Primary Practitioners Research

July/August 2023

During July and August, we are featuring the research of primary practitioners from the 2022-23 Culham St Gabriel’s master’s community of practice:

Ian Coles looks at the impact that using worldview community visitors in the Primary RE curriculum has

Nadia Nadeem on creating a series of sequential and progressive lessons and resources on Christian ethics and farmed animal welfare

Killian Barrett on our mission to the poor: rhetoric or reality within a Catholic Primary School

See also their recent In Conversation event

Using the voices of worldview community members in the classroom

Ian Coles

Some questions to consider:

Do you use the voices of worldview community members effectively in your classroom?
Are your pupils brave enough to satisfy their curiosity by asking important questions?
Are they brave enough to engage with the answers in a way that might change their own beliefs?

My research aims to discover the impact that using worldview community visitors in the Primary RE curriculum has. I am looking at this from four angles: the academic impact; the impact on pupils’ prejudices; the vicarious impact that this might have on parents; and the impact that these events have on the worldview community members themselves. Next year, as part of my MA, I will be conducting a small scale, practitioner research project at my own school, however I will be backing this up with research drawn from a wide variety of sources.

I have been particularly interested in the use of worldview community visitors for a number of years now. The schools in which I have worked have been populated overwhelmingly by White British staff and pupils. In my twelve years and three schools, I have never worked with a teacher or teaching assistant who was not either Christian or non-religious. I have wondered whether this has contributed to a lack of awareness, knowledge and understanding of peoples from non-Christian religions amongst the pupils, and I have always felt that worldview community members could be a significant resource in addressing these issues.

In regards to the academic impact that such visitors can have, they can of course be effective in overcoming a number of obstacles to teaching RE in the classroom. Insight’s 2021 report on the state of Hinduism in RE, which analysed data from Hindu parents of primary school children, stated that ‘76% of primary school parents are unhappy about RE teachers’ knowledge of Hinduism’ (INSIGHT UK, 2021[1]). Given that many teachers get little to no RE input in their training, it is worthwhile to assume that this lack of subject knowledge extends to other worldviews as well. This issue, which is particularly acute for primary school teachers who are required to be experts on a seemingly unending number of topics, is something that can be addressed by bringing in an expert. It also resolves the worry that many teachers have of misrepresenting a religion when trying to teach it themselves. Most importantly, worldview community members provide pupils with an example of lived religion. Real lives and real authenticity can have a real impact on pupils.

Using ‘live contact’ as opposed to videos also enables pupils to partake in, what I have noticed to be the most effective part of any faith visit, the Q&A session. Studies have shown that pupils ask considerably more questions of a visitor than they do of their teacher (Jackson, 2014[2]; Riegel and Kindermann, 2015[3]). In these situations, pupils are able to satisfy their curiosity in not just a safe space, but a ‘brave space’. A space where people are empowered to articulate their own understanding, but also willing to be vulnerable and allow their beliefs to evolve. This is effective for our children but is also a useful experience for worldview community members themselves.

Research has been done into the benefits of vicarious contact (Mazziotta, Mummendey and Wright, 2011[4]), and it will be interesting to see if any weakening of the pupils’ prejudices can be transferred to their parents. Prejudice may often arise from a lack of understanding, and a lot of research has been done into contact theory and using peer to peer contact experiences to break down prejudicial barriers (Peacock, 2020[5]; Peacock, 2023[6]; Allport, 1979[7]). However, in situations like the one I and many other teachers face it is incredibly difficult to create these experiences for our children. My hope is that my research will provide further insights into the issue of whether worldview community members can be effective in recreating the effects of peer-to-peer contact in reducing religious prejudice amongst pupils.

[1] INSIGHT UK (2021) A report on the state of Hinduism in Religious Education in UK schools. Available at https://insightuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hinduism-in-RE_Project-report.pdf (Accessed 12 June 2023)

[2] Jackson, R. (2014) Signposts – Policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious world views in intercultural education, Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.

[3] Riegel, U. and Kindermann, K. (2015) ‘Why leave the classroom? How field trips to the church affect cognitive learning outcomes’, Learning and Instruction, 41(2016), pp. 106-114.

[4] Mazziotta, A., Mummendey, A. and Wright, S. (2011) ‘Vicarious intergroup contact effects: Applying social-cognitive theory to intergroup contact research’, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 14(2), pp. 255-274.

[5] Peacock, L. (2020) Contact in the classroom: School linking: A research evaluation report. Faith & Belief Forum and the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University. Available at https://faithbeliefforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Contact_in_the_Classroom.pdf (Accessed 26 January 2023)

[6] Peacock, L. (2023) ‘Contact-based interfaith programmes in schools and changing religious education landscape: negotiating a worldviews curriculum’, Journal of Beliefs and Values, 44(1), pp. 1-15.

[7] Allport, G. (1979) The Nature of Prejudice. 25^th Anniversary Edition. New York: Perseus Books Publishing.

Christian Ethics and Farmed Animal Welfare

Nadia Nadeem

Questions for consideration:

Why should pupils discuss controversial issues in lessons?
How can we help pupils to learn deeply?
How can we help them to consider their future roles as adults?

I initially learnt about the Christian Ethics and Farmed Animal Welfare project (CEFAW) when I was completing stage 1 of the Culham St Gabriel’s Leadership Programme. I was fascinated to discover the harsh realities of the treatment of farmed animals in the UK. Subsequently, I completed a MA module on Research for Teaching at the University of Chester, as a Culham St Gabriel’s scholarship student.

As part of the project, I collaborated with 2 other primary school teachers to create a series of sequential and progressive lessons and resources that built on prior learning and included links for future learning.

