What is Christian pedagogy? It is much more than just advice on teaching

In my book 'Pedagogy and Education for Life: A Christian Reframing of Teaching, Learning and Formation' I argue that Christian education and pedagogy must be rooted in an understanding of God's people in-between this life and the next. 

We are shaped as we engage with others, and move in and out of varied 'communities of practice'. This is a reality for our students as they attend our schools, for it is one of the many 'communities of practice' they inhabit. This term was introduced to us by cognitive anthropologist Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger in their book "Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation" (1991). The term describes how as we form groups, and as we inhabit them we begin to learn new things and take on many of the same concerns, passions, values and beliefs. 

The life we all experience includes many people, experiences, successes and disappointments, all of which influence us in varied ways. Such experiences also introduce us to new ideas, beliefs and practices. Our students have lived experiences in and outside school, we need to understand this as our remit, to teach and educate them for life.

1. A Vignette About Jackie

In my book I share an example of what this might look like for our students. I use Jackie (not her real name) as an example of the complexity of multiple communities of practice that influence our students. 

Her family is what we'd call middle class and is very important to her. Her mother is a university trained teacher and her father is in a government administrative role. Her parents are not Christian, but they have sent her to a Christian School 5km from their home, which they believe will give her a good all round education. 

Jackie is well liked at school and has a solid group of friends who are mainly non-Christians. Beyond being at school together, they have a number of common interests in music, film, fashion, dance and boys and so on. 

However, the complexity of the communities of practice she inhabits, goes much further than this and beside those mentioned already includes:

• A close group within her art classes.
• Her extended family including her grandparents, a special aunt and uncle and her cousins.
• A dance group outside school where different friends are found.
• She is also a part-time staff member at a local pizza restaurant.
• A Saturday netball team in a Summer night competition.
• She also has friends at a technical college, where she has been doing a part-time food service course at a local TAFE.
• As well, she has 2,500 Facebook friends, many more on Instagram and some other platforms as well.

2. The Remit of Faith-based Schools

Given the broad cross section of children across faith-based schools, we can appreciate the complexities. They are responsible for a number of things. They were founded to support Christian students and their families, who are often confronted by beliefs and practices they find problematic.  They need to support students to grow in knowledge across the curriculum and to achieve success in life. But at their very foundations they are also responsible to assist students to grow in faith, knowledge, character, values and the consideration of ideas as presented. 

Teachers of course are not the only influencers. Families, friendship groups, and many other varied groups (or communities) in which our children live, will shape them in some way. Such groups include sporting teams, recreational activities, favourite authors, television, media and for, some churches. With this in mind, a central tenant in my book, is that:

"Education is the whole life of a community, and the experience of its members learning to live this life, from the standpoint of a specific end goal."  

 

You might be tempted at this stage to say, how can I as a teacher, possibly have much impact on my students when we see them so little, and they are embedded in multiple communities of practice both inside and outside school? There is some truth to this, but there are many areas where we can have an influence. I want to suggest there are three steps you might take that would make a difference. 

3. Three Key Steps Towards Excellence in Teaching

a) Step 1 - Know and love, and understand our students

James K.A Smith has a statement that is helpful here. He suggests that:

“Education is not just what we teach; it’s how we shape what students love.” 

The desires of our children's hearts are varied and are generally easy enough to observe and understand. So as we teach them the curriculum at hand, we should also seek to shape them as people. Some children are easy to love, and some more difficult, there is nothing new about this. But we need to look for good in all of our students as well as helping them change in areas that are problematic.

Of course, we cannot change things outside our control like annoying habits, laziness, rudeness and some personality traits. While we aren't counsellors, we do have a role in shaping our students in character. We can't treat our students as our friends, we are teachers and authority figures not their friends. But we can take an active interest in their lives and listen to the things they might share in the 'cracks' of school life. However, of course, we must set some boundaries here.

b) Step 2 - Pray and be concerned for your students

While being devoted and diligent in personal prayer 

Justin Taylor in a piece titled 'The Great Vision of Christian Education: Ten Foundational Truths' outlines some helpful foundations for our schools.

In the above article Taylor suggests rightly that Christian education is as big as God and his revelation. It goes beyond parenting and teachers and classroom instruction; it should infuse every aspect of the Christian life. In his words ".. it involves not merely donning gospel-centred glasses when we study 'spiritual' subjects, but being filled by the very presence of almighty God as we seek by his Spirit to interpret all of reality in light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."  

In my time as a teacher in non-Christian schools, I came across many things that were disturbing in the lives of my students outside school. For example, one of my year 6 girls who had withdrawn into the background as a student and looked very sad, revealed privately to me one morning just before school, that she had been subject of abuse from an older brother who had "been practising his kissing on her". Another year 5 student would come to school wreaking of cigarette smoke which I was to learn was due to her father's chain smoking in their 3-room house. Yet another student had was witnessed domestic violence regularly. Of course, such observations must not be set aside.

These few examples underline how we need to know our students well enough to pray for them, to be trusted by them, and at times to even intervene to protect them by reporting events up the line. The latter requires great care and would first be a conversation with your school principal. After that in most cases, there would be a meeting with the parents and then to other authorities if the situation required it.

In the 'cracks' of school life, we can at times observe and hear things that bother us. Some teachers might say this isn't my role. But staying silent in such matters isn't the right response. Somehow, we need to achieve clear boundaries.

I agree with Justin Taylor's statement, but also understand there are limits to what we can and should do. But we all need to be concerned for the welfare of our students. If I had allowed the conversation with my student about her brother, to be shuffled into a box marked "not my responsibility", it may have continued over time and perhaps become worse. 

c) Step 3 - Establish Our Education Based on sound Foundational Principles    

One of the most helpful set of principles I've found is outlined in an article by Justin Taylor, in 'Desiring God' titled 'The Great Vision of Christian Education: Ten Foundational Truths'. These might be helpful.

1. True Christian education involves loving and edifying instruction, grounded in God’s gracious revelation, mediated through the work of Christ, and applied through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that labors to honour and glorify the triune God.

2. Christian education begins with the reality of God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — one God in three persons — creating and sustain all things (Genesis 1:1–2; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:3). 

3. Christian education seeks to rightly interpret and correctly convey all aspects of God’s revelation, both his self-disclosure through the created world (called “general revelation”) and his self-disclosure through the spoken and written word (“special revelation”) Romans 1:20; Hebrews 1:1–2).

4. Christian education, building on the Creator-creature distinction, recognizes the fundamental difference between God’s perfect knowledge of himself and the limited, though sufficient, knowledge we can have of God through his revelation (Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16).

 

5. Christian education recognizes that the recipients of our instruction — whether believers or unbelievers — are created in the image of God, designed to resemble, reflect, and represent their Creator by ruling over creation and relating to one another (Genesis 1:26–27).

6. Christian education reckons with the sobering reality of the Fall — because of Adam’s rebellion as our covenental head, all of us have inherited a rebellious sinfull nature and are legally regarded as guilty (Romans 3:10, 23; Romans 5:12, 15, 17–19). Creation itself is fallen and in need of liberation (Romans 8:19–22). Our disordered desires and every aspect of our thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected, hence we must still battle indwelling sin (Galatians 5:17).

7. Christian education is built upon the work of Christ — including, but not limited to, his substitutionary atonement and triumphant resurrection victory over sin and death (Galatians 4:4–5; 1 Corinthians 2:2; 15:1–5). All of our instruction is founded upon this great event that makes it possible for sinners to stand by faith in the presence of a holy and righteous God.

8. Christian education recognizes that to reflect the mind of Christ and to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), we must be born again (John 3:3), putting off our old and renewed in knowledge after the image of God (Colossians 3:10).

9. Christian education insists on the indispensable work of the Holy Spirit, who teaches (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13), searches everything (including the depths of God) and comprehends the thoughts of God (1 Corinthians 2:10–11). He helps us in our weakness, intercedes for us (Romans 8:26–27), and causes us to bear good fruit (Galatians 5:22–23).

10. Finally, Christian education recognizes the insufficiency of merely receiving, retaining, and relaying notional knowledge (1 Corinthians 8:1; Matthew 7:21–23). Our knowledge must be relational and covenantal (1 Corinthians 13:12), such that our study results in delight (Psalm 37:4; 111:2), practice (Ezra 7:10), obedience (Romans 1:5), and discipling and teaching of others (Matthew 9:19–20; 2 Timothy 2:2).

Conclusion

Please take the time to reflect on these foundational principles, perhaps discussing them with other teachers, and working together to see what changes you might make in your schools and as teachers. Pray that God will use us as teachers and educators, to embrace sound Christian pedagogy. Such a pedagogy, while being true to the educational processes and and curricular required in all schools, will be shaped by the word of God, as we seek to grow our students in faith as well as in knowledge.

