Publications by category
Books
Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (2023). How to Improve Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries. Munster, Waxmann.
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.
Parker SG, Freathy R, Francis LJ (2015). History, Remembrance and Religious Education. Oxford, Peter Lang.
Freathy R, Reed ED, Davis A, Cornwall S (2014). The Art of Bible Reading: Student Edition. Buxhall, Kevin Mayhew Ltd.
Freathy R, Reed ED, Davis A, Cornwall S (2014). The Art of Bible Reading: Teacher Edition. Buxhall, Kevin Mayhew Ltd.
Parker S, Freathy R, Francis LJ (2012). Religious Education and Freedom of Religion and Belief. Oxford, Peter Lang.
Journal articles
Freathy R, Dunkley H (2022). Realising the potential of RE: representation, reflection and research. RE Today, 40(1), 10-11.
Freathy R (2022). Translating the RE-searchers Approach. Prismet, 73(1-2), 141-144.
Chittenden C, Dinh P, Hawkins B, Freathy R, Vukusic P (2021). A partnership approach to pandemic policy: building student confidence in the wake of Covid-19. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education(22).
Parker S, Allen S, Freathy R (2020). The Church of England and the 1870 Elementary Education Act. British Journal of Educational Studies, 68(5), 541-565.
Freathy R, John HC (2020). Worldviews and Big Ideas: a Way Forward for Religious Education?.
Nordidactica : Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education,
2019, 1-27.
Abstract:
Worldviews and Big Ideas: a Way Forward for Religious Education?
This article explores the position of ‘worldviews’ in Religious Education, using England as a particular case study to illustrate contemporary international debates about the future of Religious Education (or equivalent subjects). The final report of the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE 2018) – which recommended that the subject name in England be changed from ‘Religious Education’ to ‘Religion and Worldviews’ – provides a stimulus for a discussion about the future of the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) in schools. The article offers a review of, and reflections on, the worldviews issue as treated in academic literature relating to Religious Education, before noting the challenges that the incorporation of worldviews presents. The article goes on to suggest ways in which a ‘Big Ideas’ approach to the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) (Wiggins and McTighe 1998; Wintersgill 2017; Freathy and John 2019) might provide criteria by which worldviews are selected for curriculum content. Finally, the article discusses what the implications of these recommendations might be for ‘Religion and Worldviews’ teachers and teaching.
Abstract.
John H, Freathy R (2019). A Case Study in Biblical Interpretation: knowledge, knower and knowing (part 2). REToday, 36, 58-63.
Freathy R, Jackson R (2019). Jack Priestley (1935–2018). British Journal of Religious Education, 41, 240-242.
John HC, Freathy R (2019). The Country of the Blind: knowledge, knower and knowing (part 1). REToday, 36, 49-53.
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.
Freathy R, John HC (2018). Religious Education, Big Ideas and the study of religion(s) and worldview(s).
British Journal of Religious Education,
41(1), 27-40.
Abstract:
Religious Education, Big Ideas and the study of religion(s) and worldview(s)
Christian Education. This article outlines the ‘Big Ideas’ approach to curriculum reform, as applied in the ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ project. A critical analysis follows of the outcomes of the University of Exeter’s ‘Identifying Principles and Big Ideas for Religious Education’ project, which sought to apply the same approach to Religious Education (RE) in English schools. This project made great headway in generating ‘Big Ideas’ to inform and improve the selection and sequencing of RE curriculum content. However, its primary focus on subject content knowledge means that ‘Big Ideas’ about epistemology and methodology are lacking. The article recommends an additional focus on multi-disciplinary, multi-methodological, inquiry-based, reflexive learning, which would ask why, how, where and by whom our ‘knowledge’ of religion(s) and worldview(s) is generated. In this regard, the article posits four ‘Big Ideas about the study of religion(s) and worldview(s)’ to highlight the symbiotic relationship between knowledge and knower, and to reject the false dichotomy between the object of study and method of study. In so doing, it draws upon the theoretical framework underpinning the ‘RE-searchers approach’ to primary school RE, which correspondingly exemplifies how such ideas can be taught in practice.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Davis A (2018). Theology in multi-faith Religious Education: a taboo to be broken?.
Research Papers in Education(6), 749-768.
Abstract:
Theology in multi-faith Religious Education: a taboo to be broken?
This article discusses the place of ‘theology’ in multi-faith Religious Education (RE) in English schools without a religious affiliation, highlighting reasons for its sometimes taboo-status, particularly since the emergence of Ninian Smart’s phenomenological approach to Religious Studies in the late 1960s. The article explores a diversity of definitions of theology within specific professional and ecclesiastical discourses, and recasts recent debates by focusing not on whether theology and theological inquiry should contribute to so-called ‘non-confessional’ RE, but on how different forms of theology and theological inquiry might do so legitimately. In the process, the article challenges binary oppositions that have traditionally distinguished the disciplines of Theology from Religious Studies, and argues in favour of the application of various forms of theology and theological inquiry within a critical, dialogic and inquiry-led approach to multi-faith RE. What this might mean in practice is discussed with regard to three concepts: positionality, empathy and critique. Ultimately, multi-faith RE is characterised as occupying a liminal space betwixt and between disciplinary, interpretative and methodological perspectives involved in the study of religion(s) and worldview(s).
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.
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.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2016). Conceptualizing and Researching the Professionalization of Religious Education Teachers: Historical and International Perspectives.
British Journal of Religious Education,
38(2), 114-129.
Abstract:
Conceptualizing and Researching the Professionalization of Religious Education Teachers: Historical and International Perspectives
Current discussions on Religious Education (RE), both in Germany and England, focus on the quality of teaching and the professionality of teachers, but neglect the historical and institutional process of professionalization upon which conceptions of teaching quality and teacher professionality hinge. This article seeks to provide definitional clarity by differentiating between individual and collective professionalization; exploring teacher professionalization in general and in the special case of RE; and operationalizing the concept of RE teacher professionalization for the purposes of planned historical and international comparative research. A three-fold conceptualization of professionalization is proposed, consisting of the following inter-related levels: (1) initial and continuing
professional development; (2) professional self-organization and professional politics; and (3) professional knowledge. The breadth, complexity and significance of the historical and institutional processes associated with the professionalization of RE teachers at each of these levels is described and discussed. It is argued that further historical and international comparative research on these lines would contribute a broader and deeper understanding of the presuppositions of RE teacher professionality beyond current debates.
Abstract.
Simojoki, H, Schweitzer F, Parker SG, Freathy R (2016). Die Professionalisierung des Religionslehrerberufs als Aufgabe und Gegenstand religionspädagogischer Forschung. Historische und systematische Perspektiven. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik und Theologie, 68(2), 135-152.
Simojoki H, Schweitzer F, Parker SG, Freathy R (2016). Editorial. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik und Theologie, 68(2), 131-133.
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.
Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Simojoki H, Parker SG (2016). Professionalisierung des Religionslehrerberufs - Ein neues Forschungsprojekt. Entwurf, 4, 63-64.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2016). Professionalism, Professionalization and Professionality in Religious Education. British Journal of Religious Education, 38(2), 111-113.
Reader J, Freathy R (2016). Technology and education: theoretical reflections exemplified in Religious Education.
