Every serving teacher and ‘teacher to be’
will be moulded decidedly by The National
Professional Standards for Teachers1 (NPST).
Officially released on 9th February 2011, after
piloting, they become the benchmark for
what constitutes teacher quality in Australia.
The question is: Are these norms—plus a
‘coating of religiosity’—all that there is to
being a quality Christian teacher? Or is there
more?
This article explores and proposes a new
integrating ‘teaching domain’: Teaching Ministry,
and three attendant ‘teaching standards’ together
with specific descriptors for various focus areas.
Engage in a teaching • ministry informed by a
Christian worldview;
• Cultivate and nurture spiritual growth and
discernment;
• Commit, belong and contribute to a servanthood
community of faith.
These proposed categories are intended for
practitioners in Christian faith-based schools and
form an integral part of outlining an authentic
integrating teaching ministry. The categories are
distinctly different—some might say countercultural,
in today’s secular educational climate—
but follow on from, and are a ‘coda’ to the
existing three domains and seven standards that
comprise the mandated NPST
