The principles and practice of Christian education in the churches of England and Scotland, 1900-1965
Abstract
This study deals with the principles and practice of Christian
Education in the Churches of England and Scotland from the viewpoints of
theological understanding, educational theory, and practical experimentation.
Because of the immense changes in educational theory in the
period, as a result of dynamics affecting the whole European situation, the
study begins with a broad overview of the theoretical revolution affecting
the whole movement within the Churches.
The study quickly gave convincing evidence that, although some of
the major developments emerged within individual denominational frameworks,
the impact of developing theory and practice was felt ecumenically, from
the very beginning of the period. The major records and publications of
the separate denominations were examined, and, deliberately, a general
survey was decided on, because of the commonality of the developments,
although special consideration was given in the second chapter to the
National Churches, because of their special significance in the religious
life of the country.
The study preceded to isolate and consider in depth the most significant developments of the period, firstly, in order of their appearance,
in the principles of grading and the practice of organisation, in chapters
three and four.
It was then necessary to deal very specifically with the most
radical development of the period, educationally, by considering the
centrality given to the child, as a result of continuing child study, and
the attempt to recognise the child's development as central in the educational ministry of the Church, through Christian education suitably devised
and designed. Chapter five deals with this development.
Alongside the fresh understanding of the child was the conflict
over the role of the Bible. From the perspective of contemporary theological insight, the Bible was considered, its educational value examined
by reference to the main contributors to the development of Christian
education, with special attention being paid to the relationship of the
Bible to curricular developments. This completed the examination of the
central issues affecting Christian education in the Churches, in chapter
six.
The following chapter had to consider the effects of all this
development on the approach to teaching, and a careful study was made of
the major methodologies in vogue during the period.
The persistent decline in the numbers involved in Church-based
Christian education, which was evident from the beginning, was tackled
seriously in the development of Family Church, a concept the study took
very seriously, and evaluated carefully.
Another dynamic became increasingly important in the attempt to
understand the total picture, namely, the place, and often the non-place,
of adult education. This was examined, and is evaluated in chapter nine.
A final factor of great importance to the period was the matter
of the selection, training and use of the Christian teacher, and chapter
ten evaluates some of the basic attitudes and approaches to these issues.
The conclusion summarises the main factors at work in the period,
and the effect of the entire study is to make a fresh contribution to the
understanding of Christian education as it was understood and practised in
the Churches of England and Scotland.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Collections
Except where otherwise noted within the work, this item's licence for re-use is described as Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.