Connecting to life: a new, emerging learning disposition within a Godly Play educational framework

Through further consideration of data emanating from the author’s original research into ways in which children are predisposed to learn in approaches to religious education influenced by Jerome Berryman’s Godly Play method, a new disposition has been identified, connecting to life. It comprises three elements—(1) making connections between stories and lived experiences, (2) placing one’s self in the shoes of the Other, and (3) considering one’s own story within a Universal Story. This paper presents excerpts from the original interviews of the research participants that indicate the presence of this disposition among their students. Each of the three elements of connecting to life is also reflected upon through reference to Berryman’s writing, as well as to some pertinent phenomenological literature.