Changing Learning Paradigms in the Religious Education Classroom

Abstract

An observer in contemporary religious education (RE) classrooms in Australian Catholic schools would note differences in language, emphases and learning approaches, although the topics would have similar names. It is possible to analyse the classroom process in terms of the role of the teacher, the learning approach, the emphasis on content and student interactions. The other important aspects are the context of the teacher and students and the experiences of life, learning and religion that they bring to the RE classroom. In this chapter the writer discusses the interrelationships between these variables in the RE classroom from the perspective of an active participant over the past forty years. It considers the extent to which these changes reflect the development of a changing paradigm. In each case the approach is analysed, and there is comment on the level to which teachers and other interested parties have appreciated the challenge and value of the specific approach. Hack (2004, p. 38) noted that the concept of paradigm shift was first identified by Kuhn in the scientific field to describe the situation where data cannot be explained within the existing belief systems. At times results require a new way of viewing reality which gradually develops into a new system of beliefs or a paradigm shift. This chapter focuses on the changing beliefs about the relative importance of the elements in the RE learning process, and the type of interactions that develop. Various sets of data highlight the changing discourse and the evolving learning paradigms for religious education.