Education and Theology

The article used curricular documents affiliated with 3 different subgenres of Catholic schooling. The author suggests a critical reading of these curricular materials for the purpose of better understanding the kinds of educational messages sent to students through a) the hagiography of saints affiliated with the schools as well as in the b) documents produced by religious orders for lay and avowed teachers meant to propagate a unique schooled experience. In the process, the author draws upon curriculum theory as a way to critique the largely unquestioned kinds of theology-as-pedagogy that become intrinsically influential for teachers and students.

Com os inúmeros e apaixonantes desafios na agenda, que nos interpelam cotidianamente, o título e o subtítulo desta obra apresentam não somente uma síntese, mas um programa de ação. Este livro significa apenas o início do debate global em uma comunidade local, com a ideia de introduzir o debate em um segundo nível, posterior à sua leitura, ou seja, da aplicação das ideias globais submetidas ao crivo das configurações sócio-político-econômico-culturais como desafio da interculturalidade. Para tanto, o presente trabalho disponibiliza: conceitos básicos para adentrar a temática da evangelização e educação na cultura contemporânea, entendida como um complexo de culturas que constituem o tecido social; contextos que possibilitem a melhor compreensão da produção de ideias enquanto formas de organização mental que permitam maior interação com a realidade; desafios que ajudem a focar o olhar e concentrar esforços nos sintomas mais nevrálgicos do momento social; práxis enquanto oferta de um
debate sobre uma prática consciente das estruturas determinantes de comportamentos, e especialmente condicionantes de práticas  contraditórias no que diz respeito à dignidade humana e ao bem comum; pistas para a pastoral no currículo enquanto produto cultural e ao mesmo produtor de sentido para o cuidado pastoral como pequenos luminares de sentido partilhados da experiência vivida de outras localidades. A partilha tem uma nova semântica em nossos dias, como um saber em rede, instrumento de interculturalidade por excelência. A pista ou partilha não tem pretensões imperativas, mas sim de despertar forças de esperança em meio ao discernimento da agapia cristã. A obra foi organizada em três partes, que podem ser entendidas como fundamentos, desafios e pistas. Na Parte 1, Fundamentos pastorais na educação, estão apresentados os fundamentos para as novas tarefas da Evangelização e da Educação na contemporaneidade; a Parte 2,  Desafios e horizontes da evangelização nos contextos educativos, procura identificar alguns, entre tantos, desafios que possam ser vistos como sintomáticos e chave de leitura de inúmeros outros contextos atuais; por fim, a Parte 3, Pistas para a práxis da Pastoral no Currículo, oferece subsídios a respeito de algumas questões que já foram submetidas ao crivo da realidade, como acima descrito, como princípio de ação. Como parte significativa dos desafios da Evangelização e da Educação se encontra a pouca lucidez em mapear e procurar compreender os problemas de nosso tempo. Procurar compreender, inclusive, o que se declara inimigo da fé cristã é uma forma  contemporânea de procurar amá-lo e desvelar a radicalidade da busca de compreensão do mundo, do outro, de si e do Mistério que o Cristianismo denomina Deus, como a excelência de transformar a realidade por meio da reconciliação é, ao mesmo tempo, um valor  fundamentalmente cristão e substancialmente caro ao indivíduo  hodierno. Tal postura emerge de um cogito ferido que, consciente de sua condição, sabe reconhecer uma alteridade ferida, como é próprio das epistemologias do Sul, dos povos que não fizeram uso da guerra e da violência como instrumento de civilização, mas antes, por  conhecerem essa dor, substituem a violência da espada pela força da salvação que habita na palavra, promotora de diálogo, de justiça e de paz. Serenidade e empatia são virtudes fundamentais contemporâneas
para anunciar o valor do diálogo e educar para o respeito com a
alteridade. São desafios que se confirmam quando a face de Deus se desvela no silencioso e eloquente sorriso de uma criança que se descobre amada, progressivamente protagonista de sua história e respeitada em sua singularidade, para assim aprender a respeitar. Se o Reino de Deus pertence às “criancinhas”, é na educação das novas gerações, que desde muito cedo convivem com alteridades, que seremos reeducados para uma Evangelização e Educação deste
Novo Milênio.
Alex Villas Boas

