AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

School of Religious Education

Cardinal Clancy Centre for Research in the Spiritual, Moral, Religious and Pastoral Dimensions of Education

Research related to Religious Education in
Australian Catholic University

Research related to religious education in the ACU School of Religious Education is grouped into two types: Research projects conducted by academic staff; and postgraduate research as part of a higher degree (Eg PhD, EdD)

Academic staff research:

The following is a list of some of the studies in progress or just completed.

· Religiosity and spirituality of children in a sample of Catholic schools in Victoria. Dr M de Souza, Dr K Engebretson, Ms L Salpietro

· Catholic Secondary school religion teachers use of knowledge outcomes in religious education Dr K Engebretson

· Past pupils’ perceptions of their religion teachers: a case study Dr R Rymarz

· Spirituality of students in a Melbourne school of the Coptic church Dr R Rymarz

· Voices of rural youth Dr M de Souza

· Aspects of the spirituality of university students: a case study Dr M de Souza

· Some aspects of the spirituality of religion teachers and their relevance to school religious education. Dr S Liddy and Sr A Dean

· Emerging trends in educational theory: Implications for religious education A/Prof P Malone

· The use of Information and Communications Technology in quality teaching A/Prof P Malone

· Spiritual themes from the writings of world religions: Implications for religious education Dr R Keating

· Hermeneutics and Religious Education Dr G English

· Young people’s search for meaning and identity: Implications for religious education A/Prof G Rossiter

· Some aspects of adult spirituality of relationships Dr M Ryan

Postgraduate research as part of a higher degree

The listing below includes research projects conducted by ACU Religious Education staff, by postgraduate research students working in the School of Religious Education, and by students in other Schools with supervision contributed by staff in the School of Religious Education.

Note: Some research topics are only tentatively defined here. Some have been refined by the students, but not yet updated on this listing.

Degree		Academic staff member	Topic	Institution
1	D. Min	Ms Sandra Carroll	Mariology and religious education	San Francisco Theological College, Ca, USA
2	PhD.	Mr Joe Fleming	Film and religious education	Australian Catholic University
3	PhD	Sr Peta Goldburg	Middle Adolescents Images of God	University of Newcastle
4	EdD	Ms Jan Grajczonek	Some aspects of religious education for children	Griffith University
5	EdD	Mr Tony Willmett	Sex education and religious education	Queensland University of Technology.
6	PhD	Sr Andrea Dean	Some aspects of spirituality and religious education.	Australian Catholic University

List of doctoral and masters research students and topics in ACU (research related to religious education)

Degree		Student	Topic
1	Ph.D.	Lana Began	HSC Studies in Religion classrooms in Qld
2	Ph.D.	Christopher Bounds	Significant influences on the planning and teaching of RE in the Catholic Secondary School
3	Ph.D.	Rose Duffy	Middle Adolescents Images of God
4	Ph.D.	Joseph Fleming	Role of Religious Education Coordinators in Catholic Schools
5	Ph.D.	Michael Grace	The Teaching of Scripture in Catholic secondary schools in Victoria
6	Ph.D.	Carmel Laffan	The Catholic school as an Ecclesial community
7	Ph.D	Kim Maree Goodwin	The Historical Relationship Between Religion and Spirituality and Religious Education in Young Adults
8	Ph.D	Marie Kelliher	The Examination of Sexual Values Knowledge of Human Sexuality of Catholic College Students
9	PhD	Mark Raue	Gifted and talented students and religious education
10	EdD	Jan Barnett	Contemporary leadership within a religious order
11	EdD.	Patricia Andrew	The relationship between multiple intelligence theory and children’s critical reflection in religious education.
12	EdD	Christopher Hayes	Ignatian Pedagogy: A case study of Australian Jesuit Schools.
13	EdD.	John Lee	Teenage boys’ perceptions of the influence of teachers and school processes on their understanding of masculinity.
14	EdD.	Patricia Reiher	Values Education and educating the virtues: Issues for the values and attitudes domain of primary Religious Education in diocesan Catholic schools of New South Wales.
15	EdD	Mark Turkington	The role of CEOs in School organisational leadership
16	EdD	Suzanne Rayson	The role of religious education coordinators in Catholic primary schools
17	EdD	Peter Grace	The place of non-Catholic students in Catholic schools: Theory and issues
18	EdD	Joanne Hack	Interrelationships between theories of schooling and the spirituality of contemporary young people.
19	EdD	David Kenyon	Religion teachers’ perceptions of what factors contributed to their experience of “success” in the teaching of religion.
20	EdD	Michael O’Brien	Aspects of the spirituality of young people (On leave of absence 2001)
21	EdD	Gina Bernasconi	The relationship between aesthetic and theological dimensions of religious education
22	EdD	Ronald Sproston	The contribution of extracurricular school programs to the spiritual development of young people: A case study
23	EdD	Brian Long	The teacher student relationship: A De La Salle educational perspective
24	EdD	Daniel White	Psychological aspects of children’s learning in religious education
25	EdD	Estelle Stanton-Yeaman	The role of story in religious education
26	EdD	Peter Moore	Scripture and school religious education: The Pauline literature
27	EdD	Rachele Tullio	The influence of senior school retreats on the spiritual development of young people.
28	MPh	Mary Coughlan	Faith Development and Religious Education
29	EdD	Andrew Watson	The charism of Edmund Rice and Christian Brothers Schools
30	PhD	Vivienne Mountain	Children’s perception of prayer
31	PhD	Possible future enrolment	Youth search for meaning and spirituality: Implications for religious education

