Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Key publications
Freathy R, Doney J, Freathy G, Walshe K, Teece G (2017). Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education.
British Journal of Educational Studies,
65(4), 425-443.
Abstract:
Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education
This article reconceptualises school teachers and pupils respectively as ‘pedagogical bricoleurs’ and ‘bricolage researchers’ who utilise a multiplicity of theories, concepts, methodologies and pedagogies in teaching and/or researching. This reconceptualization is based on a coalescence of generic curricular and pedagogical principles promoting dialogic, critical and enquiry-based learning. Innovative proposals for reconceptualising the aims, contents and methods of multi-faith Religious Education in English state-maintained schools without a religious affiliation are described, so as to provide an instance of and occasion for the implications of these theories and concepts of learning. With the aim of initiating pupils into the communities of academic enquiry concerned with theology and religious studies, the ‘RE-searchers approach’ to multi-faith Religious Education in primary schools (5-11 year olds) is cited as a highly innovative means of converting these curricular and pedagogical principles and proposals into practical classroom procedures that are characterised by multi-, inter- and supra-disciplinarity; notions of eclecticism, emergence, flexibility and plurality; and theoretical and conceptual complexity, contestation and context-dependence.
Abstract.
Doney J, Parker SG, Freathy R (2016). Enriching the historiography of Religious Education: insights from oral life history.
History of Education,
46(4), 436-458.
Abstract:
Enriching the historiography of Religious Education: insights from oral life history
This article seeks to exemplify the extent to which oral life history research can enrich existing historiographies of English Religious Education (RE). Findings are reported from interviews undertaken with a sample of key informants involved in designing and/or implementing significant curriculum changes in RE in the 1960s and 1970s. The interviews provided insights into personal narratives and biographies that have been marginal to, or excluded from, the historical record. Thematic analysis of the oral life histories opened a window into the world of RE, specifically in relation to professional identity and practice, curriculum development and professional organisations, thereby exposing the operational dynamics of RE at an (inter-)personal and organisational level. The findings are framed by a series of methodological reflections. Overall, oral life histories are shown to be capable of revealing that which was previously hidden and which can be confirmed and contrasted with knowledge gleaned from primary documentary sources.
Abstract.
Publications by category
Books
Doney J (2020).
Unearthing Policies of Instrumentalization in English Religious Education Using Statement Archaeology., Routledge Research in Education Policy and Politics.
Abstract:
Unearthing Policies of Instrumentalization in English Religious Education Using Statement Archaeology
Abstract.
Larkin S, Freathy R, Doney J, Freathy G (2019).
Metacognition, Worldviews and Religious Education a Practical Guide for Teachers, 1st Edition. Oxford, Routledge.
Abstract:
Metacognition, Worldviews and Religious Education a Practical Guide for Teachers, 1st Edition
Abstract.
Author URL.
Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (2017). Politics, Professionals and Practitioners. London, Routledge.
Journal articles
Doney J (2023). Interrogating policy processes in education through Statement Archaeology: changes in English religious education.
Paedagogica Historica,
59(3), 446-465.
Abstract:
Interrogating policy processes in education through Statement Archaeology: changes in English religious education
This paper firstly presents Statement Archaeology, an innovative and rigorous method devised to systematically operationalise the approach to historical exploration used by Michel Foucault in pursuit of the question “how do certain practices become possible at particular moments in history?” Drawing on an analysis of the theoretical basis of Foucault’s broad–and arguably equivocal–approach, a series of methodological procedures by which it can be systematically operationalised are set out. These focus on the interrogation of “statements”, through a series of questions, against three criteria: Formation, Transformation, and Correlation. Secondly, through the use of a specific policy development in English Religious Education as an exemplar, the paper establishes the potential of the approach. Deploying Statement Archaeology in relation to this example reveals that the change under investigation became possible at a nexus of changes in the rules of what is thinkable and unthinkable within different domains of discourse, and complex and messy processes of changing legitimacies and normalisations, with previously unacknowledged policy-influencers playing an important role. Many existing accounts of this change have overlooked these matters. The paper concludes by arguing that Statement Archaeology has potential significance in any domain of enquiry that seeks answers to the question “how did this particular practice become possible at that particular moment?”.
Abstract.
Doney J (2022). For God and country: Butler's 1944 Education Act.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION,
51(2), 304-306.
Author URL.
Doney J (2022). Morality and citizenship in English schools: secular approaches 1897-1944.
PAEDAGOGICA HISTORICA,
58(1), 154-156.
Author URL.
Doney J (2022). Religious education and the Anglo-world: the impact of empire, Britishness, and decolonialisation in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION,
44(1), 122-123.
Author URL.
Fujita T, Doney J, Flanagan R, Wegerif R (2021). Collaborative group work in mathematics in the UK and Japan: use of group thinking measure
tests. Education 3-13: the professional journal for primary education, 49, 119-133.
Korsvoll NH, Andersland I, Doney J (2021). Religious Education at Schools in Europe: Parts 4–6—Review. Religion & Education, 48(4), 502-507.
Doney J (2021). Unearthing Ecumenical Influences on Education Policy in England and Norway using Statement Archaeology. Religion & Education, 48(4), 384-396.
Fujita T, Doney J, Wegerif R (2019). Students’ collaborative decision-making processes in defining and classifying quadrilaterals: a semiotic/dialogic approach.
Educational Studies in Mathematics,
101(3), 341-356.
