Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 292-310).

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine the impact, if any, of Kolot's Rosh Hodesh: It's A Girl Thing! on adolescent girls in the areas of friendship, school issues, family issues, body image, and assertiveness after participating in the religious-based program for nine monthly modules. Participants completed pretests and posttests in the areas of self-concept and basic Jewish knowledge. Quantitative results demonstrated statistically significant results in the areas of basic knowledge of Jewish female role models, values, and traditions, and statistically significant results in the areas of general, parental/home, and global self-concept. Qualitative results revealed inconsistent results with application of lessons taught, with some effect being acknowledged in the areas of friendship, gossip, bullying, self-defense, and assertiveness.

Includes bibliography. / A vacuum has arisen for many teachers of Religious Education in South Africa with the demise of Christian National Education as a guiding rationale for the teaching of the subject. Many teachers have come to question CNE's emphasis on the transmission of content and the importance of the teacher. The child, many believe, has not been given his or her proper due. Teachers have also realised the inadequacy of CNE as a means of addressing the multi-faith nature of RE classes. The debate concerning the future of RE has centred around the need to meet the demands of educational rather than religious considerations. It has also been focused on the rationale behind the teaching of the subject. The question of appropriate methodologies has, by and large, been ignored. The imperative of devising an RE that is sound educationally as well as one that is able to address the needs of all the shades of belief that are found in most RE classes has made the work of the developmentalist James Fowler particularly apposite. He has constructed a stage model that, he believes, describes the progression of faith or meaning through which individuals travel. During all the stages the modes of meaning-making follow a predictable pattern. These modes are universal in their application and are independent of the content of the belief system in which they are grounded, whether this be religious or non-religious. The teacher using such a model is therefore able to engage everyone in an RE class.

This study has explored and described how Religious Education (RE) in Secondary Schools in Zimbabwe has developed in response to pluralism. It has been inspired by my teaching experience in different secondary schools in the country. There has been a growing need in Zimbabwe to expand the horizon for RE as the nation is becoming more sensitive to religious diversity among the learners. The government through its Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has been implementing changes in RE secondary schools with the hope of making it open to pluralism. This study shows that despite the government's efforts, little has changed in the teaching of RE in the classroom. This has been a result of failure by the government to engage teachers in the implementation of the proposed changes. There is a strong relationship between teachers and religious education in schools. They are the main determinant of the quality of education learners receive as they make choices, both conscious and unconscious, in regard to how to structure academic and social relationships in the classroom. Their perceptions towards religious pluralism also influences the way they teach about religion in the classroom. Unfortunately, this relationship between teachers and religious education was not given much attention in the development of the subject in secondary schools in Zimbabwe. This study investigates this relationship and contributes some knowledge in this area for further discussion.

No description available.

Most research universities in the United States began as religiously affiliated institutions. Beginning in the late 19th century and continuing over the course of the 20th century, the vast majority of these institutions engaged in a process of secularization through which faith moved from the center of academic life to the periphery. This paper elucidates a conceptual framework for understanding how and why Brigham Young University did not follow the path of secularization that so many research universities, originally religious in nature, pursued. It examines the steps that the university and its sponsoring institution (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) took during the mid-1930s and 1940s to ensure that the university maintained its religious affiliation. These actions laid a firm foundation upon which the university rests today.

The relationship between religion (Church) and education (State) through religious education (RE) in Zambia has passed through different stages of development. During the missionary period (1883/1890- 1924), RE was, naturally, offered in the form of Religious Instruction (RI) and was thus fully denominational and confessional. Despite some general improvements in the provision of education, the subject remained largely confessional at the end of the colonial period (1925 - 1964). After Independence, the confessional model of the subject was inherited and continued throughout the First Republic (1964 - 72) and part of the Second Republic (1973 - 90). However, as a result of educational reforms started in the mid 1970s, RE became more educational by adopting an approach that was partly confessional and partly phenomenological from the mid 1980s. Despite new educational reforms in 1991/92 and after 1996, progressive development of RE as a curriculum subject seems to have been negatively affected by the state's self-contradictory declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation in 1991. Thus the subject continued to be partly confessional and partly phenomenological during the Third Republic (1991 to date). While the state or Ministry of Education sees RE as a curriculum subject with educational aims like any other, research results show that many Zambians, especially members of different religious traditions, still see the subject as having confessional aims as well. However, since the country is pluralistic and democratic, RE in Zambia should continue developing in line with the constitutional values of religious and cultural freedom and the liberal national education policy provisions for spiritual and moral education. Thus the subject should go beyond its current unclear state of being largely confessional and partially phenomenological and become more educational; it should take the religious literacy and critical understanding model which takes both religious truth-claims and educational skills and understanding of religion seriously. To ensure this, a specific national policy which broadly outlines the nature and form of RE in schools needs to be put in place as a guide to all interest groups. / Religious Studies & Arabic / (D. Litt. et Phil. Religious Studies))

