Religion in Schools? The Importance of Recognizing the Impact of Religious Experiences

The school environment is a place of forced contact between diverse peoples. It is the perfect environment to nurture the diverse identities present. The influences on identity (i.e., language, ethnicity, religion, etc.) shape how students perceive information and learn. Some educators use these influences to help them instruct students. However, often overlooked is the influence of religious practices on language use and behavior in classrooms. This paper argues that the significance of understanding the religious practices of students is equally as important for planning instruction as knowing any other aspect of their culture, (i.e., the students’ native language(s)). Framed by principles of interfaith dialogue, the paper highlights a few examples of language use and behavior at the intersection of religion and education. The author argues that using the religious beliefs of students as strengths of their identity might eliminate some of the misunderstandings in the classroom and help establish an environment of mutual acceptance which might lead to deeper learning. Additionally, dialogue that includes aspects of religious practices might help students makes sense of the world and foster collaboration in the larger society

Animals, Superman, Fairy and God: Children’s Attributions of Nonhuman Agent Beliefs in Madrid and London

There have been major developments in the understanding of children’s nonhuman concepts, particularly God concepts, within the past two decades, with a body of cross-cultural studies accumulating. Relatively less research has studied those of non-Christian faiths or children’s concepts of popular occult characters. This paper describes two studies, one in Spain and one in England, examining 5- to 10-year-olds’ human and nonhuman agent beliefs. Both settings were secular, but the latter comprised a Muslim majority. Children were given a false-belief (unexpected contents) task in which they were asked to infer about three humans (mother, classmate, teacher), three animals (dog, bear, bird) and three supernatural beings (Superman, fairy, God). Similar false beliefs about humans, with subtle differences in inferences about animals and supernatural beings, were found between the two locations. In London different patterns for God between participants with a family religion, in particular Muslims, and non-affiliates, were identified as well as an association between religious beliefs and practice and inferences about God. Findings are discussed in the light of theory and research on the role of sociocultural inputs in children’s theory of mind development and understanding of agency

Ölümü kavramsallaştırmak: Türkiye’deki çocuklar ölümü nasıl anlıyor?

Death is a hard concept to understand and a delicate subject to talk about, especially with children. The primary purpose of the current study was to investigate the development of the death concept in children between the ages of 3-10. We also aimed to examine the influence of parental communication in the concept’s development. Fifty-four children (M = 6.44; 55.6% girls, 44.4 % boys) and their parents (N = 37; 6 fathers, 16.2%) were recruited. Children were interviewed one-on-one to evaluate their cognitive and emotional understanding of death. Moreover, their parents were administered a questionnaire to assess how they communicated the concept to their children. We found that older children (7-10 years) grasped some cognitive subcategories of death better than younger children (3-7 years). Our results also showed that both younger and older children had better cognitive and emotional comprehension of the concept if their parents have communicated it to them. These findings suggest that talking to children about death, in an age-appropriate way, helps them perceive the concept better. Age-appropriate communication, especially on an important topic such as death, can further be discussed in terms of social policy.Ölüm, özellikle çocuklar için, anlaşılması zor bir kavram ve hassasiyetle konuşulması gereken bir konudur. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı 3-10 yaş aralığındaki çocuklarda ölüm kavramının gelişimini araştırmaktır. Kavramın gelişiminde, ayrıca ebeveynlerle çocuklar arasındaki iletişimin etkisi de incelenmiştir. Elli dört çocuk (Ort.: 6,44; 30 kız, 24 erkek) ve ebeveynleri (N=37; 6 baba, % 16.2) araştırmaya katılmıştır. Çocukların ölüm anlayışlarının bilişsel ve duygusal bileşenlerini değerlendirmek için birebir görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Ebeveynlerinden birine de ölüm kavramını çocuklarına nasıl ilettiklerini değerlendirmek için bir ölçek uygulanmıştır. Büyük çocukların (7-10 yaş) ölümün bilişsel alt kategorilerinden bazılarını küçük çocuklardan (3-7 yaş) daha iyi kavradığı bulunmuştur. Sonuçlar, ayrıca, ebeveynleriyle ölüm konusunu konuşmuş olan küçük ve büyük yaş gruplarındaki çocukların ölüm kavramını daha iyi anladıklarını göstermiştir. Bu bulgular, çocuklarla, yaş gruplarına uygun olarak, ölüm hakkında konuşmanın bu kavramı algılamaya yardımcı olduğunu göstermiştir. Yaşa uygun iletişim, özellikle ölüm gibi zor bir konuda çok önemli olup sosyal politikalar açısından değerlendirilmelidir

