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What is Theology of Education?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2009

John M. Hull
John M. Hull
Affiliation:
University of BirminghamFaculty of Education P.O. Box 363 Birmingham B15 2TT
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Extract

An understanding of the nature of theology of education, as of any other field of applied or practical theology, will spring from some previous understanding of the nature and functions of theology itself. But here the theorist in the interdisciplinary field is in something of a dilemma. If he fails to make it clear that theology of education rests upon an interpretation of the nature of theology, his treatment will tend to be superficial. He will be exploring the theological implications of education, but he will not have shown himself aware of the implications for theology of the methods he uses in his exploration. Since his aim is to elucidate implications for theology, he must turn his scrutiny inwards towards himself as theologian, as well as outwards towards education. On the other hand, in setting forth the understanding of theology which informs his work in applied theology, he makes his work more controversial, since there will be other understandings of theology, and other understandings of applied theology will flow from these to relativise his own methodology. Or it may be thought that the interdisciplinary field necessarily rests upon this and only this understanding of theology, and then those whose understanding of theology differs will conclude that the whole interdisciplinary enterprise is misconceived. A relatively under-developed interdisciplinary field such as theology of education is particularly susceptible to this misunderstanding.

Type
Research Article
Information
Scottish Journal of Theology , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , February 1977 , pp. 3 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Scottish Journal of Theology Ltd 1977

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References

page 7 note 1 Hodgson, Leonard, The Doctrine of the Trinity (1943), p. 103Google Scholar

page 7 note 2 Note the centrality of phenomenology in much contemporary work on theological method. Human intentionality, imagination and judgment are central in e.g. Hart, Ray L., Unfinished Man and the Imagination (1968)Google Scholar, and Lonergan, BernardMethod in Theology (1972).Google Scholar

page 10 note 1 Rahner, Hugo, Man at Play (1963)Google Scholar, is a good example of a theological work which falls within this area.

page 13 note 1 Hirst, Paul H., Knowledge and the Curriculum (1974), p. 46.Google Scholar

page 13 note 2 e.g. Hirst, Paul H. and Peters, R. S., The Logic of Education (1970).Google Scholar

page 16 note 1 As an example of this, see chapter 5 of Hirst, Paul H., Moral Education in a Secular Society (1974).Google Scholar I have discussed Hirst's arguments in ‘Christian Theology and Educational Theory: can there be connections?’ in The British Journal of Educational Studies, vol. XXIV, No. 2 (June 1976).Google Scholar See also the Editorial in Learning for Living, 15, No. 2 (Winter 1975)Google Scholar and Professor Hirst's reply in vol. 15, No. 4 (Summer 1976).

page 18 note 1 Hirst, Paul H., Moral Education in a Secular Society, pp. 3, 54, 74 and 80f.Google Scholar

page 20 note 1 Most recently, Smith, J. W. D., Religion and Secular Education (St. Andrew Press, 1975)Google Scholar; Davies, Rupert E., A Christian Theology of Education (Denholm House Press, 1974)Google Scholar: and Ramsey, I. T., ‘Towards a Theology of Education’, Learning for Living, 15, No. 4 (Summer 1976).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

page 20 note 2 Webster, Derek, ‘American Research in Religious Education: A Review of Selected Doctoral Theses’, Learning for Living, 14, No. 5 (May 1975), pp. 187–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

page 20 note 3 The principal British resource for the recovery of these is Daines, J. W., Religious Education, a series of abstracts of unpublished theses in Religious Education (University of Nottingham School of Education, in four parts, 1963–).Google Scholar

page 27 note 1 See the comments by Derek Webster, ‘Theory in Religious Education: Criticism and Prospect’, Learning for Living, 15, No. 3 (Spring 1976), p. 85b.CrossRefGoogle Scholar