Formation of Teachers for Catholic Schools

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. Essays Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities Facing Catholic Teacher Formation in Particular National Contexts

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Catholic Teacher Formation in the Land Down Under

      • Michael T. Buchanan

      Pages 3-14

   3. Catholic Teacher Formation in Northern Ireland

      • Niall Coll

      Pages 15-25

   4. Catholic Teacher Formation in Scotland

      • Roisín Coll, Stephen Reilly

      Pages 27-41

   5. Catholic Teacher Formation in America

      • Max T. Engel

      Pages 43-54

   6. Catholic Teacher Formation in the Republic of Ireland

      • John-Paul Sheridan

      Pages 55-66

   7. Catholic Teacher Formation in England and Wales

      • Sean Whittle

      Pages 67-77

3. Catholic Teacher Formation: Engaging with Current Topics

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 79-79

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   2. Formation for Leadership in Catholic Schools

      • Ken Avenell

      Pages 81-92

   3. Reflections on the Vocation of the Teacher: Formation, Agency and Meditation

      • Julie Harvie, Kathleen Kerrigan

      Pages 93-103

   4. Teacher Formation: An Augustinian Study in Learning Truth and Beauty

      • Renée Köhler-Ryan

      Pages 105-115

   5. Teacher Formation in a Digital Age

      • Mary E. Hess

      Pages 117-127

   6. Bridges into Mystical Wisdom: Using Carmelite Spirituality in Teacher Formation

      • Michelle Jones

      Pages 129-138

   7. Valuing and Cultivating Dialogue Amongst Learner–Educators: Ongoing Challenges for Post-Primary Religious Education Teachers in Catholic Schools

      • Bernadette Sweetman

      Pages 139-149

4. Back Matter

   Pages 151-172

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This book explores in a theoretical and practical sense the challenges and opportunities arising in the initial and ongoing formation processes for teachers in Catholic schools. It showcases a range of international perspectives on how prospective teachers for Catholic schools are prepared both academically and pastorally for their professional role. 

Divided into two parts, Part 1 of the book focuses on certain countries in the Anglosphere; each country with a dedicated chapter in which the academic and pastoral approaches to teacher formation are examined in the context of its particular cultural, political and religious landscape. Part 2 of the book examines specific areas of interest with particular reference to what it means for the Catholic Church’s mission to offer suitable formation to its corps of teachers. 


Building on the editors' previous work, this book offers a fresh perspective on this subject by bringing together observations from selected local contexts on what Catholic teacher formation looks like as a set of organised processed and structures. It also shows how the study of educational themes offers challenges to current practices, but also opportunities for fruitful engagement with other educational perspectives.

• Catholic Education and the ‘New Era’
• Challenges and Opportunities for Catholic Teacher Formation
• Catholic Education in International Contexts
• Theory and Practice of Catholic Education
• Hot topics in Catholic Education
• The New Evangelisation and Teacher Formation
• Teacher Formation and Inter-cultural Dialogue
• Teacher Education in the University
• Catholic Higher Education and Teacher Formation
• The Good, True and Beautiful in Teacher Formation
• Spiritual Development and Teacher Formation
• Professional Development in Education
• School Leadership
• Early Career Teachers
• Catholic Schools and Secularisation

“The editors’ understanding of the subject matter and their hands-on approach to CTF makes this the number one go-to resource to understand the challenges faced by Catholic education and the related opportunities.” (Ines Angeli Murzaku, The International Journal of Evangelization and Catechetics, Vol. 4 (1), 2023)

• School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

  Leonardo Franchi

• Broken Bay Institute-TAITE, Sydney, Australia

  Richard Rymarz

Dr Leonardo Franchi is a lecturer in Religious Education at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He was Director of Catholic Teacher Education at the University of Glasgow from 2012–2016 and is a member of the Executive of the Association for Catholic Colleges and Institutes of Education (ACISE). His principal research interests are in the nature of religious education, and issues around initial and ongoing teacher formation.

Professor Richard Rymarz is the Head of Religious Education and Director of Research at the Broken Bay Institute – The Australian Institute of Theological Education. Prior to this he held the Peter and Doris Kule Chair in Catholic Religious Education, St Joseph’s College, at the University of Alberta, Canada. He has wide experience in educational research and teaching, especially work on Catholic schools, teacher formation, and moral and religious education. His most recent publications examine moving from theory to practice in religious education, and the history and future directions of teacher formation.  

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