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 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 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 When Terror Strikes: The 2015 Paris Attacks in Religious Education Classrooms in Norway

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
Audun Toft
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Controversial Issue ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Main Claim ◽  
Terror Attacks ◽  
Pedagogical Issue ◽  
Upper Secondary

Terrorism is commonly considered to be a controversial issue in religious education (RE). RE teachers find it a challenging topic to address, and many avoid it altogether. This article explores the question of addressing terrorism in RE by analysing and discussing empirical observations of RE lessons in an upper secondary school in Norway in the weeks following the terror attacks in Paris in November 2015. Using framing theory, the article discusses aspects of the empirical case study, contextualised by the discussion about controversial issues in education. The main claim of the article is that, rather than seeing the terror attacks as a controversial issue in itself, the terror attacks should be treated as an event that has the potential to tap into several different controversial issues depending on the way it is framed. When addressed in the RE classroom, the teachers actively transform the event into a pedagogical issue, framed in accordance with the nature and aims of the subject. The students, however, often contest this pedagogical framing. This article discusses the interplay between teachers’ plans, students’ reactions, and the role of media in classroom interaction about the Paris attacks.

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.

A gender perspective as trigger and facilitator of innovation

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Fogelberg Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
Driving Force ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Gender Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Organizational Conditions ◽  
Local Case ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
And Gender

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether a gender perspective contributes to or functions as a driving force for innovations in organizations. The following questions are addressed: how can a gender perspective generate innovations and what are the conditions that favour innovations driven by a gender perspective? Design/methodology/approach – This study builds on a qualitative case study of an upper secondary school in Sweden, which has been showcased as a good example of gender awareness and gender mainstreaming in schools. Semi-structured interviews with representatives of the school were conducted and documents were analysed. Findings – The gender perspective contributed to innovations by triggering them and supporting the innovative processes, ensuring that the innovations did not stop at essentialist solutions. New ways of performing core processes were developed with the innovative leverage of the gender perspective. The perspective must be actively used and integrated into the core processes if it is to work properly, which was the case in this school. Research limitations/implications – This study indicates the importance of conducting further studies on innovations in the public sector as well as acknowledging gender in innovation studies, not least because this study focuses on a local case in a specific national context. Practical implications – This school exemplifies the use of a gender perspective as a driving force for innovations in organizations. The case points to important organizational conditions for innovation and actual gender-aware innovations. Originality/value – The study expands the understanding of innovation(s) in organizations and elaborates on the gendered dimensions of innovation as both process and product.

scholarly journals Tid for terror. Læreres håndtering av kontroversielle spørsmål i skolens religions- og livssynsundervisning

Prismet ◽  
1970 ◽  
pp. 261-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trine Anker ◽  
Marie Von der Lippe
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Religion And Ethics ◽  
Religious Extremism ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Academic Competencies ◽  
Teachers Perspectives

Religious Education in Norway has been criticised for avoiding conflict perspectives and controversial issues. This article looks closer at some of these issues by focusing on how teachers in upper secondary school have dealt with the terrorist attacks in Norway on 22 July 2011 in the subject matter Religion and Ethics. This study takes as a starting point a previous study among students in upper secondary schools and their perceptions of what school has done in the aftermath of the incident, by adding teachers’ perspectives (Anker & von der Lippe 2015). The findings from the student survey showed that 22 July has almost been silenced in school, and the interviews with the teachers partly confirm this. The picture is however broadened, and shows that teachers have dealt with the issues in different ways. An important finding is that teachers´ personal and academic competencies seem to be important for whether and how controversial subjects are included in their teachings or not.Keywords: 22. July, controversial issues, democratic citizenship, religious extremism, religious educationNøkkelord: 22. juli, kontroversielle problemer, demokratisk statsborgerskap, religiøs ekstremisme, religionsundervisning

scholarly journals THE INTERACTION OF SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: A TOPICAL AND CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (34) ◽  
Author(s):  
E.V GRYAZNOVA ◽  
◽  
T.A KOZLOVA ◽  
I.N FEDORENKO ◽  
O.V BELOV ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Secular Education ◽  
Younger Generation ◽  
Development Trajectories ◽  
The Church