Abstract:
Students’ collaborative decision-making processes in defining and classifying quadrilaterals: a semiotic/dialogic approach
In this paper, we take a semiotic/dialogic approach to investigate how a group of UK 12–13-year-old students work with hierarchical defining and classifying quadrilaterals. Through qualitatively analysing students’ decision-making processes, we found that the students’ decision-making processes are interpreted as transforming their informal/personal semiotic representations of “parallelogram” (object) to more institutional ones. We also found that students’ decision-making was influenced by their inability to see their peers’ points of view dialogically, i.e. requiring a genuine inter-animation of different perspectives such that there is a dialogic switch, and individuals learn to see the problem “as if through eyes of another,” in particular collectively shared definitions of geometrical shapes.
Abstract.
Doney J (2019). The British Council of Churches' Influence on the 'Radical Rethinking of Religious Education' in the 1960s and 1970s.
Studies in Church History,
55, 593-608.
Abstract:
The British Council of Churches' Influence on the 'Radical Rethinking of Religious Education' in the 1960s and 1970s
It is widely accepted that during the later 1960s, Religious Education (RE) in English state-maintained schools underwent a significant transition, moving from a Christian 'confessional' approach to an academic study of world religions. A detailed examination of the activities of the British Council of Churches' Education Department during the period reveals examples of an active promotion of this study of world religions, something that hitherto has been absent from the historiography of RE. For example, the department organized key conferences, meetings and consultations, at which future directions for RE were considered and discussed. A research project undertaken for the department in the later 1960s, which led to the 1968 report Religion and the Secondary School, was prompted by the identification that '[t]oday the needs of children and young people demand a radical rethinking and reshaping of the purpose and method of religious education'. This report included a statement specifically encouraging the study of non-Christian religions, which was repeated in later key documents. This article shows how the British Council of Churches' Education Department played a role in the development of the 'non-confessional' study of world religions in English state-maintained schools from as early as the late 1940s.
Abstract.
Doney J, Freathy R (2018). Editorial: Handing on the Baton. History of Education Researcher, 101, 1-2.
Doney J, Freathy R (2018). Editorial: it’s goodnight from me, and it’s goodnight from him. History of Education Researcher, 102, 47-48.
Freathy R, Doney J (2018). History of Education Teacher?. History of Education Researcher, 102, 49-55.
Wegerif R, Fujita T, Doney J, Perez Linares J, Richards A, van Rhyn C (2017). Developing and trialing a measure of group thinking.
Learning and Instruction,
48, 40-50.
Abstract:
Developing and trialing a measure of group thinking
This paper offers a critical review of the issue of assessing the quality of group thinking, describes the development of a Group Thinking Measure that fills a gap revealed by the literature and illustrates the use of this measure, in combination with interpretative discourse analysis, as a way of distinguishing those behaviors that add value to group thinking from those behaviors that detract value. The Group Thinking Measure combines two tests of equal difficulty, one for individual use and one for use by triads. This enables a measure not only of how well groups are thinking together but also a correlation between individual thinking and group thinking. This innovation gives an indication of whether or not working in a group adds value and so the extent to which a classroom culture supports collaborative thinking.
Abstract.
Doney J, Freathy R (2017). Editorial: Fifty Years On. History of Education Researcher, 99, 1-3.
Freathy R, Doney J (2017). Editorial: Ripping Yarns. History of Education Researcher, 100, 75-77.
Wegerif R, Doney J, Richards A, Mansour N, Larkin S, Jamison I (2017). Exploring the ontological dimension of dialogic education through an evaluation of the impact of Internet mediated dialogue across cultural difference. Society Culture and Social Interaction
Freathy R, Doney J, Freathy G, Walshe K, Teece G (2017). Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education.
British Journal of Educational Studies,
65(4), 425-443.
Abstract:
Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education
This article reconceptualises school teachers and pupils respectively as ‘pedagogical bricoleurs’ and ‘bricolage researchers’ who utilise a multiplicity of theories, concepts, methodologies and pedagogies in teaching and/or researching. This reconceptualization is based on a coalescence of generic curricular and pedagogical principles promoting dialogic, critical and enquiry-based learning. Innovative proposals for reconceptualising the aims, contents and methods of multi-faith Religious Education in English state-maintained schools without a religious affiliation are described, so as to provide an instance of and occasion for the implications of these theories and concepts of learning. With the aim of initiating pupils into the communities of academic enquiry concerned with theology and religious studies, the ‘RE-searchers approach’ to multi-faith Religious Education in primary schools (5-11 year olds) is cited as a highly innovative means of converting these curricular and pedagogical principles and proposals into practical classroom procedures that are characterised by multi-, inter- and supra-disciplinarity; notions of eclecticism, emergence, flexibility and plurality; and theoretical and conceptual complexity, contestation and context-dependence.
Abstract.
Doney J (2017). Studies in Church history, vol 51, Christianity and religious plurality.
JOURNAL OF BELIEFS & VALUES-STUDIES IN RELIGION & EDUCATION,
38(2), 223-224.
Author URL.
Parker S, Freathy R, Doney J (2017). The professionalisation of non-denominational religious education in England: politics, organisation and knowledge (vol 37, pg 201, 2016).
JOURNAL OF BELIEFS & VALUES-STUDIES IN RELIGION & EDUCATION,
38(2), 230-233.
Author URL.
