Janice Olson

Date of Award

8-1973

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Edward DeRoche

Second Advisor

Roman A. Bernert

Abstract

Religious education in Catholic circles has been in a state of transition for the past one and one-half decades. For nearly a century the Baltimore Catechism had been the primary source of content for religious education and memorization had been the method used. In the late 1950's when Sputnik caused a reexamination of all education, religious education was also brought under scrutiny. In the light of new educational method, memorization of the Baltimore Catechism was deemed inadequate by most people and was set aside. The upheaval of thought following Vatican II as well as breakthroughs in Scripture study, coupled with changes in education, brought about exploration of new approaches in catechetics. The Church was moving from an era when people questioned nothing to an era when everything was brought into question. Children's psychological and cognitive development and the effect this has on their ability to understand abstract concepts were considered. Replacement of rote memorization with meaningful experiences was perhaps the greatest thrust. Since children learned more and better in most subjects by learning through experience, why not in religion also? Gabriel Moran in his book Design For Religion speaks about the experiential approach.

Comments

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Master of Education Degree, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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