Is Christian pedagogy any different to sound secular pedagogy? Part 1

This was the question that shaped one of two plenary addresses I presented to the 'Christian Schools Australia' annual conference in Brisbane recently. I was asked to speak to the 300 delegates about the key points of difference in pedagogy in Christian schools compared to public schools. The brief was to unpack the ideas in my book 'Pedagogy and Education for Life'. It was a challenging task to synthesize all aspects of my work in two 45 minute addresses. But, it's even more difficult to do so in two posts. But here goes!

1. "Is There Such a Thing as Christian Pedagogy?" 

The word 'Pedagogy' is derived from the Greek word “Paidagogeo” which is a compound of “paidos” (child) and “agogos” (one who leads or guides) (Cairney, 2018, p.32). Some quick questions in response. Is this how we see the role of the teacher in Christian schools? I believe it should be. If so, how do we lead or guide our students? Does it look any different to secular schools?

 

The Apostle Paul used the word “Paidagogeo” in Ephesians 6:4 in relation to “discipline" which is how it is often translated. But Paul and others were using it in the sense of “bringing [them] up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” But what does he mean by this? Let me work through some key points.

 

2. What does it mean to teach 'Christianly'?

I think most Christian Christian leaders would agree that teaching is different in Christian schools. But as I have visited Christian schools, and talked with teachers and administrators, much of what they mean when using the term “Christian teaching”, or in some cases “Teaching Christianly”, is have a faith in God, and that their personal faith somehow shapes their work in the classroom. That's one of the reasons, I use the term Christian pedagogy NOT Christian teaching.

In a school with all (or mostly) Christian teachers, what's different about their practices? Is the relationship between teacher and students different? At a broader level, what do the principal, school board and parent body, see as the fundamental things that make their school a Christian school?

 

How recognisable would this be to others? Would they be recognisable to parents, students, other non-Christian schools and so on? Or, are our schools (and parents) just as distracted by academic success, and simply relegate matters of faith to the background?

I believe we need to devote more time in Christian schools to considering what faith-based pedagogy looks like in all classrooms. In fact, we need to develop a 'whole of life perspective' as well as a community perspective in our schools. Why? Because our schools should be places where faith is evident in varied ways, and where it is discussed and seen as a priority with teachers, students and parents.

3. Education is the whole of life of a school community?

One of the key assumptions and priorities in the type of pedagogy I'm suggesting, is that we create classroom and school environments where:

"Education is seen as the whole of life of a community, and the experience of its members learning to live this life, from the standpoint of a specific end goal" (Cairney, 'Pedagogy and Education for Life'). And of course, I'm suggesting that the "whole of life" of the school is more than studying subjects and succeeding academically, in order leading to gain good results and employment. 

Rather, the "whole of life of the school" should be just as much about shaping students to grow in faith, with an understanding that God created them to do more than simply being successful in life. Our God wants our students to know Him, seek to honour Him, and lead lives that bring glory to Him.

• If so, what does such community ‘life’ look like?
• How do we live from the standpoint of a specific goal? 
• What might the goals of the school and the teacher look like?
• What is our role in helping to achieve such communities? 
  

I will look more closely at some of these questions in my next post. But I quote John Hull in the introduction to me book, who helpfully notes:

"What normally passes for Christian Education can more accurately be named 'Christians educating'." Ouch!

Trevor Hart identifies rightly in the foreword to my book that I have sought to describe a “teleology” (i.e. a reason or explanation for the function or purpose of something) or an “eschatology” (i.e. seeing our students in the light of a bigger and more ultimate vision). We do not simply seek educational and intellectual accomplishments, or future wealth.

Hart also suggests, as I do, that what makes “Christian Education” distinctive, is not the curriculum, specific pedagogical methods and so on, but an “eschatology” that views our hopes for our students, in light of a much bigger vision than academic success, future employment and ongoing self-advancement.

4. Summing Up

 

I hope our schools, teachers and leaders, articulate and offer clear reasons for the faith that drives their every action? I implore all of us to assess whether our pedagogy and priorities demonstrate a much bigger vision for our students’ future (and their parents), than just top marks and rankings, careers and success. Of course, this might be different from what some parents (and even staff) perceive as the ‘good life’. But there is no reason to see these things are incompatible. We need to keep asking, what does “success” look like for students and us as teachers? Finally, if teachers, parents and students have different views, how do we reconcile them?