Freathy R, Doney J (2016). Editorial – the evolution of education. History of Education Researcher, 98, 63-65.
Doney J, Freathy R (2016). Editorial: ‘Ad fontes’. History of Education Researcher, 97, 1-3.
Doney J, Parker SG, Freathy R (2016). Enriching the historiography of Religious Education: insights from oral life history.
History of Education,
46(4), 436-458.
Abstract:
Enriching the historiography of Religious Education: insights from oral life history
This article seeks to exemplify the extent to which oral life history research can enrich existing historiographies of English Religious Education (RE). Findings are reported from interviews undertaken with a sample of key informants involved in designing and/or implementing significant curriculum changes in RE in the 1960s and 1970s. The interviews provided insights into personal narratives and biographies that have been marginal to, or excluded from, the historical record. Thematic analysis of the oral life histories opened a window into the world of RE, specifically in relation to professional identity and practice, curriculum development and professional organisations, thereby exposing the operational dynamics of RE at an (inter-)personal and organisational level. The findings are framed by a series of methodological reflections. Overall, oral life histories are shown to be capable of revealing that which was previously hidden and which can be confirmed and contrasted with knowledge gleaned from primary documentary sources.
Abstract.
Doney J (2016). Religious education at schools in Europe Part 2: Western Europe.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION,
38(1), 101-104.
Author URL.
Parker SG, Freathy R, Doney J (2016). The Professionalisation of Non-Denominational Religious Education in England: politics, organisation and knowledge.
Journal of Beliefs and Values: studies in religion and education,
37(2), 201-238.
Abstract:
The Professionalisation of Non-Denominational Religious Education in England: politics, organisation and knowledge
In response to contemporary concerns, and using neglected primary sources, this article explores the professionalisation of teachers of Religious Education (RI/RE) in non-denominational, state-maintained schools in England. It does so from the launch of Religion in Education (1934) and the Institute for Christian Education at Home and Abroad (1935) to the founding of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (1973) and the British Journal of Religious Education (1978). Professionalisation is defined as a collective historical process in terms of three inter-related concepts: (1) professional self-organisation and professional politics, (2) professional knowledge, and (3) initial and continuing professional development. The article sketches the history of non-denominational religious education prior to the focus period, to contextualise the emergence of the professionalising processes under scrutiny. Professional self-organisation and professional politics are explored by reconstructing the origins and history of the Institute of Christian Education at Home and Abroad, which became the principal body offering professional development provision for RI/RE teachers for some fifty years. Professional knowledge is discussed in relation to the content of Religion in Education which was oriented around Christian Idealism and interdenominational networking. Changes in journal name in the 1960s and 1970s reflected uncertainties about the orientation of the subject and shifts in understanding over the nature and character of professional knowledge. The article also explores a particular case of resistance, in the late 1960s, to the prevailing consensus surrounding the nature and purpose of RI/RE, and the representativeness and authority of the pre-eminent professional body of the time. In conclusion, the article examines some implications which may be drawn from this history for the prospects and problems of the professionalisation of RE today.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Doney J (2015). Editorial: Richard Aldrich and the Importance of Historians of Education. History of Education Researcher, 95, 1-4.
Freathy R, Doney J (2015). Editorial: ‘Location, location, location’: Some reflections on geographical and spatial parameters. History of Education Researcher, 96, 53-54.
Doney J (2015). How did it become possible? Supranational Ecumenical developments and changes in Religious Education during the 1960s and 1970s. Nordidactica : Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education, 2015:2, 24-46.
Doney J (2015). Rethinking the History of Education: Transnational Perspectives on its Questions, Methods and Knowledge.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION,
44(2), 245-247.
Author URL.
Doney J (2014). Christian catechetical texts.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION,
43(1), 128-130.
Author URL.
Larkin S, Freathy R, Walshe K, Doney J (2014). Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms.
Journal of Beliefs and Values: studies in religion and education,
35(2), 175-186.
Abstract:
Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms
Recent reports on Religious Education (RE) in England and Wales highlight the
need for guidance on pedagogy and learning. The RE-flect project addressed this
by promoting the creation of metacognitively oriented learning environments in
primary school RE classrooms. Six primary school teachers and 160 pupils
(eight to 10 years of age) took part in the second year of this two year project.
Meta-thinking, worldview and resources zones were created in each classroom.
Attainment in RE and pupil perceptions of the learning environment were
measured. Data from classroom observations, Worldview Profiles (WVP), and
pupil and teacher interviews were analysed qualitatively. Results show an overall
increase in attainment; a positive change in pupil perceptions of the learning
environment; and the ability of pupils to reflect on and articulate their
worldviews. Implications for RE curricular and pedagogy are discussed.
Abstract.
Doney J (2014). On the Edge: (Auto)biography and Pedagogical Theories on Religious Education.
JOURNAL OF BELIEFS & VALUES-STUDIES IN RELIGION & EDUCATION,
35(2), 259-261.
Author URL.
Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (2014). Politics, professionals and practitioners. History of Education, 43(6), 719-723.
Chapters
Doney J (2021). Theorising boundary encounters as a means to understand diffusion of ideas in religious education. In Schweitzer F, Schreiner P (Eds.) International Knowledge Transfer in Religious Education, Münster: Waxmann, 233-246.
Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (2017). Introduction: Politics, professionals and practitioners. In Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (Eds.) Politics, Professionals and Practitioners, London: Routledge.
