Bringing Child Psychology to Religious Curricula: the cautionary tale of Goldman and Piaget

ABSTRACT

The curriculum in British schools began to show the influence of child psychology in the 1960s and this influence was exemplified in Ronald Goldman's attempt to apply Piagetian psychology to religious education. Goldman's work attempted to transfer Piagetian theory to the interpretation of texts, an attempt to which Piagetian theory is particularly ill‐suited. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to underrate the contribution which child psychology might be expected to make to religious curricula.