Η απεικόνιση των ζώων στα σχολικά εγχειρίδια

Η παρούσα μελέτη στοχεύει στο να διασαφηνίσει την εικόνα των ζώων που παρουσιάζουν τα σχολικά εγχειρίδια και ποιο συγκεκριμένα στα βιβλία της γλώσσας πρώτης και δευτέρας δημοτικού. Μέσα από αυτά τα εικονογραφημένα βιβλία μπορεί κανείς να δει πώς οικειοποιείται σήμερα το ζωικό βασίλειο στη δυτική κοινωνία και να διερευνήσει τις ευκαιρίες μάθησης για τα παιδιά. Εξετάστηκε λοιπόν η απεικόνιση των ζώων στα δύο τεύχη της γλώσσας της πρώτης δημοτικού και τρία τεύχη της γλώσσας του βιβλίου μαθητή της δευτέρας δημοτικού στην Ελλάδα. Για να προσδιοριστεί η ποικιλομορφία των ζώων που απεικονίζονται στα εικονογραφημένα βιβλία και ο τρόπος με τον οποίο απεικονίζονται, καθορίστηκε το ποια είδη ζώων ήταν πιο διαδεδομένα στα βιβλία και αναλύθηκε η ιδιαιτερότητα των απεικονίσεων και το επίπεδο ρεαλιστικότητας των απεικονίσεων με την αναλογία των ανθρωπόμορφων ζώων. Σύμφωνα με τα συμπεράσματα της παρούσας έρευνας στο πρώτο τεύχος της γλώσσας της Α΄ Δημοτικού, παρουσιάζονται 30 είδη ζώων και στο δεύτερο τεύχος της γλώσσας της Α΄ Δημοτικού, παρουσιάζονται 20 είδη ζώων. Στο πρώτο τεύχος της γλώσσας της Β΄ Δημοτικού, παρουσιάζονται 13 είδη ζώων, στο δεύτερο τεύχος της γλώσσας της Β΄ Δημοτικού, παρουσιάζονται 9 είδη ζώων και τέλος στο τρίτο τεύχος της γλώσσας της Β΄ Δημοτικού, παρουσιάζονται 13 είδη ζώων. Οι περισσότερες απεικονίσεις ζώων βρίσκονται στο πρώτο τεύχος της Α΄ Δημοτικού (114 απεικονίσεις ζώων) και ακολουθεί το Β΄ τεύχος της Ά Δημοτικού (97 απεικονίσεις ζώων). Τα τεύχη τη Β΄ Δημοτικού κυμαίνονται κατά μέσο όρο στις 41 απεικονίσεις ζώων. Όσον αφορά τα ζωικά είδη που απεικονίζονται συχνότερα, είναι η κουκουβάγια (88 απεικονίσεις) και το σαλιγκάρι (51 απεικονίσεις) και ακολουθούν ο σκύλος (43), η γάτα (23), ο παπαγάλος (21), το παπί (12) και η κότα – κόκορας (11). Τόσο το σαλιγκάρι στην πρώτη δημοτικού, όσο και η κουκουβάγια στη δευτέρα δημοτικού, χρησιμοποιούνται ως βοηθοί των παιδιών, που σε όλο το βιβλίο τους δίνουν συμβουλές ή οδηγίες για διάφορες ασκήσεις. Όσον αφορά στις κατηγορίες των ζώων, τα περισσότερα ζώα που απεικονίζονται στα βιβλία της γλώσσας της πρώτης και της δευτέρας Δημοτικού είναι θηλαστικά και ακολουθούν τα πτηνά, τα ζώα της θάλασσας, τα ερπετά, τα έντομα, τα γαστερόποδα και τα αμφίβια. Σε γενικές γραμμές τα περισσότερα είναι ζώα που είναι οικεία για τα παιδιά, ακόμα και τον αστικών περιοχών, όπως για παράδειγμα ο σκύλος ή η γάτα. Όμως υπάρχουν και κάποιες απεικονίσεις άγριων ζώων, όπως για παράδειγμα το λιοντάρι, ο ιπποπόταμος, η καμηλοπάρδαλη και ο ελέφαντας. Σε γενικές γραμμές φάνηκε ότι οι απεικονίσεις ζώων στα σχολικά εγχειρίδια της γλώσσας της πρώτης και δευτέρας δημοτικού είναι πολύ ισορροπημένες τόσο σε ποσότητα όσο και σε ποιότητα. Ειδικότερα, υπάρχουν κυρίως ζώα που είναι οικεία στα παιδιά αλλά και ζώα της άγριας ζωής. Επίσης, κάποιες από τις μορφές είναι αρκετά ρεαλιστικές και κοντά στα χαρακτηριστικά του ζώου, χωρίς να δίνουν παραπλανητικές εικόνες στα παιδιά για την εικόνα των ζώων, αλλά υπάρχουν και στοιχεία ανθρωπομορφισμού, έτσι ώστε να δοθεί χιούμορ και έμφαση σε κάποια σημεία.The present study aims to clarify the issue of images of animals presented in school textbooks and more specifically in first and second grade language books. Through these picture books one can see how the animal kingdom is appropriated in Western society today and explore the learning opportunities for children. The depiction of animals in the two books of language of the first grade and three books of the language of the second grade student's book in Greece was therefore examined. To determine the diversity of animals depicted in picture books and how they are depicted, it was determined which types of animals were most prevalent in the books and the distinctiveness of the depictions and the level of realism of the depictions with the proportion of anthropomorphic animals were analyzed. According to the conclusions of this research, in the first book of the language of the 1st grade, 30 types of animals are presented and in the second 20 types of animals are presented. In the first book of the language of the 2nd grade, 13 types of animals are presented, in the second 9 types of animals are presented and finally in the third 13 types of animals are presented. Most depictions of animals are found in the first book of the 1st Primary (114 depictions of animals) followed by the 2nd (97 depictions of animals). The 2nd grade books range on average in the 41 animal illustrations. As for the most frequently depicted animal species, they are the owl (88 illustrations) and the snail (51 illustrations), followed by the dog (43), the cat (23), the parrot (21), the duck (12) and the hen – rooster (11). Both the snail in the first grade and the owl in the second grade are used as helpers for the children, giving them advice or instructions for various exercises throughout the book. Regarding the categories of animals, most of the animals depicted in the first and second grade language books are mammals, followed by birds, sea animals, reptiles, insects, gastropods and amphibians. In general, most are animals that are familiar to children, even urban dwellers, such as a dog or a cat. But there are also some depictions of wild animals, such as the lion, the hippopotamus, the giraffe and the elephant. In general, it appeared that the depictions of animals in the first and second grade language textbooks are very balanced in both quantity and quality. In particular, there are mainly animals that are familiar to children but also wildlife animals. Also, some of the figures are quite realistic and close to the characteristics of the animal, without giving misleading images to children about the image of animals, but there are also elements of anthropomorphism, so that humor and emphasis are given to some points

