- Title
- An exploration of factors which affect the Christian ethos of Christian schools: a comparative case study analysis of two Christian schools
- Creator
- Everett, Garrick R.
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2017
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This study explores the stakeholder perceptions of factors affecting the Christian ethos of two Christian schools in Australia, one of which is a church-based school and the other, a parent-controlled school. The research arose from the literature and general concerns in the Christian community about the perceived secular drift of Christian educational organisations. The intention of the research was to determine and systematically describe which factors improve, and which detract from the Christian ethos of a Christian school. Consideration was given to the following factors: The role of the Bible in pedagogy; legislation; school history; existing culture; documentation; the correlation between the principal and the school ethos; the Board; staff; students; chapel services; Christian studies classes; indoctrination; parental influence; the Church’s role both locally and globally; geographic location; social media; and, other societal effects. These factors allowed the development of a rudimentary model of the Christian ethos, which, after analysis, was refined to better reflect the interaction between factors. The study used qualitative case study methodology and combined documentary evidence, interviews, focus groups and selected observations to build its evidence base. The background literature being so expansive, and covering such a broad range of topics, was by necessity limited to aspects which were considered to be the most likely factors which would influence the Christian ethos of Christian schools. The decision to include or exclude concepts or factors was primarily based upon research completed by Benne (2001) and Burtchaell (1998). By way of declaration, part of this was also influenced by my extensive experience as a senior teacher in Christian schools. The study found that Christian ethos was the defining cultural force in the two case study schools. The evidence points to the synthesis of the two key elements within a school community – the student body and the teaching staff – as essential to raising and maintaining the Christian ethos of Christian schools. The principal, administrative staff, school Board and parents also have crucial input into the Christian ethos of the case study schools with some having more influence than others in relation to a particular school. Other factors, such as the school’s geographic location, documentary records, socio-economic profiles of families, and quantity of churches in the local area were also found to have potential impacts on the Christian ethos of Christian schools. The study found that the most significant influence on the Christian ethos occurred through relational and interpersonal factors, and the overarching impact of the Bible. Several findings were significant and endemic to both the church-based and parent-controlled Christian schools. There was an absence of religious indoctrination within classroom settings where biblical concepts were espoused. In contrast there was an indication that cultural indoctrination occurred when the factors pertinent to this study were seen to align positively. The assumption that discord might occur where multiple denominations existed within the same staff was found to be false. Indeed, contrary to this view, it was found that a multidenominational staff mix positively contributed to the Christian ethos. The notion that all aspects could be defined in polarized, black and white terms, where certain factors would be found to cause an improvement in the Christian ethos while other factors would hasten a decline, was not supported by the evidence. The majority of factors were able to influence the Christian ethos in positive or negative terms, with some factors having no discernible impact. Finally, the development of a ‘Christian ethos egg model’ and the prioritising of critical factors should prove beneficial to future studies on the Christian ethos of Christian schools.
- Subject
- Christian school; grammar school; Christian ethos; indoctrination; staff denomination
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1353489
- Identifier
- uon:31103
- Rights
- Copyright 2017 Garrick R. Everett
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 79 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |