“Every curriculum tells two stories: the knowledge it includes and the knowledge it leaves behind.”
As national work towards reform of Religion and Worldviews Education moves towards public consultation, there is growing recognition that an inclusive curriculum is not simply one that introduces pupils to a wider range of traditions. Rather, it enables young people to encounter the breadth and depth of humanity’s religious, philosophical and ethical thinking in ways that help them understand both themselves and others.
This raises an important question: what does it communicate to pupils when one of the world’s oldest living religious traditions remains largely absent, or only briefly encountered, within many classrooms?
This is not simply a question about Jainism. It is a question about the purpose of Religion and Worldviews Education itself.
Why does absence matter?
Over the past 25 years, I have taught across mainstream secondary schools, primary settings, specialist SEND provision, home tuition and supplementary education. Throughout these varied roles, I have worked with pupils from many different religious and non-religious backgrounds, alongside curriculum leaders, teachers and families.
One pattern has remained remarkably consistent. Where Jainism is taught, it is often reduced to a brief mention of non-violence or presented as a footnote to another Dharmic tradition. In many schools, it is not encountered at all.
Most teachers are not responsible for this. They are often working within limited curriculum time and using resources that reflect historical patterns of representation. Many would welcome greater confidence, better resources and more authentic examples through which to teach smaller or less familiar traditions.
The consequences, however, extend beyond factual knowledge. Children notice absence just as readily as presence.
For some Jain pupils, school may be the only place where they expect their worldview to be recognised and understood beyond their own family or community. When that recognition is missing, the message received can be far more significant than intended.
For those who have never encountered Jainism, an opportunity is missed to engage with a sophisticated ethical tradition whose ideas speak directly to many contemporary challenges.
What can Jainism contribute to Religion and Worldviews Education?
Jain philosophy offers far more than a description of religious practice. It presents an intellectually rich way of thinking about how we live together.
- Ahimsa (non-violence) invites reflection on thoughts, words, relationships and responsibilities.
- Aparigraha (non-attachment or non-possessiveness) raises questions about consumption, sustainability and material success.
- Anekantavada (many-sidedness) encourages intellectual humility by recognising that complex issues often require consideration of multiple perspectives.
These are not simply “Jain ideas”. They are educational ideas.
They offer valuable opportunities for pupils to explore ethical questions about conflict, environmental responsibility, disagreement and the challenges of living well together in a diverse society.
What does the research tell us?
Recent research provides further support for an approach to Religion and Worldviews Education that takes complexity, internal diversity and lived experience seriously.
A 2026 study by Lucy Peacock, Mathew Guest and Kristin Aune, published in the British Journal of Religious Education, examined the experiences of 826 first-year undergraduates who had attended secondary school in England and Wales. The study found positive relationships between worldview-related learning outcomes, including learning about the complexity and diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews, and students’ readiness to engage positively with worldview difference when entering university. The authors are careful not to claim direct causation, but the findings nevertheless offer useful support for the educational significance of this kind of learning.
A separate 2026 report, Faith, Fluency and the Future of Religious Education in Britain, by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life, explores the experiences and perspectives of people of faith in relation to RE. Its findings contribute to wider discussions about representation and the teaching of traditions within education.
Beyond representation
Taken together, these findings reinforce an important point: meaningful representation is not simply about adding more traditions to a curriculum. It is about enabling pupils to encounter traditions as complex, internally diverse and lived by real people.
This matters particularly for smaller or less familiar traditions, where a brief or highly selective treatment may become the only representation pupils encounter.
From learning about religion to exploring ideas
One of the most rewarding aspects of my own teaching has been observing pupils’ responses when they encounter Jain philosophy for the first time. Conversations frequently move beyond learning about another religion towards reflection on their own assumptions and values.
For example:
- Discussions of non-violence often lead to conversations about online behaviour, bullying and conflict resolution.
- Learning about non-attachment encourages reflection on consumer culture, sustainability and wellbeing.
- Exploring many-sidedness opens discussion about disagreement, certainty and seeing issues from different perspectives.
The classroom changes from memorising information to exploring ideas that matter.
This is precisely where Religion and Worldviews Education is at its strongest.
Reimagining an inclusive curriculum
Teaching about Jainism should not be understood as an exercise in achieving numerical balance between religions. No curriculum can give equal time to every tradition. Educational choices will always need to be made.
The more important question is how those choices are made.
If Religion and Worldviews Education aims to help pupils understand the diversity of human belief, explore different approaches to meaning and ethics, and prepare them for life within a plural society, then curriculum decisions should be guided by educational significance rather than familiarity alone.
As reform moves towards public consultation, there is an opportunity not simply to consider what further content might be included, but also to ask more fundamental questions:
- Which worldviews best equip young people to navigate contemporary ethical challenges?
- Which voices remain largely unheard?
- What principles should shape an inclusive curriculum for the future?
What we leave out matters
These questions are not unique to Jainism. They apply whenever traditions become simplified, overlooked or represented through narrow stereotypes. Yet Jainism provides a particularly compelling example because its philosophical contributions resonate strongly with many of the issues that concern educators today.
Perhaps, then, the most important question is not whether Jainism deserves greater representation because it belongs to a relatively small community. Rather, it is whether Religion and Worldviews Education can fully realise its own aspirations while overlooking one of humanity’s most enduring traditions of non-violence, environmental responsibility, intellectual humility and ethical self-discipline.
If we truly want pupils to encounter the richness of human worldviews, then what we choose to leave out may shape their understanding just as profoundly as what we choose to include.
About
Kajal Sheth is an experienced educator with over 25 years' experience across mainstream secondary and primary education, SEND provision, home tuition and supplementary education. She is a Curriculum and Education Consultant (KS1–5) at the Institute of Jainology, where she contributes to work supporting the authentic representation of Jain philosophy and practice within education. Kajal works with educational organisations and professional networks on Religion and Worldviews Education, curriculum development and teacher resources. She is particularly interested in how smaller and less familiar religious traditions can contribute meaningfully to pupils' understanding of ethics, diversity and worldview difference. She is committed to supporting teachers, curriculum leaders and educational organisations in developing authentic, academically rigorous and inclusive approaches to teaching about Jainism and Religion and Worldviews.
