Religious Education and Development of Adolescents. Current Issues, Challenges and Some Perspectives for the Development of Catechetical Practice in the Light of Bioecological Theory

Aktualnosti, izazovi i neke perspektive razvoja katehetske prakse u svjetlu bioekološke teorije

Abstract

This paper discusses the religious education and development of adolescents in the light of contemporary socio-cultural changes, starting from the holistic approach to the development of human personality and the bioecological theory of human development by U. Bronfenbrenner. Adolescence is described as a complex, chan-geable and contextually conditioned period of development that cannot be reduced to a single definition. The prolongation of adolescence, the instability of iden-tity and the strong impact of socio-cultural changes are emphasized. The deve-lopment of adolescents is observed holistically, as a result of the interrelationship of personal and environmental factors. In the second part, Bronfenbrenner’s bioe-cological theory is applied to the understanding of the religious development of adolescents, which is interpreted through the interaction of microsystems, meso-systems, exosystems, macrosystems and chronosystems, with special emphasis on proximal processes. Finally, guidelines are adopted for the renewal of catechetical practice focused on the adolescent as an active subject of his own development. The need to depathologize adolescence and strengthen personalized, relational, commu-nicative, conceptual and formative aspects is emphasized. The application of the bioecological perspective points to the need for an integrated and contextually sensitive approach to religious education and catechesis, which goes beyond partial and uncultured normative solutions. However, although the bioecological model has provided valuable insights into developmental processes, further longitudinal research on the intertwined influences and practical application of the bioecologi-cal model is necessary. Conducting rigorous evaluations of interventions that are in line with the principles of the model can provide evidence of their effectiveness and serve to promote positive development outcomes.