Journal of Beliefs and Values,
37(3), 320-333.
Abstract:
Technology and education: theoretical reflections exemplified in Religious Education
How do recent technological advances impact upon the field of education? This article examines the work of the philosopher of technology Bernard Stiegler and his interpretation of technology as pharmakon (both remedy and poison). This is linked to threshold concept theory which advocates more creative ways of learning, and illustrated through a practical example from a new approach to Religious Education (RE). It will be argued that it is possible to construct educational assemblages more conducive to personal and spiritual development.
Abstract.
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, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2016). The professionalisation of RE teachers: a process in progress?. Retoday, 33(3).
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, Parker SG (2015). Prospects and Problems for Religious Education in England, 1967-1970: curriculum reform in political context.
Journal of Beliefs & Values,
36(1), 5-30.
Abstract:
Prospects and Problems for Religious Education in England, 1967-1970: curriculum reform in political context
This article provides an historical case study of an abortive attempt to revise policy and legislation relating to Religious Education in English schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing upon published sources, including parliamentary debates, as well as previously unutilised national archival sources from the Department of Education and Science, it comments upon events which have hitherto been omitted from the historiography of Religious Education, but which help to contextualise significant changes in Religious Education theory and practice at that time. Moreover, it demonstrates that the current parlous state of Religious Education in schools is in part the result of latent and longstanding issues and problems, rather than a consequence of present-day government policy alone. Therefore, in reviewing and developing Religious Education policies and practices, all stakeholders are urged to look more closely at both changes and continuities in the subject’s past and the contexts in which they occurred.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Reed ED, Davis A (2015). The Art of Bible Reading: a New Approach.
REToday,
32(2), 45-48.
Abstract:
The Art of Bible Reading: a New Approach
The status, age and multi-layered nature of the Bible have always made it challenging to teach in an open, exploratory way in the classroom. A collaborative research project between the University of Exeter and the Bible Society has been exploring how art can be a stimulus for teaching biblical stories in RE.
Abstract.
Parker SG, Freathy R, Aldridge D (2015). The Future of Religious Education: crisis, reform and iconoclasm. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 36(1), 1-4.
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.
Freathy R, Doney J (2014). Editorial. History of Education Researcher, 93, 1-3.
Freathy R, Doney J (2014). Editorial: the metaphors we work with. History of Education Researcher, 94, 37-39.
Freathy R, Freathy G (2014). Initiating children into hermeneutical discourses in Religious Education: a response to Rachel Cope and Julian Stern.
Journal for the Study of Spirituality,
3(2), 156-167.
Abstract:
Initiating children into hermeneutical discourses in Religious Education: a response to Rachel Cope and Julian Stern
In response to previous articles in this journal by Rachel Cope and Julian
Stern, and using an example of classroom practice, this article promotes a
form of multi-faith religious education in which primary-school pupils (age
5–11) are re-conceived as joint researchers working alongside their teachers,
through processes of imaginative and empathetic dialogue, to investigate
the effectiveness of different methodologies and methods of studying
religion(s). This pedagogical strategy seeks to teach pupils the disciplinary
knowledge and skills associated with the communities of academic practice
concerned with theological and religious studies, and more specifically to
initiate them into the hermeneutical discourses which underlie theological
and religious research and teaching. Moreover, it is argued that some of the
suggested practices could be applied to the study of spirituality in any
context and could contribute to the spiritual development of participants.
Abstract.
Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (2014). Politics, professionals and practitioners. History of Education, 43(6), 719-723.
Freathy R, Reed ED, Davis A (2014). The Art of Bible Reading: a Narrative Approach. Dialogue Australasia, 32, 1-3.
Freathy G, Freathy R (2014). The RE-searchers: promoting methodologically orientated RE in primary schools. REtoday, 31(3), 50-51.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2014). Towards international comparative research on the professionalization of Religious Education.
Journal of Beliefs and Values: studies in religion and education,
35(2), 225-241.
Abstract:
Towards international comparative research on the professionalization of Religious Education
This article calls for international comparative research on the professionalisation
of Religious Education (RE). To this end, it provides a rationale for focusing
upon the concept of professionalisation and a theoretical justification for
international comparative research, particularly identifying its significance in
terms of the development of RE in England and Germany. The article outlines a
methodology for exploring the concepts of professional knowledge, professional
self-organisation and politics and professional development. The proposed
methodology involves a systematic analysis of primary documentary sources
including: (1) academic and professional journal articles and textbooks; (2) the
archives of relevant institutions and organisations; and (3) external evidence,
such as inspection and research reports. An analytical case study of two leading
journals in each national context, Religion in Education in England and Der
Evangelische Erzieher in Germany, in the immediate post-war era is appended to
illustrate the benefits of implementing such a methodology across national
boundaries.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Freathy G (2013). Initiating Children into Hermeneutical Discourses in Religious Education. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 3(2), 156-167.
Reed ED, Freathy RJK, Cornwall S, Davis A (2013). Narrative theology in Religious Education.
British Journal of Religious Education,
35(3), 297-312.
Abstract:
Narrative theology in Religious Education
This article advocates a pedagogy of Religious Education (RE) based
upon a narratival framework informed by both narrative theology and
narrative philosophy. Drawing on the work of narrative theologians
including Stanley Hauerwas, the article outlines the nature of the framework,
describes the four phases of learning that comprise the pedagogy,
and explains how such an approach can overcome existing difficulties in
how biblical texts are handled within RE. Working from the narrative
assumption that individuals and communities are formed by reading,
sharing and living within stories, it suggests that the pedagogy might
encourage pupils to think about how the lives of Christians are shaped
by their interpretations of biblical narratives, to offer their own interpretations
of biblical and other texts, and to consider the stories – religious,
non-religious or both – which shape their own lives. In so doing, the
article moves away from a ‘proof-texting’ approach to the Bible towards
one in which pupils are enabled to think about the significance of
biblical narratives for both Christians and themselves.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Freathy G (2013). RE-searchers: a dialogic approach to RE in primary schools. REsource, 36(1), 4-7.
Freathy RJK, Parker SG (2013). Secularists, Humanists and religious education: religious crisis and curriculum change in England, 1963–1975.
History of Education,
42(2), 222-256.
Abstract:
Secularists, Humanists and religious education: religious crisis and curriculum change in England, 1963–1975
With particular reference to religious education, this article provides an account of the campaigns of Secularists and Humanists in England in the 1960s and 1970s and locates them within their broader religious context. These campaigns, which have been both underplayed and overstated in the existing historiography, failed to garner the levels of support required to fulfil their ultimate aims. Nevertheless, Secularists and Humanists did make a significant contribution to public and political discourses at the time and created opportunities with the potential to exert influence over the development of Religious Education, Collective Worship and moral education. Their involvement was welcomed, indeed fostered, by many leading Christians and religious educationists. Secularist and Humanist campaigns also precipitated parliamentary discussion and provoked considerable opposition from Christians in other quarters. Finally, some observations are made about the ways in which this episode in the religious history of education can contextualise comparable contemporary debates.
Abstract.
Freathy RJK, Bryce M (2013). Updating and internationalising Exe Libris: the UK History of Education Society Online Bibliography. History of Education Researcher, 91, 33-35.
