Pupils’ views of religious education in a pluralistic educational context (original) (raw)
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Religion & Education
The study is part of the REDCo II study. The results are based on questionnaires. Altogether there were 988 participants from Finland (N = 406) and Estonia (N= 582). The main research questions were: What experiences do Estonian and Finnish pupils have regarding religious issues at school? What conceptions do Estonian and Finnish pupils have regarding the role of religion at school? And to what extent do different backgrounds factors (country, gender and age) explain different experiences and conceptions? The quantitative data were analysed by basic statistical analysis (including means, standard devolutions and t-tests).
Journal of Beliefs and Values, 2019
How schools navigate between the demands presented by secularisation and the increasing plurality of religious traditions has become a very topical issue in many European countries, including Finland, in recent decades. The question is both practical and philosophical by nature because the ways in which various beliefs and values are represented in school practices and teaching content profoundly concern the educational mission of the schools. However, despite the topicality of the issue, little attention has been given to teachers' perceptions on whether public schools should, or should not, provide space for various religions and worldviews to become visible within the school life, and how schools should respond in practice to the perceived needs. In order to gain new knowledge on the topic, this study investigated Finnish teachers' and university students' (N=181) perceptions of the representations of religions and worldviews, based on the perspectives of inclusion and exclusion. The statistical analysis revealed three factors titled as 'Religiously responsive approach', 'Secularist approach' and 'Equal visibility approach'. According to the main findings, current and future educators show various degrees of inter-religious sensitivity but principally supported the equal visibility of various traditions, rather than favouring strongly inclusivist or exclusivist practices.
Journal of Beliefs & Values, 2019
How schools navigate between the demands presented by secularisation and the increasing plurality of religious traditions has become a very topical issue in many European countries, including Finland, in recent decades. The question is both practical and philosophical by nature because the ways in which various beliefs and values are represented in school practices and teaching content profoundly concern the educational mission of the schools. However, despite the topicality of the issue, little attention has been given to teachers' perceptions on whether public schools should, or should not, provide space for various religions and worldviews to become visible within the school life, and how schools should respond in practice to the perceived needs. In order to gain new knowledge on the topic, this study investigated Finnish teachers' and university students' (N=181) perceptions of the representations of religions and worldviews, based on the perspectives of inclusion and exclusion. The statistical analysis revealed three factors titled as 'Religiously responsive approach', 'Secularist approach' and 'Equal visibility approach'. According to the main findings, current and future educators show various degrees of inter-religious sensitivity but principally supported the equal visibility of various traditions, rather than favouring strongly inclusivist or exclusivist practices.
Coping with diversity in Religious Education: an overview
Journal of Beliefs & Values, 2017
As a result of secularization and increasing religious diversity, several European nation states adapted their policy with regard to the organization of religious education (or its equivalent) in state schools (schools funded and established by the state). In this article, different strategies will be outlined and evaluated: (1) the shift from confessional/catechetical to semiconfessional RE; (2) the possibility of exemption; (3) the organization of an alternative, non-confessional subject; (4) the expansion of RE subjects (multi-religious RE); (5) the shift from confessional to non-confessional RE; (6) the integration of information about religions in other school subjects. Based on a human rights perspective, the author argues why some of these strategies are preferable to others.
Religions
The purpose of this article is to discuss how religious and non-religious diversity are addressed in the current national core curriculum for religious education (RE) in basic education in Finland. We first discuss the educational developments behind the Finnish curricular reform, and then focus on issues related to RE and RE research in Finland. We then describe the key contextual contributors to the current RE curriculum in basic education before proceeding to examine how diversity is addressed in the curriculum. Based on our examination, we identify four themes in the curriculum: inter-religious diversity, religious and non-religious worldviews, cultural diversity, and dialogue skills. In RE, diversity is largely addressed within a framework of religion and multiculturality. The article ends with a call for renewal of research foci in RE.
Journal of Beliefs & Values, 2018
This article examines social practices within classroom discourse in two different Finnish religious educational contexts. The article critically observes the construction of certain positions and identities as part of the school discourse and the inclusive vs exclusive practices of language. The research material consists of classroom observations and staff interviews from two separate studies. The first study investigates two cases in separative religious education (RE), Islamic and Lutheran. The second study deals with integrative practices of RE. In this study, discourse analysis as a methodological tool is used to examine discursive practices in RE lessons. The study will explore the following question: What kinds of subjectivities are constructed through teachers' discursive practices in separative and integrative RE? The study will demonstrate that teachers use scientific language to underline the objective nature of RE and use the language of belonging to engage their pupils on a personal level. The former ends up silencing the religious stance, while the latter often excludes those who do not share those specific experiences. The findings reveal some challenges in developing inclusive teaching.
Why Teach about Religions? Perspectives from Finnish Professionals
Religions
Acknowledging recent research literature on professionalism and religious education across Europe, the article examines the scholars' and senior professionals' views on the curricula aims and objectives in religious education in Finland. Through asking the professionals' views on the aims of RE in relation to supporting of child's growth and development on one hand and the societal aims of RE on the other, the findings were thematically classified into the following categories. Firstly, the aims regarding the supporting of child's growth and development were focused on literacy on religions and worldviews, increasing the understanding on oneself and others, personal growth, and the skills for global citizenship. From the societal perspective, RE was seen important for supporting the understanding as literacy, understanding as empathy, and competences for global citizenship. Finally, as regards the educational model of teaching about religions, these professionals held somewhat varied views. Some favoured an RE model based on teaching groups reflecting children's own worldview affiliations, others supported whole-class instruction, and still others a hybrid model combining elements of both. However, the way in which the instruction is implemented and the position from which religions are examined in education were perceived to be in a key role in this, whatever the formal structures for instruction.
Journal of Religious Education
The focus of this article is on parents' experiences with and perceptions of their children's religious education (RE). The data consist of letters from 41 parents of Finnish Orthodox children and youth. In the letters, the parents describe their understanding of minority religious upbringing and how it is affected by different factors like RE. RE is a mandatory subject in Finnish schools, and it is taught in groups consisting of children with the same religious backgrounds. The main questions in this article are (1) how do the parents view the arrangements for Orthodox RE to make their children's minority religious affiliation visible at school, and (2) what is the effect of RE on the formation of their children's minority identity? The analyses show that parents perceive RE as an important factor in their children's identity formation. Despite the sometimes inadequate arrangements for Orthodox RE in school, the parents are mostly happy with the subject and with their children's RE teachers. RE makes the minority religious affiliation of Orthodox children both visible and invisible: their difference from the majority is exposed, but minority RE classes often take place outside of regular school hours and even outside of school premises.
Religious Education as a Location for Encountering Pluralism and for Developing Identity
Since 2000, European schools accepting refugees and asylum seekers from many countries have, as part of a process of integration, had to modify their teaching methods to make them more appropriate for culturally diverse school populations. A consequence of this development is the prioritization of the debate on the pluralistic potential of both the original and new cultures in religious education. Although the monotheistic religions include educational resources for pluralistic approaches, their religious laws may exclude others. Integration, which involves identification with, and the adoption of, components of so-called multifaceted identity composed of both ethnic and religious components, might be of help in developing identity. Nearly all world religions preach and adopt the fundamental principles of love and understanding among peoples. Conversely, the growth of religious fundamentalism and extremism has posed a challenge for the implementation of pluralism. This paper will examine the role that religious education plays as a location for encountering pluralism and for developing identity. Moreover, it will address the question: To what extent can religious education find creative, new forms of coexistence in countries with heterogeneous populations espousing different values? A. Demosthenous (B)