The Book
Secondary religious education is perhaps the most challenging, complex and skilled area of the curriculum, a fact that is more than ever true today as young people define in their own ways what it means to be religious. Pope John Paul II’s call for a new evangelization articulated a response to the question that is at the foundation of secondary religious education in the Catholic school, the question of “What does it mean for the Catholic young person to be religiously educated today?” Drawing on the research of four academics, this book sets out the foundations of Catholic secondary religious education, distilling from John Paul II’s exhortation the principles and practice of new evangelization today for Catholic secondary schools. Because the quality of religious education in schools is dependent on the quality of the teacher, and indeed on the quality of the teacher’s content and pedagogical knowledge, this book also provides an introduction to some key theological topics to guide the teacher’s reading and study.

                        

The Authors
Kath Engebretson is an Associate Professor in the School of Religious Education at Australian Catholic University (ACU National). Her long career in Catholic education has seen her work as a religious education co-ordinator in Catholic schools in Australia, teaching this subject at every level of the school. She is the author of numerous religious education textbooks, including the Melbourne and Sydney Archdiocesan series, To Know Worship and Love. Her scholarly papers are many, and she has been published often in international journals. As a researcher and writer, her work is familiar and respected across the Catholic school sector. While being an academic of some standing, Kath sees herself first as a teacher, and the quality of religious education in Catholic secondary schools has long been her passion.

Marian de Souza is a Senior Lecturer. She spent many years as a Curriculum Coordinator and taught Music, Drama and English in secondary schools. Currently she teaches in the Religious Education and Education programs for pre-service teachers at Australian Catholic University. Marian has national and international publications about her research studies into the spirituality of young people and her learning approach that recognizes the complementarity of the cognitive, affective and spiritual dimensions of education. Her other research interests include values-based education, using the arts to teach across the curriculum and investigating how small ethnic communities hand on their cultural and spiritual heritage to their younger members in pluralist, secular societies.

Dr Richard Rymarz holds the Peter and Doris Kule Chair in Catholic Religious Education at St Joseph's College, University of Alberta. Prior to this he worked at Australian Catholic University and in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. His research interests include how groups pass on religious beliefs and values, how religious education is taught in classrooms and curriculum development in religious and moral education. He is currently working on a number of projects that examine the New Evangelization in an Australian context.

Michael T Buchanan PhD was educated in the Marist tradition attending Immaculate Heart College, St Joseph’s College and Redden Catholic College. His formation as a successful secondary educator was influenced by the Mercy, Edmund Rice and Ignatian (FCJ) traditions of education. Michael has held positions of leadership in faith and religious education and administration and he is currently a member of the Faculty of Education at Australian Catholic University where he lectures in post graduate and graduate courses in religious education, curriculum and education studies. His research interests have led to publications in national and international journals in the areas of religious education, curriculum and leadership.

Contents
Section 1. Theoretical Foundations of Catholic Secondary Religious Education
Chapter 1: Approaches to Catholic Religious Education in Australia: A Brief History – Michael T. Buchanan
Chapter 2: Some Perspectives on Contemporary Culture, Religion and Young People – Richard Rymarz
Chapter 3: Some Perspectives on the Nature and Purpose of Religious Education in Catholic Secondary Schools – Marian de Souza
Chapter 4: Adolescent Development: Implications for Learning and Teaching – Marian de Souza
Section 2: Principles of Practice in Catholic Secondary Religious Education
Chapter 5: The Whole Religious Education Curriculum – Michael T. Buchanan
Chapter 6: Cognitive and Affective Dimensions of Religious Education – Michael T. Buchanan and Kath Engebretson
Chapter 7: The Spiritual Dimension in Religious Education: A Complementary Factor in the Learning Process – Marian de Souza
Chapter 8: Shared Christian Praxis – Marian de Souza
Chapter 9: Planning a Religious Education Lesson – Kath Engebretson
Chapter 10: Assessment in Religious Education – Marian de Souza
Chapter 11: Planning a Unit of Work in Religious Education – Richard Rymarz
Chapter 12: Teaching Scripture in the Catholic Secondary School – Kath Engebretson
Chapter 13: Teaching Hard Topics in Religious Education – Richard Rymarz
Chapter 14: The Professional Responsibilities of Religious Education Teachers in Catholic Secondary Schools – Richard Rymarz
Section 3: Foundations of Content for Catholic Religious Educators
Chapter 15: What Catholics Believe – Kath Engebretson
Chapter 16: The First Eleven Centuries of Christianity – Kath Engebretson
Chapter 17: The Reformation and Catholic Reform: The Middle Ages to the Twenty-first Century – Kath Engebretson
Chapter 18: The Sacraments: Signs of Faith, Hope and Love – Kath Engebretson
Chapter 19: Catholic Moral Theology – Richard Wade
Chapter 20: Developing a Catholic Spirituality – Kath Engebretson
Chapter 21: The Role and Vocation of the Religious Educator – Michael T. Buchanan