Parker SG, Freathy RJK (2012). Ethnic Diversity, Christian Hegemony and the Emergence of Multi-faith Religious Education in the 1970s.
History of Education,
41(3), 381-404.
Abstract:
Ethnic Diversity, Christian Hegemony and the Emergence of Multi-faith Religious Education in the 1970s
This article provides a detailed reconstruction of the processes leading to the formation of the widely influential Birmingham Agreed Syllabus of Religious Instruction (1975). This is contextualised within one of the most significant periods in the history of race relations in the United Kingdom. We discuss how this syllabus, and other landmark reforms in Religious Education (RE) in English schools from the late 1960s, responded to ethnic diversity by promoting supposedly culturally pluralist, multi-faith approaches to RE, which were subsequently perceived as eroding the Christian foundations of British/English national identity. We argue that the vilification of these curriculum reforms by culturally-conservative critics was in fact based upon an erroneous assessment of the extent to which these renounced the Christian hegemony of RE. We also critique the assumption that the religious clauses of the 1988 Education Reform Act represented a simple transition from culturally pluralist to assimilationist policies for the subject.
Abstract.
Crook D, Freathy RJK, Wright S (2011). Citizenship, Religion and Education. History of Education, 40(6), 695-700.
Parker SG, Freathy RJK (2011). Context, Complexity and Contestation: Birmingham's Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education since the 1970s.
Journal of Beliefs and Values,
32(2), 247-262.
Abstract:
Context, Complexity and Contestation: Birmingham's Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education since the 1970s
This article offers an historical perspective on the 1975, 1995 and 2007 Birmingham Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education (RE). It draws upon historical evidence uncovered as part of ‘The hidden history of curriculum change in Religious Education in English schools, 1969-1979’ project (The British Academy, Ref. SG-54151), 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 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 contextualized and understood, and, thereby, provides important insights which can be applied to ongoing and future debates and developments.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Aylward K (2010). 'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus.
Religious Education (USA),
105(1), 86-102.
Abstract:
'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus
This article reports the findings of interviews conducted with students (aged 11-13) in four English secondary schools, examining reasons why young people find it difficult to understand Christian beliefs regarding Jesus’ miracles, resurrection and status as the Son of God. For the students in this sample, understanding and belief are closely related concepts. Many of them assume that belief is a necessary condition for understanding. The paper argues that greater attention should be paid in Religious Education (RE) to the relationship between belief and understanding and to the ways in which young people experience and conceptualise their learning in RE.
Abstract.
Higham R, Freathy R, Wegerif R (2010). Developing responsible leadership through a 'pedagogy of challenge': an investigation into leadership education for teenagers.
School Leadership and Management,
30(5), 419-434.
Abstract:
Developing responsible leadership through a 'pedagogy of challenge': an investigation into leadership education for teenagers
This paper proposes a new model for understanding education through ‘responsible leadership’ – a term which draws on the models of distributed and authentic leadership and on a dialogic understanding of responsible action. It defines ‘dispositions for learning’ as different forms of the single quality of ‘openness to learning’. A ‘pedagogy of challenge’ is proposed as a way of developing these dispositions. The model is tested through a small-scale investigation into the effect of a two-day leadership education course on five 14-year-old students which conforms to the proposed model. This suggests a link between the students’ participation and their dispositions for learning; in addition, it suggests change in their attitude towards, and perceived performance in, their academic subjects over a four-month period.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Parker S (2010). The necessity of historical inquiry in educational research: the case of Religious Education.
British Journal of Religious Education,
32(3), 229-243.
Abstract:
The necessity of historical inquiry in educational research: the case of Religious Education
This article explores the mixed fortunes of historical inquiry as a method in educational studies, and exposes evidence for the neglect of this method in Religious Education research in particular. It argues that historical inquiry, as a counterpart to other research methods, can add depth and range to our understanding of education, including Religious Education, and can illuminate important longer-term, broader and philosophical issues. The article also argues that many historical voices have remained silent in the existing historiography of Religious Education because such historiography is too generalized and too biased towards the development of national policy and curriculum and pedagogical theory. To address this limitation in educational research, this article promotes rigorous historical studies that are more substantially grounded in the appropriate historiographical literature and utilise a wide range of original primary sources. Finally, the article explores a specific example of the way in which an historical approach may be fruitfully applied to a particular contemporary debate concerning the nature and purpose of Religious Education.
Abstract.
Richardson W, Freathy, R. (2008). A Pilot Project for Exe Libris: the UK History of Education Society On-line Bibliography. History of Education Researcher(82), 116-122.
Aylward K, Freathy, R. (2008). Children's conceptions of Jesus.
Journal of Beliefs and Values,
29(3), 297-304.
Abstract:
Children's conceptions of Jesus
This paper presents findings from a recent study investigating young children’s (aged 10-11) conceptions of Jesus in England. The overall picture revealed by the study is that whilst there was a general assent amongst pupils in our sample towards an ethical and humanistic conception of the historical Jesus, there was less of a consensus about those issues which previous research claims children find difficult to understand, namely: the divinity of Jesus; the miracles of Jesus; and Christian beliefs pertaining to Jesus’ continued presence in people’s lives today. The paper concludes by arguing that the variety of conceptions of Jesus which are encountered in RE may be seen by children as a barrier to learning rather than an opportunity to grow in understanding and highlights the need for further research into the relationship between children’s hermeneutical horizons and RE curriculum content.
Abstract.
Freathy R (2008). The Triumph of Religious Education for Citizenship in English Schools, 1935-1949.
History of Education,
37(2), 295-316.
Abstract:
The Triumph of Religious Education for Citizenship in English Schools, 1935-1949
The failure of the Association for Education in Citizenship to gain official support for the secular and pedagogically progressive forms of education for citizenship that its founder members endorsed has previously been explained by the political impotence of the association's founder members and the professional conservatism of the educational establishment. However, this paper proposes that, as part of a wider cultural conservatism in England between 1935 and 1949, citizenship was recast in a Christian mould in response to foreign 'secular' political ideologies and that this enabled religious education to gain official endorsement as an essential form of education for citizenship.
Abstract.
Freathy RJK (2008). Three Perspectives on Religious Education and Education for Citizenship in English Schools, 1934-1944.
British Journal of Religious Education,
30(2), 103-112.
Abstract:
Three Perspectives on Religious Education and Education for Citizenship in English Schools, 1934-1944
In recent years, in English schools, various linkages between Religious Education and Citizenship have been identified or proposed. Yet neither education for citizenship, nor its relationship with religious education, is new. Evidence for this is provided by an analysis of the public discourse pertaining to these areas, which took place between 1934 and 1944, with a focus on three influential participants: Cyril Norwood, Ernest Simon and William Temple. This paper highlights the extent to which (i) religious education was conceived as a form of education for citizenship and (ii) Christian educationists precluded secular and pedagogically progressive education for citizenship from developing in English schools. This helps to explain why Religious Instruction and worship became compulsory components of school provision in England and why education for citizenship took so long to gain a firm foothold in the curriculum.
Abstract.
Freathy R (2007). Ecclesiastical and religious factors which preserved Christian and traditional forms of citizenship in English schools, 1934-1944.
