Religious education for children with severe learning difficulties: constructing a framework, finding a medium, exploring a story

Abstract

In this article Jane Webster enquires into the status of religious education (RE) in the curriculum of children with learning difficulties. She maintains that if RE is to be taught well its essence as a subject must be grasped by those responsible for its teaching, and that this involves establishing a viable conceptual framework for the subject. In this article a possible framework is constructed which, in respecting the cognitive and affective dimensions of human personality, enables all children to develop an understanding of the meaning of religion and a sense of their own spirituality. Jane Webster suggests that religious stories are one medium through which this kind of learning may be achieved, and describes the way in which a class of children with severe and complex learning difficulties explored the biblical story of creation in their RE lessons.There have, of course, been those who have sought to address the issue of religious education for children with l e a rning difficulties. Much of the early re s e a rch and re fl e c t i o n upon the subject was done within a confessional fra m ewo rk , and was attempting to meet the ch a l l e n ge of prep a ri n g children and young people with learning difficulties for

Various aspects of using bibliotherapy in the field of education and rehabilitation

“…This process of abstraction and symbolic representation freed participants to openly express their feelings, such as anger or shame, and use them for further growth and change. These findings confirm the reasoning of Webster (2004), who indicated that children with intellectual disabilities are able to learn and understand in an artistic-symbolic way through narratives, with the help of attachments to the content and characters that hold their interest.…”

Towards an Understanding of Spirituality in the Context of Nonverbal Autism: A Scoping Review

“…These findings are presented in It is encouraging to note that within some faith communities, at last there is some attention being paid to the various needs of specific members. Along with initiatives for inclusion in worship and social activities there is also some momentum in the consideration of modified confirmation curriculums (Kramer-Mills, 2010), and basic scripture lessons and catechism classes which have been specifically designed for children with autism and other learning needs (Vogel & Reiter, 2003;Webster, 2004;Weerstra, 2011). These types of specialist considerations are valuable and necessary, not only for the individual, but also the growth and function of the faith community as a whole (Brock, 2011;Greig, 2015;McGee, 2010;McNair, 2008;Reynolds, 2012).…”

A Mighty River: Intersections of Spiritualities and Activism in Children’s and Young Adult Literature

“…Myers and Myers (1999) offer other criteria, asserting that fiction picture books should promote emerging spirituality in children as well as craft a sense of caring for others through deepened relational interactions. Webster's (2004) work extends these criteria to emphasize the importance of selecting books that include a poetic nature, aesthetic splendor, and sense of collaborative endeavors. Most importantly, she claims that the literature selection should be ripe for the use of supplemental artistic material that may be used to enhance aesthetic experiences through movement, sound, and color.…”