Christian Education Health Check: Perceptions of students about Christian education

Description

Christian schools have an emphasis on teaching based on philosophical principles from the Bible. There are a number of
well known questionnaires eliciting students' perceptions of the classroom learning environment and the whole school
environment. While there are questionnaires that look at adults' reflections about their experience within Christian schools
and questionnaires that are specifically related to reforms in Catholic schools, there are limited questionnaires that more
generally address the unique whole school environment of Christian schools. After consultation with leaders of Christian
schools, such as Burgmann Anglican College, Canberra and St Andrew's Cathedral School, Sydney, it has been
determined that there is a need for a questionnaire that gives an opportunity for students to give their perspective about
how well the school addresses some core principles that underpin an empowering Christian education. However, this
research was not commissioned by these schools. We saw the need for the research as a result of other research in
faith-based schools that we are carrying out. The principles identified include: An inclusive and caring environment,
relevant Bible teaching which develops students' spiritual awareness, engagement with ethical issues, freedom to inquire
and question and opportunities for service.
The aims of this research are to:
1. Develop and validate a survey that addresses the needs of Christian schools in understanding the perceptions of
students about key areas specific to a Christian education ethos
2. Provide opportunities, training and feedback to schools for administering the Christian Education Health Check (CEHC)
3. Understand interactions between scales within the survey through analyses such as Structural Equation Modeling.
Understand whether perceptions of students are similar across year groups, genders, backgrounds.
4. Develop materials, training to support schools in addressing issues raised by survey responses and opportunities to
reflect on the school's vision and understanding of the unique features of Christian education.

Period	22 Oct 2020 → 6 Dec 2023
Work for	Curtin University, Australia, Western Australia
Degree of Recognition	International