Transcript Guidelines for the Faith Formation and Development of

Guidelines for the
Faith Formation and Development
of Catholic Students
Junior Certificate Religious Education Syllabus
The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference 1999
Page 5: Introduction
The purpose of the document outlined:
Paragraph 2 (P2) “In the Ireland of today… context for R.E.
has changed… economic, development of I.T., globalisation
of culture, etc”
P3 “The educational aims of the syllabus… (among others)
moral, spiritual, religious values should form part of the
educational experience of every young person”
“Publication of the Syllabus recognises the dedication,
professionalism and ongoing commitment of teachers of
R.E. in Post-Primary schools”
P4 highlights the need for Home, School and Parish to work
together in support of the young person’s faith journey
Page 6: Purpose of Document
The purpose of the document is outlined
in bullet point form
Note the point:
…to deepen their sense of belonging to the Church; to
participate more fully in the Church’s liturgy and life,
prayer, worship and retreats.
Page 7: Religious Dimensions of
Education
P1: “Catholic Education begins and is nurtured in the
home, it is taught and fostered by the school and it lives
and matures through the parish…”
P4: “Catechetical method should be considered within
the context of three criteria:
a) Fidelity to the Word of God
b) Fidelity to the teaching of the Church
c) Fidelity to the person being taught…”
“Method of teaching should be student-centred.”
Page 9: Certification & Assessment
P1: “Knowledge, understanding, skills and
attitudes are assessed without prejudice to
their personal faith”
Page 9: Professional Qualifications &
In-Service Education
“Religion is a specialised subject…”
“The teaching of Religion is not a soft option”
“Teachers of Religion should be people with a faith
commitment and a recognised professional qualification
to do the work competently”
Page 10: National Education
Convention Secretariat Report
“…regarded as desirable that teachers should, as far as possible,
have their teaching subjects to degree level…
It would be unwise to allow a situation to develop whereby a
significant portion of subject teaching was being taught by nonspecialists…”
P3: “It should be the aim of all management, responsible for
the education of Catholic students, to phase out the practice of
using non-formally qualified personnel whenever the first
opportunity arises.”
Page 10: Texts, Resources &
Time-tabling
P1: “Texts and resources should be student-friendly. Due care
should be given to the reading age, academic abilities and
differing needs of students…”
P2: The document reminds readers of Religion being allocated
“a minimum of two hours per week” stating that it is “not
acceptable, for any reason, that this requirement be reduced
in schools where the education of Catholic students takes
place…”
Page 11: The School Environment
This paragraph describes a true understanding of a
Catholic School/Catholic Ethos…
Page 11: Pastoral Care,
the Chaplain, the Liturgical Year
 Under this subtitle
P1: Schools’ Pastoral Care systems explained
P2: Role of Chaplain is outlined, however it does not
mention that the Chaplain is not always a member of a
school’s staff
P3: The need/function for good liturgical practices in the
school community is highlighted
Page 12: Death and Bereavement
Emphasises the need for faith practices to be involved
in good pastoral care/critical incident policies
Page 12: Parents & Guardians,
School/Home/Parish Links
This section is aspirational and what all involved in
school life ought to strive for.
“Channels of communication should be open between
the school, home and parish”
“When this community comes together, it celebrates
the mystery of God in Jesus Christ, it reflects on the
complexities of its life as a community and lives the
experience of Christ’s Paschal Mystery”
Page 13: Social Justice
for the Reign of God
*Theme was mentioned in ‘R’ of SERVE for CSW 2015
“Catechesis is about leading students to seeing the
value of giving practical assistance and shaping their
own lifestyles so that justice will prevail”
Social Justice is a popular topic for R.E. teachers,
however…
See Page 15
Section A: Communities of Faith
Section B: Foundations of Religion – Christianity
Section C: Foundations of Religion - Major World
Religions
Section D: The Question of Faith
Section E: The Celebration of Faith
Section F: The Moral Challenge
Faith Dimension does this not apply to all aspects of
the Junior Cycle Syllabus?
Page 17
This page is helpful in noting what is essential to cover
for examination purposes
Page 21
See Section B: the final point mentioned here is not really
dealt with by any of the textbooks at Junior Cycle
Page 22 & 23
These pages are a helpful reference when we encounter
instances where Section C is being taught without any faith
context/lense
Further observations
Looking at Section D & E (Pg 24 – 27); these are in many
ways, the two strongest sections to validate the need
for passionate, qualified teachers. The content outlined
for both sections highlights how the R.E. teacher plays a
vital role in forming the faith of our young people.
Section F (Pg 28 & 29) is where teachers have the
greatest opportunity to involve the wider community,
broadening students’ learning experience. The faith
formation dimensions listed here, should be the
starting point/context in which all social projects are
introduced.
Page 31 - 32: The Journal
The points listed on Page 32 are helpful to note when
highlighting how this task for the state examination can
be a faith enriching experience for students.