It is clear from the above, that a number of factors, (respect for parents, use of teaching strategies which were specified earlier and teacher modelling) have all contributed to the control group demonstrating the following:

• a greater respect for Jesus and the Church
• a greater appreciation of the relevance of Religious Education in their lives
• a deeper understanding of true freedom - it is not a subjective view of the world
• a deeper appreciation of the media's perception of the Church
• a more encouraging response to Religious Truths which cannot be seen - Jesus, Heaven, Miracles
• a move away from merely doubting or seeing as 'uncool' things such as Mass attendance. Many are now unsure about their previous views.
• A move away from a reverential attitude towards the music industry

In general and in summary the results demonstrate

• student definition of coolness is not really accurate to reality - their definition makes them very concerned about self and yet they can be very altruistic and value this altruism in others. Not only in that but also, 64% (50) value belonging to a group but 64 % (81) value being different to others. They value subjectivism 64% (25) and yet are kind and do respect the rights of others, in theory, if not in practice.
• They demonstrate they value Christian values which do not have that label because they are so concerned with self.

Recommendations

• Educators, from Principals to the general teacher must understand the impact of parents on students and gather support. Perhaps we should be more active in trying to evangelise parents? ('This is the only place I ever hear this message' - 40% ( 50)
• students said clearly that they have an awareness of people valuing different forms of spirituality - 49% (69) so here I agree with Crawford and Rossiter who state that we need to be aware of this pluralism and address it. (Crawford/Rossiter, 1993 p. ).
• They also are good at being critical of all forms of authority - 49% (44) so why not harness this and be critical of the media et. al and these other religions other than just gliding over them.
• They also see praying to a God that can't be seen as normal, at least 35% did (50). Teachers need not be afraid of the surface antagonism demonstrated towards prayer.
• Teaching strategies ( as indicated at the start of this report) should be utilised to gain credibility for the teacher and the subject.
• Teacher modelling is crucial. Teachers must be confident in what they teach and seek answers when they are not known. (56% (50) wondered "How does the teacher know this?")
• Integrating faith and life through the community service is crucial given the altruism, which it fosters, and given the value students place on this. This is not the only way, however, to foster students' spiritual development. It is also through;
• Harnessing the qualities students possess innately - the ability to 'vision an ideal world' (Slee, 1996.p 78) energy to stand up for convictions, affiliation with community, desire to search and question, musical intelligence and a desire for true freedom, although they may not articulate it as such (Leavey et.al, 1992.p 221).
• As the New Jersey Bishops have made clear ( Origins, 1992.p 92), "Today's society is immersed in a complex culture that shapes its worldview. Most lives are media centred. [We must] capture [students'] minds' with it. This of course entails understanding how it works and giving students the skills to appreciate its power over them.
• We need to highlight the effects and existence of the Culture of Death existing in our society so that students can also say with Jean-Francois Mattei, " You have the death penalty and keep a newborn alive without a brain. You celebrate a clone and clone him." (Gelman, 1995.p 78)
• Teachers should feel content to give students an answer to why the above life issues are ethical questions in the first place. This requires an adult faith. Studying Kohlberg's method in a modified form is an excellent start to highlighting the fact that people face ethical questions and that they do so differently. These questions will inevitably bring the issue of death to a fore and this is an opportunity to bring Jesus closer to the children and help them understand the meaning of His death and the value of life. Then we can apply a study of the fruits of certain decisions, which are claimed to be anti-life. In the words of a famous man, " You will know by their fruits."
• Catholic Schools, must do nothing to contradict their mission by undermining RE with general Curriculum( Leavey et.al, 1992.pp 217, 223). I specifically ask Science, Health and Social Science teachers to be critical of their sources of information and to be aware of bias in all texts, and of content which needs to be handled carefully.
• As Gallagher states, we need to meet our opponents ' on the level of experience, imagination and spirituality', through various prayer experiences (including time for use of imagination and silence), community service, creativity and an understanding that what they participate in with regards to service (which they enjoy) is evidence of a spirituality which is innate and natural. No one can then really argue with experience. As Hill states, Religious Education faces the challenge of connecting spirituality with action, especially with action for poor people" (Hill, 1988.p 112). If we achieve this the Integration of Faith and Life in all forms will render Christianity and Religious Education as not only cool, but life transforming.
• We have a mandate to proclaim the 'mystery of salvation' (which must by definition include sin and forgiveness) and teach children to 'weigh moral values with an upright conscience' (p. 639) The results of this project demonstrate that the Catholic School can foster an identity which works, through love, to a 'personal commitment to Jesus'' (Egan, 1988.p 29),to an intimacy with Jesus that Pope John Paul II speaks of (Egan, 1988.p 30) and to peace and justice in our world through Evangelisation (Egan, 1988.p 32 ), but only if we accept Hater's emphasis on 'conversion'. The Catholic School must seek the conversion of hearts through the formation of a clearly defined identity, which comes from 'knowledge' and the practice, in community, of the liturgical life of the church and the beauty of its devotions; traditional AND engaging all the senses and 'multiple intelligences' students have (Hill, 1988.p 105).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbot, W. S.J (Ed). (1966). The Documents of Vatican II. London: Geoffrey Chapman

Crawford, M & Rossiter, G. (1993) Religious Education and Changes In The Church. Word In Life, August, 1993. Sydney.

Egan, Sr.J. (1988). Opting Out: Catholic Schools Today . Herefordshire. Fowler Wright Books

Flynn, M. (1993). The Culture of Catholic Schools. A study of Catholic School, 1972-1993. Homebush, NSW: St. Paul Publications.

Hater, R.J. (1994). New Visions, New Directions. Tabor Publishing. Texas.

Origins. (1992). Catechetical Ministry Attuned to the Signs of the Times. Origins. Vol.22: No.17

Pope John Paul II. (1992). Catechism of The Catholic Church (1994). Official edition for Australia and New Zealand. Homebush, NSW: St. Paul Publications

Lenihan, E (1993). Theology of Children. Word of Life. May

Gallagher, M (1997). Clashing Symbols. Dartyon. Longman and Todd

Slee, (1996): Further on From Fowler.

Adler: Clone Hype