Metcalfe, Jason

Moulin-Stozek, Daniel

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  University of BirminghamResearch updateMoulin-Stozek, Daniel; Metcalfe, JasonLicense:None: All rights reservedDocument VersionPeer reviewed versionCitation for published version (Harvard):Moulin-Stozek, D & Metcalfe, J 2018, 'Research update: understanding the lives of religious educators' REToday, vol. 36, no. 2.Link to publication on Research at Birmingham portalGeneral rightsUnless a licence is specified above, all rights (including copyright and moral rights) in this document are retained by the authors and/or thecopyright holders. The express permission of the copyright holder must be obtained for any use of this material other than for purposespermitted by law.•	Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication.•	Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of privatestudy or non-commercial research.•	User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (?)•	Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain.Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document.When citing, please reference the published version.Take down policyWhile the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has beenuploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive.If you believe that this is the case for this document, please contact UBIRA@lists.bham.ac.uk providing details and we will remove access tothe work immediately and investigate.Download date: 01. Mar. 2020Understanding the lives of religious educators  Daniel Moulin‐Stożek, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham Jason Metcalfe, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham Religious Education teachers should have ‘a tremendous sense of humour and a hide like a rhinoceros’, wrote Bernard R. Youngman in 1953. The most successful author of RE textbooks in his day, Youngman was commenting on the qualities of character RE teachers needed to negotiate the lowly status of RE as a curriculum subject, and the contested nature of religion in post‐war Britain. It  is  interesting to revisit Youngman’s assessment of the character of the religious educator and to consider what virtues may be essential to being a good RE teacher in our time and context. This is particularly pertinent given the importance of virtue to the world’s religious traditions.  Indeed, many consider the virtues to be quasi‐religious concepts. For example, in her book, The Great Transformation,  Karen Armstrong  argues  that  the  emergence of  the  ‘axial  virtues’  of  compassion, respect, empathy and love in the period between 800 and 300 BC were vital to the development of human  civilisation.  The  axial  sages  –  Socrates,  Buddha,  Confucius,  Jeremiah  and  Lao  Tzu  –  each emphasise  the  moral  imperatives  of  self‐reflection,  responsibility  and  cooperation  necessary  for societal flourishing.  In  his  famous wartime  essay  on  education, The Abolition  of Man,  C.S.  Lewis  observed  similarities between the teachings of these religions. Rather than backing up his argument with Christian theology alone, Lewis draws on the world’s cultures to advocate a conception of education based on universal anthropological notions of the good, which he calls  ‘the Tao’ – a term taken from ancient Chinese philosophy. School life can seem far removed from the spiritual principles expounded by past prophets, however, and the  task of  the RE  teacher can be complex, given the magnitude and diversity of  religion,  the ongoing vicissitudes of educational policy, and changing religious demographics. The late Professor Terence  Copley  (2005)  noted  that  to  negotiate  religion  in  the  contemporary  classroom  was  a ‘tightrope walk’ for teachers, requiring a very finely tuned sensitivity to young people and to religion. Given the potential of RE as a vehicle for character education, and the importance of the role of the teacher to both RE and character education, there is fertile and unchartered ground for research and intervention. The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues is therefore conducting a project concerning the lives of RE teachers.  The project will engage with RE teachers in order to examine the role of virtue in their professional practice,  and  the  potential  of  RE  for  character  education.  In  addition  to  how  teachers  form  the qualities of character to negotiate problems in the classroom, we are also interested in how being an RE teacher affects teachers’ own personal development. Previous research about religious educators has tended to consider their professional identities as primarily performative (i.e. what they choose to do in their professional role). We are concerned more with the formation of the self in a deeper sense, and the reciprocal relationships between the personal and professional.  In order to begin to answer some of these big questions the study comprises two phases. The first of these involves in‐depth interviews with volunteer RE teachers about the course of their life and their beliefs  and  attitudes  towards  both  religion  and  religious  education.  The  second  is  a  large  scale questionnaire which will  follow‐up  some  of  the  findings  of  the  first  phase,  including  some  active questions designed to assess RE teachers’ approaches to various common classroom dilemmas. Please visit the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues website for the project overview and updates. If you are an RE teacher and wish to take part in the research, or you would otherwise like to contact the  project  researchers,  please  email  Daniel  Moulin‐Stożek  (d.p.j.moulin‐stozek@bham.ac.uk)  or Jason Metcalfe (j.m.metcalfe@bham.ac.uk).  References Armstrong, K. (2011). The Great Transformation: The world in the time of Buddha, Socrates, Confucius and Jeremiah. Atlantic Books. Copley, T. (2006). Indoctrination, education and God: The struggle for the mind. London: SPCK Lewis, C. S. (2001). The Abolition of Man. Zondervan. Youngman,  B.  R.  (1953).  Teaching  Religious  Knowledge:  A  Book  of Method  for  Teachers.  London: University of London Press.  

Research update:understanding the lives of religious educators

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Research update:understanding the lives of religious educators

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