management committee. The expression of interest usually does not come from an individual, but the nominated individual receives an offer from the management committee. If the person accepts the offer, then he/she is appointed as principal of the school. As well as general management and communication skills, a principal must have experience as a mentor, teacher and administrative staff member in Gulen-inspired schools prior to being a principal. This experience usually starts when a person voluntarily serves as a mentor in one of the Gulen schools during his/her university education. Mentors help pastoral care teachers in pastoral care activities such as extracurricular tutoring, parents’ visits, camps, trips and sport. This experience is further enriched by being a teacher in one

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 199

10/19/2012 4:29:32 PM

200

Leadership and Religious Schools

of the Gulen schools after graduation. If the teacher has certain skills he/she becomes one of the administrative staff and a potential future principal of a Gulen school. A principal, like any other staff who is familiar with Gulen’s educational philosophy, is required to be available for rotation (tayin) to other Hizmet institutions when necessary. This requirement has enabled Gulen-inspired schools to spread rapidly all around the world. Usually Gulen-inspired schools are owned and opened by a foundation. Thus the principal needs to be aware of the aims and objectives of the foundation, has to contribute to the social, cultural and educational activities of the foundation and has to work cooperatively with the foundation management. The principal should be able to work in harmony with other institutions of Hizmet and should be able to see the school as a part of other Hizmet services offered in that region. Two of the characteristics of the Gulen-inspired school are moral education and pastoral care activities. The school aims to give balanced education between the heart and the mind, between spiritual and moral knowledge. The moral values emphasized in Gulen’s writing such as love of humanity, dialogue and tolerance, and the values and culture of the indigenous society should be catered to in Gulen-inspired schools where possible. It is essential for the principal to comprehend these objectives and take necessary action for educating young minds and hearts as a whole in that particular school environment. Besides general aims and objectives, there are no solid and clear instructions for Gulen-inspired schooling. Thus a principal must be familiar with Gulen’s writings and thoughts, specifically with his educational philosophy. This understanding enables the principal to interpret and adopt Gulen’s educational thoughts to the specific culture and environment. The principal must have an ability to establish good relations with people, must be able to read the expectations of the parents and the community and act accordingly. In Australia, Gulen schools receive significant support from the community, and in a sense they are community schools; therefore, the principal should know how to work with the broader community members in

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 200

10/19/2012 4:29:32 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

201

harmony. The principal must be open-minded and must be able to consult with staff for the good of the school and its community. In Gulen-inspired schools consultation is used as one of the management strategies and problem-solving methods. Through consultation, local solutions can be found suitable for a many different social and cultural environment in which the schools are established. In summary, according to Gulen, some of the qualities a leader or an administrator should possess are as follows: A leader should be a servant. He should join people in service. A leader should not have a domineering and compulsive attitude. Duties that need to be fulfilled must first be undertaken by the leader. A leader should not perceive himself as someone higher or different to his fellow human beings. Instead of behaving in a bossy manner, a leader should take on the role of a guide who does what needs to be done, hence leads by an example. A leader should be compassionate and sympathetic towards those who serve under his authority. A leader should be close to the people he is responsible for and interact with them continually to share their problems and concerns. Through compassionate demeanour, he should be looking for ways to win their hearts over. A leader is a person who should question and bring himself to account on regular basis. When an error or a slip-up occurs, he should not look for the culprit outside; on the contrary, he should hold himself responsible for the blunder. Those who question themselves will surmount all barriers that stand on their path thus achieve success in their ventures. When correcting mistakes, a wrong should not be left as a wrong, hence it should be corrected but without offending the person who made the mistake. (Gulen, 2012, pp. 28–30)

Conclusion: Gulen movement schools and worldwide education The contribution of Hizmet schools to leadership in other schools, including religiously affiliated schools, can be summarized in the following six points.

