Pre-service teachers perspectives of teaching Scripture in Catholic Primary Schools in Western Australia.
Abstract
This poster will present findings from an investigation into pre-service teachers’ perspectives of Godly Play as a strategy for influencing the teaching of scripture within Religious Education in Western Australian Catholic primary schools. The research was significant in contributing to the literature on teaching scripture in Catholic schools and responded to the call of earlier research that identified the need for pre-service teachers to develop confidence in sharing biblical texts (Hackett & Lavery, 2012). The research question was to investigate pre-service teachers' perspectives on teaching scripture in primary Religious Education (RE). The core questions included: How confident are pre-service teachers to teach scripture in RE lessons? How can pre-service teachers be prepared to teach scripture in RE lessons? What factors can improve pre-service teachers' confidence to teach scripture in RE lessons? The research design for the project was qualitative, as the aim of the research was to collect pre-service teachers’ thoughts and opinions about their experiences of Godly Play in Religious Education in primary school. Within a qualitative design a phenomenological perspective framed the project. Phenomenology is concerned with interpreting lived experience (Creswell, 2013). In this project the research aimed to find out about the lived experience of pre-service teachers in using scripture. Questionnaires was used to collect data as they offer an opportunity to examine patterns and causal linkages on a representative sample of pre-service teachers. Questionnaires have been shown to effectively measure teachers’ perceptions (Desimone &Le Floch, 2004). Pedagogical content knowledge consists of both knowing the curriculum and knowing how to teach it. Hackett and Lavery (2012) found that “providing opportunities for experiential content knowledge as part of pre-service teacher formation in religious education enhances the identity and integrity of these teachers as faith witnesses to their students” (p. 21). In the initial survey, 80% of participants responded with a statement regarding their own lack of confidence in teaching scripture. Half of respondents stated explicitly that the reason they did not feel confident to teach scripture was due to their own lack of knowledge of the meaning, background and message within scripture. The training in Godly Play and the experience in using it in the practicum built the pre-service teachers' content knowledge and also their confidence. After the training, all participants indicated that they were aware of the Godly Play strategy for teaching scripture and 73% of participants felt confident to use Godly Play as a strategy to teach scripture. The research has been clear in its findings. Pre-service teachers gained confidence to use the strategy Godly Play to teach scripture in RE lessons after being given clear instruction on the strategy and experience in using it.
Pre-service teachers perspectives of teaching Scripture in Catholic Primary Schools in Western Australia.
This poster will present findings from an investigation into pre-service teachers’ perspectives of Godly Play as a strategy for influencing the teaching of scripture within Religious Education in Western Australian Catholic primary schools. The research was significant in contributing to the literature on teaching scripture in Catholic schools and responded to the call of earlier research that identified the need for pre-service teachers to develop confidence in sharing biblical texts (Hackett & Lavery, 2012). The research question was to investigate pre-service teachers' perspectives on teaching scripture in primary Religious Education (RE). The core questions included: How confident are pre-service teachers to teach scripture in RE lessons? How can pre-service teachers be prepared to teach scripture in RE lessons? What factors can improve pre-service teachers' confidence to teach scripture in RE lessons? The research design for the project was qualitative, as the aim of the research was to collect pre-service teachers’ thoughts and opinions about their experiences of Godly Play in Religious Education in primary school. Within a qualitative design a phenomenological perspective framed the project. Phenomenology is concerned with interpreting lived experience (Creswell, 2013). In this project the research aimed to find out about the lived experience of pre-service teachers in using scripture. Questionnaires was used to collect data as they offer an opportunity to examine patterns and causal linkages on a representative sample of pre-service teachers. Questionnaires have been shown to effectively measure teachers’ perceptions (Desimone &Le Floch, 2004). Pedagogical content knowledge consists of both knowing the curriculum and knowing how to teach it. Hackett and Lavery (2012) found that “providing opportunities for experiential content knowledge as part of pre-service teacher formation in religious education enhances the identity and integrity of these teachers as faith witnesses to their students” (p. 21). In the initial survey, 80% of participants responded with a statement regarding their own lack of confidence in teaching scripture. Half of respondents stated explicitly that the reason they did not feel confident to teach scripture was due to their own lack of knowledge of the meaning, background and message within scripture. The training in Godly Play and the experience in using it in the practicum built the pre-service teachers' content knowledge and also their confidence. After the training, all participants indicated that they were aware of the Godly Play strategy for teaching scripture and 73% of participants felt confident to use Godly Play as a strategy to teach scripture. The research has been clear in its findings. Pre-service teachers gained confidence to use the strategy Godly Play to teach scripture in RE lessons after being given clear instruction on the strategy and experience in using it.