Issues In Religious Education

Description:
Religious Education in schools continues to be the subject of debate and is especially topical in our multicultural and multi-faith society. This book is designed to give students and newly qualified teachers a contextual and theoretical background to this subject, by exploring and challenging assumptions about the place of religion in education. The book is divided into the following sections: Section 1 sets out the context for religious education in the curriculum. It looks at political, social and religious influences on legislation, particularly in faith schools, and raises questiuons about assessment. Section 2 focuses on Religious Education in the classroom, exploring our understanding of religion and the concept of development in Religious Education. It also looks at teaching Religious Education to pupils with Special Educational Needs. Section 3 examines Religious Education as a whole-school issue, considering its relationship to literacy, citizenship, collective worship and spiritual, ethical and moral development. Issues in Religious Education Teaching will be important reading for student teachers at all levels, and will also provide a useful refresher for experienced teachers.

Table of Contents:
Part 1: The Nature of Religious Education Within the School Curriculum 1. The Statutory Requirement for Religious Education 1988 - 2000: Religious, Political and Social Influences 2. A Rationale for Religious Education 3. Religious Education in Church Schools 4. Commitment and Indoctrination: A Dilemma for RE? 5. Assessing Achievement in Religious Education from Early Years to A-Level 6. Inspecting Religious Education: Can Inspections Improve Religious Education? 7. Religious Education in the European Context Part 2: Religious Education in the Classroom Development Through Religious Education? 9. Ethnography and Religious Education 10. Not 'Either - Or', More a Case of 'Both - And': Towards an Inclusive Gender Strategy for Religious Education 11. Education for All: Religious Education and Pupils with Special Needs: A Dialogue 12. The Birth of a New Religious Studies at Post-16 Part 3: Religious Education and the Wider Curriculum 13. The Contribution of Religious Education to Whole School Initiatives 14. Is Religious Education and Ethical and Moral Debate a Contradiction? 15. Embodying the Spirit - Realising RE's Potential in the Spiritual Dimension of the Curriculum 16. Religious Education and Collective Worship: Bedfellows or Just Good Friends? 17. World Religions: The Boundaries of Belief and Unbelief