Parental Support and Religious Education.

Experiences Among PPKE Teacher Training Students

Abstract

In previous research we have investigated the role of family support on several occasions. Our most recent paper on this topic examined family support in general. Our aim was to build a comprehensive picture of which family actors are prominent in student support and in which areas this support is particularly felt. A striking finding of our work was that the support function of the family as a source of worldview and philosophy of life appeared expressis verbis in relatively few responses, and the support function of the family as a source of identity was also more likely to be implicit in the responses. We considered it important to continue our research and to take our ideas further on this topic, which is important for teacher training at Catholic universities. Our study is an attempt to present the experience of first-year students at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, and how the young teacher candidates have experienced family support in the practice of religion in their lives so far. Our aim is to explore, within the framework of our abilities, what sort of family support our students have received in this field, and to explore how the university can contribute to it: what support can it provide in practising religion and deepening faith, and why is this important in Catholic teacher education.