About Religious Education
Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Brisbane use the Religious Education Guidelines approved for use by Archbishop Bathersby in 1997 as the foundation for classroom teaching.
These Guidelines were developed over an extensive period of consultation and dialogue and were implemented over a three-year period. Every Catholic school in the archdiocese has their school program based upon the Guidelines. This occurred through a process called validation and endorsement. The Guidelines are based upon foundation Church sources such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church and make use of the best contemporary educational practice and research.
Other quality assurance processes, such as a formal Religious Education Visitation Program, ensure that the classroom teaching of religion and the religious climate of the school are enhanced. Brisbane Catholic Education is delegated by the Archbishop to support Catholic schools and monitor their developments in religious education. The Religious Education Team of Brisbane Catholic Education offers an on-going program of professional development to school leaders and classroom teachers.
About curriculum
As a recognised Australian educational provider Brisbane Catholic Education assents to the Adelaide Declaration on the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century, as promulgated by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs in 1999. We add an additional Key Learning Area, religious education, to the eight Key Learning Areas nominated in the Declaration.
Catholic schools affiliated with Brisbane Catholic Education use the syllabuses developed by the Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) and former pre-existing bodies such as the Queensland School Curriculum Council and the Board of Senior Secondary School Studies. The QSA is a Statutory Body established by the Queensland Government on I July 2002 to develop, in a co-operative manner with the recognised educational authorities such as Catholic Education, syllabuses and support materials for all Queensland students.
Brisbane Catholic Education provides a range of support to Archdiocesan Catholic schools in curriculum development and implementation. This includes intersystemic policy development and representation with other Catholic, government and non-government groups; provision of professional development opportunities for teachers; support documentation and resourcing to school communities; and providing a focused direction for enhancing improved student-learning outcomes across our schools. The recent development of our Learning Framework is of great benefit to schools as they implement further an Outcomes Approach to Learning.
The Curriculum team at Brisbane Catholic Education is a key a point of contact for Archdiocesan Catholic school communities and teachers.
Contacts
For further information please contact the Religious Education team.
For further information please contact the Curriculum team.