I created lessons that were discursive in nature because from previous research experience (British Religion in Numbers in the classroom), I learnt that RE lessons are much more effective when they are discursive as they allow deeper thinking to take place.

Using discursive strategies enables pupils to apply their learning and understanding outside the classroom and potentially in later life. Using statistics to facilitate a discussion makes the experience real, purposeful and provides context with the possibility of having real impact.

Giving pupils statistics on farmed animal welfare raised many questions including: how does poor treatment hinder the animal’s ability to flourish? Here pupils had to consider what flourishing is. How is flourishing established/reduced? How can limitations on flourishing impact the quality of the animal’s life? Can they result in stress hormones being present in the animal’s meat? How does this meat impact humans after it is consumed? Would it be better to become vegan rather than put an animal through suffering – especially if it is a result of trying to meet supply and demand needs?

Moreover, I wanted pupils to think about the ethical aspect of the treatment of farmed animals and the key concepts of flourishing, stewardship, and dominion in relation to CEFAW but also other facets of life. Can they take responsibility for the flourishing of others around them? How important is flourishing for development and wellbeing?

In my opinion, R&W curriculum needs to teach ethics. In this modern era of social media where pupils have access to surplus information which they are not always mature enough to interpret or fully understand the implications of, it is pertinent for pupils to have ethical values that enable them to develop characters with moral compasses. Teaching ethics supports character building, character education and is learning that can be applied in later life.

After trialling my lessons, I felt they could be adapted further. For example, take the children to a farm, allow them to interview farmers on their practice. This would provide a concrete experience and allow pupils to think deeper and reflect on why certain practices are followed and what changes may be put in place to make a difference.

My message to other teachers is:

Use discursive/controversial lessons even if it seems daunting to begin with; they enable pupils to think in depth and breadth – use discussions regularly.
Controversial questions are great for unpicking pupils’ opinions and thinking. They help to stretch and extend pupils understanding of a particular concept/idea and how it can connect to other learning and aspects of life. Encourage pupils to analyse what they have learnt and what they are going to take away.
Lastly, use statistics because when you provide real a snapshot of society and how it really thinks and works: it compels pupils to consider the type of society they want to live in and what they need to do as the next generations of adults.

Our Mission to the Poor: rhetoric or reality within a Catholic Primary School

Killian Barrett

Questions to consider:

Where does our language of ‘the poor’ come from? How might we reflect on and critique our language of ‘the poor’?
How might we critique images and appeals we encounter through our studies that influence our attitudes to ‘the poor’?
How might we challenge neo-colonial stereotypes through this theme in RE?

The aim of my dissertation project is to explore and examine if the traditional view of duty and service to the poor and disadvantaged is evident in contemporary Catholic education today.

The research and study of literature included biblical, historical and contemporary perspectives of the poor and disadvantaged in relation to the Catholic Church’s Mission, together with a examination of challenges and opportunities related to leadership in fulfilling this mission in a meaningful and practical way today. The dissertation focused on research evidence and example through the examination of a case study school. This case study school is located in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland and caters for children 4 – 11 years of age.

I was keen to examine how schools can practically improve their care and support to children who may be experiencing poverty. I was interested in investigating our school curriculum (RE programme), Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Program (PDMU), World Views on Poverty, and various other initiatives and outside agencies who visit our school to explore if these subjects and programmes in the school, alongside the pastoral care, are actively and adequately helping to fulfil our mission in helping to serve ‘the poor’.

I undertook research through the mediums of face to face interviews with our current Principal, Vice Principal and one other member of our School’s Senior Leadership Team. These interviews were followed by questionnaires for all of our permanent and temporary full-time teaching staff as well as our SEN and general classroom assistants. These forms of research involved quantitative and qualitative methods of gathering data.

After analysing the data collected it was clear to see that there was a strong agreement from all members of it staff towards supporting the poor in our society. They believed that our school was contributing to this mission by supporting various charities throughout the year, quietly helping families in need and teaching children this moral issue through our curriculum. It was interesting to note that all admin staff believed our curriculum was sufficient in helping teach children about our true Catholic mission towards helping the poor.

Furthermore, a challenge faced by schools in upholding this Mission towards the poor was the negative influence from parents and lack of support from the local parish. Through the data collected, it was clear to see that staff believe there is not enough support from families or the parish community in helping support schools in this mission and instead there is too much of a focus on academic results.

Through the use of findings in the literature reviewed and the subsequent qualitative and quantitative research methods it is recommended that teachers and staff continue to support and build upon the work already done in fulfilling our Catholic mission of helping the poor, no matter what extrinsic challenges they may face. These findings are not just for schools that are solely Catholic but can also be linked to schools of various faith denominations as it is everyones moral duty, regardless of religion, to help those in need.

References:

Byron, W. J. (2015) “What Catholic Schools Can Do About World Hunger.” International Studies in Catholic Education 7 (2): 201–209.

Grace, G. (2002) ‘Mission Integrity: Contemporary Challenges for Catholic School Leaders.’ In K. Leithwood and P. Hallinger (Eds) Second International Handbook of Catholic Educational Leadership and Administration, Dordrecht. Kluwer Academic Press.

Groome, T. (2014) ‘Catholic education: from and for faith’, International Studies in Catholic Education, 6:2, 113-127.

Lydon, John. (2011) The Contemporary Catholic Teacher, Saarbrucken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing.

McKinney, S.J (2018) ‘The roots of the preferential option for the poor in Catholic schools in Luke’s Gospel,’ International Studies in Catholic Education, 10:2, 220-232.

O’Malley, D. SBD (2007) Christian Leadership, Bolton: Don Bosco Publications.

The Congregation for Catholic Education (2007) The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium’.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2011) The influence of parents, places and poverty on educational attitudes and aspirations

Previous research of the month

Catch up on them all here