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 201

10/19/2012 4:29:32 PM

202

Leadership and Religious Schools

First, Hizmet schools associate the profession of teaching with the task of the prophets. So teachers, according to Hizmet, become major figures in building the future happiness of our globe. The trust in and expectations of the teachers are great. Thus Hizmet schools place enormous stress on being a teacher, despite the fact that they have lost their elevated status in many communities due to the low wages accorded to them. Many can learn from Hizmet schools’ understanding of the status of the teachers, who are considered the sole source of energy in the future of globe. Second, Hizmet schools strive in unconditional service for the elimination of selfishness and the establishment of a community-service spirit in the field of education. This is the feature of a typical transformational leader who moves the society or followers to go beyond their own self-interest. These schools teach how every member of society acts or serves as a self-sacrifing teacher without any personal benefit and expectation. Third, the social dimension of Hizmet education brings together the educator, parents and the sponsor in a tripartite relationship for the altruistic service of humanity. These schools manage to bring together these groups in diverse countries without causing confrontation. Thus Hizmet schools’ adaptability to the local context or making the global local or taking the local to global level is one of the important dimensions of leadership. This is a very effective way to motivate the community from bottom to top for positive social change. Fourth is the middle way in which Hizmet schools try to promote a holistic approach to education. As discussed in this chapter, this middle way can be described as an extreme emphasis on avoidance of excesses and deficiencies while finding a balance between materialism and spiritualism, rationalism and mysticism, worldliness and asceticism, heart and mind, tradition and modernity. These schools will be leading examples for many institutions which have lost the balance between scientific knowledge and high morality (Cetin, 2009). Fifth is building bridges between different cultures. Bridge-builders of Hizmet schools have felt the need for general and specific training in intercultural activities inside the schools on common points and shared responsibilities. This training plays a complementary role to school education and has a great

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 202

10/19/2012 4:29:32 PM

The Hizmet Educational Movement

203

impact on the internal cohesion of societies where they operate. In addition, this training not only contributes to the integration of minorities in different countries without losing their own identities and cultures but also allows them to celebrate their differences. Many institutions can learn from these schools that operate in various global conflict zones and countries successfully. Sixth, Hizmet schools can teach other institutions and communities that take a pessimistic view of the current world situation to change their perspective and become more optimistic and hopeful for the future of our world. This optimism for creating a vision of the future entails not only relentless effort or value-based education but also appropriate strategies, promotion of creative use of logic, construction of convincing argument and rational thinking (Fontenot & Fontenot, 2008). These schools have this potential and are ready to share their experience with others. Finally, it is important to note the role played by Hizmet schools to pave the way for women to become active members of societies. Although not every community needs the Hizmet movement’s leadership in this regard, there are still many institutions in the world where women cannot find a place for themselves. If one believes in serious engagement with society to improve the lot of people, one has to take half of world population into consideration.

References Agai, B. (2003). The Gulen movement’s Islamic ethic of education. In M. Hakan Yavuz & John L. Esposito (Eds), Turkish Islam and the secular state, the Gulen movement (pp. 48–68). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Carroll, B. J. (2007). A dialogue of civilizations, Gulen’s Islamic ideals and humanistic discourse. Somerset, NJ: The Light, Inc. Cetin, M. (2009). The Gulen movement: Civic service without borders. Istanbul: Blue Dome Press. Fontenot, K. A. & Fontenot, M. J. (2008). M. F. Gülen as transformational leader: Example of golden generation. In Islam in the age of global challenges: Alternative perspective of Gülen movement. Washington, DC: Rumi Forum Pub. Gage, T. (2007). Harmonic learning: The congruent education models of Fethullah Gülen and James Moffett. Retrieved on10 May 2012 from en.fgulen.com/

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 203

10/19/2012 4:29:32 PM

204

Leadership and Religious Schools

conference-papers/peaceful-coexistence/2499-harmonic-learning-the-congruenteducation-models-of-fethullah-gulen-and-james-moffett. Gulen, M. F. (1993). Buhranlar Arasinda Insan. Izmir/Turkey: T. O. V. Publications. —. (2000). Cag ve Nesil. Izmir/Turkey: Nil Publications. —. (2008a). Sukutun Cigliklari. Istanbul/Turkey: Nil Publications. —. (2008b). Yeseren Dusunceler. Izmir/Turkey: Nil Publications. Kalyoncu M. (2008). Gulen-inspired schools in the East Africa: Secular alternative in Kenya and pragmatist approach to development in Uganda. In Islam in the age of global challenges: Alternative perspective of Gülen movement (pp. 350–73). Washington, DC: Rumi Forum. Michel, T. (2003). Fethullah Gulen as educator. In M. Hakan Yavuz & John L. Esposito (Eds), Turkish Islam and the secular state, the Gulen movement (pp. 69–84). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Williams, I. (2008). A movement in counter-point: The significance of the Fethullah Gulen movement as a global educational and inter-religious model of social and religious change: A UK perspective. In A. Ahmad, J. Borelli, J. B. Caroll, D. Cuthell, J. L. Esposito, S. Griffith, J. Haughey, P. Heck, Q. Huda, T. Michel, S. H. Nasr, J. O. Voll, P. Weller & I. Williams (Eds), Islam in the age of global challenges: Alternative perspectives of the Gulen movement (pp. 782–806). Washington, DC: Rumi Forum. Yavuz, M. H. (2003). The Gulen movement, the Turkish Puritans. In M. Hakan Yavuz & John L. Esposito (Eds), Turkish Islam and the secular state, the Gulen movement (pp. 19–47). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

9781441172976_Ch11_Final_txt_print.indd 204

10/19/2012 4:29:33 PM

Index accommodation 174–5 and faithful presence in religiously affiliated school 179–80 method of 171 accountability 5, 7, 49, 53, 57–8, 64, 65, 78, 146 activism, leadership as 64–5 Adair, J. 150 Agai, B. 191, 192, 193, 196, 197 aggiornamento 23 Albayrak, I. 9, 185 Alic, A. 74 alienation 14, 111–13, 115, 119, 122 see also loneliness Allport, G. W. 96 aloneness see loneliness anomie 111, 112, 115 anxiety 37, 95, 123 Aristedidou, P. 78 Aslan, M. 186 Risale-i Nur Collection 186 Asmal, K. 56 attitudes 7, 96, 102, 118, 139, 194, 201 affect-based 94 ironic 119 leadership 159–60 Augustine De Trinitate 25 Aumann, J. 135, 136 Australia, Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 20 Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 169–70 authenticity 3, 15, 35, 38, 39, 41, 43, 44, 45, 49, 57, 59, 134, 140, 180 educative leaders and 148 of self, search for 167–8 authority 43–4, 74, 113, 146, 147, 149, 158, 171, 201 of bishops 135 ecclesiastical 134

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 205

Avramovic, S. 77 Axworthy, T. 34 Baker, D. P. 23 Bakker, C. 53 Ball, S. J. 117 Ballet, K. 115 baptismal dignity 129, 135–6 Barden, J. 102 Bar-tal, D. 97, 101 Barth, R. S. 1 being, polymorphism of 42 Belmonte, A. 127, 128, 129 Benedict XIV Ex Quo Singulari 174 Benedict XVI 27 Berger, P. 168 Beswick, K. 117 Bhagavad-Gītā 120 Bhola, H. 34 Bible 25, 26, 114, 149–50, 151–2, 177 Bipath, K. 53 Bishops of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory 23 blues 113 Boethius 25 Boninger, D. 93 Bosnia–Herzegovina (BiH) 72, 73, 75, 77, 83, 84 Bottery, M. 3 Boulding, E. 91 Boyd, B. 151 Bradford, R. 118 Brantmeier, E. J. 96 Brewer, M. B. 93, 102 Brinckerhoff, P. 131, 132 Brock-Utne, B. 91 Brown, B. 93 Bruff, I. 3 Brynes, J. T. 25, 28 Buchanan, M. T. 1, 2, 8, 127–8, 130, 133, 134, 137

10/19/2012 5:59:25 PM

206

Index

Bush, T. 53 Byrnes, J. T. 27, 28 Cacioppo, J. T. 111, 120 Cairns, E. 94 Cairns, J. 69 campaign to end loneliness 122 Canavan, K. B. 128 Canbolat, M. 9, 185 Cappadocian Fathers 24 Capuzzi, D. 100 Carlin, P. 134, 146 Carr, D. 133, 169 Carrim, N. 55, 56 Carroll, B. J. 191, 195 Casanova, J. 23 Catholic action 135 catholic education 22–4 Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia, 152 Catholic Education Commission Victoria 8 catholic understanding of human person 24–6 Çayir, K. 56, 64 Cerkez-Robinson, A. 75 Cetin, M. 195, 197, 198, 202 change, in society 14–16 ‘changing the world’ attitude 176 Chapman, J. 127 Chapman, J. D. 2 Charlemagne 17 Chinese ancestral rites 173–4 choice 36, 38, 42, 43, 44, 122, 139, 140, 168 Christ, Jesus 26 Christian anthropology and globalization 13 catholic education and 22–4 catholic understanding of human person and 24–6 change in society and 14–16 Christian education-leader implications and 26–8 education and 16–21 faith schools and 21–2 Christian education-leader implications 26–8

