Conference on Catholic Religious Education: Malta 2018
First International Conference on Catholic Religious Education in Schools,
Malta, 7-10 February, 2018
The First International Conference on Catholic Religious Education in Schools took place at Rabat, Malta on 7-10 February, 2018. DCU was well represented by Dr. Gareth Byrne, Dr. Sandra Cullen and Dr. Bernadette Sweetman. This was the first such conference and brought together close to 90 people from 26 countries worldwide. There was a very hospitable atmosphere created with a great deal of engagement between participants, both at the various sessions and in the many conversations that took place along the way. Well-known names, such as Professor Tom Groome, Professor Bob Jackson, Professor Bert Roebben, Professor Terry Lovat and Professor Kieran Scott, were all present and made significant contributions.
Dr. Gareth Byrne and Dr. Bernadette Sweetman presented the findings of a recent research project on continuing professional development (CPD) among teachers of Religious Education (RE) funded, by the DCU Shared Research Fund. Their paper highlighted the data provided by teachers in Catholic schools: ‘CPD and RE: What do teachers in Catholic primary and post-primary schools in Ireland say they need’. This baseline research project investigated the provision of continuing professional development for teachers of Religious Education at primary level (90% Catholic schools) and post-primary level (50% Catholic schools) in the Republic of Ireland. The findings provide information about the key RE content areas and RE educator skills in which Irish RE teachers in Catholic schools who responded express confidence, and those areas in which they desire CPD. The felt need for CPD in the RE content area ‘World Religions’ and in the RE teacher skills area ‘Ecumenical, interreligious and intercultural dialogue’ was very notable. At second-level there was a great deal more confidence expressed in Junior Cycle material compared with the topics designated for Senior Cycle. Both Primary and Post-primary teachers favoured blended learning as the most appropriate form of CPD in todays’ world.
Dr. Sandra Cullen’s paper, entitled ‘The religious education of the religion teacher in Catholic schools’, reflected on how (or if) religion teachers in Catholic schools engage in their own religious education. The paper was very well received, bringing together many of the themes that had emerged in the conference. An explicit religious education for Catholic teachers, Dr. Cullen argued, has its roots in the integral relationship between theology and religious education. Adopting a constructivist understanding, teachers can become agents of their own learning, being invited to engage in theology in such a way that they can appropriate its insights into their own life and worldview. Through its focus on developing a reflexive praxis, theological education has the potential to be an appropriate form of religious education for teachers.
Both presentations will appear in a Springer publication later this year: Global Perspectives on Catholic Religious Education Volume II: Learning and Leading in a Pluralist World, edited by Michael Buchanan and Adrian-Mario Gellel.