Abstract:
Australian Protestant, evangelical, fundamentalist and/or Pentecostal Christian schools are underpinned by the biblical worldview, which is recognised as being at variance with the socially diverse nature of Australian society. In this social climate, some Christian schools enrol students from families connected to Christian as well as other worldviews. Therefore, as Christian schools become increasingly diverse, the spiritual and religious underpinnings of Christian schooling may be complex for some students, who have different worldviews to that of their school. In view of the society in which students exist, the purpose of this study was to understand the students’ perspectives of their Christian schooling experience, and their experiences with other worldviews and the effect this has upon their sense of belonging and identity.
A phenomenological approach underpinned this study and was guided by the research question. Nine Christian school graduates (alumni) who had attended one of five Victorian Christian schools volunteered to participate in a semi-structured interview, that prompted them to reflect upon their lived Christian schooling experience.
Following the interviews, anecdotes and phenomenological reflections were crafted from transcripts. A conceptual analysis, which drew upon the hermeneutical process, highlighted the participants entwined essence of belonging-and-identity. This illuminated their complex experience of being a Christian student. At times, the participants’ sense of belonging-and-identity pulled them toward likeminded people, where their spiritual identity was affirmed. On other occasions, participants’ felt challenged by other worldviews, and preferred to be with likeminded Christian people, where they had a stronger sense of belonging-and-Christian identity. This study highlights that Christian schooling is a highly protected type of schooling, where Christian students were comfortable in their affiliation with likeminded people, and where some found connecting with other worldviews challenging.
In addressing the research question, I have concluded that Christian schooling is a highly protected type of schooling. While participants in this study were comfortable being affiliated with the Christian worldview, they found it challenging to build connections with people affiliated to other worldviews, seeing this as being detrimental to their Christian identity. The study makes a new contribution to knowledge through the utilisation of phenomenology to bring the lived experiences of the participants’ Christian schooling into nearness and calls for a stronger inclusive focus, particularly in respect to the teaching of worldviews in schools.
A phenomenological approach underpinned this study and was guided by the research question. Nine Christian school graduates (alumni) who had attended one of five Victorian Christian schools volunteered to participate in a semi-structured interview, that prompted them to reflect upon their lived Christian schooling experience.
Following the interviews, anecdotes and phenomenological reflections were crafted from transcripts. A conceptual analysis, which drew upon the hermeneutical process, highlighted the participants entwined essence of belonging-and-identity. This illuminated their complex experience of being a Christian student. At times, the participants’ sense of belonging-and-identity pulled them toward likeminded people, where their spiritual identity was affirmed. On other occasions, participants’ felt challenged by other worldviews, and preferred to be with likeminded Christian people, where they had a stronger sense of belonging-and-Christian identity. This study highlights that Christian schooling is a highly protected type of schooling, where Christian students were comfortable in their affiliation with likeminded people, and where some found connecting with other worldviews challenging.
In addressing the research question, I have concluded that Christian schooling is a highly protected type of schooling. While participants in this study were comfortable being affiliated with the Christian worldview, they found it challenging to build connections with people affiliated to other worldviews, seeing this as being detrimental to their Christian identity. The study makes a new contribution to knowledge through the utilisation of phenomenology to bring the lived experiences of the participants’ Christian schooling into nearness and calls for a stronger inclusive focus, particularly in respect to the teaching of worldviews in schools.