scholarly journals Secularized and Multi-Religious Classroom Practice-Discourses and Interactions

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Flensner
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Social Features ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

Secularization and diversity are two social features that characterize the contemporary world. The rhetoric of the public debate in a number of countries has become increasingly polarized and characterized by a “we” and “them” thinking that relates a national “we” to a specific religion. This occurs in part as a reaction to the changes in national monocultural paradigms as most communities today are characterized by pluralism regarding lifestyles, religion, language and geographical background. Thus, secularization processes are ongoing while many countries, not least Sweden, are becoming increasingly pluralistic and multi-religious. The school and classrooms are a mirror of the communities they are a part of. The aim of the article is to explore how secularization and increasing pluralism finds expression and interact in the classroom practice of Religious Education. The analysis is based on ethnographic data from classroom observations of Religious Education in four different Swedish upper secondary schools. The results indicate that secularism and non-religious positions are considered a neutral and objective position and that secularism is used as a way to maneuver diversity in the classroom which affects the possibilities of dialogue and understanding.

scholarly journals Teaching Controversial Issues in Diverse Religious Education Classrooms

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 465
Author(s):  
Karin K. Flensner
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Multicultural Classroom ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
And Gender

In educational contexts, certain issues are perceived as controversial, since they reflect conflicts of interest and reveal divergent views. This is especially evident in debates related to religion in societies regarding themselves as secular but whose population is multi-religious. The aim of this article is to analyse how some issues that are considered controversial in the public debate are represented in the teaching of non-denominational and integrative Religious Education in a Swedish multicultural classroom practice, where the majority of students have a Muslim cultural background. The ethnographic empirical material consists of classroom observations of Religious Education lessons in upper secondary school. The analysis is based on the debate about how controversial issues ought to be taught—as empirically or politically open/settled or in a directive/non-directive way. The results indicate that a number of issues—divergent interpretations of religious narratives and religiously motivated rules, holidays, views of forgiveness, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and abortion—were regarded as open political issues in classroom practice and these were taught in an open, non-directive way. Issues represented as settled were value-oriented issues related to female genital mutilation, forced marriage and child marriage and gender equality. The arguments supporting these values were mainly rooted in religion.

scholarly journals Social Exhibitionism on the Internet as a New Risky Behaviour Demonstrated by Polish Youth

2020 ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Borzucka-Sitkiewicz ◽  
Karina Leksy
Keyword(s):  
Private Information ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Risky Behaviour ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Unlimited Access ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

The technological progress and unlimited access to media create new possibilities of self-presentation in the public domain nowadays, especially for the young generation. The article presents a part of a broader research project which was aimed at defining the characteristics of behaviors shown in cyberspace by Polish students of upper-secondary schools and also at determining potential social and health consequences of such behaviors. The chosen fragment of the study mainly focuses on those actions that were considered as a sign of social exhibitionism on the Internet, such as uploading photos and videos, sharing private information about oneself and informing about current activity. The research was conducted in accordance with a quantity paradigm. It was of diagnostic and verification nature and a method of diagnostic survey with the use of questionnaires was applied.

The Challenges of History Education in Iceland

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-110
Author(s):  
Súsanna Margrét Gestsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Teaching Material ◽  
History Teaching ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Standardized Exams ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

In this article the author discusses the teaching of history in Iceland, first and foremost in relation to the environment in which the subject finds itself, the legislation relating to it and the curriculum. Curriculum development over the past decades is examined, in addition to changes in teaching material and the general attitudes that have influenced both of these from the time of the struggle for national independence in the former half of the twentieth century. There is a discussion of the disputes that have arisen as a result of tampering with the curriculum and teaching material in history in recent years, both when new emphases were introduced in the eighties and when history teaching in upper secondary schools was substantially reduced with the new curriculum in 1999. Considerable attention is given to history teaching in upper secondary schools, despite there being a dearth of research at this level. There is quite a degree of evidence that history is popular amongst Icelandic students and the public at large. In this article, an attempt is made to analyse the state of history as a school subject in Iceland, not least in the light of the extensive freedom enjoyed by teachers in their jobs, bearing in mind that there are no standardized exams in the subject and no supervision of teaching methods. At present there is a review of the curricula at all school levels in Iceland and the future of history as a subject is therefore rather uncertain.

