Religious Education and Holistic Development in Children - Essay Example

Religious Education and Holistic Development in Children “A major point of relevance for education is the hope that the educational process may in some way inform self understanding -- fostering an identity that is open to enhancement through education -- so that individuals' identity might include the resource of being 'reflective' and 'evaluative', helping them be open to considered change” (Rossiter, 2001, pp. 5-6). Religious Education and its impact on behavioural changes on school children is a much debated topic worldwide. With the youth getting increasingly involved in terrorist activities, violence, teenage pregnancies, alcohol and drug abuse, governments and societies alike have started looking into possibilities of reforms in school education to offer a solution. Australian curriculum also has Religious Education as a part school pedagogy which includes “aspects of religion, philosophy, ethics and personal development” that “could provide students with the opportunity to study questions of meaning and value” (Rossiter 2001 p. 4) and assimilate them into their life practices. This essay shall explore the aspects that are relevant to children’s psychological, mental and spiritual development in Religious Education, in a changed society.  The needs and interests of children as well as the problems and social conditions that the children will face in future shall also be discussed here. The essay shall conclude that as long as Religious Education means educating children regarding moral/ethical and social responsibilities without magnifying religious differences, it may indeed prove an enriching perspective for many students with long reaching effects for society as whole. Mental/ Psychological Development of Children and Religious Education One of the salient features of Religious Education (RE) would be to develop the students into young people who are able to think and introspect and reflect on what they have been taught and discern their value systems with clarity as they reach adulthood. For children to develop thus they have to have a strong sense of identity; since identity is the key to how one defines oneself, it is imperative that RE considers the development of strong, positive self-identity essential to the well-being and healthy development of the student. Identity is one of the central issues dealt by researchers like Piaget, Kohlberg, Erikson, and Kegan and one can deduce that individuals possess multiple identities which place themselves in appropriate positions in each category; like for example one can identify oneself with a name, according to the gender, sexuality, age, educational qualification, race, age, religious leanings and so on. Each identity contributes to form a whole composite individual (Rossiter 2001, p. 2). Identity conflicts that occur internally and/or externally causes disrupted individuals, like in the case of the Tsarnaev brothers who could not fit into the country of their adoption (the Australian .com, 2013); It is essential for the RE instructor to be able to identify such students in need of psychological counseling and through the strengthening of the student’s faith, and try to integrate the problematic self harmoniously. The instructor has a crucial role to play here and need to be professional in their approach, especially in the context of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development, who can aid the student in the following aspects 1) develop a minimal sense of self-identity 2) interacting and maintaining relationships with outside world with self-identity as basic reference 3) to adapt to changes as development takes place in self-identity, in parts from time to time 4) self-identity is influenced by both internal and external factors and developed partially by education 5) identity development is essential to positive social interactions like altruism, tolerance and 6) lastly, helping the individual develop and understanding of the complexities of self-identity formation (Rossiter 2001, p. 6). Spiritual Development of Students through Religious Education “Spirituality” is defined as “a quality of human living that interfaces with and embraces the meanings and mysteries at the depth of our experience” (Hay and Nye 1998, p. 119). While spirituality is different from religion and is rather a way of life and concerns what one may call spirit, religions is something more specific, a focused way of practicing that spirituality with some sort of a formal affiliation (Noddings, cited in Bone 2007, p. 32). However, spirituality may mean something else in the current era of globalization; Bone (2007) observes that the influence of the west has contributed to the popularity of what is termed as the ‘New Age Spirituality’ which is an off-shoot of colonialism, and has become a subject of ‘commodification’ like everything else in the global supermarket- from alternative therapies and healing to crystals and painting (p. 20). This kind of lowering the value of spirituality is unacceptable to some. The UNESCO-APNIEVE (1998) report observes that in the Asia-Pacific region Spirituality includes elements like “inner peace, reverence and respect for life, confidence in the human spirits, belief in spiritual potential, freedom of thought , calmness, integrity and meditativeness (cited in Bone 2007, p. 18). In the context of Australian Aboriginals, spirituality gains special significance since almost everything is scared, including land and water bodies and animals, which are all a part of ‘dream time creations’ (Restures, 2011). In conflicting issues that are bound to arise in the diverse settings of the classroom, resolution can be arrived at by developing a larger perspective which includes recognition and addressing of both sides, with the goal of attaining a mutually, positive change in the world. Moral and ethical values are very important in the context of spirituality in RE and it is not limited to any single area of curriculum; rather, it is the responsibility of all teachers to germinate in their students a faculty for moral and ethical values and judgment. Some theorists hold that “the moral, ethical and spiritual development of students is a fundamental goal of education” (Crawford and Rossiter1992 p. 9). Wisdom and Personal Development in the Transformed Media & Social Milieu One of the main problems prevalent in some of the Western countries especially the U.S. is