A dispositional framework in religious education: learning dispositions and early years’ religious education in Catholic schools

Abstract

Early childhood educators have for some time now questioned approaches to education that focus solely on the development of thinking and rational cogitation, and have begun to favour dispositional frameworks in preference to learning frameworks. However, there is little evidence to suggest that dispositional frameworks have been utilised in religious education with early years’ students in faith based contexts. This paper describes and discusses five possible learning dispositions: curiosity, being dialogical, persisting and living with uncertainty, meaning‐making, and taking responsibility, which may form a dispositional framework for religious education in Catholic primary schools. While the intention of the use of this dispositional framework is with students in their first formal years of schooling, it is recognised that it may have application for older students in the Catholic primary school context.