Oxford Review of Education,
33(3), 367-377.
Abstract:
Ecclesiastical and religious factors which preserved Christian and traditional forms of citizenship in English schools, 1934-1944
Participants in the public discourse pertaining to religious education and education for citizenship in English schools between 1934 and 1944 included many ‘Christian educationists’. They advocated a conservative and elitist form of education for citizenship as taught through indirect training, Arnoldian public school traditions and ecumenical, liberal Protestantism. This contrasted with the conception of education for citizenship promoted by the founder members of the Association for Education in Citizenship. They wanted pupils to be educated into a liberal, democratic and secular version of English citizenship by means of ‘progressive’ pedagogies and direct instruction. This article identifies the ecclesiastical and religious factors which preserved the Christian and traditional form of education for citizenship in English schools between 1934 and 1944. These factors included the revival of the Christian foundations of British national identity and citizenship, the development and acceptance of non-denominational forms of Christian education, the increasingly positive response which an evermore coherent and professionalised cohort of Christian educationists received from the Board of Education and the Consultative Committee, and the political power of the Anglican Church within the dual system combined with the religious settlement agreed in the 1944 Education Act.
Abstract.
Freathy R (2006). Gender, age, attendance at a place of worship and young people's attitudes towards the Bible.
Journal of Beliefs and Values,
27(3), 327-339.
Abstract:
Gender, age, attendance at a place of worship and young people's attitudes towards the Bible
This article discusses the outcomes of a questionnaire survey which sought to ascertain the attitudes of young people towards the Bible. One thousand and sixty-six pupils from Years 6, 9 and 12 in nine English schools participated. The young people’s attitudes are discussed in relation to gender, age and attendance at a place of worship. The research team found that being female, in Year 6 and attending a place of worship very often are factors associated with the most positive attitudes towards the Bible, while being male, in Year 9 and never attending a place of worship are associated with the least positive attitudes. The article also discusses the difficulty of explaining individual correlations regarding age and gender.
Abstract.
Chapters
Freathy R, Parker SG (2023). Insights from the history of the education of teachers of Religious Education in England. Subject specialists and specialization. In Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (Eds.) How to Improve Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries, Munster: Waxmann, 25-42.
Freathy R, Schweitzer F, Parker SG, Simojoki H (2023). Introduction. In Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (Eds.) How to Improve Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries, Munster: Waxmann, 7-21.
Parker SG, Simojoki H, Freathy R, Schweitzer F (2023). Understanding and developing RE teacher education. Conclusions and perspectives in a European horizon. In Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (Eds.) How to Improve Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries, Munster: Waxmann, 257-269.
Freathy R, Parker SG (2021). The Professionalization of Teachers of RE in England: a Case Study. In Simojoki H, Schweitzer F, Henningsen J, Mautz J-R (Eds.) Professionalisierung des Religionslehrerberufs Analysen im Schnittfeld von Lehrerbildung, Professionswissen und Professionspolitik, Leiden: Brill | Schöningh, 501-527.
Parker SG, Freathy R (2020). The Church of England and religious education during the twentieth century. In Rodger T, Williamson P, Grimley M (Eds.) The Church of England and British Politics since 1900, Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer.
Parker SG, Freathy R (2017). Childhood, Faith and the Future: religious education and ‘national character’ in the Second World War. In Strhan A, Parker SG, Ridgely S (Eds.) The Bloomsbury Reader in Religion and Childhood, London: Bloomsbury Press.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2017). Conceptualising and researching the professionalisation of Religious Education teachers: historical and international perspectives. In Freathy R, Robinson W, Doney J (Eds.) Politics, Professionals and Practitioners, London: Routledge.
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, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2016). Towards international comparative research on the professionalization of Religious Education. In Kuusisto A, Lovat T (Eds.) Contemporary Challenges for Religious and Spiritual Education, London: Routledge.
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 (2015). Introduction. In Parker SG, Freathy R, Francis LJ (Eds.)
History, Remembrance and Religious Education, Oxford: Peter Lang, 1-19.
Abstract:
Introduction
Abstract.
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.
Freathy R, Parker S (2012). Freedom from Religious Beliefs: Humanists and Religious Education in England in the 1960s and 1970s. In Parker S, Freathy R, Francis LJ (Eds.) Religious Education and Freedom of Religion and Belief, Oxford: Peter Lang, 7-27.
Parker S, Freathy R, Francis LJ (2012). Introduction. In Parker S, Freathy R, Francis LJ (Eds.) Religious Education and Freedom of Religion and Belief, Oxford: Peter Lang, 1-3.
Freathy, R. (2008). Religious assembly. In McCulloch G, Crook D (Eds.) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education, London: Routledge, 488-489.
Freathy, R. (2008). Religious education. In McCulloch G, Crook D (Eds.) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education, London: Routledge, 490-491.
Freathy, R. (2008). Religious school. In McCulloch G, Crook D (Eds.) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education, London: Routledge, 491-492.
Freathy, R.J.K. (2001). Religion and Citizenship links. In Underwood K, Pestridge J (Eds.) A Creative Approach to Values Education through the Arts, Citizenship, PSHE and Religious Education, London: Cre8ed.
Reports
Freathy R, Schmidt A, John H (2020). Working with ‘big ideas about’ the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) - Multi-disciplinary and multi-methodological RE: a handbook for teacher educators, teachers and teacher trainees. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Freathy R, Reed E, Davis A, John H, Schmidt A (2018).
Who is Jesus?. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Abstract:
Who is Jesus?
Abstract.
Wintersgill B (2017). Big Ideas for Religious Education. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Freathy G (2016). The RE-searchers Approach: a quick start guide with exemplar units of work and activities. Exeter, University of Exeter.
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.
Baker H, Copley, T. Freathy, R. Walshe, K. (2006). Biblos in New Zealand. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Allen G, Copley, T. Freathy, R. Jones, S. Walshe K (2006). Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education: Improving Children's learning. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Copley T, Freathy, R. Lane, S. Savini, H. (2006). The Speech of Angels: Ninety-eight young people talk about the Bible. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Copley, T. Freathy, R. Walshe K (2005). Teaching Biblical Narrative: a summary of the main findings of the Biblos Project, 1996-2004. University of Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.
Copley C, Copley T, Freathy, R. Lane, S. Walshe, K. (2004). On the Side of the Angels, the Third Report of the Biblos Project. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.
Publications by year
2023
Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (2023). How to Improve Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries. Munster, Waxmann.
Freathy R, Parker SG (2023). Insights from the history of the education of teachers of Religious Education in England. Subject specialists and specialization. In Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (Eds.) How to Improve Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries, Munster: Waxmann, 25-42.
Freathy R, Schweitzer F, Parker SG, Simojoki H (2023). Introduction. In Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (Eds.) How to Improve Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries, Munster: Waxmann, 7-21.
Parker SG, Simojoki H, Freathy R, Schweitzer F (2023). Understanding and developing RE teacher education. Conclusions and perspectives in a European horizon. In Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (Eds.) How to Improve Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries, Munster: Waxmann, 257-269.
2022
Freathy R, Dunkley H (2022). Realising the potential of RE: representation, reflection and research. RE Today, 40(1), 10-11.
