Context for research

1. Presentation 30th September 2016By Terry O’ReillyA study of the impact of an Immersion trip to the Developing World, on the religious faith and leadership potential of students, from a Catholic, secondary, School.

2. Context for research M.A. in Christian Leadership - Marino College, Dublin Catholic boys’ school, founded by a missionary order The first aim of the school’s Mission Statement is: “To create an environment which nurtures Faith, one which will provide students with an informed understanding of the Catholic Faith, but which also motivates them to live their lives in accordance with Gospel values.” Since 2012, an NGO, brings 9 Transition Year students to Kolkata in India for 7 days. • To observe projects funded by the NGO, • To meet and interact with local people who benefit from its work. • Provide impetus for a major, school-based, fund-raising campaign.

3. Data Collection 17 Students completed questionnaires 9 from 2013, 8 from 2014 2 Students were interviewed Accompanying teacher interviewed Documents accessed eg Media reports, student reports, student blogs, a youtube video and the school annual etc

4. Other Research – Service Learning • Dekker (2007) • “service-learning can have a powerful effect on faith and skills development” • “When well planned and executed [service-learning] truly can be transformative for young people”. • “if faith development is truly an objective then the programmes must be based on strong theological teaching”. • Ver Beek (2006) • “the key to causing lasting change in short-term mission participants requires much more support and accountability before and after the trip and that the trip itself is just one part of an overall package.”

5. Personal Impact of the Immersion Trip 12 of the 17 respondents described the joyand satisfaction they derived from giving something to the locals and being able to make them smile as their personal highlights. “giving small gifts to the children … seeing the joy … was incredible.”Student 65 This finding echoes the joyful thrust of Pope Francis’ Exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel”.

6. 8 students made specific reference to the gratitudethey now express for the life they have. “It made me realise how little reason I have to ever feel unhappy.” - Student 64 Fostering a sense of gratitude for what we have is a powerful learning outcome and can easily be an important element in faith development.

7. 7 students, plus Teacher A, expressed the feeling of guiltor regretor inadequacyin the face of the enormous social problems they witnessed. “I feel we would have been more affected by the trip if we hadn’t returned to a nice hotel each evening with flat screen TVs; that felt like some kind of sinister irony for me.” Student 64 While generating negative emotions is not the desired outcome of the immersion experience, channelling them into producing positive actions would be a very worthwhile response, from both a human and faith standpoint.

8. Impact on Religious Faith – an overview The data reveals that only 3 students indicate that their religious faithhas been strengthenedor positivelychanged. Whereas at least 5 students indicate that their faith had been damagedor negativelyimpacted; some claiming a loss of faith or having had huge doubts about faith created. Leaving 9 students indicating that their faith was largely unchanged

9. Impact on Faith – Belief in God The question: “What affect (if any) has your immersion trip had on your attitude to God?”, demonstrated that the trip really challenged their faith in God or at least their faith in a just God. “My attitude has completely changed … Why does God allow this to happen?” Student 52 “I prefer to believe in a different God. ” Student 63 “It definitely exposed me to things I felt were unjust and not things a loving God would condone”. Student 69

10. Impact on Faith – Belief in God Some very powerful positive impacts were also recorded. “A lot of what Catholicism does is to educate missionaries who then travel to third-world countries … to aid the poor, so as a result of the trip I have developed a deeper faith.” Student 58 Whilst reflecting on the seeming absence of God among the poor Student 57 concludes: “I have always thought that perhaps it is a job he has given to us, so I was not disappointed in God after the trip.”

11. Impact on Faith - Prayer No student indicated that they regularly prayed at any time on the trip, or since their return, despite visiting Mother Teresa’s convent. Considering the obvious hardship and poverty that was witnessed abroad, prayer, for most did not seem to be a natural response. Dermot Lane (2003) writes that “prayer transforms faith” (p. 86).

