Catholic religion teacher training in a plural, glocal and evolutionary scenario: Uniqueness and asset of the Blanquerna pedagogical model from experience and reflection

Abstract

Catholic religion teacher training in higher education, beyond its formal presence, is a current reality in many countries in the world, which now produces an important amount of initiatives, pedagogical experiences, and research. In the last decades, the phenomenon of the diverse comprehension of the “religion class” and the “Catholic religion class” at schools (very remarkable in Europe and in other places as well) has led to questions over the teachers’ training curriculum. Particularly, these questions arise from the pluralism of educational models, the glocal reality of professional and personal projection, and variations that are apparent within our own models or regions. It is obvious that all of them encompass a new perception of the religious fact, of its value as a universal heritage, its contribution as a factor for personal guidance, and its potential to contribute in the construction of a better world.

In the general framework of the importance, evolution, and diversity of models in university teaching-learning processes, and in particular in the context of the different scenarios for religion teacher initial training in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education, this article presents a description of the uniqueness of the training model for Catholic religion teachers in Blanquerna-Ramon Llull University. There is also a detailed description and reflection about the Blanquerna model, because through its characterization a paradigm emerges that reaches a high potential to give a response to the main questions in our current scenario.