Section B: The spiritual, philosophical and cultural roots of education and their expression in curricular choices
Rationale
A growing number of thinkers now argue that since the advent of the “postmodern condition”, there are no more ‘strong’ philosophical reasons to refuse religion or to refuse science. Both, it seems, can co-exist, especially if religious traditions become available in the marketplace of ideas, one among many, to pick from to enhance one’s moral and spiritual life. Such epistemological shifts in perspective tend to ignore the ongoing commitment of religious bodies to offer educational opportunities to explore ideas that might conflict with some modern views. Catholic education remains one of the principal actors on the stage of world education.
What are the roots of the Catholic Church’s desire to educate? The study of Catholic theology is a serious attempt to use human faculties to understand ‘what is believed to be revealed truth’ (Franchi and McKinney, 2011, p. xii), as well as to draw from the tradition of natural theology and contemporary philosophy, including moral philosophy. At least since the Second Vatican Council and the publication of Nostra Aetate, the Catholic Church has recognised the richness and insights offered by other faith traditions and has insisted that they be treated seriously and graciously (Conroy and Davis, 2010, pp. 455-456). The concept of God itself is now regarded as a ‘cluster concept’, made up of a cluster of other concepts (Harrison, 2011, p. 5). There is a requirement to ensure that educational and pedagogical practices receive continuous renewal and reflection and are in dialogue with ongoing movements in society.
The future of Catholic education must come to terms with these new conditions of thought and practice, conditions brought about by modernity itself. It is clear that the universal Church’s thinking on education has undergone a significant shift in recent decades. The focus now is very much on education as a means of integral human development and the promotion of a culture of dialogue.
It would be unreasonable (although perhaps desirable) to expect all schools in contemporary Scotland to have the same commitment to the study of religion and religious ways of thinking which should be present in the Catholic school. Nonetheless, implicit in the Catholic educational tradition is the imperative to develop a broad and deep understanding of the aims and purposes of education. In this vision, schools are much more than sites of training for employment, but rather essential gathering-points where each generation draws from the store of human knowledge and using the power of reason and accompanied by wise teachers, discerns what it means to live a good life.
For this educational mission to be effective, schools must recapture the importance of knowledge. They must ensure that the curriculum has the potential to widen the horizons of pupils by introducing them gradually and appropriately to the story of humanity in its many narratives. The liberal arts and sciences are ideal conduits for this mission. While there is no set template for such a pedagogical approach, it does require a commitment to a critical exploration of key thinkers and key ideas from both history and the present age. For example, the study of Scotland’s contribution to literature, engineering, science and economics, to identify just four domains of knowledge, should be central to any future reform.
This suggestion challenges the current trends in Scottish education as found in Curriculum for Excellence. It requires a desire to rethink aspects of the Curriculum for Excellence and reclaim the cherished and well-documented traditions of Scottish education. The vision of Catholic education implicit in this section invites all with an interest in contemporary Scottish education to join the conversation.
An example of curriculum enrichment: expressive arts in the primary school curriculum
Our call for equal access to arts, culture, and music frames the place of the expressive arts in the curriculum. Listening to the widespread experience of our students on school experience placement over many years, we have become concerned about the narrowing of the curriculum to literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing (plus RERC in the Catholic sector). Whilst this might have represented an emergency response to the pandemic, the National Discussion provides an opportunity to widen the curriculum once again in order to provide proper balance. We illustrate the current situation and provide some suggestions via the case study of music education.
Music and culture
Music is integral to culture. We sing to welcome a new life, in some cultures at the actual point of birth in others at the child’s Baptism. We sing to celebrate birthdays, graduations, engagements, weddings and during many other notable milestones in life. Collectively we support our team or country in song, and we send off our loved ones with music and song, be that at church or a chapel of rest, or indeed at the wake or around the grave depending on the culture. Music allows us to express emotion, both individually and collectively, in a way that words fail to do. It unites, supports, calms and encourages us on life’s journey.
Yet today all is not well for the place of music in our schools. Although we find music in the expressive art section of our CfE documentation and can read through the experiences and outcomes as with any other subject, it has become a marginalised area very dependent on the particular school or class teacher to determine the attention it receives in the curriculum.
A recent study, Music Education in the Primary Classroom in Scotland (Moscardini et al, 2021), shone a light on the state of music in our schools. Although the majority of primary teacher respondents considered that music was fundamental, just under three quarters of those felt unprepared to teach music effectively.
Even more worrying would be the place of music when we add social deprivation to the mix. The report suggested that in the areas of most disadvantage teachers were three times more likely to suggest music was non-existent, with few or no resources and little in the way of CLPL available for staff.
Today when we see the rise in poor mental health in our young people would we not see music (and the other expressive arts) as fundamental once again to all our schools in Scotland?
Among the aforementioned study’s recommendations, we would highlight the following: a coordinator for music in every primary school – a class teacher not a specialist, cultural co-ordinators to be reinstated by Creative Scotland to link the school co-ordinators with Third Sector organisations for support, an audit of CLPL provision in each local authority and the need for inclusivity of music provision for every child.
Finally, for our ITE sector we need to consider the amount of time given over to the teaching of music and the other expressive arts in our UG and PDGE(P) courses. We commend a fuller reading of the report and its recommendation.
Part 3 will address subsidiarity and preferential options for the poor.
The Cloisters 