Introduction
Religious education in the curriculum
Leaving Certificate programmes place particular emphasis on the preparation of students for the requirements of further education or training, for employment and for their role as participative, enterprising citizens. The syllabuses for Leaving Certificate emphasise the importance of a spirit of inquiry, critical thinking, problem-solving, selfreliance, initiative and enterprise. This syllabus has been prepared in the light of these emphases, and of the particular contribution of religious education to a Leaving Certificate programme.
Reflective engagement with the particular knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes which form the foundation of the religious education syllabus will support the development of the inquiry, thinking and problem solving skills central to the Leaving Certificate programme. The emphasis in the syllabus on the value of religious belief and on diversity and mutual respect is of particular relevance for national and global citizenship.
The student who pursues this course of study must assume the roles of critical questioner and reflective searcher - roles which are at the heart of a commitment to lifelong learning. Religious education in the Leaving Certificate programme calls for the exploration of issues such as meaning and value, the nature of morality, the development and diversity of belief, the principles of a just society and the implications of scientific progress. Such exploration takes place in personal, local and global contexts and will be a valuable resource for the active, participatory citizenship envisaged in the aim of education.
The aims of religious education for Leaving Certificate
Leaving Certificate religious education offers continuity and progression from the Junior Certificate programme. The aims outlined below are the aims for religious education for assessment and certification in the post-primary school.
- To foster an awareness that the human search for meaning is common to all peoples of all ages and at all times.
- To explore how this search for meaning has found and continues to find expression in religion.
- To identify 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 lifestyle, inter-personal relationships and relationships between individuals and their communities and contexts.
- To appreciate the richness of religious traditions and to acknowledge the non-religious interpretation of life.
- To contribute to the spiritual and moral development of the student.
In proposing the same aims for the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate courses, the relationship between the two programmes is emphasised. While the Junior Certificate programme offers students a strong basis on which to approach study at Leaving Certificate level, students who have not studied the course for Junior Certificate should be able to engage in the Leaving Certificate course of study. This ab initio study is facilitated by the structure of Section A which acts as an introduction and overview for the rest of the course.
While the aims for Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate are common, the depth of engagement with the topics for study is different and is clearly indicated by the objectives for each section and by the outcomes associated with each part of the course.
Aims of the guidelines
These guidelines are designed to support teachers of Leaving Certificate religious education in planning their programmes, in designing the learning experiences for their students, in assessing and evaluating those experiences and in guiding the students in preparing for the Leaving Certificate examination. In preparing these guidelines, particular account was taken of the strong tradition of active and experiential methodologies associated with senior cycle religious education. Building on this tradition, the guidelines also draw upon adult learning approaches, and on some of the innovative approaches to learning emerging as a result of research into how young adults are motivated, how they learn, and how they evaluate their own learning.
It is vital that these guidelines are used in conjunction with the syllabus. Teachers should check the syllabus for differentiation between higher and ordinary level material.
As with all teacher guidelines prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, they are published initially in draft form. As teachers introduce the syllabus to students, as students work with the topics and outcomes, further material will be developed to provide additional support. The guidelines are always an unfinished project. They can only be completed when the professional insights of teachers working with the syllabus in classrooms are included. This is particularly the case for a subject like religious education, included in the Leaving Certificate for the first time.
Documentation
Leaving Certificate Religion - Guidelines for Teachers