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Please see the opportunity from Fay Lowe, Head of Religious Studies at a Secondary School in Rochdale. Fay is currently undertaking PhD research and is interested in hearing from teachers.

I am currently carrying out some research within Secondary RE lessons about ways we can support pupil’s resilience to radicalisation, particularly to far-right extremism, and promoting better community relationships within our schools and the wider area.  I am particularly interested in hearing from those working in the Greater Manchester area.

I am looking for teachers who would be willing to join a community of practice, taking part in some action research cycles, planning and evaluating these teaching materials and guidance.  There will be 3 monthly meetings (May-July) either face to face or on Teams depending on participant preference and availability.

If you would be interested in taking part in this research, it would be greatly appreciated. If you could contact me by 26th April 2024 on F.Lowe.1@research.gla.ac.uk I will be able to send you full information.

Culham St Gabriel’s is delighted to let you all know that a special edition of the JRE has been published in partnership with AULRE.

You can find hyperlinks for each article which makes them really easy to read.  Some of the links may only last for a few weeks, so get downloading now!

VOLUME 70 – ISSUE 3 – NOVEMBER 2022 

AULRE 2022: RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN A TIME OF CLIMATE CRISIS 

AULRE 2022 – Guest Editors’ Introduction – Stephen J McKinney & Sean Whittle (open access)

Religious education and social justice: reflections on an approach to teaching religious education  – Patricia Hannam & Christopher May

The experiences of non-religious children in religious education – Anna Strhan & Rachael Shillitoe (open access)

Religion, schooling and conflicting nationalisms: educational perspectives from Northern Ireland – Norman Richardson

Why it is time to embrace non-confessional RE in Catholic schools: some reflections from the English context – Sean Whittle 

Dissenting from heteronormativity: growing sideways with religion – Seán Henry (open access)

Decolonising the teaching of Jesus in English primary schools – Justine Ball 

‘…and yet there’s still no peace’ Catholic Indigenous Residential Schools in Canada – Stephen J. McKinney (open access)

Analysing metaphorical pebbles in English RE – Paul Smalley (open access)

Climate, social justice and an education in power  – Kate Christopher

Is there a place for Bildung in preparing Religious Education teachers to support and promote epistemic justice in their classrooms?  – Alexis Stones & Jo Fraser-Pearce (open access)

Social justice and care for the world – adopting a critical view in religious education – Imran Mogra (open access)

Reading an Islamic epistemology into research: Muslim converts and contemporary religion in Britain –Jeremiah Adebolajo (open access)

 

 

We are delighted to share a series of seminars hosted by AULRE:

1.   Beginning teachers on the purpose of RE and experiences of science religion encounters in the RE classroom.  Mary Woolley and Bob Bowie (Canterbury Christ Church University)

8th December 2021 5.30-7.00pm

Hosted on MS Teams at Canterbury Christ Church University

This seminar reports new, as yet unpublished findings that show how current beginning teachers debate and express the purposes of RE. It will explore practical and epistemological questions raised by this data relating them to current debates about disciplinarily and the nature of the subject. The Science Religion Encounters project is a large scale TWCF funded research project to understand the experience and thinking of beginning teachers and ‘science religion encounters’, led by Canterbury Christ Church University working with 5 other HEIs. It is a multi-methods study of beginning teachers, with data from focus groups at 6 universities and a national survey of beginning teachers trained at teacher education institutions/partnerships from across England. Professor Bob Bowie and Dr Mary Woolley present these research findings at this seminar.

To book a place and get the link to join, please email gill.harrison@canterbury.ac.uk

2.  Some pupils should know better, because there is better knowledge than opinion: Religious Education, knowledge and big questions. Jo Fraser-Pearce and Alexis Stones, UCL Institute of Education

19th January 2022, 5:30 to 7pm.

Hosted on MS Teams at Canterbury Christ Church University

We present interim findings of our TWCF funded research project on Religious Education (RE), knowledge and big questions and, in our analysis, draw on Miranda Fricker’s concept of epistemic injustice – that is, the notion that a person can be wronged “specifically in their capacity as a knower” (Fricker 2007, 1). In interviews with Key Stage 3 pupils (aged 12–14) we found that many students’ capacity to engage critically with different types of knowledge is hindered by the prioritisation of respect for opinion. A key indicator of epistemic disadvantage seems to exist when opinion is considered something not to be questioned, whereas some pupils value and can employ criticality when considering knowledge claims (including opinions). This disparity exacerbates epistemic injustice – broadening a gap between the epistemic haves and have-nots. We focus largely on the emergent theme of (respect for) opinions and argue that the prioritisation of respect in RE is (for some pupils) a barrier to knowledge. We contextualise our findings with public discourses about knowledge and school education (for example, Young 2015) and explore why these matter for individuals, society and RE.

Refs:

Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. Oxford University Press.

Young, M. (2015). Powerful knowledge as a curriculum principle. In M. Young & D. Lambert (Eds.), Knowledge and the future school: Curriculum and social justice. Bloomsbury.

To book a place and get the link to join, please email gill.harrison@canterbury.ac.uk

3.   Who are the new RE teachers, and what do they have to teach us as ITE providers?  Mark Plater (Bishop Grosseteste University)

4th February 2021, 5:30 to 7pm.

(Hosted on MS Teams at Canterbury Christ Church University)

Mark Plater, coordinator and teacher on the Secondary PGCE Religious Education programme at Bishop Grosseteste University leads this seminar exploring the implications of findings from a recent survey of early career Religious Education teachers, particularly those entering the profession during the period 2020-21. In this survey, trainees provide details of why they entered the profession, what previous experience they bring with them, and what they have appreciated or found lacking in their present training courses. In our discussion we will particularly consider what findings might be unexpected, and what messages this provides for those of us offering ITE RE courses in schools and universities.