This thesis explores and analyses the discipline of music education by situating it within a transdisciplinary contextual framework. Its aim is to develop a simple, practical model to help teachers, particularly generalist classroom teachers, reflect on their own musicianship and that of their students and the community, as a means of increasing engagement in music both in school and beyond. It emerges from, and builds upon, the work of the Music Engagement Program at the Australian National University, where music is conceptualised in such a way as to increase the confidence and abilities of all teachers to offer music making opportunities to their students. Despite evidence to suggest that music making is a universal human trait, studies indicate a decline in active music making, particularly in countries such as Australia with ‘Western’ style school systems. There is evidence to suggest that aspects of music education may be contributing to this decline. The adults teaching music can be affected by negative feelings about their own musical capacities, perpetuating this lack of confidence in the next generation. Solutions to date have not produced reforms that successfully overcome these systemic problems on a large scale. This study develops through a set of nine ‘iterations’, each exploring a different realm of knowledge, some not commonly applied to the field of music education. Each iteration acts as a disciplinary ‘lens’ through which new data and perspectives are explored and considered, including: 1) language and etymology; 2) the conceptualisation of problems in current music education; 3) the origins of music; 4) thought and practice in ancient Greece and Rome; 5) the development of ancient performance spaces; 6) the influences of the early Christian church; 7) 20th century educational reformers; 8) the practice of the Music Engagement Program; and 9) the development of a framework in consultation with teachers. The framework that emerges through the iterative research process is refined through consultation with practising teachers in Iteration 9. The practical framework is designed to spark a process of reflection and debate amongst educators, articulating the different outcomes that stem from underlying educational beliefs at opposite ends of the spectrum. At one end of the spectrum is the belief that music is a specialised talent that requires specialist instruction. The outcome of this belief is that the bulk of the population disengages from, or lacks confidence in, their music making capacities. At the other end of the spectrum is the belief that music is a universal human impulse, which can be released and encouraged through education, but which is not reliant on specialised instruction. The outcome of this belief is that multiple pathways may be developed for and by each individual. The original contribution of this study is the provision of a historical and cultural framework of a scope that captures the extent of the influences converging on educators today, for use as a dialectical tool for debate, reflection and reform. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the ramifications of the framework for practice, research and policy.

This collection of essays examines the place of theology in human and social development. Eschewing a sociological point of view, the authors in this volume employ the rigours of historical and philosophical analysis, often informed by a command of the Eastern Christian Fathers and the thought of 19th and 20th century Russia. Sources range from contemporary hermeneutics, psychology and theory of education to ancient and mediaeval philosophy, early modern ecclesiastical history and 19th century European historiography.
The contents of this volume should be of interest to all those engaged with theoretical questions involving education, theology, the history of philosophy and christian approaches to the development of the human person. Co-Edited by Dmitrii Shmonin and Walker Trimble

Το άρθρο παρουσιάζει απογραφική έρευνα στους θεολόγους εκπαιδευτικούς επιτυχόντες των γραπτών διαγωνισμών τους ΑΣΕΠ 1998-2008. Συγκεκριμένα επιχειρεί να διερευνήσει την αποτελεσματικότητα των Παιδαγωγικών Σπουδών των τεσσάρων τμημάτων θεολογικών σπουδών (Ε.Κ.Π.Α. και Α.Π.Θ.), που εξασφαλίζουν διορισμό στη Δευτεροβάθμια Εκπαίδευση, με βάση την επιτυχία και τις επιδόσεις τους στους γραπτούς διαγωνισμούς του Α.Σ.Ε.Π. 1998-2008. Η ιστορική μελέτη των Προγραμμάτων Σπουδών των Τμημάτων των Θεολογικών Σχολών κατέδειξε ότι στο Τμήμα Θεολογίας στη Θεσσαλονίκη αναπτύσσεται μία δυναμική Παιδαγωγικών Σπουδών, η οποία οφείλεται τόσο στους διδάσκοντες των Παιδαγωγικών Μαθημάτων, όσο και σε ένα γενικότερο πλαίσιο ενδιαφέροντος από τους Καθηγητές του Τμήματος για το Μάθημα των Θρησκευτικών. Τόσο η περιγραφική, όσο και η συσχετιστική ανάλυση των δεδομένων επιβεβαιώνουν τη σχέση Τμήματος αποφοίτησης και απόδοσης στους διαγωνισμούς του Α.Σ.Ε.Π. και αναδεικνύουν ένα σαφές προβάδισμα
του Τμήματος Θεολογίας του Α.Π.Θ. στις επιδόσεις των επιτυχόντων, ιδιαίτερα για τους τρεις πρώτους διαγωνισμούς.

