A case for a 'big picture' re-orientation of K-12 Australian Catholic school religious education in the light of contemporary spirituality

Journal article


Rossiter, Graham. (2010). A case for a 'big picture' re-orientation of K-12 Australian Catholic school religious education in the light of contemporary spirituality. Journal of Religious Education. 58(3), pp. 5 - 18.
AuthorsRossiter, Graham
Abstract

This is the second of two articles that argue a case for a ‘big picture’ re-orientation of Australian Catholic school K-12 religion curricula. The first article (Rossiter, 2010) considered that there has been such a great change in the landscape of contemporary spirituality that the traditional framework of religious meanings within which Catholic school religion curricula are written is out of synch with the meanings that inform contemporary spiritualities. A proposed responsive change in orientation suggests that more prominence needs to be given to the critical interpretation and evaluation of cultural meanings, while not neglecting the more traditional aim of giving young Catholics meaningful access to their religious heritage. The apparently different estimates of spirituality for children and adolescents also need to be taken into account. If many of the pupils in Catholic schools will never become actively involved in parishes when they grow up, then religious education needs to offer more than familiarising them with Catholic theology and religious practice; it also needs to skill them in addressing the spiritual and moral issues they will encounter in life. Attention is given to what this entails in both content and pedagogy, at primary and secondary levels.

Year2010
JournalJournal of Religious Education
Journal citation58 (3), pp. 5 - 18
PublisherAustralian Catholic University
ISSN1442-018X
Open accessOpen access
Page range5 - 18
Research GroupSchool of Education
Publisher's version
Place of publicationAustralia
Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/85185/a-case-for-a-big-picture-re-orientation-of-k-12-australian-catholic-school-religious-education-in-the-light-of-contemporary-spirituality

Download files

  • 528
    total views
  • 347
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 1
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