To book a place and get the link to join, please email gill.harrison@canterbury.ac.uk

Culham St Gabriel’s is delighted to let you all know that a special edition of the JRE has been published in partnership with AULRE.

You can find hyperlinks for each article which makes them really easy to read.  Some of the links may only last for a few weeks, so get downloading now!

 

Guest Editors’ Introduction: AULRE 2021: Researching RE: changing times for Religious Education

Stephen J McKinney & Sean Whittle (Open Access)

 

Worldviews and diversity: freedom of expression and teaching about the mosque

Lynn Revell & Kate Christopher

 

A critical reflection on the Commission on Religious Education’s proposed National Entitlement to Religion and Worldviews in England and Wales

Emma Salter (Open Access)

 

Religion and worldviews in 1944 and 2021: a sociological analysis of religious education in two sociohistorical contexts

Keith Sharpe

 

Religious education syllabus development and the need for education theory

Patricia Hannam

 

Some pupils should know better (because there is better knowledge than opinion). Interim findings from an empirical study of pupils’ and teachers’ understandings of knowledge and big questions in Religious Education

Alexis Stones & Jo Fraser-Pearce (Open Access)

 

Enabling teachers to find their voices as leaders in the religion and worldviews community

Kathryn Wright, Justine Ball, Claire Clinton, Fiona Moss, Ed Pawson, Sean Whittle

 

Synoptic vision: some research priorities for RE

Brian Gates

 

Questions open to infinity and the legitimacy of wonder in university curricula

Robert Bowie & Ralph Norman

 

Why is it time to stop referring to ‘Catholic Religious Education’?

Sean Whittle

 

Mary, woman of faith and displaced person: insights for Catholic schools

Stephen McKinney (Open Access)

 

Beyond belief? Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on teaching RE in Ireland

Patricia Kieran & Aiveen Mullally

 

Inclusive second level Religious Education in Ireland today: what do teachers say?

Amalee Meehan & Derek A Laffan (Open Access)

 

Learnings from the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development (AREFD) project for initial teacher education of religious educators

Bernadette Sweetman (Open Access)

The University of Oxford Department of Education is running a series of seminars this term:

 

Researching RE: Changing Times for Religious Education’

June 22nd 2021 11AM-6PM

Hosted by Canterbury Christ Church University, UK
with the support of Culham St Gabriel’s Trust

This one day-virtual conference will put the spotlight on how research in Religious Education could contribute to raising the quality of this subject, for the benefit of all young people. The day will provide the opportunity for researchers in RE to collaborate with professionals working to support and enhance religious education. These are changing times for RE and the need for research and practice to be brought together has never been greater.

For more information and to book visit Eventbrite

 

The Oxford Argumentation in Religion and Science (OARS) project team is hosting a public End of Project Event to share resources, research, and outcomes of the three-year project.

OARS is a teacher professional development and research project for science and religious education teachers to collaborate on the teaching and learning of argumentation in English secondary schools. Funded by Templeton World Charity Foundation under the Big Questions in Classrooms (BQiC) initiative, the project began in September 2018 and will formally conclude in August 2021.

The project team cordially invites you to attend this final event, which will take place online on 1st July 2021, 4-6pm [UK time].

We would appreciate your attendance and participation in this event as we celebrate the outcomes of a wonderful innovative collaborative learning experience.

Please register your interest here and you will be sent an invite link before the event:

https://oarseducation.com/2021/03/05/oar-end-of-project-event/

Professor David Clough at the University of Chester is planning an extension to his current CEFAW research project that would give RE teachers the opportunity to work alongside academics to design new resources for teaching and reflecting on school catering policies. If the funding bid is successful, the year-long project would begin in October 2021 and would include in-person training events (with funding for supply costs) in the North West. If you’re interested in participating, please send expressions of interest to cefawadmin@chester.ac.uk by 1st December 2020.

Bringing teachers and researchers together

We are launching an initial research seminar series this Summer 2020, with a view to continuing them in the future.

This first initial series will each take place 4-5.15/5.30pm

Tuesday 19th May: Religious Literacy – completed

Wednesday 17th June: Teachers and Texts – this session is full. We will notify via social media if any spaces become available.

Thursday 16th July: Worldviews and Big Ideas

Your hosts: Adam Robertson (NATRE) and Sean Whittle (AULRE)

The research being discussed: Worldviews and Big Ideas: A way forward for religious education?

The researcher in conversation will be: Professor Rob Freathy, University of Exeter

The research can be found here

A summary of the research can be found here

Register here

Optional additional research papers will be sent to those who participate.

 

For more information about any of these seminars please email enquiries@cstg.org.uk

Download a flyer here

Bringing teachers and researchers together

We are launching an initial research seminar series this Summer 2020, with a view to continuing them in the future.

Tuesday 19th May 3-4.15pm: Religious Literacy

Your hosts: Kathryn Wright and Kate Christopher

The research being discussed: Religious Literacy: A way forward for religious education?

The researchers in conversation will be: Dr Pat Hannam and Dr Sean Whittle

The research can be found here

Register here

Wednesday 17th June 4-5.30pm: Teachers and Texts

Your hosts: Ben Wood (NATRE) and Matt Vince (TRS-UK)

The research being discussed: Opening the door to hermeneutical RE

The researcher in conversation will be: Dr Robert Bowie

The research can be found here and here

A quick read: A summary is available through www.researchforre.reonline.org.uk

Register here

 

Thursday 16th July: Theme TBC

Please check back for more details nearer the time.

For more information about any of these seminars please email enquiries@cstg.org.uk

Download a flyer here