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 206

Christian service learning 151, 153–4 nature of 155–6 Christie, P. 1 Chung, P. 171, 172, 173 church and state separation, and decline of religion 165–6 Cipolle, S. 152 Ciriello, M. J. 140 Clarke-Habibi, S. 75, 80–1 classicism 41 Close, S. 81 Collins, S. 168 Commission of the European Communities 19 common good 4, 38–40, 44, 70, 153, 178, 193 common sense 42 communicative action theory 48 compassion 97, 151, 157, 158–9, 170, 201 Confusian Lord of Heaven and Supreme Being of Christianity 172–3 Congregation for Catholic Education 130, 140, 170 connectedness 109, 116, 123, 129, 168–9, 189, 190, 193, 197 Connerley, M. 35 Conroy, J. C. 112 constructive efforts, Hizbet movement’s view on 197–8 contemporary perspectives and challenges 1 Cox, H. 95 Crawford, J. 59, 60 critical consciousness 59, 60, 63 critical praxis 59 leadership for 63–4 Crotty, L. 130, 136 Crowther, F. 146, 147, 148 Csikszentmihalyi, M. 111 cultural shift 33–5, 44 Culver, M. 150 curriculum leadership 137–8 formal and hidden 139 inclusive of social institutions 139–40 incorporating all subjects and activities 138–9 syllabus and 138 across year levels 138

10/19/2012 5:59:25 PM

Index D’Souza, M. 4, 33 Dakar framework 18 Dalgish, C. 1, 147 Dantley, M. 48, 130, 131 DeLanda, M. 38 de Leon, F. 166 de Lisle, R. 100 Denton, M. 168 De Ruyter, D. J. 70 Descartes, R 115 de Souza, M. 96 Dewey, J. 91 dialectical nature, of cultural and religious values and 60–1 dialogue 5, 6, 9, 21, 22, 24, 25, 48, 58, 65, 75, 83, 103, 109, 161, 180, 187 authentic 59 constructive 78 cooperative 60 counter 71 facilitators of 62, 63 Hizbet movement’s view on 191, 193–4 intergroup 100 significance of 35, 36, 61, 123 Dickinson, E. 121, 122 differentiation of consciousness 41, 42 dignity 17, 21, 26, 27, 117, 139, 150, 151, 169, 179, 181 from baptism 129, 135–6 Dimmock, C. 44 Dinges, M. 168 discipline, Hizbet movement’s view on 195–6 Dixon, R. 168 Dovidio, J. F. 94, 95 Dubrin, A. 1, 147 Duignan, P. 39, 141, 146, 148, 150 Dumm, T. 113 Du Preez, P. 5, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 61, 63 Durka, G. 96 Durkheim, E. 110–11 Dutch Reformed Church 70 Dweck, C. S. 96 ecstasy 120 educational leadership 140–1, 146–8

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 207

207

Education for Peace programme (EFP) 79–82 Edwards, D. 150 Edwards, K. 94 effective leadership, in schools 145–6 attitudes and 159–60 Christian service-learning unit and 153–4 nature of 155–6 educational 146–8 methodology 154–5 servant 148–51 service learning and 151–3 social awareness of 155–7 transformation 157–9 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965) 18 Elmore, R. T. 8 empathy 75, 82, 89, 95, 97, 152, 158, 160, 180, 185 empowerment see power Engebretson, K. 9, 96, 165, 185 Engels, F. 15 enstasy 120–3 Eshelman, R. 34 Esposito, J. L. 98 Esses, V. M. 94 ‘ethics of authenticity’ 167 European Qualifications Framework 20 European Union 19–20 faith-based values 119 faith schools 22, 69, 71 leadership in 21–2, 130–2 Fazio, R. H. 102 Ferguson, M. 146, 147, 148 Ferguson, R. 56 Filson, B. 134 Finci, J. 77 Fink, D. 147 Fleming, G. P. 136 flexible approach, Hizbet movement’s view on 197 Flintham, A. 134 Fontenot, K. A. 203 Fontenot, M. J. 203 forgiveness 63, 97

