Introduction to the guidelines
CONTEXT
With the introduction of religious education for national certification, there is recognition of the need for guidelines to help teachers to implement the new Junior Certificate syllabus. These guidelines are being issued to schools as part of a wider programme of support. They are issued initially in draft form - the experiences of teachers implementing the syllabus will be drawn on in the preparation of these guidelines in their final form at the end of the introductory period.
These guidelines are not prescriptive. Teachers exercise professional judgement in choosing the teaching and learning strategy that will support the achievement of the objectives of the Religious Education Junior Certificate syllabus. These guidelines offer some suggestions which may be of assistance to teachers in exercising that judgement. Particular attention is paid to the knowledge, understanding, skills, concepts and attitudes featured in the syllabus.
AIMS OF THE DRAFT GUIDELINES
These guidelines have a number of aims:
- To support teachers in planning a three year programme of study
- To encourage the use of a wide range of teaching and learning methodologies in religious education
- To encourage appropriate cross-curricular linkages
- To develop teachers' skills in assessment
- To provide support for the assessment of religious education in the Junior Certificate by means of draft sample questions, sample answers and criteria for assessment.
TEACHING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR JUNIOR CERTIFICATE
The aim of junior certificate religious education is to provide students with a framework for encountering and engaging with the variety of religious traditions in Ireland and elsewhere. The syllabus seeks to promote an understanding and appreciation of why people believe, as well as tolerance and respect for the values and beliefs of all. As part of preparation for the responsibilities of citizenship, the course makes particular reference to the Christian tradition, acknowledging the unique role of this tradition and its denominational expressions in Irish life.
In teaching the syllabus particular attention should be given to the overall aims:
- Fostering an awareness that the human search for meaning is common to all peoples, of all ages and at all times;
- Exploring how this search for meaning has found, and continues to find, expression in religion;
- Identifying how understandings of God, religious traditions, and in particular the Christian tradition, have contributed to the culture in which we live and continue to have an impact on personal life-style, interpersonal relationships and relationships between individuals and their communities and contexts;
- Appreciating the richness of religious traditions and acknowledging the non-religious interpretation of life;
- Contributing to the spiritual and moral development of the student.
The syllabus should be taught with conscious reference to the overall aims of education. Numerous opportunities exist for cross-curricular linkages; these can be exploited through collective teacher planning, through individual teacher initiative and through student exploration.
The introduction of a syllabus for religious education for Junior Certificate marks a new departure for Irish education. For all involved - teachers, students, schools and parents - it is an historic opportunity to contribute to the development of the Irish education system in the early years of the third millennium.