Goodness Me! Goodness You! Developing a Senior Curriculum for Children in Community National Schools

What is a Curriculum? ‘It will be helpful if we distinguish the use of the word “curriculum” to denote the content of a particular subject or area of study from the use of it to refer to the total programme of an educational institution’. [A.V. Kelly – The Curriculum]

An Originally Diverse Irish School System 1831 – a state controlled primary school system was introduced in Ireland which was multi-denominational Children of all denominations would be educated together in ‘secular’ subjects Separate arrangements would be made for doctrinal instruction Teacher education would also be ‘mixed’

A Denominational System de Facto Each of the denominations resisted it, seeing the schooling process as ‘an extension of pastoral care’ ‘This conflict between state and church...the state’s retaining the concept of a de jure mixed system which became increasingly denominational in fact’ (Coolahan 1981)

The Irish Context of Schooling – A Peculiar Reality % of primary schools being denominational, with 90% Catholic and 6% Protestant There are two Muslim schools and one Jewish school Only 4% of schools are multi- denominational

Community National Schools Goodness Me! Goodness You! in Community National Schools A Multi-Belief Curriculum in Religion and Ethics GMGY! Also expresses ethos of the school

Community National Schools Fundamental principles Child voice Parent and community voice ‘Belief nurturing’ The equality of religion and humanism

What is a Multi-denominational school? A school which seeks to foster a genuine equality between all belief systems in the school (vs. faith schools which foster one) A school where this equality is connected to expression and discussion of these belief systems in school time (vs. nondenominational which don’t allow this)

Paulo Freire’s Philosophy of Education Making A Critical Difference in Education

‘Participation – it is all the better to eat you with my children’

GMGY Senior Programme 4 Strands 1. Story 2. We Are A Community National School 3. Thinking Time 4. Beliefs and Religion

Embed Global Ed in GMGY 1. Developing exemplars in Development Education to embed in strands - Story: Narrative approach - We Are a CNS: Values education - Thinking Time: Philosophy method - Belief and Religion: Pluralist beliefs 2. CPD for teachers in schools