Freathy R (2022). Translating the RE-searchers Approach. Prismet, 73(1-2), 141-144.
2021
Chittenden C, Dinh P, Hawkins B, Freathy R, Vukusic P (2021). A partnership approach to pandemic policy: building student confidence in the wake of Covid-19. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education(22).
Freathy R, Parker SG (2021). The Professionalization of Teachers of RE in England: a Case Study. In Simojoki H, Schweitzer F, Henningsen J, Mautz J-R (Eds.) Professionalisierung des Religionslehrerberufs Analysen im Schnittfeld von Lehrerbildung, Professionswissen und Professionspolitik, Leiden: Brill | Schöningh, 501-527.
2020
Parker SG, Freathy R (2020). The Church of England and religious education during the twentieth century. In Rodger T, Williamson P, Grimley M (Eds.) The Church of England and British Politics since 1900, Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer.
Parker S, Allen S, Freathy R (2020). The Church of England and the 1870 Elementary Education Act. British Journal of Educational Studies, 68(5), 541-565.
Freathy R, Schmidt A, John H (2020). Working with ‘big ideas about’ the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) - Multi-disciplinary and multi-methodological RE: a handbook for teacher educators, teachers and teacher trainees. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Freathy R, John HC (2020). Worldviews and Big Ideas: a Way Forward for Religious Education?.
Nordidactica : Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education,
2019, 1-27.
Abstract:
Worldviews and Big Ideas: a Way Forward for Religious Education?
This article explores the position of ‘worldviews’ in Religious Education, using England as a particular case study to illustrate contemporary international debates about the future of Religious Education (or equivalent subjects). The final report of the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE 2018) – which recommended that the subject name in England be changed from ‘Religious Education’ to ‘Religion and Worldviews’ – provides a stimulus for a discussion about the future of the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) in schools. The article offers a review of, and reflections on, the worldviews issue as treated in academic literature relating to Religious Education, before noting the challenges that the incorporation of worldviews presents. The article goes on to suggest ways in which a ‘Big Ideas’ approach to the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) (Wiggins and McTighe 1998; Wintersgill 2017; Freathy and John 2019) might provide criteria by which worldviews are selected for curriculum content. Finally, the article discusses what the implications of these recommendations might be for ‘Religion and Worldviews’ teachers and teaching.
Abstract.
2019
John H, Freathy R (2019). A Case Study in Biblical Interpretation: knowledge, knower and knowing (part 2). REToday, 36, 58-63.
Freathy R, Jackson R (2019). Jack Priestley (1935–2018). British Journal of Religious Education, 41, 240-242.
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.
John HC, Freathy R (2019). The Country of the Blind: knowledge, knower and knowing (part 1). REToday, 36, 49-53.
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.
Freathy R, John HC (2018). Religious Education, Big Ideas and the study of religion(s) and worldview(s).
British Journal of Religious Education,
41(1), 27-40.
Abstract:
Religious Education, Big Ideas and the study of religion(s) and worldview(s)
Christian Education. This article outlines the ‘Big Ideas’ approach to curriculum reform, as applied in the ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ project. A critical analysis follows of the outcomes of the University of Exeter’s ‘Identifying Principles and Big Ideas for Religious Education’ project, which sought to apply the same approach to Religious Education (RE) in English schools. This project made great headway in generating ‘Big Ideas’ to inform and improve the selection and sequencing of RE curriculum content. However, its primary focus on subject content knowledge means that ‘Big Ideas’ about epistemology and methodology are lacking. The article recommends an additional focus on multi-disciplinary, multi-methodological, inquiry-based, reflexive learning, which would ask why, how, where and by whom our ‘knowledge’ of religion(s) and worldview(s) is generated. In this regard, the article posits four ‘Big Ideas about the study of religion(s) and worldview(s)’ to highlight the symbiotic relationship between knowledge and knower, and to reject the false dichotomy between the object of study and method of study. In so doing, it draws upon the theoretical framework underpinning the ‘RE-searchers approach’ to primary school RE, which correspondingly exemplifies how such ideas can be taught in practice.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Davis A (2018). Theology in multi-faith Religious Education: a taboo to be broken?.
Research Papers in Education(6), 749-768.
Abstract:
Theology in multi-faith Religious Education: a taboo to be broken?
This article discusses the place of ‘theology’ in multi-faith Religious Education (RE) in English schools without a religious affiliation, highlighting reasons for its sometimes taboo-status, particularly since the emergence of Ninian Smart’s phenomenological approach to Religious Studies in the late 1960s. The article explores a diversity of definitions of theology within specific professional and ecclesiastical discourses, and recasts recent debates by focusing not on whether theology and theological inquiry should contribute to so-called ‘non-confessional’ RE, but on how different forms of theology and theological inquiry might do so legitimately. In the process, the article challenges binary oppositions that have traditionally distinguished the disciplines of Theology from Religious Studies, and argues in favour of the application of various forms of theology and theological inquiry within a critical, dialogic and inquiry-led approach to multi-faith RE. What this might mean in practice is discussed with regard to three concepts: positionality, empathy and critique. Ultimately, multi-faith RE is characterised as occupying a liminal space betwixt and between disciplinary, interpretative and methodological perspectives involved in the study of religion(s) and worldview(s).
Abstract.
Freathy R, Reed E, Davis A, John H, Schmidt A (2018).
Who is Jesus?. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Abstract:
Who is Jesus?
Abstract.
2017
Wintersgill B (2017). Big Ideas for Religious Education. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Parker SG, Freathy R (2017). Childhood, Faith and the Future: religious education and ‘national character’ in the Second World War. In Strhan A, Parker SG, Ridgely S (Eds.) The Bloomsbury Reader in Religion and Childhood, London: Bloomsbury Press.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2017). Conceptualising and researching the professionalisation of Religious Education teachers: historical and international perspectives. In Freathy R, Robinson W, Doney J (Eds.) Politics, Professionals and Practitioners, London: Routledge.
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.
Freathy RJK (2017). Encyclopedia of Christian education.
British Journal of Religious Education,
39(1), 115-118.
Author URL.
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.
2016
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2016). Conceptualizing and Researching the Professionalization of Religious Education Teachers: Historical and International Perspectives.
British Journal of Religious Education,
38(2), 114-129.
Abstract:
Conceptualizing and Researching the Professionalization of Religious Education Teachers: Historical and International Perspectives
Current discussions on Religious Education (RE), both in Germany and England, focus on the quality of teaching and the professionality of teachers, but neglect the historical and institutional process of professionalization upon which conceptions of teaching quality and teacher professionality hinge. This article seeks to provide definitional clarity by differentiating between individual and collective professionalization; exploring teacher professionalization in general and in the special case of RE; and operationalizing the concept of RE teacher professionalization for the purposes of planned historical and international comparative research. A three-fold conceptualization of professionalization is proposed, consisting of the following inter-related levels: (1) initial and continuing
professional development; (2) professional self-organization and professional politics; and (3) professional knowledge. The breadth, complexity and significance of the historical and institutional processes associated with the professionalization of RE teachers at each of these levels is described and discussed. It is argued that further historical and international comparative research on these lines would contribute a broader and deeper understanding of the presuppositions of RE teacher professionality beyond current debates.