Theme for showing the relationships of different research areas and research topics

Interdisciplinary problem solving research in spiritual, moral and religious education

This diagram shows how the spirituality of children, young people and adults is an integrating focal point for problem solving research in Religious Education at ACU. While a range of research questions are being addressed from different perspectives and with different methodologies, they interrelate to make up a concentrated ‘thrust’ of research.

Current and projected research studies can be located in a general way within this scheme. While some research focuses directly on the process in which young people construct meaning and identity (psychological development and formative influences), other related work looks at young adults’ attitudes to religion and education. Other studies examine the appropriateness of different approaches to religious education curriculum and teaching, and the relevance of ‘school culture’. At the same time, historical studies seek to put curriculum development and teaching into wiser perspective.

The interdisciplinary nature of the research is a fundamental distinguishing feature. This will help relationships with research in other flagship areas and with collaborative research in Australia and overseas.

Particular questions for problem-solving research, with reference to the scheme in the diagram

Where questions are investigated in current and projected research, this is indicated in brackets as doctoral or other research. Unless years are specified, the research is current. All of the questions can be taken up in further planned research.

Area A: Spirituality of children, young people and adults

• What are the ways in which contemporary young people psychologically construct meaning and identity; (Secondment project 2002 and beyond)
• What are the potential problems with search for meaning in a culture where the search task itself has become highly individidualistic; (Secondment project 2002 and beyond)
• What do young people see as the “real” spiritual and moral issues of their day; (Secondment project 2002 and beyond)
• What are the roles for “community frames of reference” in the individual’s search for meaning and identity; (Secondment project 2002 and beyond; DeSouza, Salpietro and Rymarz 2002)
• What are the attitudes of young people to religion and church; How does this relate to measures of religiosity; (DeSouza, Rymarz and Salpietro 2001 & 2002)
• How do young people perceive cultural religious influences on their spirituality, including perceptions of the relevance of religious education (Rymarz, DeSouza and Salpietro 2002; O’Brien EdD);
• What are adolescents’ images of God and the perceived influences on these images; (R.Duffy PhD)
• Literature review of contemporary writings on youth spirituality (Secondment Projects 2002)
• How can the themes "meaning" and "identity" for conceptualising the situation of contemporary youth. (Secondment projects 2002 and beyond)
• How do primary school children perceive the influence of schooling on their spiritual development (also area A1); (Andrew EdD)

· What constitutes the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of rural youth; (DeSouza and others 2002)

• How do tertiary students’ describe their spiritual journeys; (De Souza and Salpietro 2002)

Area A1: Formative influences on spirituality

• What does the church literature say about people’s search for meaning; (O’Brien EdD)
• Perceptions of the formative influence on spirituality; (DeSouza and others 2002 and beyond; Godwin, PhD)
• The influences of cultural contexts on individuals and on religious education (Malone, cf area A2)

· How do Coptic students perceive the influences on their religious and spiritual development; Implications for the development of religious education curriculum in Coptic schools (cf. also relates to area A2) (Rymarz, De Souza and Salpietro 2002)

• What is the influence of school and teachers on young men’s understanding of masculinities (also relates to area A); (Lee, EdD)
• The “charism” of particular school systems (Eg. Jesuit, Marist, De La Salle etc.) and its bearing on spiritual/moral/religious education. (Hayes EdD, Long EdD)
• What are the elements that shape spiritual development and a sense of the sacred in tertiary students; (De Souza and Salpietro 2002)

