Didactic strategies for the use of lyrics in religious education

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The purpose of this study is to identify didactic strategies for the use of lyrics inchildren's religious education. This is done to enhance and facilitate children'sspiritual growth by means of singing lyrics.The study pays particular attention to the recognition of the role of lyrics in Christianreligious education as a maturing agent. Lyrics help to provide children with theopportunity to communicate with God by revealing God's characteristics throughtheoretical and doctrinal content in an artistic form. Lyrics enrich children's religiousdevelopment by helping them to express their joy and praise of God. Lyrics can alsohelp children to experience a special quality of fellowship when they sing together.Lyrics ease the stiffness which can occur during the process of education.The survey of lyrics in Christian history also reveals that lyrics played an essentialrole in the lives of Christians throughout history. Lyrics have been used for worship,education, evangelisation and fellowship. Lyrics have functioned as a medium inwhich people have conversations with God and worship Him. They have also been adelightful source through which people learn about God through joyful experiences.Lyrics have helped Christians to establish true fellowship in their faith by singingtogether.The study reveals, however, that lyrics today do not seem to be effective in supportingpeople, including children, in their encounters with God. As much as lyrics can helpchildren, they can also be obstacles to children's spiritual growth because of theirinappropriate contents or improper ways of presentation. Children mightmisunderstand religious concepts by acquiring unfamiliar doctrine from lyrics. Itseems that children can also develop inappropriate ideas and attitudes aboutworshipping under the influence of self-oriented or fun-seeking styles of lyrics.This potential of lyrics to influence children either positively or negatively is oftenoverlooked. The question that may be raised is: what should be done to facilitate thelyric's maturing role and to keep it from being a hindrance in children's religiouseducation? This study attempts to identify systematic and scientific didacticapproaches of teaching lyrics as a way of heightening the positive role of lyrics inchildren's spiritual growth.For the identification of didactic strategies which are best suited for children'sspiritual growth, the study presents approaches in which systems of coherent ideas,findings, activities and views concerning instruction and learning are performed. Thedidactic strategies are illustrated in three main phases, i.e. introductory, executive andassessment phases. Essential characteristics of the instruction-learning phenomenon inall its facets are absorbed into the theory as an overall guide for every teachingsituation.The study makes an effort to apply these didactic strategies to the practical situationof teaching lyrics. Korean children are chosen as the subjects for the teaching oflyricsand their religious development is empirically investigated as the basic research onthe understanding of the learner in the didactic situation. The application of thegeneral approaches to the definite and specific situation of teaching Korean children is explained. Didactic approaches are redesigned, taking the specific didactic situation ofKorea, including Korean children's specific religious characteristics, intoconsideration. These programmes can be effectively applied to other didacticsituations, keeping them flexible in the light of the uniqueness of each lesson.The ultimate aim of this study - the recognition of systematically organised didacticstrategies and exemplification of their practical application to the detailed situation ofteaching lyrics - is to maximise the effectiveness of lyrics for children's spiritualgoodness, particularly in enriching children's religious knowledge and experience.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University