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Volume V distinguishes religious and spiritual education and takes a multi-faith approach to pedagogic, curricular and resource issues. The important area of collective worship is also addressed.
Religious Education is now identified as a shortage subject as a growing number of pupils in schools opt for it. The growing emphasis on children's moral and spiritual education, the DfEE's hunt for new teachers, OFSTED's calls for improvement and reinforced links with philosophy have pushed the subject into the spotlight. Based on research and partnership with schools this book examines and explains : * the role of Religious Education in the curriculum * the role of spirituality in children's lives * better teaching practice, giving practical examples.
This book discusses the possibility of a holistic approach to religious education, taking into account religious and cultural diversity, different aspects of secularisation and different academic disciplines that inform the subject. Issues discussed are the view of children as spiritual and religious subjects, identity formation, the concept of child theology, the relationship between faith and morality, the meaning of spirituality, the notion of wonder as an inroad to learning, religion as culture, and the meaning of holism. A point of departure is taken in a typology of attitudes to religion in public education, and the line of reason ends in a search for viable metaphors for holistic religious education. Sturla Sagberg (born 1951) is professor of religious education and ethics at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Trondhem, Norway. He has a doctoral degree in theology, and has for many decades taught and done research related to teacher training as well as to church education. He has published several books in Norwegian, of which the latest translates into Religion, Values and Formation: Children and the big questions in life. Many of his articles in books and journals are written in English.
This book is a unique collection of interdisciplinary articles that argue for religious education to be directed primarily towards the spiritual insofar as it is part of a flourishing human life. The articles address this issue from the perspectives of theory, different religious traditions and innovative teaching and learning practices.
From being on the margins of scholarly debate for much of the past century and a half, religion is being recognized once again as an area of concern for scholars, politicians, and public policy makers, and thus, the role of religious and spiritual education has taken on a new importance. Apart from its socio-political ramifications, the place of religiousness and spirituality in the make-up of individuals has been given renewed prominence through updated brain science, and neuroscientists regularly refer to elements of this brain science in terms such as spiritual intelligence and even mystical consciousness. This book explores many of the new directions being taken in the field of religious and spiritual education, as new developments challenge the priorities of formal education, and open up new avenues for incorporating religion and spirituality into the modern curriculum. It asks whether the educational aims of teachers should be focused on specifically personal development, or whether religious education should be used to develop understanding of more global and social issues such as citizenship, conflict, and ethics. The book also addresses neuroscientific insights, which suggest a need to engage with cognition and emotion in order to create a rich learning environment, something to which a particularly contested subject area like religion and spirituality is well-placed to contribute. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Beliefs & Values.
In Europe, religious and spiritual education happens in a context which is at the same time increasingly secular and religiously plural. This places the problem of religious experience on the agenda. Today most students of religious and spiritual education lack appropriate experiences and show different opinions about what religion or spirituality could be. This setting raises several questions: How can religious experience be conceptualized in a context of religious plurality and secularity with the traditional religious traditions as just one option among others? How does lived religion contribute to such a conceptualization? Do the concepts of spirituality and implicit religion give way to a new understanding of religious experience? How can be grasped religious experience beyond the traditional religious practices? Do traditional empirical methods still fit? Which concepts and methods can we utilize in bringing religious experience into religious or spiritual education?
Spirituality and Education introduces the basic contours of current debate in a form accessible to both classroom teachers across the curriculum range, and to school managers. It covers all key areas, including: * problems of defining spirituality * government legislation and supporting documentation * relevant empirical research * the social dimension of spirituality * secular and religious manifestations of spirituality in contemporary society * theories of childhood spiritual development * contemporary approaches to spiritual education, including collective worship and cross-curricular teaching. A variety of different perspectives and approaches will be offered, and readers are encouraged to be reflective through a number of tasks which relate all issues raised directly back to their own specific circumstances. The author includes questions, quotes and lists of further reading.
In the era of globalization debate has turned to the vital need for a thorough understanding of its impact on the spirituality and health of the youth of today. Spiritual Education in a Divided World recognises the urgent need for effective research in this area. This exceptional volume takes an interdisciplinary approach to tackle the key question
Praise for 'Spirituality and the Curriculum' "The current interest in spirituality shows no sign of abating. This volume consists of a useful set of essays from educationalists and theologians. Overall the volume will be important reading not only for teachers of theology but also for those concerned with the spiritual development of children and adults alike." -- Theology, May/June 2000 "This book fizzes. Addressed to those working in an educational context, it is an attempt to speak theologically about spirituality and morality. Adrian Thatcher, its editor, has assembled a group of contributors who write well and who have innovative ideas to communicate. Fresh arguments and new perspectives make it an exciting read as it exposes the distressing emptiness of what passes as secularised spiritual nurture in most contemporary schools. Its seminal chapter is by Mary Grey. What an imaginative tour de force this is. She is not afraid to speak of the Transcendent or to see the wider value of liberation and feminist theologies. What [Adrian Thatcher] offers is a sharp critique of the high sounding moral sentiments of the present generation of curriculum makers. There is a vision here which can reach beyond Christianity and which ought to be taken account of by parents and teachers. Again, prophetic in its own way, it is controversial. Ian Markham's short chapter is a gem.... Adrian Thatcher has given us a refreshing book which reasserts the right of theology to be heard in the current debate about the spiritual dimension of education. But that is not the point. What he wishes us to do is to think further, better and more fairly about the issues which are before us. That surely is something we all must do. This book is a marvellous help in this. Buy it." British Journal of Religious Education 23.1 (Autumn 2000) "It offers an informed, critical, accessible and thought-provoking set of reflections on the possible connections that might be made between spirituality and the curriculum, especially at school level. It helps it the task of establishing a credibility of spirituality as a valid dimension of the curriculum. It also offers some guidance for educators as to how they might approach this area and offers some valuable insights into aspects of practice." -- The Heythrop Journal 41.4 (October 2000) "It is rarely possible to do justice to books which contain a number of substantial essays because there is seldom space to give adequate consideration to all the contributors and this collection is no exception....The book will be of most use to those researching this subject, but I would hope that it might also be read by theologians who may see it as an invitation to them to focus more of their attention on theology and education." Resource: Professional Reflection on Theory and Practice in Religious Education 23.2 (Spring 2001) "...there is much good material for those who wish to work with the spiritual, moral, social and cultural dimensions of their school or colleges environments, shaping or challenging the power structures in which they operate and determining the ethos which they seek to encourage. Those involved in religious education or student services or educational policy will all find articles to stimulate the current debate as to whether theology and/or spirituality can create community, consensus and so nurture a more humane experience within education." -- Tim Macquiban, Journal of Beliefs and Values 22.1 (2001)
Reasons for Living begins by exploring the development and psychological function of meaning, identity and spirituality in the lives of young people. This exploration can contribute significantly to the professional background of those engaged in the education and care of youth in various contexts. The book then focuses on what it means to educate young people in meaning, identity and spirituality. Implications are considered for three school contexts: the spiritual and moral dimension to the general curriculum in public and independent schools; religious education in religious schools; and state-based Religion Studies courses. Reasons for Living makes a much needed contribution to the philosophy of education by discussing the links between education and young people's spiritual and moral development. It also provides new insights and approaches to values education and religious education. Areas of fundamental importance in Australian education have long been held back not only by the gap between theory and practice, but also by the very complexities of young people's personal development in contemporary Western Culture. Reasons for Living offers a constructive and practical way forward.