Abstract.
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.
Simojoki, H, Schweitzer F, Parker SG, Freathy R (2016). Die Professionalisierung des Religionslehrerberufs als Aufgabe und Gegenstand religionspädagogischer Forschung. Historische und systematische Perspektiven. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik und Theologie, 68(2), 135-152.
Simojoki H, Schweitzer F, Parker SG, Freathy R (2016). Editorial. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik und Theologie, 68(2), 131-133.
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.
Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Simojoki H, Parker SG (2016). Professionalisierung des Religionslehrerberufs - Ein neues Forschungsprojekt. Entwurf, 4, 63-64.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2016). Professionalism, Professionalization and Professionality in Religious Education. British Journal of Religious Education, 38(2), 111-113.
Reader J, Freathy R (2016). Technology and education: theoretical reflections exemplified in Religious Education.
Journal of Beliefs and Values,
37(3), 320-333.
Abstract:
Technology and education: theoretical reflections exemplified in Religious Education
How do recent technological advances impact upon the field of education? This article examines the work of the philosopher of technology Bernard Stiegler and his interpretation of technology as pharmakon (both remedy and poison). This is linked to threshold concept theory which advocates more creative ways of learning, and illustrated through a practical example from a new approach to Religious Education (RE). It will be argued that it is possible to construct educational assemblages more conducive to personal and spiritual development.
Abstract.
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 G (2016). The RE-searchers Approach: a quick start guide with exemplar units of work and activities. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2016). The professionalisation of RE teachers: a process in progress?. Retoday, 33(3).
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2016). Towards international comparative research on the professionalization of Religious Education. In Kuusisto A, Lovat T (Eds.) Contemporary Challenges for Religious and Spiritual Education, London: Routledge.
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.
Parker SG, Freathy R, Francis LJ (2015). History, Remembrance and Religious Education. Oxford, Peter Lang.
Freathy R, Parker SG (2015). Introduction. In Parker SG, Freathy R, Francis LJ (Eds.)
History, Remembrance and Religious Education, Oxford: Peter Lang, 1-19.
Abstract:
Introduction
Abstract.
Freathy R, Parker SG (2015). Prospects and Problems for Religious Education in England, 1967-1970: curriculum reform in political context.
Journal of Beliefs & Values,
36(1), 5-30.
Abstract:
Prospects and Problems for Religious Education in England, 1967-1970: curriculum reform in political context
This article provides an historical case study of an abortive attempt to revise policy and legislation relating to Religious Education in English schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing upon published sources, including parliamentary debates, as well as previously unutilised national archival sources from the Department of Education and Science, it comments upon events which have hitherto been omitted from the historiography of Religious Education, but which help to contextualise significant changes in Religious Education theory and practice at that time. Moreover, it demonstrates that the current parlous state of Religious Education in schools is in part the result of latent and longstanding issues and problems, rather than a consequence of present-day government policy alone. Therefore, in reviewing and developing Religious Education policies and practices, all stakeholders are urged to look more closely at both changes and continuities in the subject’s past and the contexts in which they occurred.
Abstract.
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.
Freathy R (2015). Review Essay. On Holy Ground: the Theory and Practice of Religious Education. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 36(1), 110-114.
Freathy R, Reed ED, Davis A (2015). The Art of Bible Reading: a New Approach.
REToday,
32(2), 45-48.
Abstract:
The Art of Bible Reading: a New Approach
The status, age and multi-layered nature of the Bible have always made it challenging to teach in an open, exploratory way in the classroom. A collaborative research project between the University of Exeter and the Bible Society has been exploring how art can be a stimulus for teaching biblical stories in RE.
Abstract.
Parker SG, Freathy R, Aldridge D (2015). The Future of Religious Education: crisis, reform and iconoclasm. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 36(1), 1-4.
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.
2014
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.
Freathy R, Doney J (2014). Editorial. History of Education Researcher, 93, 1-3.
Freathy R, Doney J (2014). Editorial: the metaphors we work with. History of Education Researcher, 94, 37-39.
Freathy R, Freathy G (2014). Initiating children into hermeneutical discourses in Religious Education: a response to Rachel Cope and Julian Stern.
Journal for the Study of Spirituality,
3(2), 156-167.
Abstract:
Initiating children into hermeneutical discourses in Religious Education: a response to Rachel Cope and Julian Stern
In response to previous articles in this journal by Rachel Cope and Julian
Stern, and using an example of classroom practice, this article promotes a
form of multi-faith religious education in which primary-school pupils (age
5–11) are re-conceived as joint researchers working alongside their teachers,
through processes of imaginative and empathetic dialogue, to investigate
the effectiveness of different methodologies and methods of studying
religion(s). This pedagogical strategy seeks to teach pupils the disciplinary
knowledge and skills associated with the communities of academic practice
concerned with theological and religious studies, and more specifically to
initiate them into the hermeneutical discourses which underlie theological
and religious research and teaching. Moreover, it is argued that some of the
suggested practices could be applied to the study of spirituality in any
context and could contribute to the spiritual development of participants.
Abstract.
Robinson W, Freathy R, Doney J (2014). Politics, professionals and practitioners. History of Education, 43(6), 719-723.
Freathy R, Reed ED, Davis A (2014). The Art of Bible Reading: a Narrative Approach. Dialogue Australasia, 32, 1-3.
Freathy R, Reed ED, Davis A, Cornwall S (2014). The Art of Bible Reading: Student Edition. Buxhall, Kevin Mayhew Ltd.
Freathy R, Reed ED, Davis A, Cornwall S (2014). The Art of Bible Reading: Teacher Edition. Buxhall, Kevin Mayhew Ltd.
Freathy G, Freathy R (2014). The RE-searchers: promoting methodologically orientated RE in primary schools. REtoday, 31(3), 50-51.
Freathy R, Parker SG, Schweitzer F, Simojoki H (2014). Towards international comparative research on the professionalization of Religious Education.
Journal of Beliefs and Values: studies in religion and education,
35(2), 225-241.
Abstract:
Towards international comparative research on the professionalization of Religious Education
This article calls for international comparative research on the professionalisation
of Religious Education (RE). To this end, it provides a rationale for focusing
upon the concept of professionalisation and a theoretical justification for
international comparative research, particularly identifying its significance in
terms of the development of RE in England and Germany. The article outlines a
methodology for exploring the concepts of professional knowledge, professional
self-organisation and politics and professional development. The proposed
methodology involves a systematic analysis of primary documentary sources
including: (1) academic and professional journal articles and textbooks; (2) the
archives of relevant institutions and organisations; and (3) external evidence,
such as inspection and research reports. An analytical case study of two leading
journals in each national context, Religion in Education in England and Der
Evangelische Erzieher in Germany, in the immediate post-war era is appended to
illustrate the benefits of implementing such a methodology across national
boundaries.
Abstract.
2013
Freathy R, Freathy G (2013). Initiating Children into Hermeneutical Discourses in Religious Education. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 3(2), 156-167.
Reed ED, Freathy RJK, Cornwall S, Davis A (2013). Narrative theology in Religious Education.
British Journal of Religious Education,
35(3), 297-312.