Education as a special social institution develops in the system of pedagogical activity and evolves along with culture. The main goals of education are to prepare a person for life in society according to its laws, moral and legal norms, as well as according to the principles of spirituality. In other words, education is more responsible for the formation of the axiological subsystem of human culture. Historically, the upbringing of the younger generation is engaged in various subjects of socialization: the family, educational institutions, public organizations, etc., among which the Church occupies a special place. In our country, due to the prevailing social circumstances, the Church was excluded from participation in the educational process for many years. Today, the state and the public, realizing the spiritual damage that Russia suffered during the years of the USSR, perestroika, and then the spiritual crisis, are trying to restore the lost traditions of the Church's participation in the upbringing of the younger generation. The interaction of religious and secular education has its own canons, mechanisms, and development trajectories. But in the new conditions of the information society, in the conditions of the loss of a whole generation of people who keep these traditions and are able to pass them on to the younger generation, the resumption of such interaction faces a certain range of problems and difficulties. The authors of this study have studied the most relevant and controversial works of modern scientists, teachers, and theologians on the integration of secular and religious education in modern conditions. The study showed that the Institute of secular education is not ready to create a basis for such interaction, and the religious Institute can not cope with this task alone. This is explained by many factors and reasons that require separate research, which will be the subject of our further work.

scholarly journals Controversies, Complexities and Contexts: Teaching Islam through Internal Feminist Critique of the Religion

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 662
Author(s):  
Marianne Hafnor Bøe
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Religious Education ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Feminist Critique ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Religious Knowledge ◽  
Secondary Research ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Approach To Teaching

In what ways can teaching Islam through controversial issues be useful in religious education? Can it serve to counter problems of representation of Islam, and what are the benefits and possible pitfalls of adopting such an approach? In this article, I will explore the use of Muslim internal feminist critique of conservative and patriarchal interpretations of women’s religious leadership in Islam as a controversial issues approach to teaching Islam in non-confessional religious education. The approach can be relevant for students in upper-secondary religious education, but also in teacher education. Building on secondary research documenting the problems of teaching Islam in non-confessional religious education in the Nordic countries as well as research on Muslim feminism spanning over a decade, this article investigates the didactic potentials and challenges that adopting the controversial issues approach may hold for teaching Islam. The main argument of this article is that the internal feminist debate on Islam provides an alternative entry to teaching Islam. It provides didactic resources and tools for understanding the discursive aspects of Islam, i.e., how Islam is conceived, interpreted, debated and practiced by Muslims, which in turn highlight power aspects and authority that are central to the production of religious knowledge. Consequently, the controversial issues approach may serve to counter certain “grand narratives” that seem to permeate current representations of Islam in religious education.

Humane Philosophy as Public Philosophy

2018 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 137-150
Author(s):  
David McPherson ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Engagement ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Public Philosophy ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Existential Issues

Public philosophy is typically conceived as philosophical engagement with contemporary social and political issues in the public sphere. I argue that public philosophy should also aim to engage with existential issues that arise from the human condition. In other words, we should engage in “humane philosophy.” In the first section I fill out and show the attractions of this humane conception of philosophy by contrasting it with a rival scientistic conception. In the second section I demonstrate how the practice of humane philosophy is important for engaging with contemporary social and political issues and how it offers the best path for religious engagement with these issues. Contra John Rawls and other liberal political philosophers, I argue that public engagement with controversial issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, and genetic engineering requires engaging competing existential stances and I show how this can be done.

Assessments of User Comments With “Alternative Views” as a Function of Media Trust

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Marlene Kunst
Keyword(s):  
Online Discussions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Argument Quality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Media Trust ◽  
Heuristic Information Processing

Abstract. Comments sections under news articles have become popular spaces for audience members to oppose the mainstream media’s perspective on political issues by expressing alternative views. This kind of challenge to mainstream discourses is a necessary element of proper deliberation. However, due to heuristic information processing and the public concern about disinformation online, readers of comments sections may be inherently skeptical about user comments that counter the views of mainstream media. Consequently, commenters with alternative views may participate in discussions from a position of disadvantage because their contributions are scrutinized particularly critically. Nevertheless, this effect has hitherto not been empirically established. To address this gap, a multifactorial, between-subjects experimental study ( N = 166) was conducted that investigated how participants assess the credibility and argument quality of media-dissonant user comments relative to media-congruent user comments. The findings revealed that media-dissonant user comments are, indeed, disadvantaged in online discussions, as they are assessed as less credible and more poorly argued than media-congruent user comments. Moreover, the findings showed that the higher the participants’ level of media trust, the worse the assessment of media-dissonant user comments relative to media-congruent user comments. Normative implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

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