Female role models in school religious education and their perception by female students in the final years of secondary school

ABSTRACT

The present article discusses female students’ perception of the female role models introduced to them during religious education classes in Poland. Besides imparting knowledge, the teaching of religious classes in schools, a part of religious education, aims at shaping attitudes. Therefore, presenting young people with role models who can inspire them and be a reference point concerning their behaviour should be a vital component of religious education. The current research shows, however, that this is a neglected area. This article is based on a research study comprising focus group interviews. The participants were adult students in the final grades of secondary school who had completed the entire cycle of religious education at school. The article is structured as follows. The first section discusses the relationship between the role models presented to students during religious education classes and the shaping of their identity vis-a-vis the morphogenetic approach of M. Archer. The second section focuses on the female personal role models mentioned in the core curriculum and religious education textbooks. This is followed by a delineation of the methodological assumptions of the present research and a discussion of the results.

KEYWORDS:

• Catholic role models
• school religious education
• Poland
• women

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Nationwide association of lay Catholics between the ages of 14 and 30. In 2019, it had approximately 20,000 members. The aim of the Youth Catholic Association is to shape mature Christians, with the help of, inter alia, a 7-year formation program and regular meetings.

2. Catholic youth movement that promotes premarital sexual abstinence. Its activities are related to the international ‘True Love Waits’ movement.

3. The organisation was established in 2000 after one of John Paul II’s pilgrimages as a sign of gratitude for his pontificate. Its aim is to promote papal teaching and support talented Catholic youth from poor families living in villages and small towns.

4. A medieval Polish religious song dedicated to Mary [Bogurodzica]. It was an anthem in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 15th century.

5. Polish ski jumper, three-time individual Olympic champion.

6. Polish poet who lived during World War II, member of the Home Army.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Magdalena Maciejewska

Magdalena Maciejewska, MA, is a PhD student at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and a graduate of pedagogy, journalism and social communication. She is the author of scientific articles, including “Between Presence and Commitment: A Qualitative Exploratory Study of People with Visual Impairment in Polish Religious Communities” (Journal of Religion and Health, 2022) and “The Model of a Contemporary Catholic Woman Designed by Believing Girls on the Threshold of Adulthood. Report from Focus Groups” (Edukacja Międzykulturowa, 2022, with Joanna Cukras-Stelągowska, in Polish). She is the Secretary of the scientific journal Paedagogia Christiana. Her scientific interests include the identity and subjectivity of women and people with disabilities in social structures, especially in religious communities.

Joanna Cukras-Stelągowska

Joanna Cukras-Stelągowska, PhD, is a sociologist and cultural anthropologist, a PhD holder in pedagogy and an assistant professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Institute of Educational Sciences. She has authored the following books: Identity in Dialogue. Poles and Jews at Schools Run by the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation (in Polish, 2012), Remembering and Forgetting. Community, Values, Upbringing (ed., in Polish, 2016), Region as a Shared Responsibility (ed., with Agnieszka Wałęga, in Polish, 2023). She is also a member of the Polish Association of Pedagogy of Culture and Intercultural Education and the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici Pedagogy. Her scientific research concerns intercultural communication, cultural identities, national and ethnic minorities and qualitative research.

Aneta Rayzacher-Majewska

Aneta Rayzacher-Majewska, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Theology of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, a consultant of the Catholic Education Commission of the Polish Episcopal Conference, and a religion teacher in kindergartens and schools. She is the author of the book Catechist As a Missionary Animator (in Polish, 2022) and programme documents for religious education in Poland. She is interested in teaching religion at school, catechesis of children and people with special educational needs, formation of catechists and exploring the correlation of religion with school education.