Catholic Faith Included in New RE Curriculum

Catholic schools can continue to teach the Catholic faith, the director of religious education at a prominent Catholic school told CathNews.

Her comments followed an article published over the weekend that suggested religious education was being replaced by religious studies.

The article suggests that the focus of religious studies is primarily focused on religious diversity, cultural differences, bullying, etc., and that there is a place for non-religious people in the curriculum.

I was told that religious education would be part of the “social studies”.

The DRS confirmed that religious education was absorbed into social studies. But as Catholic schools know, that’s not the end of religious education.

“I have been experimenting with this new standard for two years and there is no perfect system, but don’t worry, you can teach the Catholic faith in Catholic schools.

“Catholic schools are by far the largest group using religious education standards and are able to comply with the new standards,” she assured CathNews.

She said the biggest challenge in working with the NZQA is the involvement of people who have little or no belief systems or faith frameworks to guide their curriculum.

Hesitant about the progress the school has made in its first year of trials, she said something has changed at NZQA this year.

Asked about the religious education program’s role in countering things like bullying and understanding the perspectives and cultures of other faiths, she said it’s built into Catholic faith education.

“Catholic students are taught about difference, respect and dialogue.”

“That said, I can only suggest, not impose.”

She took “positively” the frequent comments made by visiting and remedial teachers about the “tolerant” school environment.

In order to overcome these social concerns, it is very important that the school not only speaks, but reinforces them in the school’s overall environment.

“A functioning Catholic school strengthens the faith and its application and other elements of the faith in school programs and settings such as retreats, school camps, leadership training, prayer, sacramental programs and restorative judicial discipline systems. .”

“A significant problem we have is unsupportive parents who want their children enrolled in school and exempt from these extracurricular activities,” she said.

new curriculum

Articles over the weekend provided an overview of the new elementary and middle school curriculum.

From next year, we will focus on diverse religious studies. New content will be incorporated into the updated social science curriculum.

The Department of Education says it is still reviewing the NCEA’s standards for religious studies in secondary education.

However, he said, “One of the principles of the NCEA Change Program is inclusivity and fairness, where all students deserve the same high-quality learning opportunities to succeed.”

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• The name of the person interviewed has not been released, and the school has not been identified. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself or her school. The interview was conducted by telephone.

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