10/19/2012 5:59:26 PM

208

Index

Forsyth, B. 110 Fountain, S. 90 Fox, J. 95, 96 freedom 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 72, 77, 100, 159, 169, 188 see also liberty Freedom of Religion Act (2004) 72 Freire, P. 153 Fullan, M. 83 Gadamer, H. G. 36, 37, 47, 48 Truth and method 46 Gage, T. 191, 194, 196 Gallagher, S. 41 Galtung, J. 91 Gearon, L. 96 Gellel, A-M. 3, 4 Genesis 25, 26 Geneva Spiritual Appeal 97 Gilding, N. 152 Gilliland, B. E. 99 Glaser, J. 102 Glaser, R. 18 Gleicher, F. 93 globalization 38, 53, 191, 194, 196, 202, 203 definition of 2–3 impact on human life and societies 4 sociocultural 3 uncertainty due to 5 see also Christian anthropology and globalization Golanda, E. L. 1 golden generation, Hizbet movement’s view on 192 Gonzales, J. 168 Gopin, M. 97 Grace, G. 23 Grace, S. 70, 71 Greeley, A. 23 Greenleaf, R. 148, 152 Gregory’s Girl (film) 110 Groff, L. 91, 92 Gross, D. R. 100 Gulen, M. F. 9, 185 biography of 186–7 educational philosophy in practice 198–9 educational vision of commentaries on 191–8

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 208

content of education 189 education 188–9 school as dwelling of angels 189–90 science in writings 187–8 teacher as holy mentor 190–1 Infinite light 187 leadership in Hizmet schools 199–201 worldwide education and 201–3 Gulson, K. N. 69 Gur-Ze’ev, I. 91 Gutmann, A. 35 Habermas, J. 48 Hackett, C. 152, 161 Haldene, J. 133 Halstead, J. M. 70, 71 Hand, M. 23 Hann, L. 146, 147, 148 Hargreaves, A. 147 Hargreaves, D. H. 117 Harris, I. 89, 91, 94, 99, 102, 173–4 Harris, I. M. 89, 91, 93 Harwood, J. 94 Hatfield, E. 110, 116 Hebrew Scriptures 25 Hedges, C. 35 Held, D. 2, 3 heuristic concept, significance of 40 Hewstone, M. 93, 94 Heystek, J. 53 hidden curriculum 139 Higgins, E. T. 96 historical mindedness 34 Hizmet educational movement 9, 185 see also under Gulen, F. Hoge, D. 168 Holland, J. 123 Holtschneider, D. 133 Holy See 23, 24 Hornberg, S. 53, 54, 55 Hostetler, K. 39 Hoyle, E. 119 Huckle, J. 92 human rights, Hizbet movement’s view on 194–5 human rights-based curriculum 53 dialectical nature of cultural and religious values and 60–1

10/19/2012 5:59:26 PM

Index emerging discourses 53–5 nature 58–60 research in education 56–8 school leaders responsibilities in 61–2 leadership and value awareness 62–3 leadership as activism 64–5 leadership for critical praxis 63–4 human subject 33 cultural shift and 33–5 as foundation 40–3 human miniaturization and 35–7 identity, and common good 37–40 leading and learning amidst diversity and 43–8 Hunter, J. 165, 175, 176–8 Hunter, J. D. 9 Huntington, S. P. 96 Hyde, B. 134 idealism, Hizbet movement’s view on 196 Ideal of Authenticity” 15, 22 Ideboen, R. 147 Ignatieff, M. 170 inclusion and exclusion, and loneliness 109–12 inculturation 165, 170–2, 175, 181 individualism 16, 24, 25, 27, 33, 35, 36, 40, 44, 49, 115, 116, 167, 168, 179 Institute of the Balkans 70 instructional leadership 147–8 integrity 41, 171, 188 intercultural peace 92 intergroup contact 94–5 International Education for Peace Institute 79 intrinsic motivation 102 Islam, M. R. 94 Israeli Jewish and Muslim pupils, encounters between 97–9 Jacobs, R. 128 Jacoby, B. 151 Jahjah, M. 94 James, R. K. 99 James, W. 56 Jansen, J. 62, 63 Jarvis, J. 56 Jewish view of human being 25–6