Larkin S, Freathy R, Walshe KSJ, Doney J (2016). Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms. In Kuusisto A, Lovat T (Eds.) Contemporary Challenges for Religious and Spiritual Education, Abingdon: Routledge, 45-56.
Freathy R, Doney J (2015). History of Education Researcher (UK). In Hernández Huerta JL, Cagnolati A, Diestro Fernández A (Eds.) Connecting History of Education: Scientific Journals as International Tools for a Global World, Salamanca: FahrenHouse, 141-143.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Doney J (2015). Raiders of the Lost Archives: Searching for the Hidden History of Religious Education in England. In Parker SG, Freathy R, Francis LJ (Eds.)
History, Remembrance and Religious Education, Oxford: Peter Lang, 105-137.
Abstract:
Raiders of the Lost Archives: Searching for the Hidden History of Religious Education in England
Abstract.
Doney J (2015). The overlooked ecumenical background to the development of English religious education. In Parker SG, Freathy R, Francis L (Eds.) History, Remembrance and Religious Education, Oxford: Peter Lang, 139-166.
Conferences
Fujita T, Doney J, Wegerif R (2017). Dialogic processes in collective geometric thinking: a case of defining and classifying quadrilaterals.
Author URL.
Reports
Freathy G, Freathy R, Doney J, Walshe K, Teece G (2015). The RE-searchers: a New Approach to Primary Religious Education. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Publications by year
2023
Doney J (2023). Interrogating policy processes in education through Statement Archaeology: changes in English religious education.
Paedagogica Historica,
59(3), 446-465.
Abstract:
Interrogating policy processes in education through Statement Archaeology: changes in English religious education
This paper firstly presents Statement Archaeology, an innovative and rigorous method devised to systematically operationalise the approach to historical exploration used by Michel Foucault in pursuit of the question “how do certain practices become possible at particular moments in history?” Drawing on an analysis of the theoretical basis of Foucault’s broad–and arguably equivocal–approach, a series of methodological procedures by which it can be systematically operationalised are set out. These focus on the interrogation of “statements”, through a series of questions, against three criteria: Formation, Transformation, and Correlation. Secondly, through the use of a specific policy development in English Religious Education as an exemplar, the paper establishes the potential of the approach. Deploying Statement Archaeology in relation to this example reveals that the change under investigation became possible at a nexus of changes in the rules of what is thinkable and unthinkable within different domains of discourse, and complex and messy processes of changing legitimacies and normalisations, with previously unacknowledged policy-influencers playing an important role. Many existing accounts of this change have overlooked these matters. The paper concludes by arguing that Statement Archaeology has potential significance in any domain of enquiry that seeks answers to the question “how did this particular practice become possible at that particular moment?”.
Abstract.
2022
Doney J (2022). For God and country: Butler's 1944 Education Act.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION,
51(2), 304-306.
Author URL.
Doney J (2022). Morality and citizenship in English schools: secular approaches 1897-1944.
PAEDAGOGICA HISTORICA,
58(1), 154-156.
Author URL.
Doney J (2022). Religious education and the Anglo-world: the impact of empire, Britishness, and decolonialisation in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION,
44(1), 122-123.
Author URL.
2021
Fujita T, Doney J, Flanagan R, Wegerif R (2021). Collaborative group work in mathematics in the UK and Japan: use of group thinking measure
tests. Education 3-13: the professional journal for primary education, 49, 119-133.
Korsvoll NH, Andersland I, Doney J (2021). Religious Education at Schools in Europe: Parts 4–6—Review. Religion & Education, 48(4), 502-507.
Doney J (2021). Theorising boundary encounters as a means to understand diffusion of ideas in religious education. In Schweitzer F, Schreiner P (Eds.) International Knowledge Transfer in Religious Education, Münster: Waxmann, 233-246.
Doney J (2021). Unearthing Ecumenical Influences on Education Policy in England and Norway using Statement Archaeology. Religion & Education, 48(4), 384-396.
2020
Doney J (2020).
Unearthing Policies of Instrumentalization in English Religious Education Using Statement Archaeology., Routledge Research in Education Policy and Politics.
Abstract:
Unearthing Policies of Instrumentalization in English Religious Education Using Statement Archaeology
Abstract.
2019
Larkin S, Freathy R, Doney J, Freathy G (2019).
Metacognition, Worldviews and Religious Education a Practical Guide for Teachers, 1st Edition. Oxford, Routledge.
Abstract:
Metacognition, Worldviews and Religious Education a Practical Guide for Teachers, 1st Edition
Abstract.
Author URL.
Fujita T, Doney J, Wegerif R (2019). Students’ collaborative decision-making processes in defining and classifying quadrilaterals: a semiotic/dialogic approach.
Educational Studies in Mathematics,
101(3), 341-356.
Abstract:
Students’ collaborative decision-making processes in defining and classifying quadrilaterals: a semiotic/dialogic approach
In this paper, we take a semiotic/dialogic approach to investigate how a group of UK 12–13-year-old students work with hierarchical defining and classifying quadrilaterals. Through qualitatively analysing students’ decision-making processes, we found that the students’ decision-making processes are interpreted as transforming their informal/personal semiotic representations of “parallelogram” (object) to more institutional ones. We also found that students’ decision-making was influenced by their inability to see their peers’ points of view dialogically, i.e. requiring a genuine inter-animation of different perspectives such that there is a dialogic switch, and individuals learn to see the problem “as if through eyes of another,” in particular collectively shared definitions of geometrical shapes.