Bonhoeffer’s short life can be interpreted in many ways. In this article Bonhoeffer is intended as a model of educator, examining also his own educational process. The main themes that this German minister tried to build in his ánthropos téleios model are also presented, especially during his tenure at the Predigerseminar of Finkenwalde and in his later writings from prison, where he highlights the concept of parrhesia and of “telling the truth”.

Pentecostal theological education is gradually coming into its own, not the least since its seminaries in North America are now in their second generation and accredited at the highest levels. Also, a full range of other institutions of theological education (Bible institutes, colleges, universities, and theological schools) is emerging outside of the EuroAmerican West and across the Majority World.1 Yet the nature of globalization in a post-Enlightenment, post-Christendom, and postcolonial world means that, inevitably, higher educational institutions of all sorts in the Global South (theological schools included) are patterned after those in the West; and this applies also to schools within the pentecostal orbit. In some respects, such is unavoidable not only because many of these schools depend on mission funding that originates in the West, but also because Pentecostals now more than ever realize that they are a part of a worldwide church and that those trained in its theological institutions will serve within the movement and within other churches in the universal body of Christ, including the western hemisphere. Yet the question is still: Will pentecostal theological education around the world remain Euro-American-centric now well into the second pentecostal century?

Το θέμα της διπλωματικής εργασίας ασχολείται με την χρήση του εκπαιδευτικού δράματος (Drama in Education) στη διδασκαλία της Ορθόδοξης Θεολογίας στη Δευτεροβάθμια Εκπαίδευση. Σκοπός της εργασίας αυτής είναι η μελέτη της αποτελεσματικότητας της χρήσης του εκπαιδευτικού δράματος στη διδασκαλία της Ορθόδοξης Θεολογίας στα πλαίσια της Θρησκευτικής Εκπαίδευσης. Η συγκεκριμένη μέθοδος διδασκαλίας διερευνήθηκε με βάση την επίδραση που έχει σε σύγκριση με την άμεση διδασκαλία, στην ανάπτυξη της σχολικής θρησκευτικής γνώσης. Και τούτο μέσα από τη διδασκαλία του Εκκλησιολογικού δόγματος στην Θεματική Ενότητα «Κοινότητα» που διδάσκεται στη Α΄ Λυκείου.
Τα ερευνητικά ερωτήματα που απασχόλησαν τη μελέτη αυτή ήταν: (α) Ποιος είναι ο βαθμός θρησκευτικότητας των μαθητών που συμμετείχαν στην έρευνα; (β) Υπάρχει διαφορά στην επιτυχία των Προσδοκώμενων Μαθησιακών Αποτελεσμάτων μεταξύ της διδασκαλίας που αξιοποιεί διδακτικά το Εκπαιδευτικό Δράμα και της άμεσης διδασκαλίας στη Θρησκευτική Εκπαίδευση; (γ) Κατά πόσον διαφοροποιούνται οι αρχικές αντιλήψεις των μαθητών για την Εκκλησία από την επίδραση της διδακτικής αξιοποίησης του Εκπαιδευτικού Δράματος; Και (δ) κατά πόσον η βιωματική μέθοδος διδασκαλίας σχετίζεται με την αξιολόγηση της αξίας της Θρησκευτικής Εκπαίδευσης από τους μαθητές;
Η έρευνα πραγματοποιήθηκε σε τέσσερα τμήματα της Α’ Λυκείου δύο Λυκείων της Αττικής. Σε καθένα από αυτά τα Λύκεια στο ένα τμήμα εφαρμόστηκε η διδασκαλία του μαθήματος της Θρησκευτικής Εκπαίδευσης με την αξιοποίηση του εκπαιδευτικού δράματος (πειραματική ομάδα) και στο άλλα τμήμα εφαρμόστηκε η άμεση διδασκαλία (ομάδα ελέγχου). Για τη συλλογή των ερευνητικών δεδομένων εφαρμόστηκε η μεθοδολογική τριγωνοποίηση. Και τούτο διότι αξιοποιήθηκαν τα ερευνητικά εργαλεία της παρατήρησης κατά τη διάρκεια των διδακτικών παρεμβάσεων, του ερωτηματολογίου πριν και μετά τις διδακτικές παρεμβάσεις και της ημιδομημένης συνέντευξης σε ομάδες εστίασης.
Τα σημαντικότερα ευρήματα αυτής της ερευνητικής εργασίας εδειξαν ότι: (α) η μέθοδος διδασκαλίας αποτελεί σημαντικό παράγοντα που καθορίζει τη διδακτική διαδικασία καθώς επηρεάζει την άποψη που έχουν οι μαθητές για το μάθημα της Θρησκευτικής Εκπαίδευση. (β) Η χρήση δραστηριοτήτων εκπαιδευτικού δράματος συμβάλλει στην καλλιέργεια ενός παραγωγικού κλίματος μάθησης, μέσα στο οποίο οι
2
μαθητές συμμετέχουν περισσότερο ενεργά και με μεγαλύτερη ευχαρίστηση στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία σε σύγκριση με την εφαρμογή της άμεσης διδασκαλίας. Και (γ) αν και δεν παρατηρήθηκε στατιστικά σημαντική διαφορά πριν και μετά το μάθημα στις αντιλήψεις των μαθητών όλων των τμημάτων για την Εκκλησία, οι μαθητές των πειραματικών ομάδων πέτυχαν υψηλότερου επιπέδου προσδωκόμενα μαθησιακά αποτελέσματα αποκτώντας θρησκευτικές γνώσεις με βιωσιμότητα στο χρόνο.

