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Suggestions on How to Make Catholic RE Programs Inclusive

Suggestions on How to Make Catholic RE Programs Inclusive. By Anthony V. Coccia EXED 550 Dr. Fisher. Research Method. Observed a Catholic Religious Education Program - 2 classrooms, 3 different Sundays Interviewed: Director, 3 teachers, and 2 parents of students with Special Needs

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Suggestions on How to Make Catholic RE Programs Inclusive

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  1. Suggestions on How to Make Catholic RE Programs Inclusive By Anthony V. Coccia EXED 550 Dr. Fisher

  2. Research Method • Observed a Catholic Religious Education Program- 2 classrooms, 3 different Sundays • Interviewed: Director, 3 teachers, and 2 parents of students with Special Needs • Researched a wide range of websites- Scholarly articles and journals- Websites- Books

  3. What Was Discovered • Teachers had little or no SPED background- Not a requirement for volunteers • Low motivation • Collaboration is weak- Teachers do not collaborate with each other- There is a weekly written update for parents but little face to face.

  4. More Discoveries • The curriculum is very traditional- Does not allow room for change • Assistive Technology is limited- The parish does not have any- Teachers do not know where to get them- Difficult to get them from the diocese

  5. Suggestions for Changes • Restructure curriculum to include students with special needs • Try to change teachers’ attitudes • Find volunteers that have SPED Background • More easier: Educate, educate, educate- Provide resources and materials (Inclusion and access, 2009).- In-service

  6. More Suggestions • Collaboration (Kluth, 2004-2005)- Teachers with Teacher/Directors- Teachers with Parents (Connor, n.d.)- Teachers with students • Hands-on materials and Visual Aids • Differentiated Instruction (Collins et al., 2001) • Assistive Technology

  7. That’s All My Worship • Set up conferences about inclusion • The goals of the conference (Collins et al., 2001) :- Provide methods - Create curriculum- Explains and discuss guidelines

  8. SPRED( Harrington, 2009) • Special Religious Development • Started by Fr. James McCarthy of Chicago Diocese in 1960. • Set up centers. Each center has a core team- Each core team belongs to the parish- Leader, spokesperson, and activity catechist on each team • Volunteers are either SPED cert or experience

  9. More on SPRED • They help children become active members in the parish.- Inside and outside of the classroom • Volunteers work with students w/ special needs • They use manipulatives to talk about religion- i.e. paper crosses to talk about God (Muckelbauer, 2009)

  10. F.I.R.E. • Foundation of Inclusive Religious Education • Non-profit organization founded in 1996 • Main focus is to assist RE programs with SPED • Helps subsidize the cost of SPED

  11. More About F.I.R.E. • Negative Aspect: Not a national organization- A service for Diocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph • Willing to help other diocese set up their own • Can be an example of starting block for others • Teaches all about differentiated instructions

  12. Resources Blackburn, B. (2007). Religious teachers. In Archdiocese of St. Louis. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from Archdiocese of St. Louis Web site: http://www.archstl.org/‌education/‌index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89&Itemid=217 Collins, B. C., Epstein, A., Reiss, T., & Lowe, V. (2001, May/‌June). Including children with Mental Retardation in the religious community. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33(5), 52-58. Retrieved November 13, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database. (4563109) Connor, D. J. (Ed.). (n.d.). Supporting inclusive classroom: A resource [Brochure]. (Available from People with Autism Special Citizens Futures Unlimited, New York City) FIRE: Foundations for inclusive religious education. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2009, from Diocese Kansas City Web site: http://www.fire-program.org/‌Home/‌UntitledFrameset-9.htm Harrington, S. M. T. (2009, April 30). About SPRED. In Special religious development. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from Archdiocese of Chicago Web site: http://www.spred.org/‌index.html

  13. Resources Inclusion and access: Parish religious education programs. (n.d.). [Pamphlet]. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from Archdiocese of Philadelphia Web site: http://archdiocese-phl.org/‌evangelization/‌resplife/‌prepresourcesweb.pdf Kluth, P. (2004-2005). Paula Kluth: Toward more inclusive classrooms and communities. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from http://www.paulakluth.com/ Muckelbauer, D. (2009, February 27). SPRED leads kids with special needs on spiritual path. In gmToday. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from gmToday Web site: http://www.gmtoday.com/‌news/‌local_stories/‌2009/‌Feb_09/‌02272009_08.asp Schipani, K. (2007, September/‌October). Inclusion is at the heart of catechists. Momentum, 38(3), 20-23. Retrieved November 13, 2008 Special religious education. (2009). The Catholic Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from Catholic Diocese of Memphis Web site: http://www.cdom.org/‌departments/‌religious%20education/‌specialreleducation.htm Webster, J. (2004, August). Religious education for children with severe learning difficulties. Support for Learning, 19(3), 119-124. Retrieved November 8, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database. (14173565)

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