Theology and Religious Studies (Theses)https://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/15382024-03-29T12:32:48Z2024-03-29T12:32:48ZAn evaluation of the compatibility of mindfulness and ethos in the Irish Catholic primary schoolhttps://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/31202023-09-26T02:00:59Z2023-09-25T00:00:00ZAn evaluation of the compatibility of mindfulness and ethos in the Irish Catholic primary school
Mindfulness has exploded in popularity across several elements of society, including healthcare, education and commerce. This growth in the practice is supported by an increasing body of research on the benefits of mindfulness for physical and mental wellbeing. However, no significant research on this concept has been conducted in relation to Catholic education, and the implications mindfulness practice may have on the characteristic spirit of Catholic schools. Within this context, this study aims to evaluate the compatibility of mindfulness and ethos in Irish Catholic primary schools. It first maps out the conditions of religious belief and experience in the contemporary European context, drawing on the work of Charles Taylor, Lieven Boeve, Michael Paul Gallagher, Tomáš Halík and Grace Davie. It then investigates the Buddhist origins of mindfulness and how it evolved into a contemporary and popular Western phenomenon through the processes of Buddhist modernism. This includes delineating the different meanings attached to mindfulness and exploring the three distinctive strands of mindfulness operative today, and how this has interacted with Irish education. Following this, several criteria for a Catholic educational vision are developed through an analysis of key post-Conciliar documents on Catholic education and the framework for the distinctiveness of Catholic education offered by Thomas Groome. These evaluative criteria are applied to find that the Irish Catholic primary school has in mindfulness a resource that is potentially invaluable in supporting and vivifying the patterns of belief, conduct and practice that embody this vision of life, which is Catholic ethos. This compatibility with Catholic ethos is demonstrated in the contribution of mindfulness to holistic education, as preparation for prayer and as a contemplative activity, as praeparatio evangelica and in fostering an other-oriented outlook which is committed to the common good. The study contributes to contemporary research into mindfulness in Catholic education both nationally and internationally, enhancing clarity on how and when mindfulness is compatible with Catholic ethos. The recommendations are of interest to patrons, educational practitioners and professional developers in Irish Catholic education.
2023-09-25T00:00:00ZWalking back to Earth: the enduring appeal of ancient pilgrimage as portal to the sacred for the contemporary seekerhttps://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/30512022-10-27T02:00:57Z2022-05-16T00:00:00ZWalking back to Earth: the enduring appeal of ancient pilgrimage as portal to the sacred for the contemporary seeker
This thesis offers a perspective on pilgrimage, from the vantage point of the pilgrim’s reflection on their embodied experience and an analysis of that experience from theological and psychological hermeneutics, in particular. In the experience of performing the pilgrimage, in the givenness of its intense physical requirements, the pilgrim is drawn into a deeply holistic sense of their own embodiment-in-the-world. This experience of embodiment, the thesis argues, is both inherently satisfying and satiates a deep incarnational longing in the pilgrim. The particularity, vulnerability and delight and earthiness of being human is made whole and holy in the teaching of Incarnation and when the pilgrim drops into their own earthy embodiment at the behest of their pilgrimage
journey, I argue that many re-connect with this fundamental truth of being human.
Pilgrims re-discover that there is something holy and wholesome about their very being and in turn they see their fellow pilgrims with the reverence that living such truth begets. Along ancient pathways and encircling ancient stones and prayer-beds, pilgrims walk, eat, fast, rest, pray, reflect, and exchange life-stories. They do so in places and patterns that were held sacred by their foremothers and forefathers and, in that movement, they both honour a religious tradition and make it new.
It is a sacred witness in a time of contesting truths and a veritable eschewal of the sacred, in much of the signature cultural discourse and the social and political decision-making of our times. Contemporary pilgrimage, in an era of postmodernity, reveals a hunger for congregating differently -as pilgrim church- if you will, and hence the thesis argues thepilgrim journey is being re-found in our time as an essentially religious quest.
2022-05-16T00:00:00ZHow do children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) enrolled in special ASD classes in mainstream primary schools make sense of themselves and their educational experiences? Child, parent and teacher insights?https://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/30322022-03-31T02:00:47Z2022-03-30T00:00:00ZHow do children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) enrolled in special ASD classes in mainstream primary schools make sense of themselves and their educational experiences? Child, parent and teacher insights?
