Secondary school theology teacher

[cowan19]

Can anyone tell me what degrees/certifications/training is needed to teach theology in a catholic secondary school? Do you need an education degree, or just a theology/religious studies degree? Do you need to be certified by the state you’re going to teach in, like public school teachers do? Where do you get the training specific to teaching the kids about the catholic church/thought? Any teachers out there who could shed some light on this subject for me, I would appreciate it!

 

[puzzleannie]

call your diocesan education office and find out

in this diocese and in my former diocese you need elementary or secondary certification through whatever courses are required in your state, plus certification through the diocese to teach religion. those courses are similar to what is required of a catechist, 100 hours basic certification over liturgy, sacraments, morality, scripture, methods, spirituality, prayer and so forth. As with all teachers, they also need to keep up to date with a certain number of hours each year of continuing education. if you are specifically teaching theology, you probably need to have or be working on an MA in theology or related field, and requirements would be similar to DRE certification.

 

[Joannm]

In our diocese you also need secondary teacher certification and for most schools you need an MA in theology or religious education. All elementary school teachers need to have an advanced catechist certificate to gain tenure.

 

[the_lords_sheep]

I believe it depends whether you are teaching at a diocesan high school or a private Catholic high school. At a private school, if you have the master’s in theology, many places will hire you if you are working on/ will shortly begin work on your masters’ in ED. I know many theology teachers who have no education training, and some with only very little.
The best way to know is to call some schools you may be interested in working at to get a good idea.
My only word of caution is when studying, find a program that’s afforable, as you will not make much money to pay off loans. I have many teaching friends who have run into this problem.
A solution may be to begin with a Master’s in Education and while teaching, get the second masters in Theology. Look into the ACE program at Notre Dame. It’s a great program for teachers where you do 2 years of service in an under-resourced catholic school and at the end have a master’s in education.
Good luck to you!
lauren

 

[teaching1]

“Yeah, I agree teaching is a challenging profession, but it can be one of the most rewarding careers.
It’s some times a difficult professional to enter when you have to take a teacher certification like the Praxis II test. It takes a special type of person to be a teacher and be successful at it.”

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Praxis II study

 

[SisterSnowflake]

I’m a high school theology teacher at an all boys Catholic school. In this Archdioces, you MUST have an MA or greater in theology, and it seems that MOST schools (around here, at least) also prefer a teaching background/teaching certificate.

 

[odubhghail]

Here in Ontario, because Catholic schools are state supported (and teachers are paid salaries comparable to public school teachers), we need degrees in any subject we teach (including theology).