NATIONAL INSTITUTE for CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONA Brief History of NICE
Fore-Runners of NICE
The forerunner of the National Institute for Christian Education (NICE), the Institute for Christian Education (ICE), was formed by some Christian Parent Controlled Schools (CPCS) in Melbourne in response to a perceived need to provide distinctively Christian graduate training for teachers in Victoria (note that in 2008, CPCS became Christian Education National). ICE offered nonaccredited courses and fulfilled a vital role until the late 1980's when financial and other pressures made it nonviable. Concurrently, some Sydney-based Christian Education National schools combined with a cluster of Christian Community Schools to form the Institute of Christian Tertiary Education (ICTE) now trading as Southland College, a Sydney training unit similar to Melbourne's ICE.
NICE: The Early Years
By 1991, Christian Education National recognised that if Christian Education National schools were to retain their distinctives, their teachers would need to receive training that reflected the reformational worldview stance of the movement. The new institute, the National Institute for Christian Education (NICE), came under the direction of the Christian Education National Board with the National Council of Institutes for Christian Education having oversight of the shape and philosophical perspective of NICE activities. Underwriting financial support for the infant NICE came from Christian Education National.
In 1996, NICE worked with ICTE to form the College of Christian Higher Education Inc (CCHE) for the purposes of obtaining joint accreditation for courses through the NSW Department of Education.
Under the principalship of Dr Doug Blomberg, and aided by Dr Stuart Fowler, and Dr Ian Lambert, NICE student registrations by 1998 had reached over 70 student units per annum in CCHE accredited courses with dozens more in nonaccredited professional development. Dr Blomberg and Dr Fowler wrote key units of work, with Mr Geoff Wilson, Mr Andrew Schmidt, and Dr Lambert providing strong lecturing support. Teaching predominantly was by distance education.
The Turn of the Century Ushers in Rapid Growth
In January 1999, Dr Richard Edlin was appointed principal of NICE. Since 1999, a number of initiatives (including the introduction of residential schools, reviewing of units and several international endeavours) have led to an increase in enrolments in the CCHE accredited courses taught by NICE to around 400 per annum. NICE is also active through:
- The joint organisation of conferences such as the Transforming Conference (FOCUS) and parent vision conferences
- Inter-organisational scholarly exchanges
- Support of Christian teacher education initiatives in several overseas locations
- Publication of a quarterly professional journal (Christian Teachers Journal), a biennial book and a number of other resources in various formats including MP3 and DVD
NICE also maintains a vibrant nonaccredited short course program that provides biblically authentic professional development to hundreds of teachers, parents and board members each year across Australia and abroad. Where appropriate, studies completed in these NICE activities can be used to support applications for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) or Professional Development Units (PDU) into CCHE accredited courses taught by NICE.
As indicated in the NICE Strategic Pillars, NICE's missions commitment means that NICE has an active missions presence which makes teacher education training available in many parts of the world. For example, in 2004, a cohort of 11 South African students taught through NICE programs graduated.
NICE, at the request of member schools which have a desperate need for envisioned teachers, embarked on strategic cooperative initiatives with groups such as public universities in Perth and Sydney and private groups such as the Wesley Institute, Macquarie Christian Studies Institute and the MASTERS Institute in Auckland (now a part of the Bible College of New Zealand) to contribute to some undergraduate and pre-service training courses for people interested in teaching in Christian schools.
In 2001, Mr Ken Dickens was appointed as a full-time senior lecturer. From 2003–2007, Dr Rod Thompson undertook a number of roles involving both full-time and part-time lecturing with NICE. Mr Geoff Beech joined the NICE staff as a part-time lecturer in 2005. Other adjunct lecturers (normally school-based in various locations around Australia) have included Mrs Sue Barter, Mrs Christina Belcher, Mrs Caroline Blake, Mrs Melissa Brown, Mr John Denning (UK), Mrs Jill Ireland, Dr David Jackson, Dr Charlie Justins, Mr Samson Makhado, Mrs Fiona Partridge, Mr Andrew Schmidt and Mr Don Taylor.
Recent Years
NICE became a legal company at the beginning of 2004, to enable it to meet the requirements of an agent under the new NSW DET accreditation/registration regulations as a consequence of the NSW Higher Education Act, 2001. This legal status established the NICE Council as the legal controlling entity of NICE (a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee) with Christian Education National Ltd as the sole company member.
In 2007, NICE moved from the premises it shared with Christian Education National on the grounds of Tyndale Christian School in Blacktown, NSW, to Agnes Banks (near Richmond) with its rural outlook. The spacious Resource Centre doubles as as site for meetings and the occasional small conference.
Also in 2007, NICE began migrating its courses into an online environment, NICEOnline, a Moodle based information management system. Increasingly, NICEOnline has become the source for such things as student discussion forums, lecturer student interactions, required readings, and other course materials.
As NICE has matured, the value of its teaching has been discovered across a broad spectrum of the international Christian education community. NICE courses and lecturers are in considerable demand in nations as diverse as the United Kingdom, South Africa, Korea, Kenya, Singapore, and New Zealand. Since NICE receives no government funding, this increased demand (often from economically depressed areas) continues to make the resource management of both staff and funding within NICE a delicate activity. In 2004, the NICE Council established the NICE Foundation as the special projects fund of the organisation. The Foundation aims to inform interested people about the work of NICE, and to offer them the opportunity of partnering in this enterprise.
NICE does not measure its success by growth, but by the degree to which it remains faithful to disseminating a biblically authentic perspective on education throughout Australia, and facilitates this dissemination on a global scale.
Updated on 2 July 2008