The relationship between religion (Church) and education (State) through religious education (RE) in Zambia has passed through different stages of development. During the missionary period (1883/1890- 1924), RE was, naturally, offered in the form of Religious Instruction (RI) and was thus fully denominational and confessional. Despite some general improvements in the provision of education, the subject remained largely confessional at the end of the colonial period (1925 - 1964). After Independence, the confessional model of the subject was inherited and continued throughout the First Republic (1964 - 72) and part of the Second Republic (1973 - 90). However, as a result of educational reforms started in the mid 1970s, RE became more educational by adopting an approach that was partly confessional and partly phenomenological from the mid 1980s. Despite new educational reforms in 1991/92 and after 1996, progressive development of RE as a curriculum subject seems to have been negatively affected by the state's self-contradictory declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation in 1991. Thus the subject continued to be partly confessional and partly phenomenological during the Third Republic (1991 to date). While the state or Ministry of Education sees RE as a curriculum subject with educational aims like any other, research results show that many Zambians, especially members of different religious traditions, still see the subject as having confessional aims as well. However, since the country is pluralistic and democratic, RE in Zambia should continue developing in line with the constitutional values of religious and cultural freedom and the liberal national education policy provisions for spiritual and moral education. Thus the subject should go beyond its current unclear state of being largely confessional and partially phenomenological and become more educational; it should take the religious literacy and critical understanding model which takes both religious truth-claims and educational skills and understanding of religion seriously. To ensure this, a specific national policy which broadly outlines the nature and form of RE in schools needs to be put in place as a guide to all interest groups. / Religious Studies and Arabic / (D. Litt. et Phil. Religious Studies))

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study explores teachers’ understanding and implementation of the multi-faith Religious Education curriculum in Botswana junior secondary schools. The multi-faith curriculum resulted from an educational policy change in 1996 that saw a move from a Christian-based RE to a multi-faith Religious Education (RE) curriculum. This study is based on qualitative case studies and draws data from classroom observations, interviews with four RE teachers, five RE education officers, eight RE in-service teachers and three groups of RE students. The main participants are two groups of teachers, those who taught the multi-faith curriculum and those who taught both the Christian based RE and the multi-faith Religious Education. In this study, documents such as the syllabus document, end of month tests, end of term examinations and end of three year junior secondary school national examinations papers were used to further highlight the classroom practices of RE teachers. Furthermore, the study adopts the teachers’ professional knowledge landscape as the theoretical framework, a view that is espoused by Clandinin and Connelly (1995), that stresses the importance of teachers’ knowledge. The following themes emerge in the study; teachers’ understanding of the multi-faith RE, teachers’ classroom practices in terms of their content and pedagogical knowledge, their classroom management, and especially discipline. The study reveals that there are no marked differences between these two groups of teachers in terms of their understanding of the curriculum and their classroom practices. It further reveals that there are various factors that impact on the practices of teachers such as their view of the multi-faith philosophy, assessment skills, use of students’ textbooks, mentoring and tracking of RE graduates from teacher training institutions. The study suggests that teachers need to have an adequate understanding of students’ environment, in terms of their personal experiences and social background. The study recommends that teachers in general and RE teachers in particular need to be involved on an occasion of any curriculum change because they are the main implementers. In addition, teachers need extended periods of professional in-service training on occasions of curriculum reforms. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted