Preservice teachers will focus on spiritual and religious education of children 0-8 years. Participants will analyze the value of religion in the human person, his or her spiritual development and its interaction with culture and specifically in Timor Leste in relation to family and community. There will be some emphasis on the role of teachers and school in supporting the spiritual and religious knowledge and identity of young children in the context of culture. Spiritual and religious aspects of young children's lives and learning will be examined and evaluated in terms of what they imply for contemporary curriculum and pedagogy in religious education.

ProfEx5 Teacher as Researcher focuses on the adoption of action research and thinking like a researcher in the teaching and learning cycle. Preservice teachers practice collecting baseline data, writing a problem and research questions and finding solutions in the literature as part of Practice 5.