El preámbulo de la geografía profesional: la escuela

During the period 1962 to 1965, the Second Vatican Council brought about many changes in the Catholic Church throughout the world (Elliot, 2003). Pope John XXIII opened the Council on 2nd October, 1962, and Pope Paul VI brought the Council to an end on 8th December 1965.

The Council changed to active participation of the congregation in the liturgy of the Mass by replacing Latin with the vernacular language. The sacraments and the form of the Mass were simplified with the aim of making them more

meaningful to those participating. The Council stipulated that moral standards should be upheld in the media, particularly in television and film (Elliot, 2003). The traditions of the Eastern Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, the Council declared, should be held sacred and combined fully to make up ‘the whole Church of Christ’ (Elliot, p. 156).

The Council stressed that the mission for all Catholics was to spread the word of God and evangelize all communities because everyone in the Church is a missionary and ‘all Catholics are called to holiness’ (Elliot, p. 156). The Council gave guidance to the people of the modern world on matters relating to

marriage and family life, politics and relationships between international communities (McEnroy, 1996). It also stressed the importance of Ecumenism and stated that all baptized people should be called Christian and that Catholics should be involved with non-Catholic Christians as well as other great non- Christian world religions and show respect for these religions (Elliot, 2003).

41 Religious freedom, according to the Council, must be allowed for all societies and no one should be compelled to take on the Christian faith. Everybody should be allowed to practise their faith. Those in religious life were advised to reflect on the ‘original vision of their founder and to renew their practice of their vows of chastity, poverty and obedience’ (Elliot, p. 157). As regards Christian education of youth, it must take place in the home, at school, and in the Church. Bishops had to obtain a list of qualifications to become a bishop and they were required to teach, lead the liturgy, and care for those in need. The same applied to priests, who were required by the Council to teach the gospel, celebrate the sacraments and serve their community. Training of future priests was to be related to the cultural and social circumstances where they reside (Elliot, 2003). The change brought about by involving the laity in the mission of the Catholic Church was the biggest change of all. Lay people were encouraged to take a much more active role in the Church, especially women who had not been allowed inside the altar rails prior to the Second Vatican Council. Now they were allowed to do the readings at Mass, serve Holy Communion and Wine and administer at Holy Communion Services when a priest is not available. Women took part in many activities in the local parish community such as Baptism preparations, pre-marriage courses with their husbands and teaching Sunday school to students attending State schools. Girls were now able to attend the priest as an altar server (McEnroy, 1996).

This chapter has provided a review of the historical backgrounds and contexts of the participants in this study particularly as they relate to Ireland, Rome and Australia. A detailed description of the methodology employed in this research will be discussed in the next chapter: Chapter 3.

42

CHAPTER

3:

METHODOLOGY

This study has been undertaken primarily as narrative analysis. The research strategies used in this study are described and explained in this chapter. These include a discussion of the nature of qualitative research, oral history,

interviewing, individual’s stories, and narrative analysis. An outline of the research participants is also provided. The approaches used to best interpret and present the data are described and explained. This research consists of a balance of an historical account as well as oral histories.

This research study focused on ‘The professional experience of Irish Catholic women teachers in Victoria from 1930 to 1980’. The research is a collection of stories and oral histories derived from interviews with Irish Catholic women, who were teachers in Victoria during this period: 1930 to 1980. This study sought to investigate how Irish women teachers experienced education in Catholic

schools in Victoria in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, discipline, culture and in other ways.

This research is an attempt to explore an historical reality – the immigration of Irish women to teach in Catholic schools in Australia – and to give voice to those who were involved. It subscribes to a feminist epistemology that values the stories of the women involved in the historical experience (Campion, 1997), above the patriarchal recording of this history. Anderson (1995) argues that feminist epistemology is concerned about how gender impacts on knowledge creation and inquiry. The role of women in many areas of society has been overlooked compared to the role of men. This is particularly relevant when the majority of these women were operating within the overtly patriarchal, and at

43 times misogynistic, institution of the Catholic Church (Macdonald et al.1999; Campion, 1982).