A perspective on spiritual education in Australian schools: The emergence of non-religious personal development approaches
Rossiter, Graham. (2014). A perspective on spiritual education in Australian schools: The emergence of non-religious personal development approaches. In In J. Watson, M. de Souza and A. M. Trousdale (Ed.). Global Perspectives on Spirituality and Education pp. 140 - 152 Routledge.
Decoding the mise-en-scène of contemporary secular spirituality: a research monograph. Part 1: Context, approach and relevant literature
Rossiter, Graham. (2014). Decoding the mise-en-scène of contemporary secular spirituality: a research monograph. Part 1: Context, approach and relevant literature. Journal of Religious Education. 62(2), pp. 65 - 78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40839-014-0008-z
Postmodernity, faith and recontextualisation: An agenda for religious educators
Rossiter, Graham. (2013). Postmodernity, faith and recontextualisation: An agenda for religious educators. Journal of Religious Education. 61(3), pp. 68 - 72.
Perspective on the use of construct 'Catholic Identity' for Australian Catholic schooling: Areas in the discourse in need of more emphasis and further attention - Part 2
Rossiter, Graham. (2013). Perspective on the use of construct 'Catholic Identity' for Australian Catholic schooling: Areas in the discourse in need of more emphasis and further attention - Part 2. Journal of Religious Education. 61(2), pp. 17 - 29.
Perspective on the use of construct 'Catholic Identity' for Australian Catholic schooling: Sociological background and literature - Part 1
Rossiter, Graham. (2013). Perspective on the use of construct 'Catholic Identity' for Australian Catholic schooling: Sociological background and literature - Part 1. Journal of Religious Education. 61(2), pp. 4 - 16.
A reflection on teaching and learning in higher education for over thirty-five years: The real vs the virtual university religious education teacher
Rossiter, Graham. (2012). A reflection on teaching and learning in higher education for over thirty-five years: The real vs the virtual university religious education teacher. Journal of Religious Education. 60(2), pp. 58 - 68.
Historical perspective on spiritual education in Australian schools. Part one: The contribution of religious education
Rossiter, Graham. (2011). Historical perspective on spiritual education in Australian schools. Part one: The contribution of religious education. Journal of Christian Education. 54(3), pp. 5 - 14.
Reorienting the religion curriculum in Catholic schools to address the needs of contemporary youth spirituality
Rossiter, Graham. (2011). Reorienting the religion curriculum in Catholic schools to address the needs of contemporary youth spirituality. International Studies in Catholic Education (online version). 3(1), pp. 57 - 72. https://doi.org/10.1080/19422539.2011.540140
Historical perspective on spiritual education in Australian schools Part II: A personal development basis
Rossiter, Graham. (2011). Historical perspective on spiritual education in Australian schools Part II: A personal development basis. Journal of Christian Education. 54(3), pp. 15 - 27.
Historical perspective on spiritual education in Australian schools Part I: The contribution of religious education
Rossiter, Graham. (2011). Historical perspective on spiritual education in Australian schools Part I: The contribution of religious education. Journal of Christian Education. 54(3), pp. 5 - 14.
Some perspective on contemporary youth spirituality : A 'need to know' for church school religious education
Rossiter, Graham. (2011). Some perspective on contemporary youth spirituality : A 'need to know' for church school religious education. Religious Education Journal of Australia. 27(1), pp. 9 - 15.
Perspective on contemporary spirituality: Implications for religious education in Catholic schools
Rossiter, Graham. (2010). Perspective on contemporary spirituality: Implications for religious education in Catholic schools. International Studies in Catholic Education. 2(2), pp. 129 - 147. https://doi.org/10.1080/19422539.2010.504019
Religious education and the changing landscape of spirituality: Through the lens of change in cultural meanings
Rossiter, Graham. (2010). Religious education and the changing landscape of spirituality: Through the lens of change in cultural meanings. Journal of Religious Education. 58(2), pp. 25 - 36.
Rethinking the purposes of K-12 Lutheran Christian Studies in the light of contemporary youth spirituality
Rossiter, Graham. (2010). Rethinking the purposes of K-12 Lutheran Christian Studies in the light of contemporary youth spirituality. Lutheran Theological Journal. 44(3), pp. 128 - 138.
Securing the future of live-in retreats in Australian Catholic secondary schools: Part 2 psychological and spiritual issues related to the nature, purposes and conduct of retreats
Tullio, Rachele and Rossiter, Graham. (2010). Securing the future of live-in retreats in Australian Catholic secondary schools: Part 2 psychological and spiritual issues related to the nature, purposes and conduct of retreats. Journal of Religious Education. 58(2), pp. 65 - 74.
Contextual factors affecting the conduct and the future of live-in retreats in Australian Catholic secondary schools
Tullio, Rachele and Rossiter, Graham. (2010). Contextual factors affecting the conduct and the future of live-in retreats in Australian Catholic secondary schools. Journal of Catholic School Studies. 82(1), pp. 43 - 58.
Critical issues for the future of senior class retreats in Australian Catholic Schools : Part 1 - Major theoretical and educational issues
Tullio, Rachele and Rossiter, Graham. (2009). Critical issues for the future of senior class retreats in Australian Catholic Schools : Part 1 - Major theoretical and educational issues. Journal of Religious Education. 57(4), pp. 57 - 70.
Education in identity
Rossiter, Graham. (2007). Education in identity. International Journal of Children's Spirituality. 12(2), pp. 207 - 219. https://doi.org/10.1080/13644360701467568
The spiritual and moral dimension to the school curriculum :the role of school leadership in addressing the gap between rhetoric and reality
Rossiter, Graham. (2007). The spiritual and moral dimension to the school curriculum :the role of school leadership in addressing the gap between rhetoric and reality. In T. d'Arbon (Ed.). Directions for Catholic Educational Leadership in the 21st Century: The vision, challenges and reality: Proceedings of the 2007 International Conference on Catholic Educational leadership. Sydney, Australia: Flagship for Creative and Authentic Leadership. pp. 1 - 13
Relationships between state-based religion studies courses and denominational religious education
Rossiter, Graham. (2007). Relationships between state-based religion studies courses and denominational religious education. Journal of Religious Education. 55(1), pp. 30 - 37.
The evolution of personal development aims for Australian schools
Rossiter, Graham. (2006). The evolution of personal development aims for Australian schools. Journal of Catholic School Studies. 55(1), pp. 100 - 113.
The spiritual and moral dimension to the school curriculum: A perspective on across-the-curriculum studies
Rossiter, Graham. (2006). The spiritual and moral dimension to the school curriculum: A perspective on across-the-curriculum studies. In In M. de Souza, G. Durka and K. Engebret et al. (Ed.). International Handbook of the Religious, Moral and Spiritual Dimensions in Education pp. 677 - 694 Springer.
Reasons for living: Education and young people's search for meaning, identity and spirituality. A handbook
Crawford, Marisa and Rossiter, Graham. (2006). Reasons for living: Education and young people's search for meaning, identity and spirituality. A handbook Australian Council for Educational Research.
International perspectives on Catholic religious education: An interview with Dr Gerard Rummery
Rossiter, Graham. (2005). International perspectives on Catholic religious education: An interview with Dr Gerard Rummery. Journal of Religious Education. 53(2), pp. 14 - 22.
Exploring religion in school: A commentary
Rossiter, Graham. (2005). Exploring religion in school: A commentary. Journal of Christian Education. 48(2), pp. 19 - 26.
From St Ignatius to Obi-wan Kenobi: An evaluative perspective on spirituality for school education
Rossiter, Graham. (2005). From St Ignatius to Obi-wan Kenobi: An evaluative perspective on spirituality for school education. Journal of Religious Education. 53(1), pp. 3 - 22.
Values and the study of religion: A rapprochement
Crawford, Marisa and Rossiter, Graham. (2004). Values and the study of religion: A rapprochement. Journal of Christian Education. 47(March), pp. 49 - 72.
Reasons for living: School education and young people's search for meaning, spirituality and identity
Rossiter, Graham and Crawford, Marisa. (2003). Reasons for living: School education and young people's search for meaning, spirituality and identity. Journal of Religious Education. 51(4), pp. 2 - 12.
Addressing an apparent crisis for Catholic school religious education
Rossiter, Graham. (2002). Addressing an apparent crisis for Catholic school religious education. Journal of Religious Education. 50(2), pp. 53 - 61.