Λέξεις κλειδιά: Θρησκευτική Εκπαίδευση, εκπαιδευτικό δράμα, Θεολογία, σχολική θρησκευτική γνώση, κονστρουκτιβιστική μάθηση.

The best model available for the preparation of full time church workers is to be found in the way Jesus trained the twelve disciples and in Paul’s preparation of his associates, as well as in the educational practices of Old Testament leaders. These principles apply to all kinds of training, but are especially important in the instruction of our future leaders.

A distinctly Christian institution of higher education seeks to provide an education that is immediately relevant to contemporary society and securely undergirded by a vital community of faith. This is liberal arts education in the truest sense, namely, the relentless pursuit of educational truth that does not leave out consideration of the role of religious faith in that pursuit. Using the biblical concept of shalom as a framework, this paper surveys the role of religious education in modern Japanese society specifically and in Christian liberal arts education more broadly.

Recent work, however, in resacralization and postsecularism suggests a different route. This series seeks to engage questions that have largely been ignored in the field of educational research. As such it takes the stance that public education is always and already religious education not only because of the historical remnants that persist in and around the educational project or because education is inherently a missionary endeavor, but also in the bodies and minds that enter schools on a daily basis, carrying with them strains of religious sentiment and experience that can’t help but shape a schooled life. The same applies to many of school’s procedures and vocabulary. The series is interested in studies that take seriously the ways in which religion shapes the educational experience and is equally concerned with thinking back through certain religious languages, discourses and practices that might make new kinds of critiques of the educational project differently possible. As such the series is, rhizomatically we might suggest, rooted in a number of social scientific fields including, but not limited to: education, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, political science. We think, though, and this is unique, that the work of the series ought also be extended into the humanities
to take into account issues and draw from traditions, methodologies, epistemologies, axiologies within, for instance, history, theology, and philosophy. The question, then, isn’t if religion is present in and relevant to education but how its relevance can be better understood, reworked, potentially challenged or fruitfully reinforced.

The editors, Teresa Chai and Dave Johnson, of this volume have offered a welcome Festschrift to honor Kay Fountain who had previously served as a professor and the Academic Dean of Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, along with serving the wider Church and academy of the regions of Asia and the Pacific. As with all Festschriften, the essays are uneven due to variant authors and foci for each contribution, but each relate in some fashion to the life and ministry of Fountain.

Özet Günümüz İlahiyat Fakültelerinde okutulan klasik ve modern disiplinler dünyasızlık ve pozitivistik düşünceden olumsuz olarak etkilenmektedir. Klasik disiplinlerin bu sorunu bilgi ve varlık felsefelerinde tümelleri tikellere nispetle üst düzeye yerleştiren ortaçağ hiyerarşik metafizik âlem görüşüne değin geri götürülebilir. Modern disiplinlerde ise Osmanlı İmparatorluğunun son dönemlerine geri götürülebilir. Bu sorunlardan kaçınmak için en uygun yol tefsir ve hadisi, yaşayan dünya felsefesi olan ahlak felsefesinin alt disiplinleri olarak ele almaktır. Ahlak felsefesi ise müzik gibi pozitivistik olmayan düşünme tarzına sahip estetik disiplinler tarafından sürekli eleştiri ve revize konusu olarak tutulmalıdır. Anahtar Kelimeler İlahiyat fakültesi, hadis, tefsir, pozitivistik düşünce, dünyasızlık NOTES ON THE MEANING OF TAFSIR, HADITH, ETHICS, AND MUSIC IN THE FACULTIES OF THEOLOGY TODAY

