This unit introduces students to the principles and practice of religious education within the Catholic tradition. It provides an opportunity for students to consider religious education as a ministry of the church and explores the contemporary theological and educational principles underlying religious education in the context of the Catholic school in Australia today.

Prerequisites:
BS360 and CD360

Requirements:
intensive mode

Assessment:

• two 1,000 word short papers - 2 x 50%
• one 2,000 word essay - 50%

Bibliography:

• Congregation for Catholic Education. The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium. Boston: Pauline, 1998.
• Congregation for the Clergy. General Directory for Catechesis. Australian ed. Sydney: St Paul’s. 1998.
• Durka, Gloria. The Teacher’s Calling: A Spirituality for Those Who Teach. New York: Paulist, 2002
• Engebretson, Kathleen, Joe Fleming, and Richard  Rymarz. Thriving as an R.E. Teacher. Katoomba, NSW: Social Science Press, 2002.
• Groome, Thomas H. Sharing Faith: A Comprehensive Approach to Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry: The Way of the Shared Praxis. San Francisco: Harper Collins. 1991
• Liddy, Sally, and Louise Welbourne. Strategies for Teaching Religious Education. Katoomba, NSW: Social Science Press,1999.
• Raduntz, Helen T., ed. Potential and Opportunity: Critical Issues for Australian Catholic Education into the 21st Century. Blackwood, SA: Auslib, 1996.
• Ryan, Maurice J. Religious Education in Catholic Schools: An Introduction for Australian Students. Melbourne: David Lovell, 2006.
• Ryan, Maurice J., and Patricia Malone. Exploring the Religion Classroom: A Guidebook for Catholic Schools. Wentworth Falls: Social Science Press, 1996.