The promotion of Catholic social thought in a Maltese secondary church school and its impact : a case study

Abstract

The purpose of this case study is to explore how students in an all-boys Maltese Secondary Church school experience the promotion of Catholic Social Thought (CST) within their school, and to what extent this promotion impacts their values and behaviours. This study provides a platform for the voices of the school’s students and educators, which holds significance for the mission and identity of Church schools. An inductive approach to thematic analysis is used to identify the themes and patterns emerging from the research instruments. An interpretivist framework is also used, while a constructivist phenomenological approach using qualitative data is adopted. The sample is made up of 22 students from an all-boys Secondary Church school in Malta, along with a member of the school management team, the school chaplain and a seasoned educator from the same school. Overall, the opinions among the participants were all quite similar, albeit within their own distinctive perspectives and emphasis. The findings show that students experience the promotion of CST in six various ways throughout the school life — formal curriculum; extracurricular activities and school programmes; school environment, policies and practices; teacher and classroom practices and dynamics; nurturance; and role modelling. They also indicate that, while the students’ values and behaviours are being influenced by this promotion, there are also other factors from inside and outside of the school environment that have an impact on the students.