Από συστάσεως του ελληνικού κράτους το μάθημα των Θρησκευτικών είναι ενταγμένο στον κορμό των μαθημάτων του σχολείου. Από τότε μέχρι σήμερα το μάθημα έχει αλλάξει πολλές φορές και περιεχόμενο και ύφος. Στο παρόν κείμενο εστιάζω το ενδιαφέρον μου στην παρούσα αλλαγή, η οποία έχει εγκαινιαστεί με το νέο ΠΣ των θρησκευτικών, όπως αυτό αποφασίστηκε το 2016 και τροποποιήθηκε και ισχύει από το 2017. Προκειμένου να κατανοηθεί το νόημα αυτής της αλλαγής, επιχειρώ να αναδείξω τις προκλήσεις, στις οποίες επιχειρεί αυτή να ανταποκριθεί. Προσεγγίζω αρχικώς τα κοινωνικά και ιστορικά δεδομένα, για προχωρώ στη συνέχεια στα υπαρξιακά δεδομένα, ώστε να φτάσω τελικώς να υποστηρίξω ότι η πρόκληση, στην οποία καλείται να ανταποκριθεί το μάθημα των Θρησκευτικών, δεν είναι άλλη από εκείνη που μας απευθύνεται από την ίδια την ουσία της Θεολογίας.

Western, Christian religious formulations of purity flow, initially, from Jewish purity laws “developed and systematized in ancient Judaism during exile” as a way to “re-establish . . . identity over against the foreign cultures and cults among which Israel was forced to dwell” (Cahill, 1996, p. 133). Because purity “societies” “are organized around polarized categories of pure and impure, clean and unclean” (p. 129) they are inherently concerned with the policing of intimate contact: the points at which boundaries between self and world come under threat of transgression. They are also, of course, fundamentally concerned with creating in-group solidarity—and out-group exclusion. The juridical in this case, then, forms around “caste, behavior, social position, and physical condition” (p. 129). Modern Christian conceptualizations of purity emerged, out of this long Judaic tradition, through later documents known as the Penitentials “which flourished in ecclesiastical use from about the sixth to the twelfth century C.E.” These documents were “designed to help confessors in their pastoral dealings with penitents in confession, providing lists of sins and corresponding penances” (Salzman & Lawler, 2008, p. 33). More than lists, however, the Penitentials were moral pedagogical documents—the first character
education curriculum(!)—that codified much of the subsequent Western
understanding of sexual impurity and sin.

Artiklen undersøger påstanden "Kirken er afhaengig af akademiet, akademiet er afhaengig af kirken". Den vice versa-tankegang skyldes, (1) at kirkens tro har et kognitivt indhold, som hele tiden skal tilegnes og udlaegges. I den forstand er enhver kristen uundgåeligt teolog. Og det skyldes, (2) at menneskets iboende syndighed frister os til gudløs rationalisme, som må holdes i ave af kirkens bekendelse, discipelskab, mission og tilbedelse. Artiklen er et bud på, hvordan både akademi og kirke sikrer sin egenart og integritet, uden at den nødvendige forbindelse mellem de to splittes.

The following theological reflections are intended to aid in the continual improvement of educational systems for theistic educators, or those who seek to engage in their educational vocation from a theological perspective. Based mostly upon the western Christian religious tradition, the purpose of these theological reflections is to help develop a theology of education based on the educational system guidelines and further refine these theological claims in dialogue with this particular religious tradition. Readers from other faith traditions are encouraged to review the beliefs and practices of their own traditions for convergences or divergences with these reflections. The underlying framework for these guidelines asserts that there are at least three tiers that impact student learning and development: 1) Learners, 2) Courses-Instructors, and 3) the Educational Organization in part or as a whole. In order to improve the quality of education, we must work with each of these three tiers and a series of guidelines have therefore been developed for them. These theological reflections on the guidelines may be used for such endeavors as developing objectives for educational development interventions, conducting system-wide assessments, providing feedback to specific entities within the institution, et cetera. These reflections are intended to be used in conjunction with the other resources and reflections that have been developed for each tier.