12. Impact on faith – Formal Religious Practice 14 said their participation in formal religious practices remained Unchanged, one student said his Decreased, whilst 2 reported an Increase. “I pray less and I only go to Mass maybe three times a year compared to praying every week and Mass about fifteen times a year before the trip.” Student 66

13. Impact on Faith – Gospel links The insights gained by students into Gospel stories or Church teachings were in general not very well developed. Only 2 students named specific Gospel stories: The Good Samaritan and The Workers in the Vineyard. 2 other students referenced the phrase “Love your neighbour”. Only 1 student referenced Jesus specifically. 5 students indicated that they got no insight at all. 1 student admitted he “wouldn’t be too familiar with Gospel stories as I am not very religious.” “that I’m not very sure if I thought about the Gospel at all while over there or even since I came home.” Student 51

14. Impact on Faith – Gospel links (contd.) 2 students did make particularly strong connections with the Gospels. “Jesus spoke at length about how we must help and love the poor, and I’d be lying if I said that didn’t affect me.” Student 69

15. Impact on Faith - Conclusion The responses, both positive and negative, demonstrate the power of an immersion trip to agitate the deepest of questions about God and faith. They also demonstrate that although the trip was facilitated by a secular organisation, faith can be challenged, and for some, can be strengthened and grow. Tirri and Quinn (2010), believe that service-learning does not need to be deliberately religious or spiritual in order to have a beneficial impact on faith, provided that the adolescents are within a rich spiritual context, such as a school with a strong religious ethos. Negativity, too, is not all bad. Stirring up strong emotions can open one up to prayer, for example.

16. Impact on Leadership 11 of the 17 identified confidence, becoming more passionate, inspirationand doing the right thing as attributes gained from the trip. “I cannot emphasise enough how much this trip has made me aware of my responsibility to help people.”Student 64 Only 6 of the 17 students said that the trip had not much or had very little impact on their leadership skills Some students seemed to get a deeper and more ethicalinsightinto the whole concept of leadership: “I think it [the trip] would change the type of leader you would be, were you to be one; making you a bit more considerate of the effects your actions can have, even the smallest ones.” Student 59

17. Impact on Leadership Some students got involved in other charitable/humanitarian activities following their immersion experience. “Directly after the trip, I felt an urge to work for an international charity in order to help the people I had met in Kolkata. In February [a year later] I worked in the charity Save the Children, with my uncle in London”. Student 58 While these students may have engaged in these other activities, irrespective of whether they went on an immersion trip, each made a connection between the immersion trip and their later pursuits.

19. Impact on Leadership While some students express an improvement in their individual leadership roles it is quite revealing that no-one in the group, from either 2013 or 2014, took the initiative to have a significant role in the school fund-raising campaign for the NGO of subsequent years. Teacher A felt that Transition Year students “when they move on to 5th Year leave all that stuff behind.” “We played our part when it was our part to play, but now it’s somebody else’s.” Student 59

20. Impact on School Ethos 15 of the students believed that the trip does contribute to the school’s Catholic ethos. The dominant response indicated that helping those less fortunate is a fundamental aspect of Catholic teaching. “A trip like this is an extremely important part of the school’s ethos. I believe a school’s ethos should be about caring for others who are less fortunate than us and this trip definitely allows the student to do so.” Student 58

21. Recommendations Areas which should be addressed in preparation and/or debriefing are: personal prayer, appreciation of the Gospels and a stronger awareness of Jesus in the life of Christians. Students could be made more familiar with the theology of suffering, Catholic social teaching, miracles of healing and the inclusivity of the Kingdom of God. Developing leadershipneeds to be nurtured as part of a process, particularly for the immersion trip students. The challenges, which a trip poses, create an ideal opportunity for a thoughtful but sustained series of reflections which can help the students make greater meaning about life’s ultimate questions, in line with the school’s mission statement.

22. Recommendations From the perspective of the school, an immersion trip is good for illustrating and encapsulating its religious ethos. The immersion trip generates attention among students, parents, teachers, management and the wider community, allowing everybody to engage with issues such as injustice, poverty, global inequality. By extension, a conversation can be generated as to why the school gets involved in an educational programme like this, making the importance of the ethos of the school or the development of social leadership more acute.

23. Final Word Immersion trips offer powerful learning opportunities for participants; including the areas of faith and leadership development. Assumptions about the impact on faith and leadership should not be made. The providers and facilitators of such trips must have clear learning intentions for students who travel. Creating and reflecting on the programmes offered, in line with a school’s mission statement, is crucial for the provision of worthwhile experiences.