Abstract.
Doney J (2019). The British Council of Churches' Influence on the 'Radical Rethinking of Religious Education' in the 1960s and 1970s.
Studies in Church History,
55, 593-608.
Abstract:
The British Council of Churches' Influence on the 'Radical Rethinking of Religious Education' in the 1960s and 1970s
It is widely accepted that during the later 1960s, Religious Education (RE) in English state-maintained schools underwent a significant transition, moving from a Christian 'confessional' approach to an academic study of world religions. A detailed examination of the activities of the British Council of Churches' Education Department during the period reveals examples of an active promotion of this study of world religions, something that hitherto has been absent from the historiography of RE. For example, the department organized key conferences, meetings and consultations, at which future directions for RE were considered and discussed. A research project undertaken for the department in the later 1960s, which led to the 1968 report Religion and the Secondary School, was prompted by the identification that '[t]oday the needs of children and young people demand a radical rethinking and reshaping of the purpose and method of religious education'. This report included a statement specifically encouraging the study of non-Christian religions, which was repeated in later key documents. This article shows how the British Council of Churches' Education Department played a role in the development of the 'non-confessional' study of world religions in English state-maintained schools from as early as the late 1940s.
Abstract.
2018
Doney J, Freathy R (2018). Editorial: Handing on the Baton. History of Education Researcher, 101, 1-2.
Doney J, Freathy R (2018). Editorial: it’s goodnight from me, and it’s goodnight from him. History of Education Researcher, 102, 47-48.
Freathy R, Doney J (2018). History of Education Teacher?. History of Education Researcher, 102, 49-55.
2017
Wegerif R, Fujita T, Doney J, Perez Linares J, Richards A, van Rhyn C (2017). Developing and trialing a measure of group thinking.
Learning and Instruction,
48, 40-50.
Abstract:
Developing and trialing a measure of group thinking
This paper offers a critical review of the issue of assessing the quality of group thinking, describes the development of a Group Thinking Measure that fills a gap revealed by the literature and illustrates the use of this measure, in combination with interpretative discourse analysis, as a way of distinguishing those behaviors that add value to group thinking from those behaviors that detract value. The Group Thinking Measure combines two tests of equal difficulty, one for individual use and one for use by triads. This enables a measure not only of how well groups are thinking together but also a correlation between individual thinking and group thinking. This innovation gives an indication of whether or not working in a group adds value and so the extent to which a classroom culture supports collaborative thinking.
Abstract.
Fujita T, Doney J, Wegerif R (2017). Dialogic processes in collective geometric thinking: a case of defining and classifying quadrilaterals.
Author URL.
Doney J, Freathy R (2017). Editorial: Fifty Years On. History of Education Researcher, 99, 1-3.
Freathy R, Doney J (2017). Editorial: Ripping Yarns. History of Education Researcher, 100, 75-77.
Wegerif R, Doney J, Richards A, Mansour N, Larkin S, Jamison I (2017). Exploring the ontological dimension of dialogic education through an evaluation of the impact of Internet mediated dialogue across cultural difference. Society Culture and Social Interaction
Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (2017). Introduction: Politics, professionals and practitioners. In Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (Eds.) Politics, Professionals and Practitioners, London: Routledge.
Freathy R, Doney J, Freathy G, Walshe K, Teece G (2017). Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education.
British Journal of Educational Studies,
65(4), 425-443.
Abstract:
Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education
This article reconceptualises school teachers and pupils respectively as ‘pedagogical bricoleurs’ and ‘bricolage researchers’ who utilise a multiplicity of theories, concepts, methodologies and pedagogies in teaching and/or researching. This reconceptualization is based on a coalescence of generic curricular and pedagogical principles promoting dialogic, critical and enquiry-based learning. Innovative proposals for reconceptualising the aims, contents and methods of multi-faith Religious Education in English state-maintained schools without a religious affiliation are described, so as to provide an instance of and occasion for the implications of these theories and concepts of learning. With the aim of initiating pupils into the communities of academic enquiry concerned with theology and religious studies, the ‘RE-searchers approach’ to multi-faith Religious Education in primary schools (5-11 year olds) is cited as a highly innovative means of converting these curricular and pedagogical principles and proposals into practical classroom procedures that are characterised by multi-, inter- and supra-disciplinarity; notions of eclecticism, emergence, flexibility and plurality; and theoretical and conceptual complexity, contestation and context-dependence.
Abstract.
Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (2017). Politics, Professionals and Practitioners. London, Routledge.
Doney J (2017). Studies in Church history, vol 51, Christianity and religious plurality.
JOURNAL OF BELIEFS & VALUES-STUDIES IN RELIGION & EDUCATION,
38(2), 223-224.
Author URL.
Parker S, Freathy R, Doney J (2017). The professionalisation of non-denominational religious education in England: politics, organisation and knowledge (vol 37, pg 201, 2016).
JOURNAL OF BELIEFS & VALUES-STUDIES IN RELIGION & EDUCATION,
38(2), 230-233.
Author URL.
2016
Larkin S, Freathy R, Walshe KSJ, Doney J (2016). Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms. In Kuusisto A, Lovat T (Eds.) Contemporary Challenges for Religious and Spiritual Education, Abingdon: Routledge, 45-56.
