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Research

Why opt for A level Religious Studies?

Ian Jones

Research Summary

Religious Studies (RS) is expected to impact on students’ personal development as well as enabling them to acquire knowledge and understanding of religious and philosophical traditions. A small-scale, in-depth piece of qualitative research was undertaken with A Level RS students in two Midlands sixth forms, to find out about whether that is true in practice. Students’ motivations for studying A Level RS were researched, including the value they see in the subject and how far they perceived themselves changed as a result. It was found that students appreciated the scope to discuss and debate, and the potential wider applicability of the subject. All students felt they had their own views and ideas both challenged and confirmed, although there also appeared to be limiting factors as to how far understanding of, and empathy for, the beliefs, values and worldviews of others was possible. Teachers could use the findings when considering improvements to A level teaching and as ways to market RS to possible opters.

Researcher

Ian Jones

Research Institution

St. Peter’s Saltley Trust, Birmingham

What is this about?

  • Does A level RS impact on students’ personal development as well as their knowledge and understanding of religion and philosophy?
  • What value do students see in the subject? How far do they agree that their studies change them?
  • What is it about discussion and debate that students appreciate, and it what ways do they see their learning in RS as widely applicable?
  • How far do they see empathy with others’ views as possible?

What was done?

Two sixth forms were studied over the duration of an A level course. 21 semi-structured interviews were carried out with 21 students; and in each school, lessons were observed over a month.
Three teachers were also interviewed.

Main findings and outputs

  • Most students chose A level RS because they enjoyed GCSE and – based on the A level specification – were curious to find out about how other people thought and acted.
  • Another reason was that debating, arguing and discussing were seen as interesting and useful activities.
  • Reflecting back on their course, all students felt glad and would make the same decision again; the opportunity to debate and hear different views was again the main reason.
  • The emphasis on discussion was sometimes observed as rather ‘open’ and this acted as a limitation on critical engagement with philosophy. There was sometimes a tendency (from teachers or students) to assert the absence of right or wrong answers.
  • At other times critical engagement with philosophy was focused and students appreciated the higher level of challenge. Students favoured topics with more personal relevance or potential for controversy. At best RS helped them to ‘sort out’ their thinking in relation to life issues. An additional positive factor was preparation for life in a society of diverse beliefs and views.
  • Students noted the relative absence of treatment of religious traditions, a factor that also surprised the researcher.
  • In terms of personal impact, it tended to be undramatic but perceptible: having one’s opinions challenged, offering tools for relating to later life situations – learning was deepened when students were asked to relate different philosophical theories to life-situations.
  • Even so, A level RS confirmed many students’ existing worldviews.

Relevance to RE

  • Teachers could use this research as evidence of the interest and benefits of RS, when presenting A level RS as an attractive option to students and parents.
  • Teachers can build on students’ evident preferences for discussion, debate and argument.
  • Where subject content provides potential for personal relevance or controversy, teachers can use this to build student engagement.
  • Teachers should also take note that students appear to be most engaged and challenged when: teaching goes beyond description of different ideas into critical thinking about philosophy; students are asked to relate different philosophical theories to different life-situations, and have a sense of organising their thinking in preparation for later life. If possible, teachers might include more material from different religions in the course of study.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The research only claims to be small-scale but it illustrates very interesting themes for teachers to follow up, especially because this area of RE is under-researched.

Find out more

Why study A Level Religious Studies? Qualitative perspectives from two English Midlands sixth forms, Journal of Beliefs and Values 38.1 pages 3-17 (published online 23 September 2016), 10.1080/13617672.2016.1232566

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13617672.2016.1232566

 

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