Diploma in

1. The University of Notre Dame Aims and Rationale • Despite the fact that approximately 57% of post-primary schools in Ireland are under Catholic patronage, there is currently no programme dedicated to training post-primary teachers to work in Catholic schools. • The objectives of the Diploma in Catholic Education are therefore: • to promote a greater understanding of the theological foundation and history of Catholic Education • to foster a more significant awareness of teachers’ roles and responsibilities in Catholic schools • to enable student teachers to develop a sense of their own spirituality and how it is expressed through their day-to-day experience in a Catholic school • Our vision is that this could have a considerable, long-term impact on the ethos and characteristic spirit of post-primary Catholic schools in Ireland. The Diploma in Catholic Education offered by St. Patrick’s College-Maynooth is an initiative undertaken in partnership with the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) and the National University of Ireland-Maynooth. ACE was begun by the University of Notre Dame in 1994 with the express mission of supplying Catholic schools in the southern United States with committed, recent college graduates as teachers. ACE has maintained a presence in Ireland since 2002. It’s mission is to be part of a broad community of people committed to enhancing the character of Irish Catholic education. Fees Because of the generous support of the University of Notre Dame, and the commitment of St Patrick’s College-Maynooth to Catholic education, the fee for the Diploma in Catholic Education is €500. This includes travel to the University of Notre Dame and subsistence for the duration of the course there. Diploma in Catholic Education For more information: For More Information John O’Malley Coordinator, Diploma in Catholic Education, c/o Keough-Naughton Notre Dame Centre, 58 Merrion Square, Dublin 1 Telephone: 085 707 3932 Email: jomalle3@nd.edu A Professional Qualification for Second-Level Teachers

2. Professional Educators Forming a Community Growing in Faith Those enrolled in the Diploma in Catholic Education will be encouraged to grow together, to support one another, and to share the journey of becoming committed Catholic school teachers. St Patrick’s College-Maynooth will appoint a mentor – called a Community Supervisor – whose role will be to facilitate the students’ cohesion as a group. Group activities will be organised on a regular basis to give students the opportunity to connect with each other outside of the academic setting. These activities will include monthly Masses and dinners, and retreat experiences three times yearly. In addition to these activities, participants in the Diploma in Catholic Education will be invited to join with other teachers, principals and people involved in Catholic education on a monthly basis. These gatherings are another link that St Patrick’s College-Maynooth has with the University of Notre Dame, who host the events on a monthly basis. Participants in the Diploma in Catholic Education will be encouraged to develop their own personal spirituality throughout the course. This will be achieved through retreat experiences, regular opportunities for Mass and prayer, and through formal course work. An important goal of the Diploma in Catholic Education is to provide participants with the tools to become reflective professional educators and people of faith long after the programme ends. Our aim is that students will be both formed and informed, so that they can be agents of transformation within the school communities in which they serve. • Participants in the Diploma in Catholic Education will also be enrolled / have completed the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE). If applicable, students therefore will undertake both certifications simultaneously. The classes offered by St Patrick’s College-Maynooth will compliment those required by the PDE, and will enhance students’ formation as teachers in Catholic schools. • Two classes will be offered by St Patrick’s College as evening courses: • Semester One (Autumn): Catholic Education – Roots, History and Content • Semester Two (Spring): The Spirituality of the Catholic Teacher • As a capstone experience to the Diploma in Catholic Education, students will spend two weeks at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, USA participating in four additional courses: • The Christian Moral Life • Catholic Social Doctrine • Introduction to the Christian Scriptures • The Christian Creed