Our Lady’s Parish School

Opened by the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 1964, Our Lady’s Parish School holds active intellectual significance as a primary site for examining the professionalization and centralization of Catholic education in Brisbane. Established during an era of radical pedagogical shifts, including the implementation of the Watkin and Radford reforms that reorganized secondary school transfers, the school represents the transition from local parish-controlled models to standardized diocesan control. Within the “New MBH Program” framework, this institution signifies the “thinking of religion in place” while navigating complex changes in federal funding and state-mandated curriculum reforms. Ultimately, the school serves as a historical case study for the institutionalization of Catholic character formation during the mid-twentieth century, striving to maintain a cohesive religious identity amidst the broader move toward technocratic and bureaucratic schooling.