Date of Award
5-2020
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Theology (ThD)
First Advisor
Bro. John Crawford, F.S.C., Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Fr. Kenneth Hallahan, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Fr. Francis Berna, Ph.D.
Abstract
The Catholic secondary educational system has not considered a new challenge in implementing cultural pedagogy as its primary form of transmitting dogmatic truth to its students despite the widespread presence of modern immigrants who are not concentrated in specific parishes. Taking into consideration that Hispanic/Latinos comprise a large share of the Catholic population in America, this issue is important. The traditional forms of teaching religion in the secondary school system primarily emphasize a Euro-American style that neglects the spiritual and religious dynamics of Hispanic/Latinos. Since divine revelation does not favor a particular cultural perspective or lifestyle, all cultural pathways that enhance faith formation must be explored in the classroom. Furthermore, it is essential that religion teachers enhance their students’ awareness about their vocational calling to the three-fold mission of Jesus: to be priest, prophet, and king. This primary task is the way in which all members of the church participate in building the kingdom of God on earth. To be effective, the characterization of Jesus’s three-fold mission must be interpreted through the Hispanic/Latino adolescents’ cultural lens. I propose a pedagogical strategy, which I term entregarse, that addresses the need to incorporate modern forms of student-centered techniques that enhance Hispanic/Latino adolescents’ vocational awareness consistent with their spiritual and cultural identity. Some of these techniques include class conversations, cooperative learning, online researching, interviews, and class presentations. A practical application of the dynamics of entregarse is presented by way of lesson plans. Each lesson plan follows a format that is designed to guide religion teachers in enabling their students to recognize and practice their three-fold baptismal call.
Recommended Citation
Arellano, Christian, "Entregado a los Estudiantes: Adolescent Pedagogy As Seen Through the Theological Lens of Latino Spirituality" (2020). Th.D. Dissertations. 12.
https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/religion_thd/12