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 209

209

John Paul II 129, 135, 187 Chritifideles Laici 135, 136 Johnson, M. 168 Johnston, D. 7, 97 Judaism 98 Kalyoncu, M. 194, 196 Kamaara, E. K. 96 Kaye, C. 151, 152 Keet, A. 55, 56 Kelchtermans, G. 115 Kelman, H. C. 98 Kieffer, C. 77 Kiggundu, E. 53 Kimball, C. 96, 102 Kincheloe, J. 38 Klenke, K. 2 Knights, D. 45 Knowles, E. D. 102 Koehler, D. J. 93 Kollontai, P. 5, 6, 7, 69 Kozak, P. 78 Kuhn, D. 152 Kunciunas, A. 168 Kusy, M. 55 Kymlica, W. 44 Ladaria, L. F. 25, 26, 27 laity 129, 135 Lanfranchi, R. 17 Langer, E. J. 63 Larkin, P. 118, 119, 121, 122 Lavery, S. 8, 9, 145, 146, 149, 151, 152, 156, 161 Lawrence, F. 41 Lawton, D. 69 lay ministry and sacred ministry, distinction between 136 leadership dimensions 127 curriculum 137–8 formal and hidden 139 inclusive of social institutions 139–40 incorporating all subjects and activities 138–9 syllabus and 138 across year levels 138 educational 140–1

10/19/2012 5:59:26 PM

210 faith 130–2 ministerial 134–7 religious 128–30 spiritual 133–4 see also individual entries Lenhart, V. 54 Leo XIII Nobilissima Gallorum Gens 135 Lewis, K. 121 liberty see freedom Limerick, B. 1 Lin, J. 96 Lindner, J. 151 Lisbon Strategy 19 Litchfield, R. G. 128 Litz, D. 2, 3 loneliness 7, 36, 157, 169 good, and good solitude 119–22 inclusion and exclusion 109–12 overcoming and hosting 122–4 of pupils, staff, and school leaders, understanding 116–19 selfhood, individualism, and 112–16 see also alienation Lonergan, B. 34, 40, 41–3, 44, 46 ‘Dialectic of Authority’ 43 Louw, I. 53 Low-Beer, A. 73 Lunenburg, F. C. 1 Luther, Martin 17 MacBeath, J. 123 Mackie, D. M. 94 Maddux, W. W. 102 Maoz, I. 93, 102 Maritain, J. 27, 37, 39 Martel, H. 111 Marx, K. 111 Das Capital 15 Marzano, R. J. 1, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150 Mason, M. 168 McCowan, T. 56 McDonaghu, K. 70, 71 McGettrick, B. 84 McGrew, A. 2, 3 McLaren, P. 59, 60 McLaughlin, T. 70, 71 McLaurin, W. 47

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 210

Index McNamara, N. 2 McNulty, B. A. 1, 146, 147, 149, 150 mechanical solidarity 110 Melbourne Declaration 20 melting pot theory 46 mentoring 129, 151, 159, 160, 171, 190–1, 199 Mesopotamian creation view 25 metanoia 154 Michel, T. 191, 193, 194, 195, 196 Miedema, S. 53, 70 Mihr, A. 64, 65 Milanovic, B. 16 Miller, J. P. 96 Miller, M. 127 miniaturization, human 35–7 ministerial leadership 134–7 modernity 21, 22, 23, 44, 166, 167, 202 Moore, B. 138 Moorosi, P. 53 moral activities 39 moral conscience 38 moral order 2 moral principles and values, Hizbet movement’s view on 193 moral therapeutic deism 168 Morelli, E. 41 Morelli, M. 41 Morey, M. 133 Morgan, H. 18 Morrison, M. L. 89, 93 mosaic theory 46 Moses 114, 115 Mosoge, J. 53 motivation 22, 27, 35, 44, 62, 75, 96, 102, 131, 146, 152, 158, 193, 198, 202 for peace 7, 102 Moustakas, C. 121 Moustakas, K. 121 multiculturalism 4, 5, 34, 38, 44, 70, 71, 90, 92 Murray, C. 110 Muslim-Croat Federation (MCF) 73 National Qualification Frameworks 20 nation-state 2, 4, 53, 72 natural sociability 111 negative peace 91

