Rethinking the place of the family in the post-Covid church in the UK: an exploration of families’ engagement with church during and after Covid

The family's role in nurturing children's faith became critical during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ways that churches addressed the needs of these families during the pandemic revealed much about church leaders’ understanding of the place of the family in Church. This article looks at faith nurture in the family and role of the church in this task. Robust connections between church and family which are essential for the holistic nurturing of child’s faith were disrupted by Covid-19 restrictions. The research involved an online survey of 175 church leaders and 209 parents, with the addition of focus group interviews of 36 children and 18 parents in the aftermath of this disruption. The findings provide insights into church leaders, parents and children’s family ministry experience, and their hopes for future engagement. Data analysis revealed the severity of the disruption and a sense of disconnection between families and Church. The discussion argues this has had a lasting impact on family church relationships and considers parents’ hopes for a welcoming listening church community. In conclusion, we argue that there is an opportunity to learn from the pandemic experience, listen to parents and children and re-imagine the family's place in Church

Christian ethos secondary schools in England and Wales : a common voice or wide diversity?

This study argues that it is the collective worldview of the students which is crucial in reflecting and shaping the ethos of schools. In order to understand the potential distinctiveness of Christian ethos schools two analyses were undertaken. The collective worldview of 2,942 students attending ten Christian ethos schools was compared with the collective worldview of 13,861 students attending 71 schools without a religious character. Then the collective worldview of 194 students attending an Anglican school that prioritised the Church’s ‘domestic’ function in education was compared with the collective worldview of 302 students attending an Anglican school that prioritised the Church’s ‘general’ function in education. The major difference occurs not between Christian ethos schools and schools without a religious character, but between Anglican schools that voice their interpretation of the Church’s mission in education differently

Perceptions of Catholicity in a plural society : an ethnographic case study of Catholic secondary schools in England

This is an ethnographic study of a small sample of Catholic secondary schools in England evaluating their role within the Catholic faith tradition and their contribution to community cohesion. The research is firmly based within an ethnographic framework; it explores the perception of Catholic schools by members, in particular the young people, of the Catholic school community. The ethnographic data was collected through semi-structured focus group interviews and observations. The understanding of religion is developed from the work of Hervieu-Léger on religion as a chain of memory. The concept of social capital in the form of bonding and bridging, and both religious and spiritual capital provides a framework to understand the factors within Catholic schools, which are perceived to create a Catholic community and those which are perceived to develop or hinder cohesion in plural society. The students’ understandings of their Catholic identity were diverse and fragmentary, with precarious links to the Catholic Church as an institution. However, there was a valuing of aspects of the Catholic faith tradition which were used to construct their own understanding of Catholicism, leading to a conclusion that the Catholic school is a source of spiritual capital for its members. The participants perceived their schools to have a Catholic nature, a strong ‘sense of community’. The Catholic schools were good generators of bonding capital, although this was focused on the school rather than the wider Catholic community. Perceptions of the boundaries of the school focused on everyday encounters with outsiders such as ‘the school next door’ rather than members of other faith communities. This research has implications: for the faith school debate and issues concerning social cohesion; for the Catholic school’s role in the transmission of the faith tradition and for an understanding of young people’s Catholic identity.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGreat Britain. Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)GBUnited Kingdo

Paying attention to the spiritual flourishing of young children in church toddler groups: a scoping study evaluating the feasibility of a research study in this context

Attention to the spiritual flourishing of young children contributes to their well-being, both their being and their becoming, but much-needed research in this area poses many challenges. The National Institute for Christian Education Research is undertaking a funded research project investigating the spiritual flourishing of young children in church toddler groups in England. This article reports on a scoping study which investigated the feasibility of a major research study in this area. The study was multifaceted, it involved clarifying terminology, evaluating previous research studies and early years research methods, and led to the development of a potential research framework. The article defines spiritual flourishing as a dynamic state of being, revealed in nurturing the right relationship with self, others, creation, and the transcendent. The findings propose an understanding of children’s spirituality as relational, based in the here and now, and shaped by the environment. Secondly, an exploration of midweek church toddler groups, a common feature across the denominations, through the lens of belonging, behaving, and believing reveals a potential critical contribution to young children’s spiritual flourishing or faith development. Thirdly, following an evaluation of potential effective research methods, the discussion highlights the value of an interdisciplinary study, the potential challenges and proposes a research framework. The article draws attention to the urgent need for more research to understand what contributes to young children’s spiritual flourishing within a Christian context

Rethinking the place of the family in the post-Covid Church in the UK: an exploration of families' engagement with Church during and after Covid.