that of campus violence (guns), stereotyping and intolerance, and indeed teenage sex and unwanted pregnancies, apart from increased youth participation in terrorist activities. If this can be seen dominating the educational scene on one side, on the other side, split families, single parents, poverty, increase in religious fanaticism, conflicts concerning language and territorial issues confuse and fragment the society, making children and adolescents vulnerable to negative influences. The deluge of communication modes and expedition of transmission have added another dimension to the existing social scenario. The availability of modern technology and knowledge of their use, in the hands of not-fully-developed minds, lacking guided wisdom, or a strong foundation in moral/ethical values can cause manifold disasters, including loss of young lives, and damage to property. The case of Dharun Ravi recording on webcam his college roommate Tyler Clementi’s homosexual relationship and the subsequent thoughtless transmission on Twitter led to the latter’s tragic end (Pilkington, 2010) is an unforgettable example. A strong foundation on ethics and moral values, as much as education on empathy and respecting privacy may have prevented the unhappy episode and its sad ending. However, responses of the children/students themselves to Religious Education seem less enthusiastic, and for this the children are not to be blamed observe Crawford and Rossiter (1992); the researchers state that, “student attitudes towards the study of religion at school mirror society's attitudes” and though RE amy be of value to them, it “is not regarded by many as a necessary or valuable pursuit, certainly not one that could make a difference when getting a job; neither is it seen by most as making a major contribution to their quality of life” (p. 5). The researchers warn that unless RE is given as much credibility and importance as other subjects like Math and Science, it will be less effective as children will tend to treat it with less attention; “If moral/value issues are treated in a particular way in Religious Education, but quite differently, say, in Health, Australian Studies, English and Physical Education, and perhaps omitted or ignored in other learning areas, then a lack of coordination and vagueness of purpose may subvert the school's efforts to offer a holistic education” (p. 2). The Australian curriculum that includes Religious Education should aim to address such issues concerning boundaries in social interactions, within and outside the classroom contexts. Crawford and Rossiter (1992) have analysed the subject in depth and observe that, “what young people need at school is not simply knowledge and skills, but wisdom in the way they will use and apply those skills; but even more, a wisdom to chart for themselves a fulfilling life that will have benefits for themselves” (p. 12). Changing workplace demands and business paradigms have inevitably percolated into what children are taught and prepared for, since parents and teachers anticipate that the students will learn those skills that will help be employed in future and become useful sections of the society. However, in the reality of today, wherein both parents have their own careers to pursue, the children are many times left alone, literally, emotionally, and morally without warmth or love, the safety and security of a guiding hand. This places a lot of pressure on the teachers, who are expected to take the responsibility of inculcating wisdom into children. Wisdom to meet the social pressures and challenges that are posed on them by the increasingly strong influences of media like television and internet and most recently social networking sites like facebook and twitter. Inherently this means that education in general and Religious Education in particular should enable them to take a balanced view of all the social impingements , “helping students themselves to become more critically aware of the social expectations that are having a shaping influence on their lives” (Sandra Kessler Hamburg cited in Crawford and Rossiter 1992, p. 14). Conclusion The era of globalization has seen violence, sexual crimes, racism, child pregnancies, territorial wars and conflicts in the name of religions, drug and substance abuse grabbing the attention of governments and the public alike, globally. Religious Education introduced in Australian curriculum aims to resolve the problems of the post-modern world by educating youth regarding values and moral ethics from an early age. Inherent challenges in RE are the student responses to RE which indirectly point to the society’s attitudes to RE, and also the manner in which teachers approach the subject. Despite these challenges, RE has the potential to positively influence the students and impact behavioural changes in children with far reaching implications for their own future and the future of the society as a whole. References: Bone , Elizabeht, Jane (2007): “Everyday Spirituality: Supporting the spiritual experience of young children in three early childhood education settings”. [Internet] Available at http://muir.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/623/02whole.pdf?sequence=1 Crawford, Marisa and Rossiter, Graham (1992): “Teaching wisdom: Religious Education and the moral and spiritual development of young people” Journal of Christian Education 1992, Papers 101, 49-65. Hay, D., & Nye, R. (1998). The spirit of the child. London: Fount/Harper Collins. Pilkington, Ed (2010): “Tyler Clementi, student outed as gay on internet, jumps to his death” in the Guardian dated 30 September 2010. [Internet] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/30/tyler-clementi-gay-student-suicide Restures, Jane (2011): “Australia : Aboriginal Dreamtime” [Internet] Available at http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_aboriginal_dreamtime/index1.htm Rossiter, G.M (2001): “The development of identity: Implications for Religious Education”, in M. Ryan (Ed.) Echo and Silence: Contemporary issues for Australian Religious Education, Social Science Press, Wentworth Falls, NSW.) pp. 1-17. the Australian .com “Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev reportedly admits attacks, killing police officer” [Internet] available at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/boston-marathon-bombing-suspect-dzhokhar- tsarnaev-reportedly-admits-attacks-killing-police-officer/story-e6frg6n6-1226628287418 Read More