Area A2: Implications for Spiritual/Moral/Religious Education

• What is the role of the school's religious education in fostering spiritual and moral development in pupils; (Hack EdD, Kenyon, EdD, Moore EdD)
• How can a 'critical' education foster spiritual and moral development of pupils; (Hack EdD, Kenyon, EdD, Moore EdD)
• How can the themes "meaning" and "identity" be used for conceptualising contemporaty religious and moral education. (Secondment project 2002)
• What does the historical documentation of different approaches to religious education in Australian Catholic schools say about their relevance to area A; (Ryan)
• How does teacher spirituality have a bearing on the practice of religious education. (Liddy and Dean)
• What is the place and role for sex education within spiritual/moral/religious education; (Willmett, PhD; Kelliher, PhD)
• Critical analysis of the role of religious education coordinators in spiritual/moral/religious education; (Fleming PhD)
• Exploring the creative role of using film in the teaching processes of religious education; (Goldburg, PhD)
• What are psychological and cultural mechanisms through which film/television influence the spiritual and moral development of young people; and what are appropriate educational responses; (Goldburg PhD, Rossiter)
• The changing place of Mariology within Catholic religious education in Australia; (Carroll DMin)
• The influence of Theology on aesthetic perspectives on religious education (Bernasconi, EdD)
• What are the influences which determine teacher satisfaction with work in religious education; (Kenyon EdD)
• What are the relationships between literature themes and young people’s spirituality (Keating)
• What contribution can a study of themes in world religions make to contemporary spirituality (Keating)
• The influences of extra-curricula activities for students’ perceptions of the spiritual/moral influence of their school education (Sproston EdD)
• What are the implications arising from the increasing proportion of non-Catholic students in Catholic schools systems in Australia (P.Grace EdD)
• How does religious education relate specifically to the personal development of primary school children; (Grajconek EdD)
• How does liturgy relate to the personal development of primary school children: (Donovan)
• How does the design and use of student text book resources for religious education contribute to an effective religious education; evaluation of the effectiveness of student texts (Engebretson, Salpietro, Rymarz and others 2002)
• Exploration of the cultural influences on Russian Orthodox spirituality (Engebretson 2002)
• How do Religion Studies courses integrate with Catholic religious education and how do they contribute to Area A; (Ryan, Goldburg, Rossiter)
• What constitutes creative practice in Catholic School Religious Education (Bounds PhD)
• How is the values dimension incorporated into Catholic School Religious Education guidelines documents (Reiher EdD)
• What are key learning and teaching procedures in primary school religious education (White EdD)
• How does the leadership and culture of Catholic Schools affect the school’s overall thrust in religious education; (Laffan, EdD)
• What is the place for the Bible in Catholic school religious education (M.Grace PhD)
• What does the current literature of “faith development” contribute to theory and practice of Catholic school religious education (Coughlan Mphil, Raynor MEd research)
• What is the role for senior school retreats in the overall scheme for Catholic school religious education and how do they influence the the spiritual/moral development of young people (Tullio EdD)

Example of issues being considered in planned research on youth search for meaning and identity.

While much has been said and written about young peoples search for meaning, there remains an important need to clarify issues:

v What constitutes ‘meaning’?

v Who generates meaning?

v How is meaning communicated?

v How does one search for meaning and how does one know when you have found it?

v Do you only search for meaning when something goes wrong? Or when the implied meaning in what you were comfortable in doing is shaken up or called into question?

v Is the search for meaning a result of a significant change in life satisfaction, calling for more thought about the fundamental values that are “implied” in the way ones lives?

v Is “search for meaning” a “ cognitive searching” or “evaluation” of different value systems which can give direction to life?

v How much time does a healthy person need to spend on the search for meaning?

v Can the search for meaning be a health hazard? Can you spend too much time and energy “searching” instead of “getting on with life?”

v Is meaning manufactured and sold?

v How do you judge when meaning is good or bad for the individual?

v What are the criteria for good and healthy meaning?

v Western society is “awash” with meaning; does the search for meaning involve evaluating and choosing what is appropriate, valuable and useful from available meaning?

v Given that the search for meaning has a significant cognitive component (also emotional, attitudinal and volitional components), do the processes of interpretation, critical thinking and evaluation become very important for education and religious education?

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