“It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School

The research undertaken for this investigation took place at a time when social media gave greater exposure to morally questionable actions by prominent politicians and celebrities. At the same time, faith schools underwent a major change in their structure as Multi-Academy Trusts were set up across...

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Main Author: Grabowski, Karol Franciszek-Maria
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71907/
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author Grabowski, Karol Franciszek-Maria
author_facet Grabowski, Karol Franciszek-Maria
author_sort Grabowski, Karol Franciszek-Maria
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The research undertaken for this investigation took place at a time when social media gave greater exposure to morally questionable actions by prominent politicians and celebrities. At the same time, faith schools underwent a major change in their structure as Multi-Academy Trusts were set up across diocesan regions. The social milieu that existed leads to serious concerns about the moral atmosphere that exists in the so-called “meta-verse” and its impact on both the well-being of children and their moral development. This research was an ethnographic study of a single Roman Catholic primary school and explored the perceptions of various actors, consisting of children and adults, and their interactions as a community of faith that strives to negotiate this moral maze in a period of societal and educational upheaval. The study works at an interface between a range of psychological theories, the moral doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Ecological Theory of Bronfenbrenner which posits the interaction of multiple factors that influence the final outcomes in the moral development of the children concerned. The findings from observations, field notes, and a series of interviews with teachers and pupils at the school are explored through these three lenses. Findings suggest that the school is in a strong position to resist the onslaught of secularisation and academisation. Children are offered a range of experiences which enable moral growth to take place in a supportive environment which interprets the teachings of the Catholic Church in terms of the many ecologies which the children inhabit. Implications suggest an ongoing need for adult formation, both in parishes and in the teaching profession, if a truly Catholic moral environment is to be sustained in homes and schools.
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spelling nottingham-719072024-02-22T13:32:54Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71907/ “It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School Grabowski, Karol Franciszek-Maria The research undertaken for this investigation took place at a time when social media gave greater exposure to morally questionable actions by prominent politicians and celebrities. At the same time, faith schools underwent a major change in their structure as Multi-Academy Trusts were set up across diocesan regions. The social milieu that existed leads to serious concerns about the moral atmosphere that exists in the so-called “meta-verse” and its impact on both the well-being of children and their moral development. This research was an ethnographic study of a single Roman Catholic primary school and explored the perceptions of various actors, consisting of children and adults, and their interactions as a community of faith that strives to negotiate this moral maze in a period of societal and educational upheaval. The study works at an interface between a range of psychological theories, the moral doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Ecological Theory of Bronfenbrenner which posits the interaction of multiple factors that influence the final outcomes in the moral development of the children concerned. The findings from observations, field notes, and a series of interviews with teachers and pupils at the school are explored through these three lenses. Findings suggest that the school is in a strong position to resist the onslaught of secularisation and academisation. Children are offered a range of experiences which enable moral growth to take place in a supportive environment which interprets the teachings of the Catholic Church in terms of the many ecologies which the children inhabit. Implications suggest an ongoing need for adult formation, both in parishes and in the teaching profession, if a truly Catholic moral environment is to be sustained in homes and schools. 2022-12-16 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71907/1/Final-Thesis-Karol%20FM%20GRABOWSKI-14196209%20with%20approved%20amendments.pdf application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71907/7/Final-Thesis-Karol%20FM%20GRABOWSKI-14196209.pdf Grabowski, Karol Franciszek-Maria (2022) “It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School. EdD thesis, University of Nottingham. Catholic; Catholic Education; moral; moral development; primary school; faith schools; choice
spellingShingle Catholic; Catholic Education; moral; moral development; primary school; faith schools; choice
Grabowski, Karol Franciszek-Maria
“It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School
title “It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School
title_full “It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School
title_fullStr “It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School
title_full_unstemmed “It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School
title_short “It’s all about making choices”: Paradigms of moral practice in a Catholic Primary School
title_sort “it’s all about making choices”: paradigms of moral practice in a catholic primary school
topic Catholic; Catholic Education; moral; moral development; primary school; faith schools; choice
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71907/