Religious Education (RE) as a Context: The Subcultures That Shape Teacher’s Work When Teaching This Subject in Australian Catholic Secondary Schools

Hyde, Brendan; Anning, Anthony Sylvester

doi:10.3390/rel15121442

Open AccessArticle

Religious Education (RE) as a Context: The Subcultures That Shape Teacher’s Work When Teaching This Subject in Australian Catholic Secondary Schools

by

Brendan Hyde

^1,*

and

Anthony Sylvester Anning

²

¹

School of Education, Deakin University, Burwood 3125, Australia

²

School of Education, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds 3216, Australia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Religions 2024, 15(12), 1442; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121442

Submission received: 21 October 2024 / Revised: 25 November 2024 / Accepted: 26 November 2024 / Published: 27 November 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engaging Religious Plurality within Australian and New Zealand Catholic Schools: Particularity in Dialogue with Diversity)

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Abstract

Religious Education (RE) can be conceived of as a specific context within which secondary RE teachers from diverse backgrounds teach. This context gives rise to distinctive subject subcultures, characterised by a unique set of beliefs, norms, and practices that are shared by teachers who teach RE. Using micronarratives as a way to initiate further discussion and to distil some key points which can be elaborated upon, we illustrate some salient aspects of RE’s subcultures. These include a subculture of ambiguity, boundary crossings and objects, and a confusion of purpose and terms. Knowledge of these may better assist schools—and Catholic Schools’ Departments—to orient and support these teachers in their classroom practice.

Keywords: religious education (RE); school subjects as context; subject subcultures; RE teachers; Australian Catholic secondary schools

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MDPI and ACS Style

Hyde, B.; Anning, A.S. Religious Education (RE) as a Context: The Subcultures That Shape Teacher’s Work When Teaching This Subject in Australian Catholic Secondary Schools. Religions 2024, 15, 1442. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121442

AMA Style

Hyde B, Anning AS. Religious Education (RE) as a Context: The Subcultures That Shape Teacher’s Work When Teaching This Subject in Australian Catholic Secondary Schools. Religions. 2024; 15(12):1442. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121442

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hyde, Brendan, and Anthony Sylvester Anning. 2024. "Religious Education (RE) as a Context: The Subcultures That Shape Teacher’s Work When Teaching This Subject in Australian Catholic Secondary Schools" Religions 15, no. 12: 1442. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121442

APA Style

Hyde, B., & Anning, A. S. (2024). Religious Education (RE) as a Context: The Subcultures That Shape Teacher’s Work When Teaching This Subject in Australian Catholic Secondary Schools. Religions, 15(12), 1442. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121442

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Religious Education (RE) as a Context: The Subcultures That Shape Teacher’s Work When Teaching This Subject in Australian Catholic Secondary Schools

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