Curriculum
The curriculum for Religious Education in South African Catholic schools weaves together a number of processes to create a holistic programme. Both the primary school curriculum Lifebound and the secondary school curriculum CORD take these processes into consideration.
Curriculum Processes
- Education by Environment (Ethos)
- Theological Education
- Spiritual Education
- Prayer Education
- Worship Education (Liturgy & Sacrament)
- Education by Arts
- Education by Story
- Scriptural Education
- Education by Models
- Philosophical Education
- Personal Moral Education
- Education in Structural Morality (Social Justice)
- Education for Personal Growth and Relationships
- Education for Religious Community (Church Life)
- Intensive Religious Education (Special Events)
Click here for a more detailed description of the curriculum processes.
Outcomes
The following four statements give a description of the desired outcomes of Religious Education. The numbers in the round brackets identify the curriculum processes listed above. (Note, however, that 1 and 15 are not classroom processes.)
RE1. Spiritual Awareness (3,4,6,7)
The learner shows understanding and appreciation of the spiritual dimension of life, and of the ability of religion to answer deeper questions and needs.
RE2. Social Development (9,12)
The learner shows respect for the dignity of self, others, and the whole creation, and reaches out in compassionate service.
RE3. Personal Development (9,10,11,13)
The learner demonstrates growth in personal identity and relationships, and makes appropriate religious and moral decisions.
RE4. Religious Tradition (2,5,8,14)
The learner demonstrates knowledge and understanding of sacred writings, beliefs, teachings, and traditions of his/her faith community, and puts them into practice.
Lifebound (Gr R-7) Primary School Curriculum
Lifebound Assessment Instruments
Assessment instruments designed for particular groups of lessons or for more general use can be downloaded here.
My Teaching Classroom Atmosphere Profile Skills Self-Assessment
CORD (Gr 8- 12) Secondary School Curriculum
The Christian Story
This text, available from CIE, is designed as a student text for high School (Gr 8-12) Theological Education. Lesson ideas based on a reading of this text are available at the following links:
- Theological Education Lessons - Grade 8
- Theological Education Lessons - Grade 9
- Theological Education Lessons - Grade 10
- Theological Education Lessons - Grade 11
- Theological Education Lessons - Grade 12
Grade 6 RE Test 2010
For information concerning this national test click on the following link:
For a sample test to prepare your learners, click on the following link:
To download the test and the memorandum, click on the following links:
To download the full report, click o nthe following link:
Grade 6 and Grade 9 RE Tests 2011
For papers, memorandums and reports, click here.
Grade 6 and Grade 9 RE Tests 2012
For information about these tests click here.
Common Assessment Tasks
In order to model and encourage good assessment practice in Religious Education, we offer the following Common Assessment Tasks for Grades 7-10. We encourage teachers to try them out with their learners and to give us feedback about their usefulness:
- Common Assessment Task 2010 (Grade 7)
- Common Assessment Task 2010 (Grade 8)
- Common Assessment Task 2010 (Grade 9)
- Common Assessment Task 2010 (Grade 10)
- Common Assessment Task 2011 (Grade 11)
Religious Education & Life Orientation
Catholic schools face the dilemma of meeting the requirements of Religious Education policy and the National Curriculum. In practice this means that Religious Education and the learning area Life Orientation compete for the same 2 hours of the school week. Innovative and creative strategies need to be developed so that the offering of Religious Education remains central to the school's curriculum without prejudicing the National Curriculum. We offer such a strategy which we call A Harmonious Marriage.
In practice, the harmonious implementation of Fostering Hope together with the requirements of the National Curriculum calls for creative planning and timetabling. To see the implications for religious Education that arise from the new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), click here.
Teachers in Catholic schools need to adopt a critical approach to the use of materials provided by the Department of Education, especially in the learning area Life Skills/Life Orientation, so that their teaching is in harmony with the school's Catholic vision. A document of the Catholic Schools Proprietors' Association (CaSPA), Sexuality Education Guidelines for Catholic Schools, provides guidelines on the use of sexuality education materials distributed or purchased in public schools.
The multi-religious dimension of our society is featured in the Catholic school Religious Education curriculum and in the Religion Education component of Life Orientation. A calendar of major festivals of the world religions, calendar of religious festivals 2012, and a supplement including days of national and international significance is provided as a resource for making this dimension visible in the school.
Click here for a full liturgical calendar.
