Abstract

In the context that Government and Religions present conflicting view points in terms of what government, students, religions and parents want from Religious Education, a re-examination of the role of Religious Education in character formation of the youth is imperative. Although there are many individuals and some religious groups who understand the purpose of Religious Education in youth character formation, it is clear that the subject remains controversial. The major aim of the thesis is to assess possible effects of Religious Education on the character of the youth who have studied the subject for eight years, from standard one to eight at two demonstration primary schools and two mission primary schools. Indeed, the study sets out to find out how far pupils have imbibed virtues which constitute a person of character. In addition, it investigates the factors that influence character formation in Religious Education programmes. Lastly, it is to make suggestions on how to improve on the situation. The study presents a critique on the Revised Integrated Primary Religious Education Syllabi (1991) which had been on the curriculum for ten years by the time the study began. The critique dwells on the development of the content based on different definitions. It has been observed that there are different definitions used, implying different approaches. However, the consequences of using many definitions in developing the syllabi are that, difficulties arise on how to choose an approach of teaching Religious Education which is related to the definitions. At the same time, if different approaches are combined, danger arises again where in-depth exploration of either content is not fully done. Other areas that ii present deficiency in the 1991 Religious Education syllabus are the divergent lines of thought. There was great emphasis on diverse ideas among different religions, which created unrealistic belief that religions are very different from each other. Also, the moral values were not fully explored and the value of piety was not emphasized. Lastly, most of the lessons were theoretical and the use of participant observation in inculcating moral values and attitudes was not used. The research confirmed that vital virtues such as justice, temperance, compassion, courage, wisdom and piety are not emphasized in the 1991 Religious Education syllabus hence the youth are not oriented to these virtues, making them liable to under performance in areas of behaviour. The study shows that the youth who participate in traditional rites of passage and those who go to religious primary schools have higher performance in their moral judgment compared with those who go to public schools In this study, exploration has been made on how to use Religious Education to help the youth to develop positive attitudes to God, their own life and the people around them. The formation of positive attitudes precisely means formation of virtues which is synonymous with goodness. A person of virtue is a person of character or uMunthu. Attention has also been given to methodologies. In recognition of the importance of forming the character of the youth, I strongly recommend that Religious Education programmes must explicitly include practical involvement of the youth. The Religious Education should not only be theoretical but also participatory. The youth must be involved in real life situations such as traditional rites of passage or charity works. Through this approach youth will be able to imbibe virtues of justice, wisdom, temperance, compassion, courage and piety that constitute a person of character. ii The findings of this study conclude that Religious Education suffers problems which affect its success in forming the character of the youth. It shows that the youth lack convictions in life. Suggestions have been made in this study to curb the situation such as the use of an accompagnetor, the use of Malawian traditional means of forming the character of the youth, the use of participant observation in rites of passage and charity works and above all, the use of grace or piety. This approach will help the Religious Education to be both a theoretical and a participatory subject. It is through participation that virtues are imbibed, hence the formation of character.

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School	: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issued Date	: 2009

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