The Book
Teaching religious education to students in Catholic primary schools in the twenty-first century presents many challenges. Students come to Catholic primary schools from a great diversity of religious and secular backgrounds. As well, many come from families who, for various reasons, have little or no connection with their local parish communities.
In attempting to address some of these challenges, Religious Education in Catholic Primary Schools has been designed to assist classroom practitioners in planning and implementing a curriculum that will engage students in learning. It has been written with the aim of providing insights into a range of contemporary issues and perspectives which are of relevance to the discipline of religious education, as well as considering the pedagogical and practical aspects of the religious education curriculum.
The Authors
Brendan Hyde is a Senior Lecturer in the National School of Religious Education at the Australian Catholic University. As well as having authored numerous publications, Brendan has research interests in children’s spirituality and in the Godly Play approach to religious education as a means of nurturing spirituality in early childhood. Brendan is presently co-editor of the International Journal of Children’s Spirituality.
Richard Rymarz holds the inaugural Peter and Doris Kule Chair in Catholic Religious Education at St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. He is also a visiting Research Professor attached to the Quality of Life Flagship at the Australian Catholic University. Richard has had extensive experience in curriculum development and is also producing educational materials in religious and moral education.
Contents
Part 1: Historical and Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives
Historical and Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives
A Brief Overview of Recent Religious Education in Catholic Primary Schools
Some Contemporary Approaches to RE in Catholic Primary Schools
Contemporary Multiculturalism and Multi-faith Religious Education
The Religious and Spiritual Development of Primary School Children
The Perceiving, Thinking, Feeling and Intuiting Elements in the Learning Process
Part 2: Pedagogical Considerations
The Content of the Primary Religious Education Curriculum
From Objectives to Outcomes
Planning a Unit of Work in Religious Education
Differentiating the Curriculum: Catering for Diversity in Religious Education
Assessment and Evaluation in Religious Education
Looking at Religious Education: Perspectives from Key Church Documents
Teaching Scripture in the Primary Religious Education Classroom
Building a Positive Classroom Culture in Religious Education
Planning a Eucharistic Liturgy
The Religious Education Teacher |
Religious Education in Catholic Primary Schools