Parents’ beliefs about their influence on children’s scientific and religious views: Perspectives from Iran, China and the United States

Parents in Iran, China and the United States were asked 1) about their potential influence on their children's religious and scientific views and 2) to consider a situation in which their children expressed dissent. The Iranian and US parents endorsed their influence on children's beliefs in both domains. By contrast, Chinese parents claimed more influence in the domain of science than religion. Most parents spoke of influencing their children via Parent-only mechanisms in each domain (e.g., discussion, teaching), although US parents did spontaneously note Multiple sources for the transmission of religious views (e.g., church, other influential adults). Parents proposed a similar stance towards children’s dissenting religious and scientific views. Chinese and US parents were more likely to express Supportive approaches and Iranian parents were more likely to express a Directive approach by comparison. The present research informs our understanding of the cultural transmission of views about science and religion

Efectividad de la terapia dialéctica conductual en la reducción de ideación suicida en varones musulmanes con arraigo cultural hacia la inmolación

Self-immolation occurs as a result of religious or political beliefs as well as terrorist acts with religious roots. In the case of religious terrorism, reference is made to Islam, that presents the immolation ambiguously, allowing the Muslim population to generate terrorist suicide ideals (Flori, 2004)...La auto-inmolación se presenta a raíz de creencias ya sean religiosas, políticas o por actos terrorista con raíces religiosas. En el caso del terrorismo religioso, se hace referencia al islam, que presenta a la inmolación de manera ambigua, permitiendo que la población musulmana genere con convicción ideales suicidas terroristas (Flori, 2004)..