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Based on a qualitative research (2012–15) this paper is concerned with the identification of concepts and constructs of knowledge in RE. It is based on participative enquiry and educational action-research methodology. Over a three-year period, the researcher, teachers and the students of a High School in one of the most difficult social, economic and pedagogic environments in Greece collaborated and the resulting data were analysed by a team of independent researchers using quantitative and qualitative techniques. Findings point to the consideration of knowledge in education as an experience in which the content (what) of education is as important as the process (how). RE teaches an additional invaluable language with different religious meanings of concepts, which facilitates students’ communication with self and others, and offers an interpretation of the world. Such religious literacy is essentially provided at school in the framework of multi-literacies and is a result of an intersubjective process of the interconnection between thinking, reflection and action on what the curriculum positions on the top of the didactic triangle (content, teacher, student). In that process, to ‘know what I know’ and to provide ‘events with meaning’ based on experiential learning and its principles, is of inestimable value.

This article presents the results of a three year research conducted by the author based on an educational project which was implemented in a Greek Secondary school for two years (2009-11). ‘We organise a conference’ was a project that presented students with an open-ended key evaluative question which they were required to answer. It was based upon enquiry based learning and it used the methods and techniques of applied theatre. Over the school year students researched an issue through role play (related to the process of organizing and taking part in a conference), which led to improvements in their cognitive skills while at the same time gaining greater insight into the issue and their own attitudes and practices. This is the educational way of ‘making sense of’ and ‘giving meaning to’ an issue related to students’ lives. The author discusses the learning outcomes of the process and the educational importance and value of the method in the larger context of educational design. Empirical methods such as texts and by-products of the project, a research journal and semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and observation provided the basis for the hermeneutical analysis method which was used in the quantitative and qualitative survey, the findings and results of which are presented in the article. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n11p333