| Summary: | In this thesis I ask how I can legitimately be a Christian teacher-educator through living my professional practice in the light of my religious beliefs. Christ came as the image of the invisible God and I come as a poor (i.e. imperfect) image of him. Through taking him as my role model, and living out the values that he endorsed and embodied, it is hoped that this image is made clearer. I describe myself as a Christian through living out my religion in all aspects of my life (including being a teacher-educator and Religious Education specialist). Values identified as grounded in religious belief emerge also as educational values, the strongest being love, faith and hope. Faith exercised in an educational way has epistemological and pedagogical implications for work that is grounded in love for God, self and others. This, in turn, impacts upon the methodological choices I make as a teacher. It implies trusting others to exercise their capacity to understand and think independently. The exercise of faith can then lead to hope for personal transformation through the creation of new knowledge and understanding. This in turn joins with love and optimism for others, through developing persons in a loving educational community in which all seek to learn from and with one another through collaborative and reciprocal learning and teaching processes. This has social commitments. I aim to teach Religious Education in a way that promotes a pedagogy that helps people develop as improved teachers and learners - in my terms but not necessarily theirs, as clearer, though never perfect, images of God.
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