Freathy R, Doney J (2016). Editorial – the evolution of education. History of Education Researcher, 98, 63-65.
Doney J, Freathy R (2016). Editorial: ‘Ad fontes’. History of Education Researcher, 97, 1-3.
Doney J, Parker SG, Freathy R (2016). Enriching the historiography of Religious Education: insights from oral life history.
History of Education,
46(4), 436-458.
Abstract:
Enriching the historiography of Religious Education: insights from oral life history
This article seeks to exemplify the extent to which oral life history research can enrich existing historiographies of English Religious Education (RE). Findings are reported from interviews undertaken with a sample of key informants involved in designing and/or implementing significant curriculum changes in RE in the 1960s and 1970s. The interviews provided insights into personal narratives and biographies that have been marginal to, or excluded from, the historical record. Thematic analysis of the oral life histories opened a window into the world of RE, specifically in relation to professional identity and practice, curriculum development and professional organisations, thereby exposing the operational dynamics of RE at an (inter-)personal and organisational level. The findings are framed by a series of methodological reflections. Overall, oral life histories are shown to be capable of revealing that which was previously hidden and which can be confirmed and contrasted with knowledge gleaned from primary documentary sources.
Abstract.
Doney J (2016). Religious education at schools in Europe Part 2: Western Europe.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION,
38(1), 101-104.
Author URL.
Parker SG, Freathy R, Doney J (2016). The Professionalisation of Non-Denominational Religious Education in England: politics, organisation and knowledge.
Journal of Beliefs and Values: studies in religion and education,
37(2), 201-238.
Abstract:
The Professionalisation of Non-Denominational Religious Education in England: politics, organisation and knowledge
In response to contemporary concerns, and using neglected primary sources, this article explores the professionalisation of teachers of Religious Education (RI/RE) in non-denominational, state-maintained schools in England. It does so from the launch of Religion in Education (1934) and the Institute for Christian Education at Home and Abroad (1935) to the founding of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (1973) and the British Journal of Religious Education (1978). Professionalisation is defined as a collective historical process in terms of three inter-related concepts: (1) professional self-organisation and professional politics, (2) professional knowledge, and (3) initial and continuing professional development. The article sketches the history of non-denominational religious education prior to the focus period, to contextualise the emergence of the professionalising processes under scrutiny. Professional self-organisation and professional politics are explored by reconstructing the origins and history of the Institute of Christian Education at Home and Abroad, which became the principal body offering professional development provision for RI/RE teachers for some fifty years. Professional knowledge is discussed in relation to the content of Religion in Education which was oriented around Christian Idealism and interdenominational networking. Changes in journal name in the 1960s and 1970s reflected uncertainties about the orientation of the subject and shifts in understanding over the nature and character of professional knowledge. The article also explores a particular case of resistance, in the late 1960s, to the prevailing consensus surrounding the nature and purpose of RI/RE, and the representativeness and authority of the pre-eminent professional body of the time. In conclusion, the article examines some implications which may be drawn from this history for the prospects and problems of the professionalisation of RE today.
Abstract.
2015
Freathy R, Doney J (2015). Editorial: Richard Aldrich and the Importance of Historians of Education. History of Education Researcher, 95, 1-4.
Freathy R, Doney J (2015). Editorial: ‘Location, location, location’: Some reflections on geographical and spatial parameters. History of Education Researcher, 96, 53-54.
Freathy R, Doney J (2015). History of Education Researcher (UK). In Hernández Huerta JL, Cagnolati A, Diestro Fernández A (Eds.) Connecting History of Education: Scientific Journals as International Tools for a Global World, Salamanca: FahrenHouse, 141-143.
Doney J (2015). How did it become possible? Supranational Ecumenical developments and changes in Religious Education during the 1960s and 1970s. Nordidactica : Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education, 2015:2, 24-46.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Doney J (2015). Raiders of the Lost Archives: Searching for the Hidden History of Religious Education in England. In Parker SG, Freathy R, Francis LJ (Eds.)
History, Remembrance and Religious Education, Oxford: Peter Lang, 105-137.
Abstract:
Raiders of the Lost Archives: Searching for the Hidden History of Religious Education in England
Abstract.
Doney J (2015). Rethinking the History of Education: Transnational Perspectives on its Questions, Methods and Knowledge.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION,
44(2), 245-247.
Author URL.
Freathy G, Freathy R, Doney J, Walshe K, Teece G (2015). The RE-searchers: a New Approach to Primary Religious Education. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Doney J (2015). The overlooked ecumenical background to the development of English religious education. In Parker SG, Freathy R, Francis L (Eds.) History, Remembrance and Religious Education, Oxford: Peter Lang, 139-166.
2014
Doney J (2014). Christian catechetical texts.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION,
43(1), 128-130.
Author URL.
Larkin S, Freathy R, Walshe K, Doney J (2014). Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms.
Journal of Beliefs and Values: studies in religion and education,
35(2), 175-186.
Abstract:
Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms
Recent reports on Religious Education (RE) in England and Wales highlight the
need for guidance on pedagogy and learning. The RE-flect project addressed this
by promoting the creation of metacognitively oriented learning environments in
primary school RE classrooms. Six primary school teachers and 160 pupils
(eight to 10 years of age) took part in the second year of this two year project.
Meta-thinking, worldview and resources zones were created in each classroom.
