I Wonder What You Think Really, Really Matters? Spiritual Questing and Religious Education (Hyde, 2008) EDRE629: Spirituality and Religious Education Kelly McDuff Primary School Teacher

Key Insights Children ‘Spiritual Questing’ Search for meaning in their own lives in a variety of ways Like to connect and belong to others Strong sense of care for people in their immediate lives and people they didn’t know. Are not always comfortable to speak about personal matters Sought meaning from memories and objects that displayed some emotional significance and attachment to them.

Key Insights Post modernity has allowed more opportunity and freedom to express oneself multiculturalism secularism globalisation Bouma (2006) Religious education doesn’t adequately support the spiritual development of students Rossiter (2011)

Connections to learning SPIRITUALITY (Hyde, 2008) – innate human trait that has survived due to positive influences –ultimate unity wherein one experiences a deep level of connectedness and becoming one with the other –outward expression (Rolheiser, 1999) Development of the whole person –Including –Attending –Embracing –Releasing –Remaining (Bellous, 2007)

Connections to learning Religious dimension of the catholic school and our purpose as educators (Congregation for Catholic Education, 1988) We teach who we are- teachers need to nurture their own spirituality (Rupp, 1995) Biblical spirituality (Schneider, 2002) Berryman’s Godly Play (Hyde, 2010) Catholic Education Office, Sydney (2015) –children are invited to reflect on sacred scriptures –talk with God through prayer –discover the beauty of God’s creation –explore the meaning of symbols and rituals

Implications for Religious Educators How do we as educators in Catholic schools nurture the spirituality of children given that they are already active seekers? We need to adopt and implement a more authentic approach that relates and builds on children’s own experiences We need to value the changing context and diversity of beliefs that are present within our schools and see this as an opportunity We need to provide comfortable learning environments that value openness, respect and trust to enable spiritual questing Skills need to be taught to nurture these spaces and include trust and active listening. Understand the various spiritual styles (Bellous & Csinos, 2009)

Implications for Religious Educators Personal and professional learning opportunities for educators Teachers need to be skilled in the use of silence and stillness in their own lives, in order to teach children the value of these abilities (Hyde, 2008) Rediscovering God –being alert –paying attention –mindful of God’s presence (Rupp, 1995) tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSw 6tQ8AiHWirzweI3OVvSliSOtvJ8QlRudCiack5 X9-6h8I0uI

References Bellous, J. (2007) Five classroom activities for sustaining a spiritual environment. In C. Ota & M. Chater (Eds.). Spiritual education in a divided world: social, environmental and pedagogical perspectives on the spirituality of children and young people. (pp. 99 – 111). London, UK: Routledge. a /1/?attachment.uuid=f1db6b0f-62ce d8- e913c033740b&_int.id=9 Bellous, J., & Csinos, D. (2009). Spiritual styles: creating an environment to nurture spiritual wholeness. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 14(3), &site=ehost-live Bouma, G. D. (2006). Australian soul: religion and spirituality in the twenty-first century. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. (pp. 1-30) reader.action ppg=21&docID= &tm= Catholic Education Office Sydney. (2015, May 7). Primary Curriculum. Retrieved from Primary.aspx Congregation for Catholic Education. (1988). The religious dimension of education in the Catholic school. Retrieved 14 January uc_doc_ _catholic-school_en.html Hyde, B. (2008). I wonder what you think really, really matters? Spiritual questing and religious education. Religious Education, 103(1), doi: / Hyde, B. (2010). Godly Play Nourishing Children's Spirituality: A Case Study. Religious Education, 105(5), doi: / #.U- 2QQcqVLDM Rolheiser, R. (1999). The holy longing. New York, NY: Doubleday. (pp ) 822a59a2331d/1/?attachment.uuid=ce59ec90-84ea-4a03-af dba3fb8d&_int.id=3 Rossiter, G. (2011). Reorienting the religion curriculum in Catholic schools to address the needs of contemporary youth spirituality. International Studies in Catholic Education, 3(1), doi: / #.U-2ZpMqVLDM Rupp, J. (1995). Rediscovering God in the midst of our work. In R.Wicks (Ed.). Handbook of spirituality for ministers (pp ). New York, NY: Paulist Press. 8bc684ee1a76/1/?attachment.uuid=be4b1ec7-9cf bcde- 5bdf4ceb6312&_int.id=6 Schneiders, S. M. (2002). Biblical spirituality. Interpretation-J. Bible Theol., 56(2), search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/docview/ ?accountid=8194