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Abstract

One of the challenges for pre-service teachers in Catholic primary schools is the teaching of scripture stories within Religious Education. Research states that Catholic teachers in the 21st century require tertiary training in teaching the Religious Education curriculum and they need to learn effective strategies to teach specific content in this learning area, including scripture. Godly Play includes an approach to teaching scripture that was intended for use in parish and hospital settings. Godly Play is now promoted by Catholic Education Western Australia as a meaningful approach for influencing the teaching of scripture in RE in early childhood and primary classrooms. This paper reports on a research project that sought to ascertain pre-service teachers’ perspectives about Godly Play as a strategy for teaching scripture stories in RE in primary schools. Qualitative surveys were employed to collect pre-service teachers’ perspectives of Godly Play prior to and again after learning about Godly Play as one strategy for teaching scripture. Survey data were analysed by question through a process of thematic coding. The results from these surveys provide insight into pre-service teachers’ confidence and pedagogical perspectives with regards to the teaching of scripture. Specifically, findings provide insight into pre-service teachers’ perspectives of the storytelling component of Godly Play as an effective strategy to equip them with the confidence, knowledge and ability to share biblical texts with primary-aged children in RE classes. Findings from this research have implications for pre-service teachers seeking employment in Catholic schools. Additionally, implications for Catholic education more broadly are discussed as well as considerations for future research.

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