The family's role in nurturing children's faith became critical during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ways that churches addressed the needs of these families during the pandemic revealed much about church leaders’ understanding of the place of the family in Church. This article looks at faith nurture in the family and role of the church in this task. Robust connections between church and family which are essential for the holistic nurturing of child’s faith were disrupted by Covid-19 restrictions. The research involved an online survey of 175 church leaders and 209 parents, with the addition of focus group interviews of 36 children and 18 parents in the aftermath of this disruption. The findings provide insights into church leaders, parents and children’s family ministry experience, and their hopes for future engagement. Data analysis revealed the severity of the disruption and a sense of disconnection between families and Church. The discussion argues this has had a lasting impact of the pandemic on family church relationships and considers parents’ hopes for a welcoming listening church community. In conclusion, we argue that there is an opportunity to learn from the pandemic experience, listen to parents and children and re-imagine the family's place in Church

Prioritising a Sense of Belonging Within the Rural Nexus: An Empirical Study of Five Rural Church Primary Schools

The rural church primary school exists in a nexus of connections between school, home, and the institutional Church (parochial, diocesan, and national). This article applies Walker’s model of belonging to God through church to the sense of belonging expressed by families whose children attend a rural Church of England primary school. The data drawn from the Faith in the Nexus project undertaken at Canterbury Christ Church University, consists of 24 semi-structured focus group interviews, and 8 individual interviews with school and church leaders from parents, school staff, clergy, and governors across five rural Church of England primary schools. The findings highlight how rural church school families develop and sustain a sense of belonging through events, people, place, and activities. The discussion considers the value of Walker’s model of belonging, the fragility of the rural nexus and a need to acknowledge the relational nature of belonginess expressed by parents and pupils

Religious education for spiritual bricoleurs? the perceptions of students in ten Christian-ethos secondary schools in England and Wales

Religious Education (RE) in England and Wales functions within a post-secular culture. In the last fifty years, approaches characterised by academic rigour, impartiality, and professionalism have been prioritised. In this post-secular culture, the notion of bricolage aptly describes how some young people seek meaning, explore the spiritual dimension of life, with fragmented understandings of, experiences and encounters with the religious traditions. This paper draws on data from an empirical research project involving 350 students, to explore why students in ten Christian-ethos secondary schools in England and Wales recognised Religious Education (RE) as a significant contributor to their spiritual development. The analysis is illuminated by employing Roebben's (2009) concept of a narthical learning space (NLS) as the lens with which to examine young people’s experiences. Three aspects of RE are explored: the debating of existential questions; opportunities to theologise and reflect; and encounters with the beliefs, practices, and opinions of others. This article argues that the concept of RE as a narthical learning space alongside the notion of young people as spiritual bricoleurs illuminates how the students in this study interpret the contribution of RE to their spiritual development

What really matters about teacher education at Cathedrals Group universities and colleges?

Volume 2: The Case Studie

Pupil-centred spiritual leadership: an empirical study of thirteen church primary school headteachers in England

The place of Church school headteachers as spiritual leaders of the school community is rarely highlighted. This article investigates how 13 Church primary school headteachers (Catholic Church of England, and Methodist) interpret this role. It draws on the Faith in the Nexus research which investigated how church primary schools nurtured pupils’ spiritual development and facilitated faith activity in the home. The head teacher interviews revealed several recurring themes, such as empowering children, collective worship, relationships with church and parents, and the visibility of faith in school. This research brings together a comparison of leadership approaches from Catholic and Anglican headteachers. Evidence of differences emerged; Catholic headteachers tended to use ‘overtly religious’ language while many Anglican headteachers employed a more ‘secular’ language to express their vision of spiritual leadership. A comparison with Shaw’s (Citation2015, 2017) model of ‘ethotic leadership’, highlighted much in common. The headteachers’ ethos was pupil-centric and shaped by a focus on the spiritual development of the child. An adaptation of Shaw’s model is offered which places the child at the centre