10/19/2012 5:59:26 PM

Index Neidhart, H. 134, 146 Ng, Y.-L. 110, 112, 116 Nieman, R. 53 No Child Left Behind 18 nonloners 121 Nuzzi, R. 150 Nye, J. 45 O’Leary, M. 45 ODIHR Advisory Council 76–7 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 97 Oliver, P. 55 Olson, M. A. 102 Ong, W. 14 opacity, of subject 34 optimism 156, 166, 197, 203 Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) 76, 78 Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 76 Ornstein, A. C. 1 Osula, B. 147 Other 180 Pagden, A. 17 Paolini, S. 94 parents’ role, Hizbet movement’s view on 195 Paris Foreign Mission Society 181 Patrick, W. 111, 120 Patrinos, H. A. 18, 19 peace, Hizbet movement’s view on 194 peace education 6 affective aspects of programmes of 94–5 approach 69–70 controlling religious influences in state education 71–3 in curriculum 75–82 inclusive learning communities creation 82–4 religious politicization of education 73–5 religious school models 70–1 encounters between Israeli Jewish and Muslim pupils and 97–9 enhancement via contact between conflict groups 92–4

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 211

211

meaning of 89–90 and peace-enhancing intervention forms 99–100 philosophy of 90–2 and religion 95–7 school leadership role in 101–2 Pedersen, P. 35 performatist subjectivity 34–5 personal development, Christian service learning and 158 Peruche, B. M. 102 Peters, F. E. 98 Pettigrew, T. F. 93, 94, 95, 98, 100 Petty, R. E. 102 Pike, M. 44 Piot, L. 115 Pittau, G. 23 Pius XI 135 Pius XII 135, 174 placement supervisors 159–60 Plant, E. A. 102 pluralism 33, 34, 37, 38, 41, 44, 46, 71, 83, 178 positive peace 91 Posner, G. 59, 60 postmodernity 34, 44 power 21, 22, 43–5, 47, 57, 75, 78, 84, 91, 95, 112, 135, 139, 146, 147, 149–51, 176, 178 Prater, M. 53 prejudice 6, 23, 69, 96, 156 contact effect on 94 reducing 76, 77, 93, 95, 102 Prellezzo, J. M. 17 pre-service teachers 154, 156–7, 158–9, 160 professional loneliness 118–19 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 20 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PRILS) 20 Psacharopoulos, G. 18, 19 Purpel, D. 47 Qur’an 98, 186 Ratzinger, J. 170 realistic threat 95 Reardon, B. 91

10/19/2012 5:59:26 PM

212 reason, significance of 166 Reformation 166, 171 Reid, S. 168 relativism 33, 35, 36, 40, 41, 44, 49 Religious Affairs of Edirne 186 religious leadership 128–30 see also individual entries religious politicization of education 73–5 religious school models 70–1 Republica Serbska (RS) 73, 78 Ricci, M. 9, 170–5, 180, 181 The true meaning of the Lord of Heaven 172 Richards, J. 8, 151, 156 Richardson, N. 69 Riordan, C. 23, 40 Robert, M. 112, 118–19 Robinson, V. 1 Roth, W. 64, 65 Rouner, L. S. 111, 114 Roux, C. 54, 61 Roux, C. D. 56 Rudman, S. 25 Rufus, A. 121, 122 Rule, P. 9, 173, 174, 175 Russo, C. J. 72, 73 Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education (SCCE) 24, 140, 141 sacred ministry 136 Salmon, P. 124 Salomon, G. 90, 93, 102 Samāda Buddha 120 Sampson, C. 7, 97, 105 Sanna, I. 27 Schmitz, H. P. 64, 65 Schram, G. 38 secularization 9, 165 accommodation and 174–5, 179–80 changing the world’ attitude and 176 Chinese ancestral rites and 173–4 church and state separation and decline of religion and 165–6 Confusian Lord of Heaven and Supreme Being of Christianity and 172–3

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 212

Index inculturation and 170–2 religious education and religious socialization and 169–70 search for authentic self and 167–8 theology of faithful presence within and 175 accommodation in religiously affiliated school and 179–80 Christian way of engagement in this world 176–8 implications for religious educators in schools 178–9 young people attending religiously affiliated schools and 168–9 self 7, 9, 15, 33, 35, 36, 37, 41, 44, 45, 46, 48, 57, 59, 90, 97, 101, 109, 111, 118, 120, 158, 160, 167–8, 180, 191, 192, 195, 202 selfhood and individualism, and loneliness 112–16 Selsam, H. 111 Selznic, P. 83 Sen, A. 35–6 separateness, of leaders 114 Sergiovanni, T. 146, 149 Sergiovanni, T. J. 2 servant leadership 148–51 service, sense of 158 service to humanity, Hizbet movement’s view on 191–2 Shah, S. J. A. 69 Shahid, S. 1, 7 Shakdiel, L. 98 Shakespeare, W. 113 Shalvi, A. 98 Sherif, M. 92 Short, G. 70, 71 Siegel, H. 23 Silberman, I. 96, 98 Simmonds, S. 57 Simmonds, S. R. 56 sincerity, Hizbet movement’s view on 196–7 Singleton, A. 168 Skerrett, A. 46 Small, R. 56

