Context, Complexity and Contestation: Birmingham's Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education since the 1970s

publication-status: AcceptedThis is an Author's Original Manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in the Journal of Beliefs and Values, September 2011. Available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/ or DOI: 10.1080/13617672.2011.600823The present article offers an historical perspective on the 1975, 1995 and 2007 Birmingham Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education. It draws upon historical evidence uncovered as part of ‘The hidden history of curriculum change in religious education in English schools, 1969–1979’ project, and curriculum history theories, especially David Labaree’s observations about the distance between the ‘rhetorical’ and ‘received’ curricula. We argue that, contrary to the existing historiography, curriculum change in religious education (RE) has been evolutionary not revolutionary. Multiple reasons are posited to explain this, not least among which is the capacity and agency of teachers. Furthermore, we argue that ongoing debates about the nature and purpose of RE, as exemplified in the Birmingham context, reflect the multiple expectations that religious educators and other stakeholders had, and continue to have, of the curriculum subject. These debates contribute to the inertia evident in the implementation of RE curriculum reforms. A consciousness of the history of RE enables curriculum contestations to be contextualised and understood, and, thereby, provides important insights which can be applied to ongoing and future debates and developments

Teaching engagement: reflections on sociological praxis

Sociology has a long history of engagement with social justice issues, and through concepts like the 'sociological imagination' we equip our students with the ability to think through, and ideally work to change, inequities. This engagement is under threat, however, from recent changes in the higher education sector that have shifted the focus from learning experiences to qualifications. There is little room within accreditation frameworks for social justice as an educational goal. This article will place these discussions of engagement and social justice as key outcomes of a sociology degree within the broader context of the changing higher education sector, and will explore how we teach students to use their sociological imaginations outside of the classroom. We recognise that this is a messy process, involving ambiguous learning spaces, sometimes conflicting institutional versions of 'engagement' and unforeseen outcomes. Nevertheless, 'engaged' sociology should encourage students to exercise their sociological imaginations and their own capacity to act as agents of social change