Relations among Freedom of Action, Goal Orientation, Coupling, and Satisfaction with Frame Management among School Managers

1998 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudi Kirkhaug ◽  
Hallgeir Halvari
Keyword(s):  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Management System ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Public ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Cultural Climate ◽  
Determinants Of Satisfaction ◽  
Leadership Competence ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Freedom Of Action

Determinants of satisfaction with frame management were investigated among 78 managers representing all 30 upper secondary schools in Nordland county, Norway. The school managers are managed by the central county administration through a frame management system. Frame management or frame budgeting is a system for managing decentralised units in the public sector while trying to meet the needs for accountability and flexibility which should make public service more cost effective and of better quality. Subjects were tested on perceived goal orientation of the management system, their perceived personal coupling to the central county administration and their perceived freedom of action within the frames. The school managers' personal competence, i.e., education and leadership competence, and the cultural climate of cooperation in schools were also assessed. Analyses showed that all these determinants correlated positively and significantly with satisfaction with frame management, and multiple regression analysis showed freedom of action and education to be the major predictors of satisfaction with frame management in this sample.

scholarly journals Postawy uczniów ponadpodstawowych szkół ogólnokształcących dla dorosłych wobec rynku pracy

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 236-241
Author(s):  
Paweł Czapliński
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Job Market ◽  
The Public ◽  
Level Of Activity ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Influence Activity ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Research Show

This article tries to give the answers to the questions: Who are the students of upper secondary schools for adults? Why they receive education in this type of schools? What is their level of activity in the job market? What are their attitudes toward the job market? Is there any territorial diversification in the attitudes toward job market? What influence it? The  success  in  the  job market depends on  a  lot of  factors. The most  important  factor  is intellectual inborn potential and influence of environment especially schools on individual person. Schools should form the enterprise attitudes by the lessons on entrepreneurship. This type of education unfortunately doesn’t function in the job market and hasn’t got such a chance. The public feelings, mentality and positive relations between government and businessmen are the most important factors which influence activity in the job market, as research on students of upper secondary schools for adults shows. It was conducted in cities known of their entrepreneurship . Kołobrzeg, Chojnice, Starogard Gdański and Koszalin. It seems the institutional and personal models influence students and local communities. The results of research show certain regularity. The enterprised attitudes depend not only on hard economical factors but also and maybe mostly on social and psychological factors.

scholarly journals Dealing with and teaching controversial issues – Teachers’ pedagogical approaches to controversial issues in Religious Education and Social Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin K. Flensner
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Religious Education ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Anti Semitism ◽  
Religious Conflicts ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

Abstract What strategies do teachers use, in classroom practice, to handle issues highly contested in society? This article focuses on how the various Middle Eastern conflicts and related topics, theoretically framed as controversial issues, are dealt with in religious education and social studies classes. The aim is to analyse pedagogical approaches teachers applied in situations where topics associated with regional, cultural, and/or religious conflicts (e.g., migration, terrorism, radicalisation, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia) were part of the teaching. What approaches were distinguishable in classroom practice? How did teachers reflect on this teaching? To examine these issues, ethnographic observations were made of religious education and civics classes at upper secondary schools in Sweden; follow-up interviews with teachers and students were also conducted to discuss the classroom situations. The approaches to teaching such difficult subject matter, as distinguishable in the classroom, were avoidance, denial of the controversy, provocation, representing/considering various perspectives, and eliciting empathy. There was a division between approaches that endeavoured to tone down the controversy versus those aimed at making the controversy more apparent. This difference can be understood as dealing with controversial issues as opposed to teaching controversial issues, which is a fundamental difference in pedagogic approaches. Keywords: controversial issues, teaching strategies, religious education, social studies, classroom observations   Att hantera och undervisa om kontroversiella frågor – Lärares didaktiska förhållningssätt till kontroversiella frågor i religionskunskap och samhällskunskap Sammandrag Vilka didaktiska förhållningssätt använder lärare i klassrummet för att hantera samhälleligt omtvistade och kontroversiella frågor? Den här artikeln fokuserar på hur Mellanösternskonflikterna och relaterade ämnen, teoretiskt inramade som kontro­versiella frågor, behandlas i religionskunskaps- och samhällskunskapsundervisning. Syftet i föreliggande artikel är att analysera lärares didaktiska handlande i undervis­ningssituationer där ämnen förknippade med regionala, kulturella och/eller religiösa konflikter (t.ex. migration, terrorism, radikalisering, främlingsfientlighet, antisemitism och islamofobi) var en del av undervisningen. Vilka didaktiska ansatser kunde urskiljas i klassrummet? Hur reflekterade lärarna över denna undervisning? För att undersöka dessa frågor genomfördes etnografiska klassrumsobservationer av religionskunskaps- och samhällskunskapsundervisning på gymnasiet i Sverige; intervjuer med lärare och elever genomfördes också för att diskutera de observerade klassrumssituationerna. Analysen visar att centrala ansatser var undvikande, förnekande av kontroversen, provokation, representation av olika perspektiv, och strategier som syftade till att skapa empati. Det fanns en skillnad mellan undervisning som sökte tona ner kontroversen jämfört med undervisning som syftade till att synliggöra olika perspektiv och positioner i den kontroversiella frågan. Denna skillnad kan förstås som att hantera kontroversiella frågor jämfört med att undervisa om kontroversiella frågor. Nyckelord: kontroversiella frågor, undervisningsstrategier, religionskunskap, samhällskunskap, klassrumsobservationer

