Religious Education in Catholic Schools

CONTENTS: Irish and British Perspectives on Religious Education in Catholic Schools - John Sullivan: The Role of Religious Education Teachers: Between Pedagogy and Ecclesiology - Gareth Byrne: The Place of Religious Education in the Changing Landscape That Is Ireland Today - Fiona Dineen: Religious Education in Catholic Schools - Fitting the Field: Educators, Ethos and Catholic Primary Schools in Ireland - Daniel O'Connell/Marie Ryan/Maurice Harmon: Will We Have Teachers for Catholic Primary Schools in Ireland? - Bernadette Sweetman: Godparenthood and Education: An Irish Perspective - Brendan Carmody SJ: Religious Education: The Irish Secondary School - Cora O'Farrell: «It's like as if I'm close to God. I feel as if God is beside me»: Giving Voice to Children in the Field of Religious Education - An Irish Study - Sean Whittle: Religious Education in Catholic Schools in England and Wales: A Critical Assessment of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory - The Place of Scripture in Religious Education in Catholic Schools - Stephen J. McKinney: Affirming the Place of Scripture in the Catholic School - Susan Docherty: Scripture and Religious Education: Jesus as «messiah» and «Divine Son» - Insights from Recent New Testament Scholarship - David Purcell: The Importance of Scripture and Sacred Texts in the Teaching of Religious Education and Securing Engagement for Pupils and Students with Special Educational Needs - John Stoer: Using Biblical Texts in Religious Education in Catholic Schools to Encourage Openness to Diversity and Foster Community Cohesion - Sean Whittle: Conclusion: A Proposal About the Future Direction of Religious Education in Catholic Schools.

Sean Whittle is a Visiting Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London, and a Research Associate with the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education at St Mary¿s University in Twickenham. He also works part-time as a secondary school RE teacher at Gumley House FCJ Catholic School in West London. He is the author of A Theory of Catholic Education (2014) and the editor of Vatican II and New Thinking about Catholic Education (2016). He recently collaborated with other academics in the field to create the Network for Researchers in Catholic Education.

«Anyone who thinks research in Catholic schools and religious education is monochrome, intellectually narrow or unchanging will be surprised by this volume. It attests to the rapidly changing UK and Ireland contexts, along with a broadening and deepening of insights from scholars working in diverse research disciplines. This excellent collection significantly contributes to the growing body of scholarship that is rediscovering the centrality of Scripture for the education of the child. It shows how encounters with the Word in schools are an intellectual adventure to be nurtured by scholarship, as well as a site of personal spiritual development and an opportunity for all children to be enriched.» (Robert A. Bowie, Director of the National Institute of Christian Education Research, Canterbury Christ Church University)