PREVALENCIA DE LA DISFUNCIÓN TEMPOROMANDIBULAR

In each school I investigated perceptions of the aims of the school to establish a context for each school. The analysis of the data revealed that teachers perceived that the aims of the school were connected to two sub-themes: achieving their full potential and helping students to become good citizens.

5.2.1 Achieving full potential

A number of teachers, during my first visit, from both Catholic and common schools commented on the importance of helping students reach their full potential. In this regard teachers help students to develop their strengths and ability to achieve in all aspects of education to their maximum. Five of the 16 teachers interviewed in

common schools (31%) mentioned this as an aim in school in comparison with 11 out of 16 teachers in Catholic schools (69%).

A teacher in a common school explained the school aims involved:

bringing out the best, it really is about ensuring that every child achieves to the full of their potential.

(Teacher 1: Heatherside Year 1) A teacher in a Catholic school claimed that:

Every student should be given the ability to flourish and fulfil their potential and that there should be nothing put in the way to prevent them doing that.

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In contrast a response from a teacher in a Catholic school also emphasised the development of Christian values as part of that potential:

Well as a Catholic school I think outstanding pastoral care has to be the first of the aims … If you have outstanding pastoral care then everything else does fall into place, including outstanding learning, outstanding teaching, outstanding results. I think the aim of the school is to provide, is to encourage the young people to fulfil everything that they have the potential to become, fully rounded young people taking their place in society as I would call it Christian disciples.

(Teacher 1: St Olaf’s Year 1) Both of these teachers expressed a desire to see children do well, but there were differences with a greater emphasis in the Catholic school on the inclusion of a Christian perspective. Teachers from the four Catholic schools emphasised the desire not only to help students develop their academic skills, but also their spiritual qualities:

As well as the academic side it’s also the spiritual development, the physical development, the emotional development, every aspect of what it means to be human. We’re interested in the education of the whole person. From the point of view of it being a Catholic school the aim of the school is to help students grow in their knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Church and to grow and mature in that.

(Teacher 1: St Christopher’s Year 1) Four teachers in Catholic schools emphasised the importance of gospel values while two others talked about faith journeys. An emphasis was given here to recognise a knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith. It seemed that the enabling of students to fulfil their potential was interpreted in different ways in the two different types of schools.

Responses from the interviews indicated that a greater emphasis was given in the four common schools on gaining academic qualifications than the Catholic schools:

I would say the main aim is to get our children through GCSE at the highest qualification that they can.

(Teacher 2: Yester Year 1) While academic results were not seen as all that a child needed, a definite emphasis was put on gaining good academic results:

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You want every child to achieve as much as they can academically because it’s such a need in the world today isn’t it?

(Teacher 2: Beechwood Year 1) At one common selective school it was commented that:

We have our overall vision within the school, which is the pursuit of excellence.

They then went on to explain:

We encourage every student to achieve personal excellence in a wide range of academic subjects.

(Teacher 2: Townhead Year 1) Thirteen out of the sixteen teachers who were interviewed in common schools (84%) mentioned this as an aim of the school in comparison to 10 out of 16 teachers in the Catholic schools (63%). The responses indicated that Catholic schools were also trying to ensure good examination results, but they had additional aims including helping students learn from a faith perspective:

…what makes a successful person?

(Teacher 3: St Mary’s Year 2) To summarise, all of the teachers expressed the desire to support their students in achieving their full potential. However, although the percentages are only indicative, the teachers in the common schools seemed to place a greater emphasis on

academic attainment while those in the Catholic schools emphasised a spiritual element to fulfilling potential. Success in a Catholic school appeared to be interpreted in a slightly different way than in the common schools. The question of reaching ‘full potential’ in a Catholic school could also be seen to be understood as encompassing a spiritual dimension.

5.2.2 Being a good citizen

Some teachers appreciated that they had a responsibility to encourage students to take their rightful place in society. The inclusion of citizenship education as part of PSHE was mentioned by teachers from St Mary’s and St Olaf’s as well as a teacher

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from Townhead School. A teacher at St Angela’s advocated that being a good citizen should be seen from a national and a global perspective lending a broader

understanding of what citizenship means. One teacher said that the aims of the school were informed by:

Our mission statement and that of course is very much based on the thing of the gospel but alongside that it is active citizenship, for them to become more aware of the world around them, to have not only ideas on it but also a perception and idea of how they may respond to it and that will obviously be in a Christian way.

(Teacher 3: St Olaf’s Year 2) In this way, the idea that students needed to be active in the world and contribute to the wider international community was again emphasised. However, in contrast another teacher in a Catholic school stated:

We have government policy … we keep doing what we’re doing, caring for the progress of our students.

(Teacher 1: St Angela’s Year 2) Similarly, another member of staff from the same school commented:

I want our girls to have that confidence to go out and be capable in the work place.

(Teacher 2: St Angela’s Year 2) It seemed from this comment that it was considered important that the girls were able to take their place in society and contribute the skills they possessed for the benefit of the wider community, for the common good. Overall, it appeared from interviews with teachers in both Catholic and common schools that there was no agreed conception of what it meant to be a good citizen within the context of PSHE. Less emphasis was given to this theme than that of the students fulfilling their potential or developing their strengths to the maximum.