Mid-year Evaluation of School of Theology

At the end the first half of the academic year, the students at the Jesuit Institute School of Theology have conducted evaluations of the courses they have been attending. Students come from all across the archdiocese. There are 26 students attending the second year of theology, and 24 in the course in Scripture being taught at the Catholic Bible College. Most are Catholic. However, one or two members of other churches were referred to us by St Augustine College, because they specifically wanted to study theology and biblical studies at the certificate level. So an ecumenical respect prevails, while the the ethos of the courses remains Catholic.

There is a mixture of women and men ranging in age from their mid-thirties to their mid-seventies. Most of the men are attending the course in order to offer themselves as candidates for the diaconate, a process which takes a minimum of 5 years. However many students are attending the course in order to deepen their knowledge of the Scriptures and of the history, tradition and teaching of the Church, and so to nourish their own faith life.

As adult learners, the students take responsibility for their learning environment, and are candid in expressing their opinion about how the courses might be improved. This is a great help for the School for future teaching. The general feeling is of immense satisfaction with the quality, content, delivery, and social dimension of the school and the modules. The learners particularly appreciate the teachers' knowledge of their respective subjects - Scripture, Christology and Moral theology - and the amount of work they have put into the preparation of their courses. Appreciation was expressed for the notes and handouts that have been distributed, especially since books are so expensive.

Some students find the pace of the work too fast, and the amount of work covered in each week's lessons more than they could handle. But they concede that this is the only way to cover the entire Bible in a year. At the School we will take this criticism seriously and are already discussing whether in 2011 it might be better to teach the Scriptures according to genre rather than trying to cover every book of the Bible. The second semester of this year should also be slightly easier because in general Catholics are more famliar with the New than the Old Testament, and in addition there are fewer books to cover. Constructive criticism has also helped us to improve arrangements for the teaching environment and to have fewer disturbances within earshot of our busy parish hall. Students have also suggested that it would help their learning if they were to receive more printed notes before the classes are given. We will consider doing this in certain circumstances. Some students have asked for more assignments, and others have asked to meet twice a week. There seems to be no limit to the effort adult learners are prepared to make when they are getting so much out of their studies.