In June 2023 a national survey was held for working-class people who had engaged with the CofE discernment and training process. Here is an analysis of the survey results focusing only on respondents who identified as working class. The individual response will then follow.
Background
· There were 349 total working-class respondents from the 434 respondents.
Discernment Outcomes
· 26.9% were ordained into parish ministry for over 5 years
· 27.2% were ordained into parish ministry within the past 5 years
· 10.6% were accepted and started training but not yet ordained
· 9.2% had other outcomes
· 6.9% opted out voluntarily
· 4.6% were paused in the process by someone else
· 3.7% were not accepted for training
Training Preferences
When asked for their view on the best training option for them:
· Top preference was mixed-mode training (45.8% #1 choice)
· Second preference was placement-based training (29.5% #1 choice)
· Classroom-based options were least popular (#6 and #7 preferences)
· Preferred assessments were ministry projects and continuous assessment over exams
Perceptions of Working Class in Discernment
When asked for their view of how they were perceived by the CofE institution they responded-
· Top views were negative perceptions with candidates believing the CofE saw them as- risky, misunderstood, unconventional, hesitantly, unsuitable, unappreciated
· Far fewer chose positive words like valued, welcomed, understood
Conclusions:
· Most working-class respondents made it through discernment but faced barriers
· Clear preference for practical training with experience-based methods
· Feel misunderstood and perceived negatively in the process
· Better support is needed for working-class candidates in discernment
So when isolated to just working class respondents, the overall conclusions are the same – practical training desired, and negative perceptions of how the working class are viewed in discernment.
Full survey results
urbanmission.uk 