Attainment in RE and pupil perceptions of the learning environment were
measured. Data from classroom observations, Worldview Profiles (WVP), and
pupil and teacher interviews were analysed qualitatively. Results show an overall
increase in attainment; a positive change in pupil perceptions of the learning
environment; and the ability of pupils to reflect on and articulate their
worldviews. Implications for RE curricular and pedagogy are discussed.
Abstract.
Doney J (2014). On the Edge: (Auto)biography and Pedagogical Theories on Religious Education.
JOURNAL OF BELIEFS & VALUES-STUDIES IN RELIGION & EDUCATION,
35(2), 259-261.
Author URL.
Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (2014). Politics, professionals and practitioners. History of Education, 43(6), 719-723.
jonathan_doney Details from cache as at 2023-05-28 18:25:19
Refresh publications
External Engagement and Impact
Awards/Honorary fellowships
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President of the History of Education Society (UK)
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Member of the RE Research Group at NTNU, Norway
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Member the International Seminar on Religions, Education and Values (ISREV) and the Nordic RE Network
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Member of International Standing Conference on History of Education (ISCHE)
- Honorary Research Associate with the International Centre for Historical Research in Education (ICHRE) at IOE/UCL
- Awarded funding to attend conferences and summer schools during doctoral study, including three Postgraduate Bursaries and a Brian Simon Bursary from The History of Education Society (totalling approx. £3.5k)
- Awarded a Santander Postgraduate scholarship (2015) to further develop international RE networks with Nordic contacts (£1k)
Advice to Government, Parliament, devolved and English regional administrations, other national, international, regional or local agencies; advice to non-government organisations and to private practice
- Invited participant in Round Table discussions discussions the Royal Society, British Academy and DFE, with others, on the development of an ‘Office for Educational Research’.
- Historical Consultant to Foundation for Education Development (FED)
Competitively funded studentships and postdoctoral fellowships
- ESRC Studentship (1+3 years, 2011-2015) Approximate value £54k plus tuition fees
- British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (2016-19), £240k over 3 years
Conferences and invited presentations
Invited Lectures
Doney, J. (2019) Unearthing Ecumenical Influences on Education Policy using Statement Archaeology. Invited contribution to symposium on ‘A comparative exploration of the role of religious history in forming educational systems of Europe and beyond: possible implications for RE today’, held at NTNU, Trondheim, June 2019.
Doney, J. (2019), Religious Education Policy in Norway and England – a comparison using Statement Archaeology. Invited lecture at International Collaboration on Religious Education policy between University of Exeter and NLA University College, Bergen, held in Exeter, June 2019.
Doney, J. (2019), The Commission on Religious Education Final Report – a Statement Archaeology. Invited lecture at International Collaboration on Initial Teacher Education in Religious Education between University of Exeter, University of Eastern Finland, and University of Helsinki, held in Exeter, May 2019.
Doney, J. (2018), International Transfer of Valid Knowledge in Religious Education: The Case of England and Norway. Invited lecture at Consultation on International Knowledge Transfer, Comenius Institute and Tübingen University, held in Berlin, October 2018.
Doney, J. (2018), Religious Education and the Education Reform Act 1988. Invited lecture at Roehampton University for BERA event ‘The Significance and Enduring Legacies of the 1988 Education Reform Act.
Doney, J. (2018) Interrogating policy processes in education: opening up ways of thinking about what, why and how. A practical exploration. Invited workshop session for EERA Histories of Education Doctoral Summer School, University of Latvia, Riga.
Doney, J. (2017), ‘Religious Education in British Schools’, invited lecture at De Paul University, Chicago, US.
Doney, J. (2015) ‘The development of multi-faith RE in England: Insights for Norwegian histories of RE’, invited presentation at Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway.
Doney, J. (2015) ‘Asking different questions: Post-structural Methods for Histories of Curriculum Development’, invited presentation at International Centre for Historical Research in Education (ICHRE), lunchtime seminar series, March 2015.
Doney, J. (2015) ‘Beyond inter-national comparisons: Can prioritising supranational ideas over nation-state boundaries tell us more? The case of Religious Education’, invited presentation at International Symposium on ‘Teacher Professionalization and the Professional Quality of Religious Education’, held at The University of Exeter, March 2015.
Doney, J (2014) ‘Del odio al amor de la socialización religiosa al estudio de las religiones de mundo: el cambio de naturaleza de la educación religiosa en un país democrático durante los años 60 y 70’ [From ‘hatred’ to ‘love’, from Religious socialization to the study of world faiths: The changing nature of Religious Education in a democratic country during the 1960s and 1970s]. Invited lecture at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, November 2014.
Freathy, R. and Doney, J. (2013) 'The Hidden History of Religious Education: Methodological issues’, invited presentation as part of the 'Spotlight on Social Science Research’. University of Exeter CSSIS Research Methods Festival, May 2013.
Doney J. (2012) 'Fostering Metacognition in Religious Education', invited keynote speaker at Westhill Trust Seminars, 2011 Series: ‘The Primary RE Curriculum: Current directions’. Bristol. March 2012.
Conference Presentations
Doney, J. (2017) ‘State Mandated Plural Religious Education in the UK. Using Statement Archaeology to expose how changes in practice became possible’. History of Education Society (US) Conference, Little Rock, Arkansas, US, November 2017.
Doney, J. (2017) ‘Digging Deeper into the History of Religious Education using Statement Archaeology’. History of Education Society Conference, Winchester, November 2017.