10/19/2012 5:59:26 PM

Index Smith, C. 168 Smith, E. R. 94 Smith, J. 56 sociability 111, 118, 120 natural 111 social awareness, of effective leadership 155–7 social change 2, 55, 59, 63, 151, 176, 202 social cohesion 6, 19, 20, 69 socialization 9, 165 and education, religious 169–70 social justice 23, 38, 139, 153, 154, 158, 194 social reality 16, 53, 59, 60 social trust 6, 69, 82 Society of Jesus 171 Sofield, L. 152 South African Netherlands Partnership on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD) 56 Southworth, G. 45 Sovalainen, K. 54 Spillane, J. P. 1 spiritual leadership 133–4 Stafford, J. 151 Standaert, N. 180 Starratt, R. 35, 83, 146 Steinberg, S. 38 Stephan, C. W. Integrated Threat Model 95 Stephan, W. G. Integrated Threat Model 95 Sterling, S. 92 Stern, L. J. 7, 109, 117, 123 Stolac High School 74 Storr, A. 120 structural violence 91 Stuebner, R. 74, 78 subjectivity human 40, 42–3, 45, 49 performatist 34–5 symbolic threat 95 Symes, C. 69 Tacey, D. 169 Tal-Or, N. 93 Tanovic, L. 74, 78

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 213

213

Tascón, S. M. 55 Taylor, C. 9, 15, 22, 35, 115, 165, 166, 167, 171 Teachers without Borders (TWOB) 75 Tertullian 24 Thatcher, A. 134 Third Lateran Council 17 Thomistic philosophy 38 Tibbits, F. 54, 55, 56, 57, 64 Tikly, L. 3 Tillich, P. 109, 123 Times Educational Supplement (TES) 114 Toledo programmes 76–9, 82 tolerance 36, 44, 78, 89, 97, 99, 100, 116, 170, 187, 193, 199, 200 Hizbet movement’s view on 194 Torah 98 Towles-Schwen, T. 102 transactional leadership 146–7 transcendence 26, 35, 37, 42, 47, 98, 141, 168, 169 failed 115 transformation 9, 14, 15, 21, 35, 45, 47, 54, 55, 57–9, 60, 64, 65, 80, 84, 124, 154, 157–9, 191, 202 transformational leaders 147, 148 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 20 Treston, K. 154 Tropp, L. R. 94, 95, 98, 100 Trudeau, P. E. 34 Tunagur, Y. 186 Tuohy, D. 146 typecasting, dangers of 157 UNESCO 18, 91 UNICEF 74 Peace Education Working Group 90 United Nations 17 Department of Economics and Social Affairs 16 Economic and Social Council 18 United Nations Declaration on Human Rights 170 United States Department of State (USD) 72, 74

10/19/2012 5:59:26 PM

214 United States of America, House of Representatives 18 Universal Charter of Human Rights 16 Valentine, J. 53 Valignano, A. 171 value awareness and leadership 62–3 Van der Kooij, J. 53 van Leeuwen, B. 166 van Rooyen, J. 53 Vatican Councils 23, 136 Verhagen, F. C. 92 Voci, A. 94 volunteerism 8, 153, 156, 158, 160 von Hippel, W. 94 Walford, G. 70, 71 Walker, A. 44 Wallace, M. 119, 152 Wallace, W. 37

9781441172976_Index_Final_txt_print.indd 214

Index Waltzer, M. 70 Waters, T. 1, 146, 147, 149, 150 Webber, R. 168 Wenger, E. 57 wholeness 25 Williams, I. 192, 193, 197 Williams-Boyd, P. 82 Witte, J. 17 Wordsworth, W. 113, 118 Yablon, Y. B. 6, 7, 89, 101, 102 Yang, C. K. 172 Yavuz, M. H. 192, 193, 197 Yeni Umit (New Hope) 186 Yilmaz, E. 119, 123 young people, attending religiously affiliated schools 168–9 Zaehner, R. C. 120 Zammit, K. 148 Zuber-Skerrit, O. 53

10/19/2012 5:59:26 PM