Baha'i
Buddhist worldview traditions
Christian worldview traditions
Contextualising the diversity of worldviews
Hindu worldview traditions
Humanist worldview traditions
Jain
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jewish worldview traditions
Muslim worldview traditions
Pagan
Rastafari
Sikhi worldview traditions
Soka Gakkai
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Zoroastrian
Research

Introducing ‘Big Ideas’ to UK Religious Education

Professor Rob Freathy & Dr Helen John

Research Title

Introducing ‘Big Ideas’ to UK Religious Education

Research Summary

This report details the research undertaken at the University of Exeter to apply the ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ model (Harlen 2010) to Religious Education. The notion of ‘Big Ideas’ has been mooted as a suitable tool with which to negotiate the tricky task of curriculum reform. At the University of Exeter, the ‘Identifying Principles and Big Ideas for Religious Education’ project sought to follow Harlen’s example, given the lack of coherence in the RE curriculum at present (OFSTED 2013). A symposium of academics, consultants and RE specialists met on Dartmoor to try to identify Big Ideas for RE with the purpose of improving curriculum content selection and sequencing, and these have since been released in a wide-ranging report (Wintersgill 2017). Professor Rob Freathy, who was one of the lead researchers on this project, has also conducted research into how RE might take full advantage of the insights found in Harlen’s work by focusing not only on Big Ideas ‘in RE’ but also by considering methodological questions: Big Ideas ‘about RE’.

Researchers

Professor Rob Freathy & Dr Helen John

Research Institution

University of Exeter

What is this about?

The RE curriculum has long been recognised to be a problematic issue, with OFSTED describing it as overcrowded, incoherent, and confusing for pupils (OFSTED 2013). The Science curriculum faced similar problems and has been revised based on a ‘Big Ideas’ model (Harlen 2010, 2015), drawing on the research of Wiggins and McTigue (1998). At the University of Exeter, Dr Barbara Winstergill and Professor Rob Freathy sought to identify Big Ideas that would apply to the RE curriculum. Working with Professor Michael Reiss (UCL Institute of Education), who was on the team of international scientists who produced the ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ (Harlen 2010), they convened and directed a symposium on Dartmoor. Academics, RE specialists and consultants drafted the ‘Big Ideas for Religious Education’, which were published by the University of Exeter in 2017 (Wintersgill 2017; available online).

However, while the ‘Big Ideas for RE’ document focuses squarely on curriculum content and sequencing, Professor Freathy was also interested in developing Big Ideas about methods, methodology and epistemology. In other words, he felt it important for pupils to consider how the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) is conducted. His research thus extends onwards to consider the ‘Big Ideas about’ angle, as well. The ‘find out more’ article below illustrates how that distinction might come into play.

The key questions in the Big Ideas project can thus be summarised as follows:

  • How can we improve selection and sequencing of curriculum content in RE? Might the ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ project provide a means?
  • What would ‘Big Ideas for RE’ look like?
  • ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ listed (a) 10 Big Ideas of Science and (b) 4 Ideas about Science. How might we map that distinction onto RE?

What was done?

A symposium of experts met to draft the Big Ideas for RE. Further reflections and feedback were requested from participants. The final report was edited by Dr Wintersgill. Professor Rob Freathy and Dr Helen John wrote an article engaging in critical reflection on the Big Ideas for RE report.

Main findings and outputs

The symposium found that Big Ideas for RE could usefully be used to select and sequence content in RE. They could be modelled on the Big Ideas in Science Education project. Six Big Ideas for RE were identified, and are entitled as follows (see the report for full descriptions):

  1. Continuity, Change and Diversity: this big idea reflects on continuity and diversity within and between religious and non-religious traditions.
  2. Words and Beyond: this big idea reflects on the difficulty in expressing some of our deepest-held beliefs in everyday language.
  3. A Good Life: this big idea reflects on the concerns religious and non-religious traditions have with striving towards living a morally good life.
  4. Making Sense of Life’s Experiences: this big idea reflects on religious, spiritual and transformative experiences.
  5. Influence, Community, Culture and Power: this big idea reflects on the interactions between religious/non-religious worldviews and wider communities and cultures.
  6. The Big Picture: this big idea reflects on the ‘grand narratives’ put forward by religious and non-religious worldviews to explain how and why the world is as it is.

Freathy and John’s article goes on to suggest that big ideas are also required to reflect on how we study religions and worldviews. They identify the following 4 ‘Big Ideas about the Study of Religion(s) and Worldview(s)’ that pupils should also be introduced to:

  1. Encountering Religion(s) and Worldview(s): Contested definitions and contexts: this big idea recognises how contested descriptions/definitions are of the nature of religions/worldviews, the concepts of ‘religion’/‘worldview’ themselves, and the dynamic nature of the contexts involved, for example.
  2. Encountering Oneself: Reflexivity, Reflectivity and Positionality: this big idea recognises that who we are affects (and sometimes determines) how we study, what we study, and what we find out about it.
  3. Encountering Methodologies and Methods: Discernment and Diversity: this big idea focuses on the multi-disciplinary and methodologically diverse nature of our field of enquiry.
  4. Encountering the Real World: Relevance and Transferability: this big idea recognises that the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) is a vital tool in understanding the world around us.

Relevance to RE

The Big Ideas are designed to be overarching concepts that help draw together and make sense of the many disparate facts that pupils might encounter in the classroom. Using the Big Ideas report (Wintersgill 2017), teachers might be encouraged to think about how they could orient schemes of work around Big Ideas. In addition, they might introduce pupils to different ideas about the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) from Freathy and John’s article. The RE-searchers approach (a primary resource but adaptable for secondary; see resources on RE:Online) could be used to encourage reflection on the Big Ideas about side of this research.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The Big Ideas for RE body of research is in its infancy but, given the success of the Science Education project, there is great promise for its success in RE. Teachers are encouraged to offer feedback to Professor Freathy.

Find out more

23. Freathy, R. and John, H. (2019). Religious Education, Big Ideas and the Study of Religion(s) and Worldview(s). British Journal of Religious Education. 41(1): 27-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2018.1500351

https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/collegeofsocialsciencesandinternationalstudies/education/research/groupsandnetworks/reandspiritualitynetwork/Big_Ideas_for_RE_E-Book.pdf

 

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