This book brings together a group of teachers and teacher educators who have researched their own students’ learning in schools and universities as part of the EC funded REDCo Project. Combining the methods of action and practitioner research with the key concepts of Robert Jackson’s interpretive approach, the book illustrates the collaborative research of a group of professionals working together as a community of practice. • Part one sets out the key ideas of the interpretive approach and action research. • Part two reports case studies from individual researchers’ projects carried out in diverse though related settings: different schools, teacher education and local authority teacher training. • Part three traces the ideas of the ‘interpretive approach’, ‘action research’ and ‘community of practice’ across the individual studies. • Part four connects the research with wider themes and findings from the European Commission REDCo Project on religion, education, dialogue and conflict. The book is highly relevant to the work of teachers and teacher trainers in the field of religions and education, to researchers in this field, and to all interested in action research, practitioner research and communities of practice.

Society for Educational Studies Annual Book Prize winner: 2nd Prize This ground-breaking volume draws upon a rich and variegated range of methodologies to understand more fully the practices, policies and resources available in and to religious education in British schools. The descriptions, explanations and analyses undertaken here draw on an innovative combination of policy work, ethnography, Delphi methods, Actor Network Theory, questionnaires, textual analysis as well as theological and philosophical insight. It traces the evolution of religious education in a post-religious age from the creation of policy to the everyday experiences of teachers and students in the classroom. It begins by analysing the way in which policy has evolved since the 1970s with an examination of the social forces that have shaped curriculum development. It goes on to explore the impact and intentions of a diverse group of stakeholders with sometimes competing accounts of the purposes of religious educations. It then examines the manner in which policy is, or is not, enacted in the classroom. Finally, it explores contradictions and confusions, successes and failures, and the ways in which wider public debates enter the classroom. The book also exposes the challenge religious education teachers have in using the language of religion.

The question of how research on structures and outcomes in Religious Education can be carried out successfully is of current interest in many countries. Next to the more traditional historical, analytical and, more recently, international comparative approaches, empirical research in religious education has been able to establish itself as a major approach to this field. Moreover, the contemporary discussion about comparative evaluation in schools has raised a number of questions which also refer to Religious Education. What competences can pupils acquire in this subject? Does Religious Education really support the acquisition and development of the competences aspired? Are there differences in this respect between different forms of Religious Education or between different approaches to teaching? With contributions from eight European countries, the volume brings together approaches and research experiences that try to follow this lead by offering new and empirically based perspectives for the future improvement of teaching and learning in this school subject. Whoever is interested in improving the practice of Religious Education then, will not be able to bypass the question of researching processes and outcomes - an insight which also refers to a small but growing number of studies in this field which can be identified in several countries.

The relevance of contextual perspectives in religious education has been growing for the last decade. It has been central to the European Network for Religious Education through Contextual Approaches (ENRECA) - the research network that has produced the present book. Several members of the network have contributed to the theoretical and empirical development of contextual approaches in different publications, but for the first time this has been the focus of an entire collectively produced volume. The history of the book dates back to research seminars in 2009 and 2010 and is based on the discussions in the seminar. The chapters have been developed through a process of critical examination. Through this process we believe to have produced a coherent and also comprehensively rich book, dealing with the issue of context as a challenge, and also a stimulus to religious education research and practice. The chapters are presenting both empirical research and scholarly investigation into methodological and theoretical dimensions. Taken together we hope that this book will contribute to the further development of contextual thinking in religious education research. Or aim has not been to answer all questions, but rather to pose questions and to complicate things in order to enrich the academic field of religion in education.

This volume explores numerous themes (including the influence of ethnography on religious education research and pedagogy, the interpretive approach to religious education, the relationship between research and classroom practice in religious education), providing a critique of contemporary religious education and exploring the implications of this critique for initial and continuing teacher education.

An updated, expanded, edition of the popular textbook for student and practising teachers of religious education. It is a book for and about teaching and learning religious education in schools, which is a lively and open-ended subject, ideal for those wanting to explore how people understand the world, and how they live their lives. A wide range of religious and non-religious ways of life are explored. New to this edition are descriptions of more recent research on teaching and learning religious education from the UK, Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Australia. Also included are personal accounts written by pupils, teachers and researchers, giving voice to those learning and researching religious education in practice. As well as revising and extending every chapter of the first edition, there are brand-new chapters on: - the real lives of teachers and pupils in religious education - religious education around the world - spirituality - thinking about philosophy, truth, and religious education - ethics, rights, values and virtues - creativity and religious education. A key feature of the book is the 33 classroom activities for learners aged 7 to 18, which are also designed for use by student and practising teachers. These activities enable those studying and teaching religious education to be active researchers.