How does the current study fit into the discipline of Philosophy of education? This entire section is an attempt to answer this important question. As indicated earlier in the chapter, the Catholic Church has been part of the Zambian society since the 1890s. From its inception to date, this church has been a major partner to different Zambian governments in the provision of quality education at different levels (Carmody, 2002; Kelly, 1999). Therefore, although as an institution the Catholic Church falls under the religious bracket, in the Zambian context the Church is also a significant part of the education system through the numerous academic institutions it runs at different levels in the country. There can be no complete account of the history of education in Zambia without highlighting the contribution of the Catholic Church. Therefore, the point here is that despite its religious orientation, the Catholic Church is very much an academic institution owing to its enormous contribution to the educational enterprise in Zambia. Moreover, it can be stated that in line with the aforementioned, this study therefore deals with an undisputed pure educational subject matter owing to its focus on Catholic schools in Zambia and matters concerning their welfare.
This study focuses on Catholic education and at the core of it is a special focus on the philosophy of Catholic education as provided by the philosophy of Catholic education or
69 the ‘declaration on Christian education’. This is in line with one of the meanings of the term ‘philosophy’. This is because “the term ‘philosophy’ is sometimes popularly used to indicate a set of basic values and attitudes towards any important aspect of life” (Thungu, Wandera, Gachie, & Alumande, 2011:1). To the Catholic Church, education takes center stage especially pertaining to matters of church evangelism and formation of the whole person, a central church concern of ensuring an all-round development or total formation of their students in their schools, that is, both intellectual and spiritual development respectively.
To ensure achievement of its educational goals, in 1965 the Church developed its own educational philosophy which is subject to constant adaptation to contemporary educational concerns as time passes. According to the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education (1988:7), in this philosophy, clearly indicated are “the Catholic Church’s basic educational values to be adhered to by all Catholic schools globally”. A specific focus on and scrutiny of such a philosophy of Catholic education places this study under the discipline of Philosophy of education.
Philosophy of education has also been defined as:
a field of enquiry, speculating and application, in which philosophical methods are applied to the study of problems, topics or issues in education (Bennaars, 1986:12).
In line with the definition of Philosophy of education above, it is evident that this particular study deals with an educational problem within the Zambian education system. A problem enhanced by a conflict of educational values contained in two separate education policies over the years since independence (1964) leading to the undesired identity reformation experienced by Catholic schools in Zambia. To the Catholics and those interested in the welfare of Catholic education, the loss of Catholic identity in their institutions is an undesired outcome or a problem as it portrays a deviation from educational practice as
70 directed by the philosophy of Catholic education. In line with the aforementioned, it is also worth highlighting the fact that:
many philosophers of education are not only interested in the relationship between theory and practice of education, but also in the ways in which philosophy relates to the field of education, in order to shed light on educational problems and issues (Thungu et al., 2011:2).
Therefore, the fact that this study intends to shed light on an educational problem or issue of undesired identity reformation in Catholic secondary schools in Zambia’s Southern Province perfectly fits it within the discipline of Philosophy of education.
Finally, as a discipline, among other things, Philosophy of education is concerned with fundamental issues in education. This is the case because according to Thungu et al. (2011:2), “it tries to apply philosophical approaches in understanding the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education”. Forming part of this study is a critical analysis of Zambia’s educational policies specifically focusing on how they enhance the alleged identity reformation within Catholic schools. This will involve an application of philosophical approaches in order to understand the purpose and nature of the Zambian education system, an aspect regarded highly in Philosophy of education.
This study does the above as it employs philosophical approaches such as the use of philosophical theories to understand the purpose, nature and ideals of Catholic education in Zambia. Through the use of philosophical logical reasoning, the current study also critically examines and evaluates Catholic educational processes in order to understand its purpose, nature and ideals in relation with the alleged undesired identity reformation experienced by Catholic secondary schools in Zambia’s Southern Province.
It is clear from the discussion in this section that the current study is centered on fundamental concerns of Philosophy of education. The current study is especially more concerned with the application of philosophical methods to the study of educational
71 problems, topics and issues. This is because the topic of the current study is purely educational in nature and the study is centered on an educational problem which is ‘Identity Reformation in Catholic Secondary Schools in Zambia’s Southern Province’.
In order to understand the problem of ‘identity reformation’ within Catholic secondary schools in Zambia’s Southern Province, there is need to also understand the features or characteristics which collectively form what is known as genuine or true Catholic education identity. The following section is a discussion of some of the main features, marks and characteristics constituting the identity of Catholic schools worldwide.