Mary Jones
842066O
Module 2
Hughes (2007) claims students feel that Religious Education and liturgy experiences they
have in schools have little relevance to their future lives. If so, then Religious Educators have
a huge task ahead in evaluating how to change this. Educators must work towards a more
participatory approach to the planning of all religious experiences within the life of the
school, to ensure that they have the most chance of being relevant to the lives of the
students they are designed for.
Hughes cites the importance of relationships within school communities: "Good
relationships within the school contributes(d) to an appreciation of religious education and
worship" (2007, p.192). This is supported by Nouwen (cited in White, 2008) and White who
says pedagogy itself "can be defined as the relationship that exists between the student, the
teacher and God" (2008, p.59). This has implications for religious educators and all staff in
religious schools. It is vital to establish a relationship of trust and respect with students, so
they feel confident to voice questions and issues and know they will be supported to pursue
them.
Religious educators must acknowledge and respect the great variety of experiences
students bring with them. This indicates the importance of meeting students where they are
at. Tacey interprets this as allowing students to contact their own spiritualities through
giving them the opportunity to ask the basic questions of life (2004). Religious educators
must facilitate this asking of life's questions. They must be prepared to take on the role of
1
Mary Jones
842066O
servant leader within their classrooms and direct, guide, conduct and shepherd their
students on the path to deep learning and discovery (Breen,2007).
In the primary school, allowing students to ask questions and actively participate in their
own religious learning can take a variety of forms. The use of Godly Play allows students to
take an active part in pursuing what speaks to them in religious education sessions.
Berryman says that the role of the teacher is as a "spiritual guide alongside children as a
mentor rather than between children and God, attempting to explain God to them" (2011,
p.3). This affords students the opportunity to take some control of their learning and head
in the direction of their interests, making their learning relevant and meaningful.
The Melbourne Frameworks for Religious Education, Coming to Know, Worship and Love,
are based around the Inquiry model for middle and upper primary students. This sits
comfortably with allowing students to plan their own learning. Murdoch (2010,) has written
extensively about implementing this approach in secular curricula and it can be transferred
into the religious education classroom. At Holy Spirit Primary School, inquiry in religious
education centres around key ideas which students investigate in the light of their
questions. Ideas such as community, relationships and change are used as springboards for
students to consider how God is present or at work in these areas of their lives. This
approach sometimes makes for unpredictability, but also for authenticity as students are
engaged in learning what is meaningful to them. This process aims to allow students to
explore "the relationship an individual has with self, others, the world, and possibly the
Transcendent " (Buchanan and Hyde, 2008, p.312).
2
Mary Jones
842066O
Researching adolescent spirituality, Singleton, Mason and Webber (2004) used personal
story and narration as a way for students to express spirituality. Godly Play (Berryman,
2011) sits perfectly here as a way for students to express understandings and questions and
set their own compass for learning. Hyde and Rymarz (2009) note the power of story in
religious education as a tool that can help scaffold learning for students, engaging them with
complex ideas. Through this engagement, students are empowered to take ownership of
their learning and pursue the basic life questions, so important according to Tacey (2004).
Hughes identified that the liturgical activities of the school had little or no influence on the
lives of 47% of the students surveyed (2007). Religious educators have a responsibility to
create liturgical experiences that engage, challenge and captivate the imaginations of
students. Hughes also noted the aspects of liturgy that students most appreciated, listed as
follows in descending order of enjoyment; drama, student involvement, music, different
leaders, homilies and reflections (2007).
School liturgies are often prepared by the Religious Education Leader for the school
community, sending a subtle message that the community are spectators, rather than
participants. Staff and students need to share the responsibility for planning, preparing and
running liturgies so that everyone feels involved and a variety of approaches are used.
Sharing tasks when planning liturgy can increase involvement and ultimately, engagement.
Preparing students before attending liturgy by reflecting on readings and questioning what
they may mean can also increase relevance.
3
Mary Jones
842066O
Hughes notes that students responded more favourably to liturgy when students or
teachers share their own life experiences that speak to the theme of the liturgy (2007). This
is an opportunity for students to share the meaning making they are doing in their religious
education sessions and can trigger other students to ponder the issues for themselves more
deeply. Inviting teachers to share their story is a wonderful way of building relationships of
trust and respect.
Hughes' research is challenging for the religious educator but there is much that can be
done to engage students in planning and participating in their own spiritual journeys. When
religious educators work to build relationships grounded in trust and respect with students,
they can then hand over to them, allowing them to take some responsibility for their own
learning path and giving opportunities for deep learning about the things that matter most
to them.
