AN ROINN OIDEACHAIS AGUS EOLAÍOCHTA RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level and Higher Level GUIDELINES FOR TEACHERS INSIDE GUIDELINES ON EACH SECTION OF THE SYLLABUS TEACHING TIPS STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL COURSEWORK ASSESSMENT DRAFT SAMPLE QUESTIONS PLUS USEFUL RESOURCES AND WEBSITES Planning options, including a curriculum framework for senior cycle RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . .3 PART 1 THE SYLLABUS . .5 • Syllabus structure, sequencing and options . .6 • Sample two-year plans of work . .7 PART 2 TEACHER GUIDELINES ON EACH SECTION OF THE SYLLABUS . .13 Section A: The search for meaning and values . .15 Section B: Christianity: origins and contemporary expressions . .23 Section C: World religions . .35 Section D: Moral decision-making . .43 Section E: Religion and gender . .49 Section F: Issues of justice and peace . .57 Section G: Worship, prayer and ritual . .67 Section H: The Bible: literature and sacred text . .73 Section I: Religion: the Irish experience . .93 Section J: Religion and science . .101 PART 3 TEACHING APPROACHES AND PRACTICAL TIPS . .109 • Shared Praxis – A way towards educating for spiritual wisdom An essay by T.H. Groome . .110 •Teaching controversial issues . .113 • Using critical questioning in religious education . .116 •Teaching for diversity . .120 • Information Communications Technology in religious education . .123 PART 4 ASSESSMENT . .127 PART 5 COURSEWORK . .141 PART 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEBSITES . .145 APPENDIX 1 PLANNING FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: A CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR SENIOR CYCLE . .151 1 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 2 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION INTRODUCTION Religious education in the curriculum 4To appreciate the richness of religious traditions and to acknowledge the non-religious Leaving Certificate programmes place particular interpretation of life. emphasis on the preparation of students for the requirements of further education or training, for 5To contribute to the spiritual and moral employment and for their role as participative, development of the student. enterprising citizens. The syllabuses for Leaving Certificate emphasise the importance of a spirit of In proposing the same aims for the Leaving Certificate inquiry, critical thinking, problem-solving, self- and Junior Certificate courses, the relationship reliance, initiative and enterprise. This syllabus has between the two programmes is emphasised. While been prepared in the light of these emphases, and of the Junior Certificate programme offers students a the particular contribution of religious education to a strong basis on which to approach study at Leaving Leaving Certificate programme. Certificate level, students who have not studied the course for Junior Certificate should be able to engage Reflective engagement with the particular knowledge, in the Leaving Certificate course of study. This ab initio understanding, skills and attitudes which form the study is facilitated by the structure of Section A which foundation of the religious education syllabus will acts as an introduction and overview for the rest of the support the development of the inquiry, thinking and course. problem solving skills central to the Leaving Certificate programme. The emphasis in the syllabus on the value While the aims for Junior Certificate and Leaving of religious belief and on diversity and mutual respect Certificate are common, the depth of engagement is of particular relevance for national and global with the topics for study is different and is clearly citizenship. indicated by the objectives for each section and by the outcomes associated with each part of the course. The student who pursues this course of study must assume the roles of critical questioner and reflective Aims of the guidelines searcher – roles which are at the heart of a These guidelines are designed to support teachers of commitment to lifelong learning. Religious education Leaving Certificate religious education in planning in the Leaving Certificate programme calls for the their programmes, in designing the learning exploration of issues such as meaning and value, the experiences for their students, in assessing and nature of morality, the development and diversity of evaluating those experiences and in guiding the belief, the principles of a just society and the students in preparing for the Leaving Certificate implications of scientific progress. Such exploration examination. In preparing these guidelines, particular takes place in personal, local and global contexts and account was taken of the strong tradition of active and will be a valuable resource for the active, participatory experiential methodologies associated with senior citizenship envisaged in the aim of education. cycle religious education. Building on this tradition, The aims of religious education for the guidelines also draw upon adult learning approaches, and on some of the innovative Leaving Certificate approaches to learning emerging as a result of Leaving Certificate religious education offers research into how young adults are motivated, how continuity and progression from the Junior Certificate they learn, and how they evaluate their own learning. programme. The aims outlined below are the aims for It is vital that these guidelines are used in conjunction religious education for assessment and certification in with the syllabus. Teachers should check the syllabus the post-primary school. for differentiation between higher and ordinary level 1To foster an awareness that the human search for material. meaning is common to all peoples of all ages and As with all teacher guidelines prepared by the National at all times. Council for Curriculum and Assessment, they are 2To explore how this search for meaning has found published initially in draft form. As teachers introduce and continues to find expression in religion. the syllabus to students, as students work with the topics and outcomes, further material will be 3To identify how understandings of God, religious developed to provide additional support. The traditions, and in particular the Christian tradition, guidelines are always an unfinished project. They can have contributed to the culture in which we live only be completed when the professional insights of and continue to have an impact on personal teachers working with the syllabus in classrooms are lifestyle, inter-personal relationships and included. This is particularly the case for a subject like relationships between individuals and their religious education, included in the Leaving Certificate communities and contexts. for the first time. 3 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 4 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PART 1 THE SYLLABUS 5 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PART 1 THE SYLLABUS Syllabus structure, sequencing and Sequencing options It is recommended that the syllabus be taught in the The syllabus consists of 10 sections divided into order outlined above. However, this does not three parts. It is recommended that Leaving preclude the possibility of making linkages with Certificate religious education be timetabled for 180 different sections of the syllabus according as the hours. opportunity arises. Coursework can be done in either year one or year two of the programme or spread over two years. It is advisable that it be done Part one either at the end of year one or the beginning of year This section is obligatory for all students. two in order to avoid unnecessary stress towards the end of the second year. Section A: The search for meaning and Planning values When planning a programme of study it is important to keep in mind the aims, objectives, content and learning outcomes as set out in the syllabus. The Part two assessment of religious education in the Leaving Students must study two sections from Certificate examination will be based on the the following: objectives relating to knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes within each section of the course Section B: Christianity: origins and as well as the learning outcomes. contemporary expressions Section C: World religions Section D: Moral decision-making Part three Students must study one of the following for the terminal examination. The topic selected for examination must be different from those designated for coursework. Section E: Religion and gender Section F: Issues of justice and peace Section G: Worship, prayer and ritual Section H: The Bible: literature and sacred text Section I: Religion: the Irish experience Section J: Religion and science 6 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Sample two-year plans of work Option 1 The first approach suggests a systematic and thematic presentation of the course following the sequence of the syllabus. YEAR ONE Ter m one Ter m two Section A: The search for meaning and Section B: Christianity: origins and values contemporary expressions 1.1 The contemporary context 1.1 The pattern of return 1.2 The tradition of search 1.2 Jesus and his message in contemporary culture 2.1 The language of symbol 2.1 The impact of Rome 2.2 The tradition of response 2.2 Evidence for Jesus of Nazareth 3.1 The gods of the ancients 2.3 The teachings of Jesus and their impact on 3.2 The concept of revelation the community 3.3 Naming God, past and present 2.4 Jesus as Messiah 4.1 Religion as a source of communal values 3.1 Conflict with establishment 4.2 Secular sources of communal values 3.2 The death and resurrection of Jesus 4.1 The first Christian communities as seen through the writing of Paul 5.1 Interpreting the message today Term three Coursework 1 Agree topic 2Research and gather information 3 Analyse and reflect on information 4Write