School of Graduate Research Student Theses
Permanent URI for this community
Browse
Browsing School of Graduate Research Student Theses by Subject "D - Religious Education"
Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- PublicationA New Vision for Science Education: Spirituality, Contemplation and Transformation.(2009-05-08) Jane, Beverley LInformed by socio-cultural-historical theory, this thesis argues that scientific creativity can emerge from the discernment of a spiritual connection with the organisms studied. It is suggested that by engaging students in the essentially relational world of nature, a transformative science education, incorporating both science and spirituality, is possible and desirable.
- PublicationA Study of Religious Education Pedagogy for Second Generation Korean Australian Adolescents: Threefold Structure for an Alternative Model to the Schooling Paradigm(2010) Park, JongSince the first official Korean immigrants arrived in Australia in 1969 under the Skilled Migration programme, few academic inquiries have been made regarding Religious Education pedagogy for the second-generation Korean-Australian (hereafter SGKA) adolescents. Until now, most of the Korean ethnic churches in Australia, including the Korean-Australian Reformed church (hereafter the KAR church), have been utilising the first-generation-dominated schooling (hereafter FGD schooling) paradigm as a primary pedagogy of Religious Education for SGKA teenagers. While the schooling model is useful in many Religious educational settings, I argue that it is not effective for the education of the said adolescents in the context of the KAR church. The premise of my argument is that the FGD schooling Religious Education does not take into account the context of the immigrant church as a contact zone as well as the issue of identity crisis which is faced by many SGKA adolescents as a result of being found between two cultures: the Australian and Korean cultures. As a result, contents and methods of Religious Education of the KAR church tend to be inadequate to enable SGKA teenagers to open their minds and accept the Christian faith appropriately. This situation has presented the need for alternative Religious education pedagogy to the schooling paradigm which is both appropriate and effective for the second-generation Korean-Australian adolescents
- PublicationAn investigation into the use of film and literature in the Christian education of children aged 10-12years.(2009-05-08) Allred, BrentUsing theories of media literacy amongst children, this thesis explores the role of popular cultural artefacts in engaging children with biblical truth and in assisting in their spiritual formation. Particular attention is given to the ways in which children’s imaginative faculties help them interpret what they watch and read.
- PublicationChristianity and science in Australian Lutheran secondary schools: Perceptions, problems and possibilities(2017-02) Bensted, KatherineThis thesis involves the areas of Lutheran theology, Lutheran education, youth and spirituality, and the science-faith relationship. Research conducted within Lutheran secondary schools investigated the prevalence of different science-faith models, the impact each model has upon perceptions of the nature of science and theology, and attitudes towards Christianity and modern science.
- PublicationCurriculum Innovation in Religious Education for second-generation Korean-Australian Adolescents in the Korean-Australian Reformed Church(2014) Park, JongThis thesis is about presenting a new model of the religious education curriculum for second generation Korean-Australian (SGKA) adolescents growing up in the Korean-Australian Reformed (KAR) churches. The new curriculum model was designed to be suitable for religious education for faith, to be fit the sociocultural life contexts of SGKA teenagers who are living in a multicultural and digital society, and to be appropriate to address the unique educational issues of the KAR churches.
- PublicationFashioning a Dialogical Vision for Catholic Education through Analysis, Critique and Contemporisation of Paulo Freire's Education as the Practice of Freedom(2009-05-08) Loughnane, MichéalThrough an exploration of Paulo Freires vision for education as the practice of freedom, this thesis articulates the conviction that Catholic educators can best express their mission as liberating educators by engaging in constructive dialogue between the secular critical tradition and the contemplative trajectory of the Catholic tradition.
- PublicationFrom Biblical Story to Biblical Interpretation: A Critical Transition(2012-05-03) Kelleher, MargaretThis thesis addresses the transition from the child’s understanding of bible stories to an understanding of scripture at a level commensurate with the adolescent’s developing cognitive capacities. The particular context is the Catholic secondary school. Classroom religious education is seen as education for faith. The approach to the teaching of scripture is critical engagement with the biblical text which draws on contemporary biblical scholarship and takes cognisance of the nature of the text and the characteristics of religious language and biblical genres. The study is informed by structural developmental theory which provides insights into the cognitive capacity of the student and the cognitive demands of the text. The educative task includes providing a pedagogy which develops students’ skills in recognising and comprehending religious metaphor and in applying these skills to an understanding of religious myth and parable. The study is relevant to a range of Christian educational settings.
- PublicationLiving Between: Exploring a Framework of Spirituality for Students and Teachers in Catholic Schools(2019) Madden, RinaThis thesis proposes a comprehensive, relatable, theological heuristic for Christian spirituality grounded in four paradigms of human experiencing: Vulnerability, Responsibility, Commitment and Fulfilment. This framework of spirituality provides a dialogical and theoretical lens through which to come to theological, pedagogical and strategic recommendations around religious education in Australian Catholic schools.
- PublicationMaking Theology Accessible: Empowering Christians to do their own Theology(2011-03-02) Hunter, NathanNoting a gap between the understandings of the ecclesia and academia, this thesis explores how ‘good theological process’ can become widely accessible to the church community at large. It surveys some significant ways in which theology has been defined in the past to create a framework for evaluating helpful theological processes, defined in this thesis as ‘working theology’. Having drawn some conclusions regarding what such processes might look like, it explores why such processes are seemingly scarce in the everyday activity of the church community. It seeks opinions about theology from six members of an Australian evangelical church through semi-structured interviews, using a central allegory as a key discussion point. Interviewees offer perspectives on the challenges of theology from a non-academic viewpoint. The interviews identify that transparent leadership, humble teaching, companionship, accessible resources and theological translators all have vital roles to play in Making Theology Accessible.
- PublicationTHE BUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH INTERFAITH DIALOGUE IN SCHOOLS PROGRAMME: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A MODEL OF INTERFAITH EDUCATION(2013-04-07) McCowan, TimThis thesis investigated the effectiveness of the “Building Bridges through Interfaith Dialogue in Schools Programme” in promoting intercultural and interreligious understanding, faith, empathy, trust, respect and co-operation between students from different faith, cultural and social backgrounds. This experiential education programme involves students in years ten and eleven and teachers from different schools and backgrounds to meet and dialogue, question and explore each other’s lives and faiths over six sessions in a year. The researcher used a survey questionnaire and guided interviews with 84 students, 16 teachers, 15 facilitators of the small groups and four regional co-ordinators alongside the general capabilities of the new Australian curriculum and various measures of empathy and intercultural understanding to make this assessment. Results revealed a majority of participants had grown significantly in trust, respect and interreligious understanding of the other and their faith tradition through direct engagement with a peer of a different faith background. The small group dialogues and informal conversations over a meal proved to have greatest impact on participants’ learning. The research also found that experiential interfaith education of this nature developed critical and creative thinking skills, challenged inaccurate stereotypes, increased awareness of one’s own values and faith commitments, improved self-confidence and the social capability to work successfully in religiously and culturally diverse teams. In promoting four of the general capabilities of the Australian curriculum, the research confirmed that experiential interfaith education such as the Building Bridges Programme offers an excellent model for educating new generations of Australians in religion, faith and culture, for them to become competent global citizens and leaders in the twenty-first century.