scholarly journals Heroes and others: tensions and challenges in implementing Mentors in Violence Prevention in Swedish schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linnéa Bruno ◽  
Tanja Joelsson ◽  
Anna G. Franzén ◽  
Lucas Gottzén
Keyword(s):  
Violence Prevention ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Prevention Programme ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Compulsory Schools ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools

This article explores the challenges that were detected in the first evaluation of the violence prevention programme Mentors in Violence Prevention at senior levels of compulsory schools and upper-secondary schools in Sweden. In particular, we analyse how the gender-transformative dimension and the bystander perspective aspect of the programme played out in the classroom. What are the implications of implementing a gender-transformative violence prevention programme such as Mentors in Violence Prevention when it is carried out by teachers in the school setting? The empirical basis for this study includes classroom observations during all seven Mentors in Violence Prevention sessions in two schools, and group interviews with a total of 14 teachers and 26 pupils (aged 13‐19) from five schools. Our findings suggest that most teachers did not appear to be comfortable with either the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme’s pedagogical model or its theoretical approach. Consequently, they occasionally worked in manners contrary to the programme’s intentions. However, observations and interviews demonstrated that a learning process about gender-based violence had been initiated. It may be necessary to make further adjustments if Mentors in Violence Prevention is to be used in schools in Sweden, particularly if teachers are to be the programme leaders.

scholarly journals Ungdomars erfarenheter som resurs för hållbar utveckling. Om utbildning för hållbar utveckling och religionskunskapsämnet i gymnasieskolan

Prismet ◽  
1970 ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
Ulrika Svalfors
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Religious Education ◽  
World View ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
Development Education ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Upper Secondary Schools ◽  
Sustainable Development Education

Denna artikel diskuterar hur ungdomars egna erfarenheter kan användas som en resurs i undervisning för hållbar utveckling inom religionskunskapen. Diskussionen sker mot bakgrund av en intervjustudie bland sistaårselever på fyra gymnasieskolor i Sverige. I dessa intervjuer framkommer det att ungdomar har gedigna erfarenheter av såväl engagemang som makt och uthållighet som är så pass integrerade med ungdomars uppfattningar om sig själva att de kan betraktas som delar av deras livsåskådning. Dessa erfarenheter kan därmed utgöra en resurs i undervisning om hållbar utveckling, vilket blir tydligt i religionskunskapen. Hållbar utveckling är ett tema som kan bidra till att stärka elevernas hermeneutiska förmåga och till mångfald – centralt för religionskunskapen och nödvändigt för en hållbar utveckling.Nyckelord: ungdomar, livsåskådning, religionskunskap, hermeneutisk förmåga, engagemang, makt, uthållighet, utbildning för hållbar utveckling, gymnasieskolan, SverigeThis article discusses how young people's own experiences can be used as a resource for sustainable development education within religious education. The discussion takes place in the light of an interview study among last year's students at four upper secondary schools in Sweden. In these interviews, it appears that young people have a solid experience of commitment as well as power and stamina that are so integrated with their perceptions of themselves that they can be regarded as part of their world view. Hence, these experiences become a resource for education for sustainable development, which become clear in religious education. Sustainable development is a theme that reinforces the students’ hermeneutical competence and contributes to diversity – central for religious education and necessary for sustainable development.Keywords: youth, world view, religious education, hermeneutical competence, commitment, power, stamina, education for sustainable development, upper secondary school, Sweden

Nicht unverständlich – aber unvollständig. Ein Modell zur Entwicklung von Lernaufgaben zur Förderung eines theologischen Argumentierens im evangelischen Religionsunterricht der gymnasialen Oberstufe

2015 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-345
Author(s):  
Thomas Weiß
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Religious Education ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Upper Secondary School ◽  
The Public ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Leading Question

Summary The article is devoted to the subject of Religious Education and the public sphere. Its leading question explores the ability of students of upper secondary school to argue about creation and evolution. Argumentation is understood as one of the key cultural techniques needed in order to participate in the public discourse. Examples are provided that serve as a starting point for a model to foster argumentation in religious education. The article concludes with the thesis that a decisive task of religious education research and practice should be to foster argumentation as a decisive cultural technique for the public discourse.

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