Aims: School is a site of critical importance in the construction of sense of self. A corpus of qualitative literature indicates that adolescent students with ASD attending mainstream schools often construe themselves as “different” to typically-developing peers in a negative sense. However, the voice of younger children and those enrolled in special ASD educational provision is largely absent from this qualitative research base. The current study explores how children with ASD, aged eight to twelve years, enrolled in special ASD classes in Irish primary schools, make sense of themselves and their school experiences.
Design & Methodology: An exploratory multiple-case study design was adopted involving five child-parent-teacher triads, with the individual child defined as the “case” or unit of analysis. Interviews with children were mediated via an accessible “Talking Mat” pictorial communication technique and semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents and teachers.
Results: Adopting an experiential approach which foregrounds personal meaning for participants, data was analysed using a multi-perspectival interpretative phenomenological analysis [IPA] (Larkin et al., 2019). Patterns of convergence and divergence were identified in cross-case synthesis. Master themes related to the child’s lived school experience include complex friendship dynamics, a supportive learning environment and navigating the learning process. Master themes related to the child’s sense of self include pockets of positive self appraisal, a questioning versus an unquestioning self and the impact of inclusive practice.
Conclusions: The research addresses an identified gap in the literature by privileging the voice of the primary school-aged child with ASD attending special class provision and eliciting focal perspectives of key adults in the child’s world. In doing so, the research builds an empirical knowledge base about lived experiences within an expanding model of partial inclusion in Ireland- the special ASD class in the mainstream school. Based on the research findings, implications are presented for educational policy and practice and future research directions.
2022-03-30T00:00:00ZA socio-rhetorical interpretation of Paul’s theology of Christian suffering of 1 Corinthianshttps://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/29712021-04-08T02:00:43Z2021-04-07T00:00:00ZA socio-rhetorical interpretation of Paul’s theology of Christian suffering of 1 Corinthians
This dissertation is a socio-rhetorical investigation of Paul’s theology of
Christian suffering in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s undisputed Letters offer seven lists of his
suffering (see 1 Cor 4:9-13; 2 Cor 4:8-9; 6:4-5, 8-10; 11:23-29; Rom 8:35; Phil 4:12)
and on numerous other occasions in his Letters he mentions that he has suffered, is
suffering or anticipates suffering (e.g. 1 Cor 9:24-27; 15:31). The question arises as to
how Paul understood his suffering.
Paul’s theology of suffering begins with a loving God, who is always seeking a
relationship with creation. However, his people often reject it, alienating themselves
from him in a sinful world. The coming of Christ is the returning point. Through
Christ’s sacrificial service of others (1 Cor 4:9-13, 16; 6:12-20; 9:19-27; 11:1; 15:31)
humanity is offered a new relationship/union that is ontological, spousal, spiritual and
participatory (1 Cor 6:12-20). By appropriating Jewish Passover remembrance
theology, Paul holds that followers of Christ may enter this union through the symbolic
remembrance theology and rituals of the Eucharist (1 Cor 11:17-34). This new union is
a participation in Christ’s life, mission, death, resurrection and exaltation. Living out
this union, working towards creation’s salvation (1 Cor 9:19-27) is a mission of
sacrificial, suffering service: in 1 Corinthians Paul speaks of suffering always in
mission-related contexts (1 Cor 4:9-13; 9:19-27; 15:31). As a ‘life-giving spirit’ (1 Cor
15:45-49), Paul is gifted by the Spirit for his mission (1 Cor 12:1—14:40).
Paul/each believer, in union with Christ and empowered by the Spirit, reconciles
others with God: they are God’s “workers,” “builders,” “partners,” (1 Cor 3:9, 10;
9:23). Their sacrificial mission is an expression of God’s love at work (1 Cor 13:8—
14:1): they are sacraments of God’s love. Paul and believers are continuing God’s
salvific mission that is guaranteed success (1 Cor 15:58). Ultimately, the believer’s
suffering (redefined as the selfless, sacrificial service of others in the promotion of
God’s Plan) has positive, salvific meaning and value: the believer participates in God’s
plan to “save others” (1 Cor 9:19-23).
2021-04-07T00:00:00Z