M.A. Religious Education

SEMESTER 1

SEMESTER 2

SEMESTER 3

Teaching language and language of writing the thesis

The courses are held in Greek and English language. The postgraduate thesis is written either in Greek or English language.

Course description

1. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: THEORY & PRACTICE

Learning theories, teaching models, methods, and techniques. Structural elements of educational design, with an emphasis on 21st century skills, and the main taxonomies of teaching models are presented. Creative and critical thinking techniques are presented, while at the same time their effects on learning are examined, with corresponding examples in the teaching and learning of the Religious Studies course. After a brief overview of the main taxonomies of key skills, the types and distinction of skills are presented in: skills, social and personal skills. Basic skills are examined in relation to the processes of information intake and learning retention with special reference to the purpose and goals of Religious Education. The principles of experiential learning and the role of experience in the learning process for dealing with religious issues are presented. Basic principles of instructional design centered on enhancing learning experiences through taking action are examined.

2. NEW WRITINGS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

In this course, on the one hand, the concept of literacy (in the singular) is defined, which has been widely used since the last decades of the 20th century, replacing the traditional concept of literacy, to give meaning to the reading and production of written, spoken and multimodal language, as well as the concept of literacies (plural). Traditional and new literacies are distinguished, and the scientific field of New Literacies Studies is documented, the characteristics of new literacies and their relevance to the development of critical and creative thinking. The concept of critical literacy and its individual dimensions in the context of Religious Education are analyzed. The practices of critical literacy in all kinds of texts systematically cultivate critical thinking and creativity, develop the personal voice (agency) of learners and social action (praxis) by attempting change in the direction of social equality and justice through deconstruction and reconstructing language/note and power relations. Critical literacy constitutes an important field of a modern Religious Education, which must cultivate individual and collective skills of critical and creative thinking promoting social transformation.

3. CINEMA IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Cinema in its versions (fiction films and documentaries) is an effective teaching tool in the Religious Education course. The tripartite approach to cinema itself (critical, cultural, creative) provides the framework within which the 7th Art can be integrated into the course. As the Religious Studies course itself is interdisciplinary, touching on historical, philosophical and purely theological issues, the teacher is invited, by including the 7th Art in his course, to consider the following questions in parallel: how the past becomes the present (historical films), how philosophical (existential, metaphysical and ethical) questions constantly put people in dilemmas (philosophical films), and finally how the depiction of the Divine is illustrated (religious films): Common axis of these of sorts is man's constant search to place himself through the narrative in events and heroes who are called upon to decide about their lives and their relationship with the world and God.

4.  MUSIC DIDACTICS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Review of the founding history of museums, the basic principles of museum teaching science and museology. On-site visits to museums in Attica and application of museum-pedagogical methods with an emphasis on religious art exhibits.

5. INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION & RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

In this course, reference is made to the main points of the problem concerning the educational needs and expectations of refugees and immigrants in the European and Greek areas. Then, reference is made to the main axes of the relevant European institutional framework as well as to the dominant proposals for pedagogical management of otherness in the Greek school. The basic models of education of foreign students in the European area and their variations are developed. In this course, students will have the opportunity to gain a comprehensive picture of the Greek institutional framework regarding the education of foreign students in the Greek school as well as its basic principles and central axes. The course concludes with an analytical and systematic pedagogical and theological evaluation. Students will be asked to thoroughly study the basic principles of social inclusion, as well as the fundamental characteristics of collaborative and experiential learning. In addition, they have the opportunity to study indicative examples of good practices of intercultural education which can be used or frame the school Religious Education in the Greek school.

6. ARTS & THEATER IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

This course will explore, through timeless elements, how the necessity of the "performance", the "action" is activated in society and how it gradually transforms into a dramatic and theatrical event. We will see the deep relationship of religion and worship with representation and ritual and then how the emotional relationship with the world and man develops through the performance and later theatrical event. When the teacher/educator/tutor decides to enrich the teaching of a subject such as the Religious Education, the first thing he thinks of is to make it "experiential", a very problematic term that has been used a lot. The aim in this course is to understand how the theatrical game differs from the theatrical act and what are the stages of operation of a theatrical activity in a school environment and especially in Religious Education. We will be concerned with: How useful is it to study the history of religions through the lens of the theatrical event? At what points does education meet theater and in what ways can the researcher and student study major religious issues through theater. In this lesson we will deal with examples of works of religious content (e.g., The Sacrifice of Abraham) but also with the creation of such works together with the students in the context of the Religious Studies course.

7. TEACHING & LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES

In this course, the different approaches to the design of teaching and learning in an online environment are analyzed. The content of the course compares to the traditional teaching of the Religious Studies course in a conventional classroom and with conventional lectures and learning that emphasizes skills, especially knowledge management and less on memorization. The particularities of Religious Education in a constantly changing environment and the selection criteria of a design model that is necessary to consider the context in which it will be applied, for the development of knowledge and skills in a digital age, are presented. Reference is made to the design models that suit Religious Education and the ways in which they should be chosen, according to their functionality both in an online space and in a classroom, but also according to the content and objectives of the course. The possibilities of the World Wide Web are analyzed in relation to learning activities that can be developed in online learning environments. Also, forms of modern and asynchronous communication are described, and the steps taken by Religious Education towards the integration of new technologies in the educational process are analyzed.

8. THE USE OF IMAGES IN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

By clarifying the two main areas of operation of the photographic image - testimony (out there) & personal expression (in here) - it is outlined through examples of photographic work on religious concepts that the trainees are asked to bring into visual articulation, how it could be facilitated and to cultivate an awareness of the possibilities afforded by the inherent indeterminacy and ambivalent nature of the medium, creating space for creative contribution of their evolving beliefs. Examples of practices (from the field of international photography) that have developed themes of religious perceptions are discussed. Ways of participating in learning actions are suggested, making active use of a set of performative practices, appropriation and idea construction, while seeking an eloquent and structured form aligned with students' intellectual and philosophical concerns. Using platforms for educational scenarios (such as e-twinning), the educational design (with the teacher as a facilitator) of a short theoretical training of the photographic medium is developed and learning actions are proposed that integrate the photographic practice as a practice of developing critical thinking and expression. Emphasizing the design of challenges of curiosity, play and differentiation, general groups of educational activities with creative photographic practice are proposed in the context of Religious Education.

9. - 10. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & ACADEMIC WRITING

The course on the Methodology of scientific research and academic writing has as its subject the topics related to the writing of a scientific paper. The purpose of the course is to acquaint the students with the ways of recording and interpreting a set of relevant and interdependent phenomena of physics or social-theological reality with a common research and writing methodology. The teaching of the course includes: quantitative and qualitative research, social science research methods (Critical Discourse Analysis, Content Analysis, Interview Techniques, questionnaire construction, etc.), processing and presentation of research data.

11. - 12. Thematic seminars

The content of the seminars is designed based on the profile and needs of the students.