Doney, J. (2017) ‘‘Leaders, Letters and Legislation’: The role of the print media in establishing support for the introduction of compulsory religious education in the 1940s’. International Centre for Research in History of Education (ICHRE), UCL, London, June 2017.
Doney, J. (2016) ‘‘Dear Dr Hertz’ Correspondence between the President of the Board of Education and the Chief Rabbi regarding the development of the 1944 Education Act’. History of Education Society Conference, Exeter, November 2016.
Doney, J. and Wegerif, R. (2016), ‘Extreme measures? Evaluating an educational programme of international dialogue which aims to develop open-mindedness, particularly across religious divides. International Conference on Values and Education, The University of Winchester, September 2016.
Doney, J., Wegerif, R., and Gianchi, G. (2016) ‘Exploring the Pedagogical Affordances of Immersive Virtual Reality in the context of developing Training for Airline Cabin Crew.’ European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Dublin, August 2016.
Wegerif, R., Fujita, T., Doney, J., and Richards, A. (2016) ‘Measuring Group Thinking.’ European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Dublin, August 2016.
Doney, J. (2016) ‘Indoctrination, Instrumentalization, and Ideology: The Story of English Religious Education’. International Centre for Historical Research in Education (ICHRE) Summer Conference, London, July 2016.
Doney, J. (2016) ‘Statement Archaeology: Post-structural theories in historical studies’. University of Exeter, GSE Annual Conference, April 2016.
Doney, J. (2015) ‘Compulsory Religious Education in England: Legalised Indoctrination?’. URL, University of Exeter, December 10th 2015.
Doney, J. (2015) ‘Its. Oh. So. Quiet. The marginalization and de-marginalization of education within Ecumenical discourses during the mid-twentieth century.’ History of Education Society Conference, Liverpool, November 2015.
Doney, J. (2015) ‘Post-structural Methods Meet Histories of Curriculum Development’. University of Exeter, GSE Annual Conference, May 2015.
Doney, J. (2014) ‘Ideas do not need passports. Tracing the transmission of ideas ‘beyond borders’; the case of Religious Education’, History of Education Society Conference, Dublin, November 2014.
Doney, J. (2014) ‘In dialogue with Althusser: Ideological State Apparatus and its intersection with English Religious Education’, International Seminar on Education Religions and Values (ISREV), York, August 2014.
Doney, J. (2014) ‘From Enemy to Ally: Ecumenical reconstruction of the 'religious other' and the adoption of world religions teaching in English Schools during the 1960s and 1970s’, International Standing Committee on the History of Education (ISCHE), London, July 2014
Doney, J. (2014) ‘Problematizing existing narratives of English Religious Education. Is it really about the transformation from confessionalism to post-confessionalism? Is ‘Ideology’ a more useful framework?’, University of Exeter, GSE Annual Conference, May 2014.
Doney, J. (2013). 'Its. Oh. So. Quiet.': The Marginalisation and De-marginalisation of Education within the Ecumenical Discourse During the Mid-Twentieth Century. ESRC SWDTC Student Conference: Knowledge Beyond Borders, November 2013.
Allan, A. and Doney, J. (2013) ‘Travel scholarship schemes and the development of global citizenship in high achieving girls.’ History of Education Society Conference, Exeter, 22nd to 24th November 2013.
Doney, J. and Freathy, R. (2013) ‘Testimonies, teaching and testaments’; using Oral History interviews to enrich the historiography of English Religious Education.’ History of Education Society Conference, Exeter November 2013
Doney, J. (2013) 'Transcending National Boundaries: Ecumenical developments and changes in Religious Education during the 1960s and 1970s.' Nordic RE Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland, June 2013.
Doney, J. (2013) ‘Local Manifestations of Supranational ideas: Ecumenical Developments and Schools Council Working Paper 36’, University of Exeter SSIS Annual Student Conference, May 2013.
Doney, J. (2012) 'The 'Birth' of 'Post-confessional', multi-faith RE in English Schools: A Foucaultian analysis of educational and ecumenical discourses’, History of Education Annual Conference, Winchester, Dec 2012.
Doney, J. (2012) ‘The overlooked ecumenical background to the development of English RE’, International Seminar on Education Religions and Values (ISREV), Turku, Finland, Aug 2012.
Parker, S., Freathy, R., and Doney, J. (2102) ‘The Christian Education Movement, c.1965 to 1980’, International Seminar on Education Religions and Values (ISREV), Turku, Finland, Aug 2012.
Doney, J. (2012) ‘Exploring the overlooked ecumenical background to the development of English RE - methodological issues and International perspectives’, European Education Research Association (EERA) Summer School, Lisbon University, Portugal, June 2012.
Doney, J. (2012) 'Through Dialogue and Collaboration; a critique of the existing historiography of English Religious Education', Festival of Research, Exeter University, May 2012.
International recognition, such as international research collaborations, visiting research posts in overseas institutions, involvement at senior levels in international research associations, acting as referee for national and international research councils.
- Involved in international project on transfer of valid knowledge in religious education based at the Comenius Institute and Tübingen University, Germany.
- Involved in international project on international policy development in religious education at the University of Stockholm.
Journal and book series Editorships and Editorial board membership
Previously co-Editor History of Education Researcher
Editor of Sources and Interpretations for History of Education
Vice-President and Trustee of History of Education Society
Member of Publications Committee, British Educational Research Association (BERA)
