Abstract

This paper seeks to address a gap in the literature regarding lay teachers and their role and status within Catholic schools, studies have been carried out investigating this from the perspective of teaching religious and the Catholic Church but have yet to fully investigate this from the lay teachers’ perspectives themselves. The period 1940-1980 was chosen over many other periods of time not merely because this was an era of great change within the Catholic Church which impacted Catholic education globally, particularly with the occurrence of the Second Vatican Council; but also, because the opportunity to interview teachers from this era will not be available for much longer. Lay teachers from Adelaide, South Australia, were interviewed to learn about their perspectives on teaching in Catholic schools. The interviews were analysed using open coding and axial coding. It is hoped that in understanding the perspectives of these teachers, researchers and educators will gain a deeper knowledge of the role and status of the lay teacher in Catholic education from 1940 to 1980, broadening the context of the Catholic education system in order to enable a greater understanding of the system as it stands today.