Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education: Improving Children's learning

Abstract

The principal intention of the current project was to build on the findings of our earlier work which established both that children had adequate knowledge about the figure of Jesus, but also that they faced significant problems in relation to their understanding of Christian beliefs concerning incarnation, resurrection and salvation (Copley & Walshe, 2002). This was to be achieved mainly through the development of Key stage 3 curriculum materials designed to support learning and understanding, particularly in those areas identified as problematic by the earlier study. There was, however, a gap in what we knew. We based our theoretical framework for the curriculum materials on what we had discovered from extensive data collected from Key Stage 3 children. But the starting point for all secondary education is the primary school. We wished to complete our evidence base of children’s knowledge and understanding by conducting a parallel study to that undertaken previously at Key Stage 3, but this time amongst Key Stage 2 children.