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

Implications for gender and education research arising out of changing ideas about gender

Ideas about gender are changing. The UK and other countries are moving towards altering laws about gender recognition. Intersex people can be recognised as such in some countries. In the global North, nonbinary identities are becoming more common, and this is reflected in changes to recording systems. Referrals to child gender identity clinics are rising, and increasingly we have children in our schools who are socially transitioning, delaying puberty with hormone blockers, or starting hormonal gender transition. In this paper I consider how gender and education researchers should respond to these changes. I focus in particular on: the relationship between bodies and identity; artificially delayed puberty and how this affects ideas about childhood innocence; and the greater prevalence of nonbinary identifications. I argue that gender and education researchers will need to make significant changes to our underpinning theoretical frameworks and research practices in order to take these changes into account

Children and the community Making things better

Includes 2 floppy disks containing the text of the pack, on inside back cover of folder.Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:fm00/1513 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Considering religion and beliefs in child protection and safeguarding work: is any consensus emerging?

NoDiverse, but significant, phenomena have combined to raise both the profile of issues related to religion and child abuse and the need for professionals to understand and respond appropriately to them. The nature of some of these issues is explored and attempts made to clarify them. Data collected by the author primarily from questionnaires completed by professionals involved in child protection and safeguarding work are analysed and discussed. Some patterns are identified and explored. Finally, it is suggested that, despite the apparent emergence of a more general recognition and acknowledgement of these issues amongst many professionals, relevant day-to-day practice remains largely dependent on individual views and attitudes. Moreover, practitioners are able to continue with ‘religion-blind’ and ‘belief-blind’ approaches without these being significantly challenged by agency policies or by professional cultures

The Church of England and the 1870 Elementary Education Act

Set against the background of mid-nineteenth century concerns about an erosion in the denomination’s standing and influence, this article highlights the differing responses to the matter from parties within the Church of England, which determined their degree of sympathy with proposals for an education act. Specifically, we point out that the debate over schooling between co-religionists centred upon rival understandings of religious education: ‘denominational’ and ‘undenominational’. We examine the claims of some contemporary High Church leaders and later commentators, that acceding to elements of the 1870 Act, specifically the ‘conscience’ and ‘Cowper-Temple’ clauses, represented a pyrrhic victory and that in doing so the Church appeared to resile from its place in society. However, we argue that, though the Church could no longer be described as ‘England’s educator’, it retained considerable influence within the evolving school system and in policymaking. Moreover, we point out that ‘denominational’ religious education continued to be championed, having diffusive influence, well into the twentieth century. Finally, just as understanding nineteenth-century ecclesiastical history and religious culture is crucial to understanding this moment in the educational past, we argue that a thoroughgoing religious historical literacy is essential to understanding educational policy development regardless of the period under scrutiny