Abstract:
Narrative theology in Religious Education
This article advocates a pedagogy of Religious Education (RE) based
upon a narratival framework informed by both narrative theology and
narrative philosophy. Drawing on the work of narrative theologians
including Stanley Hauerwas, the article outlines the nature of the framework,
describes the four phases of learning that comprise the pedagogy,
and explains how such an approach can overcome existing difficulties in
how biblical texts are handled within RE. Working from the narrative
assumption that individuals and communities are formed by reading,
sharing and living within stories, it suggests that the pedagogy might
encourage pupils to think about how the lives of Christians are shaped
by their interpretations of biblical narratives, to offer their own interpretations
of biblical and other texts, and to consider the stories – religious,
non-religious or both – which shape their own lives. In so doing, the
article moves away from a ‘proof-texting’ approach to the Bible towards
one in which pupils are enabled to think about the significance of
biblical narratives for both Christians and themselves.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Freathy G (2013). RE-searchers: a dialogic approach to RE in primary schools. REsource, 36(1), 4-7.
Freathy RJK, Parker SG (2013). Secularists, Humanists and religious education: religious crisis and curriculum change in England, 1963–1975.
History of Education,
42(2), 222-256.
Abstract:
Secularists, Humanists and religious education: religious crisis and curriculum change in England, 1963–1975
With particular reference to religious education, this article provides an account of the campaigns of Secularists and Humanists in England in the 1960s and 1970s and locates them within their broader religious context. These campaigns, which have been both underplayed and overstated in the existing historiography, failed to garner the levels of support required to fulfil their ultimate aims. Nevertheless, Secularists and Humanists did make a significant contribution to public and political discourses at the time and created opportunities with the potential to exert influence over the development of Religious Education, Collective Worship and moral education. Their involvement was welcomed, indeed fostered, by many leading Christians and religious educationists. Secularist and Humanist campaigns also precipitated parliamentary discussion and provoked considerable opposition from Christians in other quarters. Finally, some observations are made about the ways in which this episode in the religious history of education can contextualise comparable contemporary debates.
Abstract.
Freathy RJK, Bryce M (2013). Updating and internationalising Exe Libris: the UK History of Education Society Online Bibliography. History of Education Researcher, 91, 33-35.
2012
Parker SG, Freathy RJK (2012). Ethnic Diversity, Christian Hegemony and the Emergence of Multi-faith Religious Education in the 1970s.
History of Education,
41(3), 381-404.
Abstract:
Ethnic Diversity, Christian Hegemony and the Emergence of Multi-faith Religious Education in the 1970s
This article provides a detailed reconstruction of the processes leading to the formation of the widely influential Birmingham Agreed Syllabus of Religious Instruction (1975). This is contextualised within one of the most significant periods in the history of race relations in the United Kingdom. We discuss how this syllabus, and other landmark reforms in Religious Education (RE) in English schools from the late 1960s, responded to ethnic diversity by promoting supposedly culturally pluralist, multi-faith approaches to RE, which were subsequently perceived as eroding the Christian foundations of British/English national identity. We argue that the vilification of these curriculum reforms by culturally-conservative critics was in fact based upon an erroneous assessment of the extent to which these renounced the Christian hegemony of RE. We also critique the assumption that the religious clauses of the 1988 Education Reform Act represented a simple transition from culturally pluralist to assimilationist policies for the subject.
Abstract.
Freathy R, Parker S (2012). Freedom from Religious Beliefs: Humanists and Religious Education in England in the 1960s and 1970s. In Parker S, Freathy R, Francis LJ (Eds.) Religious Education and Freedom of Religion and Belief, Oxford: Peter Lang, 7-27.
Parker S, Freathy R, Francis LJ (2012). Introduction. In Parker S, Freathy R, Francis LJ (Eds.) Religious Education and Freedom of Religion and Belief, Oxford: Peter Lang, 1-3.
Parker S, Freathy R, Francis LJ (2012). Religious Education and Freedom of Religion and Belief. Oxford, Peter Lang.
2011
Crook D, Freathy RJK, Wright S (2011). Citizenship, Religion and Education. History of Education, 40(6), 695-700.
Parker SG, Freathy RJK (2011). Context, Complexity and Contestation: Birmingham's Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education since the 1970s.
Journal of Beliefs and Values,
32(2), 247-262.
Abstract:
Context, Complexity and Contestation: Birmingham's Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education since the 1970s
This article offers an historical perspective on the 1975, 1995 and 2007 Birmingham Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education (RE). It draws upon historical evidence uncovered as part of ‘The hidden history of curriculum change in Religious Education in English schools, 1969-1979’ project (The British Academy, Ref. SG-54151), 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 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 contextualized and understood, and, thereby, provides important insights which can be applied to ongoing and future debates and developments.
Abstract.
2010
Freathy R, Aylward K (2010). 'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus.
Religious Education (USA),
105(1), 86-102.
Abstract:
'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus
This article reports the findings of interviews conducted with students (aged 11-13) in four English secondary schools, examining reasons why young people find it difficult to understand Christian beliefs regarding Jesus’ miracles, resurrection and status as the Son of God. For the students in this sample, understanding and belief are closely related concepts. Many of them assume that belief is a necessary condition for understanding. The paper argues that greater attention should be paid in Religious Education (RE) to the relationship between belief and understanding and to the ways in which young people experience and conceptualise their learning in RE.
Abstract.
Higham R, Freathy R, Wegerif R (2010). Developing responsible leadership through a 'pedagogy of challenge': an investigation into leadership education for teenagers.
School Leadership and Management,
30(5), 419-434.
Abstract:
Developing responsible leadership through a 'pedagogy of challenge': an investigation into leadership education for teenagers
This paper proposes a new model for understanding education through ‘responsible leadership’ – a term which draws on the models of distributed and authentic leadership and on a dialogic understanding of responsible action. It defines ‘dispositions for learning’ as different forms of the single quality of ‘openness to learning’. A ‘pedagogy of challenge’ is proposed as a way of developing these dispositions. The model is tested through a small-scale investigation into the effect of a two-day leadership education course on five 14-year-old students which conforms to the proposed model. This suggests a link between the students’ participation and their dispositions for learning; in addition, it suggests change in their attitude towards, and perceived performance in, their academic subjects over a four-month period.
Abstract.
Freathy RJK (2010). Review of Copley, T. Teaching religion: sixty years of religious education in England and Wales. History of Education, 39(4), 567-570.
Freathy R, Parker S (2010). The necessity of historical inquiry in educational research: the case of Religious Education.
British Journal of Religious Education,
32(3), 229-243.
Abstract:
The necessity of historical inquiry in educational research: the case of Religious Education
This article explores the mixed fortunes of historical inquiry as a method in educational studies, and exposes evidence for the neglect of this method in Religious Education research in particular. It argues that historical inquiry, as a counterpart to other research methods, can add depth and range to our understanding of education, including Religious Education, and can illuminate important longer-term, broader and philosophical issues. The article also argues that many historical voices have remained silent in the existing historiography of Religious Education because such historiography is too generalized and too biased towards the development of national policy and curriculum and pedagogical theory. To address this limitation in educational research, this article promotes rigorous historical studies that are more substantially grounded in the appropriate historiographical literature and utilise a wide range of original primary sources. Finally, the article explores a specific example of the way in which an historical approach may be fruitfully applied to a particular contemporary debate concerning the nature and purpose of Religious Education.