 

Christian schools should seek to create rich school environments, that point students towards faith in our Lord and Saviour, not just ‘success’ in life?

 

In my next post, I will look more closely at how Christian Pedagogy has a key role in shaping our students in the faith which at times might be invisible. While we can easily see and assess student growth in knowledge, skills, and commitment to learning, how do we assess growth in the inner life of our students?

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John Hull, “Aiming for Christian Education, Settling for Christians Educating”, Christian Scholar Review 32 (2009) 203-23.

 

The Challenge to Reduce the Gap Between School and the World

Life as we Inhabit many communities

As I have written before on this blog, our children learn much more in the day-to-day life of the school than just curriculum content. Education is more than reception of knowledge. The life of the school in and outside the classroom has an influence in shaping them as people and citizens. Hence, all schools and their teachers have some responsibility to keep in mind a focus on transformation of students as learning and life are enacted together in a school 'community'.

A key agenda for teachers and leaders in our schools, should be to narrow the gap between our students experience of school and life (Cairney p19). Students like all people, inhabit multiple communities. How do their actions, values and priorities and so on, vary as they move from one community to another? It is critical for all teachers and parents to understand the interrelationship of home, school and community. It's easy to adopt such priorities as a goal, but it needs to be more than words. It needs to be a deeply held beliefs and values founded on a rich understanding of the complexity and differences between the communities students inhabit. 

In 'Pedagogy and Education for Life', I offer vignettes of students I taught. For one student, I could identify at least 8 key and influential communities she experienced simultaneously. Including her 'group' of school friends, members of her art class, her extended family (especially her grandparents), a dance group, staff she worked with part-time at a pizza parlour, her netball team, other students in a technical college food service class, and her 2,500 Facebook friends.

Why is this Important?

Every one of the varied communities that students inhabit require them to take on specific roles, values, forms of engagement, priorities and their view of what the 'good life' looks like (Cairney, pp 20-21).

And here's the rub! Each of our students varied communities has an influence on shaping values, desires and priorities in life. These of course, reflect the type of person the world seems to value, and hence who they 'should' seek to become. Sadly, there is often great inconsistency between these diverse communities. As a result, sometimes we will give a kind of tacit agreement to some things, but not challenge other positions which we might not accept. In this way, over time our students are shaped in word and action as they negotiate their complex lives. All our students' diverse communities of practice have an impact and begin to shape the things they love, desire and value.

James Smith helpfully suggests that we need to understand that our Christian education efforts need to influence our students' loves and desires that "...in turn govern and generate action both individual and collective" (James Smith, "Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview and Cultural Formation", 2009). The role of school must always be seen as more than teaching knowledge and skills; it is also a key vehicle and context for student formation as people.

Smith helpfully reminds us that the 'heart' not simply the mind, should be our primary target. Why? Because it is from here that our students' loves and desires are shaped. As he puts it, "our doing bubbles up from our loves, whether we realize it or not." As teachers and parents, it is critical that we seek to influence such loves and desires, for it is these that will generate the things they value most and hence priorities and actions.  

What are some of the means to achieving this goal?

In the rest of the post, let me suggest three tests or questions we should regularly apply to our schools, as well as our teachers and leaders within them. You could use a variety of ways to assess these simple questions, including discussing your observations with a few other parents, as well as with your students as their teacher. And as parent you should discuss this with your children. You might also look carefully at the school website to see how it promotes itself. Here are three simple questions or 'lenses' to get started.

First, try to take a 'step back, and identify the things your children's school seems to value most in its actions, priorities and promotion of itself. The website will be helpful here as well as your children's reflections on their experiences. List the top three.

Second, how easy is it to see how the school understands its position within the world? Does it make explicit how the priorities of a faith-based school are different from secular schools?

Third, sit down with your children and ask them to share what they believe the school values most. Try to drill down to the level of the teacher and ask what various teachers seem to value most.  

Fourth, now consider whether the above observations are similar or different to those of the faith-based school. What is special and distinctive about your school? What is the same?

There is nothing startling about these four questions, but I suspect if you consider them carefully, and perhaps discuss them with other parents as well as your children, you might have some useful conversations about the things that matter most to the school and your children and you as parents.