CONTEXTS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL This section broadly outlines some of the social, ecclesial and educational contexts that have an impact on Religious Education in Australia Societal For thousands of years prior to European settlement, the Holy Spirit moved over the land and in the life of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.10 .They have always possessed a profound sense of the sacred.11 Their spirituality comes from a profound connection to country which is apt in a time when people are increasingly aware that we are an integral part of creation, included in it and called to care for the earth.12 The tradition of a spirituality deeply connected to land, people and law forms the cultural and spiritual history of Australia. Australia’s more recent Christian heritage must not just sit beside this context; it must encounter, learn from and engage with this story. Religion is an integral part of the human experience and has great influence culturally and politically across the world. The Catholic Church is a significant presence in Australia, especially through its educational, health care and social welfare ministries. Australian Catholicism has a multicultural richness and diversity and reflects a variety of expressions of spirituality and religious practice. Increasingly, Australian and other western societies experience an erosion of tradition and authority in religion and society and a diminished ability for one generation to pass on traditions to the next. There are processes of increasing pluralisation and secularisation13, growing indifference and even hostility to religion and a focus on the pursuit of individual meaning making and autonomy. In this cultural setting, being Catholic or being religious effectively becomes one choice among many. Catholic schools continue to be a choice for many parents who enrol their children for a variety of reasons, many of which are not religious. However, they know that they have chosen a school that teaches Religious Education and offers a range of Catholic religious activities. Families come from wide-ranging cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and have diverse family patterns. While Catholic school enrolment gives priority to Catholics, the schools are open to all. They are challenged to have a preferential option for the poor and the marginalised. 8
FEATURES OF HIGH-QUALITY RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Australian Catholic school students are entitled to the highest quality Religious Education serving the aim and approaches outlined in this paper. These are articulated in greater detail in local diocesan Religious Education curricula. At both diocesan curriculum level and in planning at the school level, there is high-quality Religious Education learning and teaching when the features set out below are evident. Leaders give priority to Religious Education. Scripture is central to learning and teaching. It is presented as texts of faith studied in their contexts, is related to students’ experiences and is offered for prayerful reading and as a resource for living. The principles and practices that inform learning and teaching in learning areas are expected and evident in the Religious Education classroom. Learners, teachers and parents perceive Religious Education as a learning area. Therefore, it is desirable that its structure be associated with the local state/ territory expression of the Australian Curriculum, with content elaborations and achievement standards in a format similar to other learning areas, along with assessment and reporting requirements and representations of the general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities. Effective pedagogy engages and empowers the learner and opens up a sense of mystery, wonder and meaning for students. It provides freedom to investigate, inquire and use religious imagination to engage in critical reflection and empathetic dialogue with the Catholic tradition, culture and their experience. A dialogical interplay between the experiences and perspectives of students, the Catholic Tradition and other religious worldviews imbues the pedagogy and learning. Learning and teaching engage explicitly and comprehensively with the elements of the Catholic tradition in ways that do not reduce the tradition to values not clearly anchored within it. Student learning interacts appropriately and regularly with complementary aspects of the religious life of the school and parish, including liturgy, social outreach and youth ministry. There are planned collaborative processes that enable the engagement of parents and families with their child’s learning. 18