Abstract.
2009
Freathy RJK (2009). Review of McCulloch, G. Cyril Norwood and the Ideal of Secondary Education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. British Journal Educational Studies, 57(1), 89-91.
2008
Richardson W, Freathy, R. (2008). A Pilot Project for Exe Libris: the UK History of Education Society On-line Bibliography. History of Education Researcher(82), 116-122.
Aylward K, Freathy, R. (2008). Children's conceptions of Jesus.
Journal of Beliefs and Values,
29(3), 297-304.
Abstract:
Children's conceptions of Jesus
This paper presents findings from a recent study investigating young children’s (aged 10-11) conceptions of Jesus in England. The overall picture revealed by the study is that whilst there was a general assent amongst pupils in our sample towards an ethical and humanistic conception of the historical Jesus, there was less of a consensus about those issues which previous research claims children find difficult to understand, namely: the divinity of Jesus; the miracles of Jesus; and Christian beliefs pertaining to Jesus’ continued presence in people’s lives today. The paper concludes by arguing that the variety of conceptions of Jesus which are encountered in RE may be seen by children as a barrier to learning rather than an opportunity to grow in understanding and highlights the need for further research into the relationship between children’s hermeneutical horizons and RE curriculum content.
Abstract.
Freathy, R. (2008). Religious assembly. In McCulloch G, Crook D (Eds.) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education, London: Routledge, 488-489.
Freathy, R. (2008). Religious education. In McCulloch G, Crook D (Eds.) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education, London: Routledge, 490-491.
Freathy, R. (2008). Religious school. In McCulloch G, Crook D (Eds.) The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education, London: Routledge, 491-492.
Freathy R (2008). The Triumph of Religious Education for Citizenship in English Schools, 1935-1949.
History of Education,
37(2), 295-316.
Abstract:
The Triumph of Religious Education for Citizenship in English Schools, 1935-1949
The failure of the Association for Education in Citizenship to gain official support for the secular and pedagogically progressive forms of education for citizenship that its founder members endorsed has previously been explained by the political impotence of the association's founder members and the professional conservatism of the educational establishment. However, this paper proposes that, as part of a wider cultural conservatism in England between 1935 and 1949, citizenship was recast in a Christian mould in response to foreign 'secular' political ideologies and that this enabled religious education to gain official endorsement as an essential form of education for citizenship.
Abstract.
Freathy RJK (2008). Three Perspectives on Religious Education and Education for Citizenship in English Schools, 1934-1944.
British Journal of Religious Education,
30(2), 103-112.
Abstract:
Three Perspectives on Religious Education and Education for Citizenship in English Schools, 1934-1944
In recent years, in English schools, various linkages between Religious Education and Citizenship have been identified or proposed. Yet neither education for citizenship, nor its relationship with religious education, is new. Evidence for this is provided by an analysis of the public discourse pertaining to these areas, which took place between 1934 and 1944, with a focus on three influential participants: Cyril Norwood, Ernest Simon and William Temple. This paper highlights the extent to which (i) religious education was conceived as a form of education for citizenship and (ii) Christian educationists precluded secular and pedagogically progressive education for citizenship from developing in English schools. This helps to explain why Religious Instruction and worship became compulsory components of school provision in England and why education for citizenship took so long to gain a firm foothold in the curriculum.
Abstract.
2007
Freathy R (2007). Ecclesiastical and religious factors which preserved Christian and traditional forms of citizenship in English schools, 1934-1944.
Oxford Review of Education,
33(3), 367-377.
Abstract:
Ecclesiastical and religious factors which preserved Christian and traditional forms of citizenship in English schools, 1934-1944
Participants in the public discourse pertaining to religious education and education for citizenship in English schools between 1934 and 1944 included many ‘Christian educationists’. They advocated a conservative and elitist form of education for citizenship as taught through indirect training, Arnoldian public school traditions and ecumenical, liberal Protestantism. This contrasted with the conception of education for citizenship promoted by the founder members of the Association for Education in Citizenship. They wanted pupils to be educated into a liberal, democratic and secular version of English citizenship by means of ‘progressive’ pedagogies and direct instruction. This article identifies the ecclesiastical and religious factors which preserved the Christian and traditional form of education for citizenship in English schools between 1934 and 1944. These factors included the revival of the Christian foundations of British national identity and citizenship, the development and acceptance of non-denominational forms of Christian education, the increasingly positive response which an evermore coherent and professionalised cohort of Christian educationists received from the Board of Education and the Consultative Committee, and the political power of the Anglican Church within the dual system combined with the religious settlement agreed in the 1944 Education Act.
Abstract.
2006
Baker H, Copley, T. Freathy, R. Walshe, K. (2006). Biblos in New Zealand. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Freathy R (2006). Gender, age, attendance at a place of worship and young people's attitudes towards the Bible.
Journal of Beliefs and Values,
27(3), 327-339.
Abstract:
Gender, age, attendance at a place of worship and young people's attitudes towards the Bible
This article discusses the outcomes of a questionnaire survey which sought to ascertain the attitudes of young people towards the Bible. One thousand and sixty-six pupils from Years 6, 9 and 12 in nine English schools participated. The young people’s attitudes are discussed in relation to gender, age and attendance at a place of worship. The research team found that being female, in Year 6 and attending a place of worship very often are factors associated with the most positive attitudes towards the Bible, while being male, in Year 9 and never attending a place of worship are associated with the least positive attitudes. The article also discusses the difficulty of explaining individual correlations regarding age and gender.
Abstract.
Freathy RJK (2006). Review of Claire, H. Teaching Citizenship in Primary Schools. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd, 2006. British Journal of Religious Education, 28(3), 297-299.
Freathy RJK (2006). Review of Oxfam Development Education & Programme, Education for Global Citizenship: a Guide for Schools. Great Britain: Oxfam, 2006. RE Today, 24(1), 61-61.
Allen G, Copley, T. Freathy, R. Jones, S. Walshe K (2006). Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education: Improving Children's learning. Exeter, University of Exeter.
Copley T, Freathy, R. Lane, S. Savini, H. (2006). The Speech of Angels: Ninety-eight young people talk about the Bible. Exeter, University of Exeter.
2005
Copley, T. Freathy, R. Walshe K (2005). Teaching Biblical Narrative: a summary of the main findings of the Biblos Project, 1996-2004. University of Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.
2004
Copley C, Copley T, Freathy, R. Lane, S. Walshe, K. (2004). On the Side of the Angels, the Third Report of the Biblos Project. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.
Freathy RJK (2004). Review of Chadwick, P. Shifting Alliances: Church and State in English Education. 1997. History of Education, 33(2), 240-242.
Freathy RJK (2004). Review of Lawton, D. & Gordon, P. a History of Western Educational Ideas. 2002. History of Education, 33(6), 697-699.
2001
Freathy, R.J.K. (2001). Religion and Citizenship links. In Underwood K, Pestridge J (Eds.) A Creative Approach to Values Education through the Arts, Citizenship, PSHE and Religious Education, London: Cre8ed.
