What do I mean by this title? Essentially, those who ‘own’ something get to determine the rules and the acceptable boundaries of use. For example, in sport there are numerous national and international bodies that are recognised as the authority and any change to rules or procedures has to go through them. To extend the … More Who owns a religion?
I have delivered two sessions recently about the UK Government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy; first of all to postgraduate students training to be teachers, and also to members of my Faculty at University. On both occasions I retained some deep set concerns about the way that it has been articulated. I indicated in an earlier post, the … More Some further concerns about Prevent
It’s been a bit quiet on the website recently- apologies for this- it’s been a hectic time of year. Just stopping by to advertise a couple of RE networking opportunities that I will be attending and leading elements of over the next couple of weeks. On Monday 28th September I’m at the Heads of RE … More RE Networking opportunities
There are some who may eschew engagement with other religions because it is dangerous. John Hull has characterised such an approach in the following way: ‘I am holy, the argument says, and you are holy but the ground between us is unholy ground and we will contaminate each other through harmful mingling of blood if … More Inter-faith dialogue: A transformational third space
It has become an accepted idea that teachers’ ways of thinking and understanding are vital components of their practice. Nespor’s article goes on to explore the beliefs of a teacher as to how a subject should be taught. Within my own subject, Religious Education, there are various pedagogies that could be enumerated to fit into … More The Importance of a Coherent Teaching Identity: Reflection on Belief and Education
or my working title was Even when Michael Gove gets it right, he still gets it wrong! Given at Subject and Subjectivities Conference, Edgehill University, 10/7/13 This is a couple of years old and some of the changes have been halted (eg bursaries, etc) but it still highlights the need for people to understand the … More A reflection on Government policies on the subject of religious education: misunderstandings and the way forward.
Schools have a responsibility under the ‘Prevent’ strategy to tackle extremism and, as the word suggests, prevent violent and non-violent extremism. The UK government defines extremism as: “Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.” It might … More Educating against Extremism
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