Word count: 1575
4
Mary Jones
842066O
References
Berryman, J. (2011) An Overview of Godly Play. In Godly Play in Australia. Retrieved on 11 August,
2011 from
http://godlyplay.org.au/Godly%20Play%20Booklet.pdf
Breen, A. C. (2007). Teacher leader in religious education. Religious Education Journal of Australia,
23 (2), 9-13.
Buchanan, M, & Hyde, B. (2008). Learning beyond the surface: Engaging the cognitive, affective and
spiritual dimensions within the curriculum. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 13
(4), 309-320.
Catholic Education Office, Melbourne. (2008). Coming to know, worship and love: A religious
education curriculum framework for Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Melbourne: Catholic Education Office.
Hughes, P. J. (2007). Putting life together: Findings from Australian youth spirituality research.
Fairfield [Vic.: Fairfield Press.
Hyde, B., & Rymarz, R. (2009). Religious education in Catholic primary schools: Contemporary issues
and perspectives for RE teachers. Terrigal, NSW: David Barlow Publishing.
Murdoch, K. (2010). An Overview of the Integrated Inquiry Planning Model. Retrieved on 12 August,
2011 from
http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/uploads/media/murdochmodelforinquiry2010.pdf
Singleton, A., Mason, M., & Webber, R. (2004). Spirituality in adolescence and young adulthood: A
method for a qualitative study. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 9 (3), 247-262.
Tacey, D. J. (2004). The spirituality revolution: The emergence of contemporary spirituality. Hove,
East Sussex: Brunner-Routledge.
White, D. (2008). Catholic Pedagogy: Nurturing pilgrims or educating tourists? In Journal of Catholic
School Studies, 80(1), 53-65.
5
Assessment Rubric for Assignment 1 (Questions 1 and 2)
Criteria
Standard A
Standard B
Standard C
Standard D
Knowledge and
Understanding
Uses highly appropriate, relevant, and
compelling content to develop and explore
ideas throughout the entire work
Uses appropriate, relevant, and
compelling content to explore ideas
throughout the entire work
Uses appropriate and relevant content to
explore ideas through most of the work.
Uses limited/no relevant content to explore
some ideas in parts of the work.
There is substantial interpretation of
sources
There is some interpretation of sources
There is extensive interpretation of
sources
There is limited or no interpretation of
sources
Demonstrates exceptional understanding of
the context from which the ideas have
emerged
Demonstrates substantial understanding of
the context from which the ideas have
emerged
Exceptional evidence of critical evaluation
Substantial evidence of critical evaluation
Appropriate evidence of critical evaluation
Limited or no evidence of critical evaluation
Comprehensive analysis of literature.
Substantial analysis of literature.
Competent analysis of literature.
Engagement with innovative directions
within the task
Incorporates discussion of new
directions within the task
Conclusions, consequences and implications
are logical, reflective of informed evaluation
and prioritized.
Considers new directions or approaches
without going beyond the guidelines of the
task.
Limited/no analysis of literature.
Limited attempt to meet the guidelines of
the task.
Conclusion is drawn logically from a
range of information, including opposing
viewpoints; consequences and
implications are identified clearly.
Evaluative and
Creative Processes
Research and
Communication
Demonstrates a sound understanding of the
context from which the ideas have emerged
Conclusions are drawn logically from the
information and some implications are
identified clearly.
Skilful use of high-quality, relevant sources
to develop and support ideas.
Consistently uses relevant sources to
support ideas.
Uses relevant sources to support
appropriate ideas.
Written communication is sophisticated,
clear, fluent and virtually error-free.
Written communication is clear and there
are very few errors
Written communication is generally clear
but there are some errors.
The work is extremely well planned and
presented
The work is very well planned and presented
The work is competently planned and
presented.
Demonstrates limited/no understanding of
the context from which the ideas have
emerged
Conclusion is inconsistently tied to some of
the information discussed; implications are
over simplified.
Attempts to use sources to support ideas
Written communication is sometimes
unclear
Some attempt at planning and presentation
Completely accurate use of the APA
referencing:
in text citations
Reference list
Use of the APA referencing with occasional
inconsistencies:
in text citations
Reference list
Use of the APA referencing with many
inconsistencies:
in text citations
Reference list
Limited or no use APA referencing:
in text citations
Reference list