Böcker av Brendan Hyde

FIRST STEPS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION is an interactive handbook designed to assist those preparing to teach religious education in early years' classrooms. It also provides a sound general introduction to religious education in the Catholic primary school context, with a focus on early years' settings. Both authors have been highly experienced and successful teachers of religious education in Catholic schools, and are effective teacher educators in the discipline. This book is infused with their experience and knowledge. Through a balance of theory and practice, the reader-participants are led to consider the nature and purpose of religious education, and to begin to develop a personal vision of themselves as teachers of religious education.

Assembled for the first time in one collection are some of the major writings of Jerome W Berryman, fourth generation interpreter of the Montessori tradition, and founder of Godly Play - an approach to religious education and the pastoral care of children which is today being drawn upon all over the world. The writings contained in this book, some of which are now largely inaccessible, detail the development of Berryman's thinking over a period spanning more than 30 years. The Search for a Theology of Childhood will be of great interest to Godly Play trainers and teachers, as well as providing a valuable point of reference for both scholars and practitioners of religious education in their work with children. Brendan Hyde, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Religious Education at the Australian Catholic University. He spent a sabbatical working with Jerome Berryman at the Centre for the Theology of Childhood in Denver, Colorado, USA, and has research interests in how Godly Play nurtures the spirituality of children. He is also co-editor of the International Journal of Children's Spirituality.

This book provides ways in which schoolteachers and parents can nurture and foster these particular characteristics of children's spirituality. It also considers two factors, material pursuit and trivialising, which may inhibit children's expression of their spirituality. It will be of great interest to educators, policy makers, and parents.