Mark Spencer, Director of Public Policy at Christian Schools Australia, elaborates on why culture, community service and traditional Christian values are important to parents.
Although the latest Census results show Christian affiliation is declining across the nation, Christian school enrolments continue to grow as we continue to experience the fastest growth across all school sectors. Parents value the quality, low-fee Christian education our schools provide to over 150,000 students in more than 300 like-minded schools across the country.
The landmark Cardus Education Survey Australia demonstrated the positive contribution Christian school graduates make to the broader flourishing of society. Christian school graduates are active volunteers across a range of different groups, and more likely than graduates from other schools to be involved in trade unions or political parties. Importantly, 74 per cent of graduates from Christian schools felt somewhat or very prepared by their school to find a sense of meaning, purpose and direction of life – vitally important with so much uncertainty and anxiety across the globe.
Through our research involving more than a thousand Australian parents, we discovered that when it comes to their child’s school, ‘care and compassion’ is the number one priority for parents, regardless of their age, income level, or religious affiliation. The same survey also found that ‘care and compassion’ is what Christian schools do best.
Within our school community, responses from more than 8,500 parents across more than 100 Christian schools demonstrated that the teaching of traditional Christian values and beliefs was extremely or very important for their choice of school. In the same survey, 69 per cent identified community service as extremely or very important. Our culture and values are important to parents.
Christian teachers and staff are open about the reason for this culture – they are people who have experienced the care and compassion from God, through a living faith in Jesus, and they want others to experience this also.
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) recently recommended a suite of controversial changes to the law which would make it difficult for our schools to continue hiring Christian staff. For us it is simple. Christian schools must be able to employ staff who share the same faith without the fear of having to defend themselves against costly discrimination claims.
Parents, who are choosing our schools because of their values and beliefs, should feel confident that when they pay for a Christian education, they will get what they are paying for. They should be confident that all staff are committed to the beliefs of the school and will model these beliefs. They must do this if they are to educate and nurture the intellectual, physical, emotional, moral and spiritual wellbeing of their students.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides clear protections for the right of parents to choose to educate their children in accordance with their own religious and moral beliefs. As a signatory to this Covenant, Australia should be upholding this fundamental human right. Unfortunately, as numerous inquiries have shown, this is not the case.
The Christian school sector is strong and growing, parents are voting with their feet, and their wallets. Politicians need to promote genuine educational choice for parents and show a new level of respect for the cultural and religious diversity of all Australians. In times of increasing tensions globally we have a rich and vibrant faith-based education system in Australia that sees people of all faiths, and none, working together.
My hope is to see Christian schools continue to flourish and offer a haven of hope for Australian parents who want to see their children taught and modelled the Christian values and beliefs we hold to be true. We just need our political leaders to ensure legislation provides the opportunity for this to occur.
https://www.csa.edu.au/
