Church and choices: a qualitative exploration of lived sexual values in young adult women

This qualitative research article discusses three crucial encounters in the sexuality education experiences of young adult women who were raised Catholic by drawing from the analyzed interview data of 15 such women. Using the framework of lived theologies, the author argues that understanding the impact of these encounters helps theological scholars better understand the way that young adults from religious backgrounds make decisions about relationships and sexuality. The young adult women interviewed for this research highlight a defensive posture in sexual decision-making that reflects poor preparation for the realities of relationships and a lack of opportunities to clarify and specify their own sexual values prior to these occasions.     

Do students feel authentic in integrated RE? A quantitative analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present quantitative results concerning students’ sense of authenticity during a teaching experiment conducted in Finnish ninth grade religious education classes in 2014. In this experiment, students (N = 24) from three different faith traditions (Lutheran, Orthodox, secular humanist) studied ethical contents together on four subsequent lessons. The analysis showed some differences in students’ experiences of common trait authenticity and lesson-specific experiences of state authenticity but in general, the students felt welcome in the integrated RE lessons. There was not a lot of difference between girls and boys but Orthodox students seemed to be more complacent than the other students. This article adheres to the view that the ability to be authentic is one of the prerequisites of successful spiritual education and it seems that meeting this prerequisite is possible, even among students who have previously studied in segregated religious education.     

Teaching worldviews through creative drama for religious education in Turkey

Abstract

Over the last two decades, Worldview Approach has been mentioned in the field of religious education and spirituality. This article aims to determine the effects of creative drama on teaching worldviews and religions. The main purpose of Worldview Education is to assist individuals to have a broader and deeper understanding on self-identity, worldviews of others, and on the meaning and purpose of life. It also helps individuals to think on ontological, epistemological and ultimate questions about life, values and beliefs. The spiritual development of individuals has a need for several guidelines from the fields of philosophy, theology, and education. As an educational tool, creative drama increases imagination, creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking skills and assists students’ personal and emotional development. Combining Worldview Education with creative drama creates a multidimensional educational environment for a meaningful learning on religions, worldviews, and spirituality.     

Towards a symbol literacy approach in the education of children

Abstract

Children enter a world that is full of symbols, most of which have become inaccessible. This is true not only because of a positivistic attitude that views analogical truth as nonsensical, but also because of the fragmentation that we experience. This situation is impoverishing children’s awareness, connectedness as well as their ability to access and express existential concerns and the answers different generations have tried to provide. It is for this reason that children need to learn a variety of symbols and the ‘grammar’ of how they form meaning. A symbolic literacy approach not only helps them to read symbols but also enables them to formulate meaning and to connect with the deeper reality and facilitates their ability to transcend physical reality. The paper will also refer to the development of an interdisciplinary pedagogy and its implementation through a project that is being done in collaboration with Maltese primary schools.     

The effect of driver improvement interventions on crash involvement; has it been under-estimated?

The available evidence suggests that driver improvement interventions (with the aim to increase driver safety, most often by education or training) do not work. The average effect calculated in several meta-analyses is close to, and not always possible to distinguish from, zero, despite total samples sizes of several hundred thousand drivers. However, it is possible that all studies included in these meta-analyses have under-estimated the effect, due to a methodological error; all crashes have been used as dependent variable, instead of only those that the targeted drivers have caused. This error is expected to have considerably deflated the effect sizes, but it is not known how large this effect could be.Using crash data for bus drivers in which culpability had been reliably established, a simple simulation was performed to determine the difference between using culpable and all crashes as an estimator of a safety effect. Using data for six years, calculations were made on single years. About ten percent of culpable crashes in each year were deleted to simulate a safety effect, where after the difference between the original and the simulated variable were calculated, using culpable only and all crashes in parallel. The effects using these two different kinds of datasets could then be compared and the under-estimation effect estimated.Culpable crashes, as compared to all crashes, yielded larger differences in means between time periods, and smaller standard deviations. In between-subjects comparisons resulted in 15–30 percent larger effects for culpable crashes. Within-subjects calculations yielded larger but not as systematic effects.The effect of driver improvement on crash involvement has been systematically under-estimated, as extremely few evaluation studies seem to have taken culpability for crashes into account. Therefore, new evaluations need to be undertaken, and/or old data re-analysed, to calculate a better estimate of the true effect of training and education in driving safety.     

‘Hope givers’? A scoping review of new media and mental health in 27 Australian Christian organisations

This article explains a range of conceptual and methodological innovations in the use of new media for the clinical practice and public communication of mental health. Building on two current contexts – the emerging research area of new media and mental health, and major reform of the mental health system in Australia – this article presents a scoping review of the online communication of Christian organisations that offer mental health care in Australia. This article compares the websites of 27 Australian Christian mental health organisations, analysing these organisations’ configurations of mainstream and religious modalities of mental health care, their discursive and visual communication strategies, as well as their use of social media platforms.     

Bildung as an essential disposition in becoming a reflective practitioner: practical application of philosophical hermeneutics to second language teacher education

For a few decades, reflective practice has been employed in second language teacher education (SLTE) as ‘a means by which practitioners can develop a greater level of self-awareness about the nature and impact of their performance, an awareness that creates opportunities for professional growth and development’. Dewey, who initiated the concept of reflective thinking in teacher education, emphasized one’s attitudes toward engagement in reflective process. One such disposition is open-mindedness, ‘a willingness to entertain different perspectives… and acknowledgement of the limitations of one’s own perspectives’. Regarding this concept of open-mindedness, Gadamer, who established philosophical hermeneutics, provided profound insights by using the German word Bildung, which is often translated as education, culture, or self-cultivation. Through this concept, Gadamer emphasized not only one’s open and introspective disposition toward new experience but also one’s mode of being. This paper explores this notion of Bildung and examines its possible practical application to SLTE in combination with reflective practice. Referring to Grondin’s notion that education is to raise true questions, I will argue for the importance of nurturing Bildung of preservice second language teachers and of second language teacher educators.     

Creative Interventions for Teaching Empathy in the Counseling Classroom

Empathy is a foundational, necessary component of successful counseling. Relaying an understanding of empathy, including the components and science behind the phenomenon, is critical to the development of counselors-in-training. In addition, creative practice is a pillar of professional counseling, and is linked to experiential learning and meaningful integration of new knowledge in counselor education. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the definitions of empathy, provide current literature on the science of empathy, and discuss specific creative interventions to use within counseling courses to increase empathic knowledge and skills.     

Shifting the Relationship Education Field to Prioritize Youth Relationship Education

The field of couple and relationship education is dominated by a focus on helping committed couples strengthen their relationship. This article reviews several lines of research to argue that the field should give greater priority to youth relationship education—individually oriented relationship literacy education for adolescents and young adults. Serious problems are common in adolescent and young adult romantic relationships and increasing numbers of youth follow paths from adolescence to marriage that make it harder for them to form and sustain a healthy marriage. Early evidence on the effectiveness of individually oriented youth relationship education provides some reason for optimism. The article concludes by exploring implications of this proposed shift in the field for practice and policy.