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This article derives from an interinstitutional research project built, which took a qualitative approach and was conducted in eight major cities of Colombia using narrative methods. It aimed to inquire into the nature and pedagogical practices of Religious Education teachers, which is a fundamental and mandatory class under the General Education Act. Accounts of participating teachers showed different outlooks as to the identity and praxis of Religious Education in School (RES) but, within them, researchers' interest focused on an emerging perspective that regards this subject as a search for the cultivation of human spirituality. Therefore, this paper intends to present some contributions that RES can make to cultivate human spirituality because, when built from this perspective, it favors religious pluralism --preventing any exclusion arising from the dynamics of majority religious systems-- and enriches comprehensive education by providing educational opportunities for the search, construction and cultivation of the meaning of human life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curricula continue to be a matter of research and problematization in higher education programs, particularly those that train teachers. Although the tendency is to consider them from an instrumental and technical perspective, this paper adopts critical and comprehensive perspectives. Then, this qualitative case study carried out in a School of Education at a public university intends to inquire into the curriculum conceptions present in teacher training programs and their characteristics. The research focuses on the different ways of conceiving the curriculum in the programs, even when they are part of the same academic unit; on flexibility and curricular integration as central concerns; and on the shaping/structuring of programs, which is not homogeneous but determines some paths in the training of those participating in the proposals. From the discussion, it is concluded that a key implication is the need to reach agreements both on curriculum conceptions that guide teaching action and practice and on the particular ways in which proposals are structured/shaped, following those "common minimums" that enable dialogue and collective construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]