ARTICLES TOWARD THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL RELIGION TEACHERS: AN ASSESSMENT OF RELIGION TEACHING AS A PROFESSION

This article assesses religion teaching as a profession in terms of selected char-acteristics that scholars agree are common to all professions. The characteris-tics that are addressed include essential service, call to serve, special knowl-edge and skills, specialized and advanced university training, public trust and status, code of ethics and performance standards, and professional organiza-tion. The research suggests that religion teaching satisfies two of the seven selected characteristics, namely essential service and call to serve, but does not fully satisfy the other five. The main conclusion drawn is that steps must be taken to professionalize religion teaching. To that end, recommendations include the further development of a professional association for religion teachers, credentialing standards, and a certification/licensing scheme