Michael T. Buchanan

PEDAGOGICAL DRIFT: THE EVOLUTION OF NEW APPROACHES AND PARADIGMS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Abstract This article brings together some of the literature on worldwide trends in religious education that have influenced the delivery of curriculum in this field in Australian Catholic schools. The approaches to religious education since the time of European settlement in Australia are surveyed in light of international trends and the pedagogical techniques underpinning each paradigm. Pedagogical techniques are reconceptualized in terms of the interplay between pedagogy and the development of approaches to religious education. As pedagogical techniques are applied, tried, tested, and modified, new approaches to religious education become distinguished yet remain interrelated. This article conceptualizes the process as “pedagogical drift”. 1 1Parts of this article have been published in Buchanan, M. (2003). Survey of current writings on trends in religious education. Journal of Religious Education 51(4):22–30.

Pre-service teachers' perceptions of the benefits of peer review

The paper draws initially on theoretical literature describing schools and universities as, necessarily, dialogic learning communities, which is then applied to an investigation into the use of peer review in teacher education in an Australian university. The empirical research described was completed with pre-service teachers of religious education, and it explores the implications for the learning of those pre-service teachers in a university and in school settings. Advantages of peer review by pre-service teachers include helping them to identify, understand and address their strengths and limitations. The work was described as a positive experience, supporting the expectations of the authors that it could and should be positive, despite some of the previous literature in the field emphasising negative experiences of peer review. Activities used for this research were themselves models of professional learning, representing a ‘research attitude’ of the pre-service teachers to their own work. That can in turn be applied to the research attitude of university tutors and, just as significantly, of teachers and pupils in schools. Pre-service teachers were seeing themselves as researchers in learning communities, and were able to understand how they might transfer this approach into the classrooms in which they would be working. Although a small-scale piece of empirical research, it nevertheless helps to clarify some of the ways in which teacher education can model, and influence, the nature of schools as learning communities.

The spiritual dimension and curriculum change

The impetus for curriculum change should ultimately be to improve student learning. Implementing change can be very stressful and diminish a teachers’ sense of well‐being and thereby minimise the chances of successful or effective change. Drawing on a recent study that investigated how faculty leaders managed curriculum change in religious education this paper reports on one key finding which suggested that attention to the spiritual dimension can help teachers to overcome feelings of anxiety and stress and lead to effective change management. In particular this paper identifies some characteristics of connectedness as expressions of the spiritual dimension within an educational context. This paper will situate the findings and provide a brief background to the study and the role of faculty leaders in managing curriculum change. It will then proceed to give an account of the spiritual dimension and how it may be fostered through experiences of connectedness within the educational setting. An overview of some characteristics of connectedness used by the faculty leaders are then outlined and conclusions drawn.

Peer reviewing preservice teachers of Christian higher education

This study investigated the contributions peer review makes to the formation of preservice teachers of religious education within the context of Christian higher education. The participants were postgraduate students undertaking a preservice teacher training course at Australian Catholic University, Australia (Melbourne campus). Those training to be teachers of religious education are required to complete two curriculum and teaching subjects in religious education. The second subject incorporates a peer review component into one of the learning activities. From the perspective of the preservice teachers, the peer review contributes to their knowledge and understanding of the content areas necessary for teaching religious education. It also adds to their perception of what it means to be a teacher of religious education in a secondary school. The peer review experiences provide opportunities for preservice teachers to critically reflect on the quality and delivery of their learning activities, which are designed to reflect professional practice. The peer review experience enables them to reflect deeply upon their activities in terms of their future professional practice and upon their role as a Christian religious educator. The paper recommends in light of reflection being integral to Christian living that further investigation of the benefits of peer review in the formation of religious educators and its contribution to critical reflection and professional growth should be encouraged.

Factors that Impede Curriculum Change: A Preliminary Report.

The management of curriculum change in religious education is of interest to all who are concerned with a continuing pursuit of excellence in this curriculum area. Utilising a grounded theory approach, this paper describes some findings concerning the management of curriculum change in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia. It reports the perspective of religious education coordinators, who were responsible for managing a major change in the religious education curriculum in Catholic secondary schools. Emanating from a broader on‐going study, the report focuses on factors that the religious education coordinators felt impeded curriculum change.

The significance of theory in the implementation of curriculum change in religious education

A new study in Melbourne, Australia, has investigated curriculum change in religious education against the background of literature on curriculum change in education in general. Amongst its several findings, it was ascertained that clear information and theoretical understanding about a curriculum change in religious education is just as important as it is in any other field of study. In the absence of such information and understanding the leaders who were responsible for implementing the curriculum change in religious education made certain curriculum accommodations, and emphasised particular professional development activities for teachers that were not in keeping with the theoretical underpinning of the change. The implications for ‘top down’ curriculum change, such as those mandated by Church authorities or state authorities, are significant.

The impact of cultural religious values upon pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their role as educators in Catholic religious schools

The particular history, politics, social milieu and size of the islands of Malta contributed to the formation of specific cultural values and identity. Central to this identity is a unique language and a very strong Catholic community. These factors remain integral (but not exclusive) aspects of the Maltese national identity. This identity has been expressed well beyond the Maltese islands as a result of mass emigration in the mid to latter part of the last century. This article reports on the findings of a comparative study between pre-service teachers of Maltese descent from Malta and Australia who aspire to be teachers in Catholic schools. The study sought to identify the similarities and differences between their perceptions of the role of a teacher in a Catholic school and to investigate the likely influence that shared cultural religious values might have upon their perceptions.

Attending to the Spiritual Dimension to Enhance Curriculum Change.

In an educational environment it was recently found that some faculty leaders of religious education managed curriculum change by paying attention to the spiritual dimension in order to help teachers to engage in implementing change. Attention to the spiritual dimension in this context provided opportunities for those likely to be alienated by change to feel connected to self and other(s) and embrace change. Faculty leaders of religious education hold a key position of school leadership throughout Catholic schooling systems in Australia. They provide leadership in all areas of the classroom religious education curriculum and they promote the spiritual well being of students and staff members within the context of the Catholic belief tradition. This paper aims to report on the perceptions of faculty leaders of religious education pertaining to how attending to the spiritual dimension encouraged teachers to overcome their own resistance to curriculum change. Ultimately as such an approach addresses the whole person, it should lead to greater levels of religious and spiritual wellbeing in the lives of teachers and, in turn, students.

Textbooks in Religious Education

This chapter is concerned with the use of textbooks in religious education. It draws on the experience of implementing a uniform textbook series in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia. The chapter first outlines the context and background of the development of the To Know Worship and Love textbook series; second, presents a broad overview of some literature concerning textbooks in education; third, provides a critical summary of some the literature concerning textbooks in religious education; and fourth, reports on specific research into the To Know Worship and Love series, including the use of the textbooks by teachers and the management of the change to the textbook series. The chapter finally draws universal implications for the use and role of textbooks in religious education.

Bridging further education and higher education in the formation of spiritual directors

This article examines those aspects of curriculum relating to programmes that have developed across the further and higher education divide. It analyses one particular spiritual direction formation programme that has transitioned from a vocational training programme in the further education mode to a post-graduate academic programme in a higher education context. In identifying the core elements of this formation programme, it suggests several complementary educational approaches that resonate with the formation approach within academic contexts and examines whether these approaches adequately address the breadth of learning styles and relational aspects of learning that contribute to effective pedagogical approaches. The article recommends further research to assess the relevance of curriculum design to guidelines and standards demanded of both the further and higher education sectors.