Jacqueline Watson

Educating for citizenship—the emerging relationship between religious education and citizenship education

The introduction of citizenship education to school in England (and Wales) in 2002 has generated interest and concern among religious educationalists, some of whom welcome the opportunities this new educational territory opens up for religious education and some of whom suspect it augurs religious educations demise. This article reports findings of a school‐based study of the early implementation of citizenship education and its impact on religious education. It discusses those findings in the context of the current debate about the future relationship between the two subjects, noting a similar ambivalence toward citizenship education among religious education heads of department, as there is among religious educationalists. The discussion includes an examination of the Crick Report, noting its lack of interest in religious education, and argues that its conceptualization of citizenship leaves it open to two quite different broad interpretations of what might be meant by an education for citizenship, one...The introduction of citizenship education to school in England (and Wales) in 2002 has generated interest and concern among religious educationalists, some of whom welcome the opportunities this new educational territory opens up for religious education and some of whom suspect it augurs religious educations demise. This article reports findings of a school‐based study of the early implementation of citizenship education and its impact on religious education. It discusses those findings in the context of the current debate about the future relationship between the two subjects, noting a similar ambivalence toward citizenship education among religious education heads of department, as there is among religious educationalists. The discussion includes an examination of the Crick Report, noting its lack of interest in religious education, and argues that its conceptualization of citizenship leaves it open to two quite different broad interpretations of what might be meant by an education for citizenship, one of which religious education practitioners appear to endorse and associate with religious education, and one of which they reject and associate with citizenship education.

Every Child Matters and children’s spiritual rights: does the new holistic approach to children’s care address children’s spiritual well‐being?

Every Child Matters is a major change programme aimed at integrating all services for children and young people in England. It seeks to enable a new holistic approach to their care and so improve a number of outcomes for children, thus improving their overall well‐being. Every Child Matters seeks to address the rights of the child to improved life chances but also their right to a voice in decisions made about their care. Although Every Child Matters seeks to improve a number of outcomes for children, it makes no mention of their spiritual well‐being. This article examines Every Child Matters’ holistic approach and discusses in some detail its attempt to put into practice the right of children and young people to have their voices listened to and their opinions valued. The article points to the absence of any specific reference to children’s spirituality in Every Child Matters, and asks whether its holistic approach and its recognition of children’s right to be heard are sufficient to address children’s and young people’s spiritual rights, particularly in education.

Can children and young people learn from atheism for spiritual development? A response to the National Framework for Religious Education

The new National Framework for Religious Education (RE) suggests, for the first time in national advice on agreed syllabuses, that atheism can be included in the curriculum alongside world religions. This article counters objections to the inclusion of atheism in RE and argues that children and young people can learn from atheistic beliefs and values for their spiritual and moral development. It explores the idea of atheism as ‘faith’ and illustrates atheism’s spiritual and moral potential through examples of writing from Bertrand Russell and Jean Paul Sartre. The article concludes that RE (preferably under a new name) can continue to be a valuable curriculum subject, provided it responds to the non‐statutory guidance of the new framework by offering a broader, more inclusive spiritual education which includes positive accounts of atheistic beliefs. Indeed, it is contended that without this change schools can not fulfil their legal obligation to provide opportunities for spiritual and moral development to all pupils.

Spiritual development and inclusivity: the need for a critical democratic approach

OFSTED and schools are largely agreed on what is meant by ‘spiritual development’ for schools though debate continues at the theoretical level on the broader question of what might be meant by a spiritual education. In this article, it is argued that cross‐curricular ‘spiritual development’ as a form of spiritual education is not inclusive, even though it purports to be so. It is further argued that alternative forms of spiritual education, put forward by educationalists, are no more inclusive because they are derived from universalist notions of spirituality. The discussion puts forward an alternative approach to spiritual education that takes up the ground between the critical realist approach of Andrew Wright and the democratic approach of Clive Erricker. It is argued that a critical democratic approach to education for spiritual development can offer inclusivity through engaging young people in a critical examination of worldviews appropriate to the pluralism to which young people are exposed and through which they can explore and develop their own spiritual identities.

Science, Spirituality and Truth: Acknowledging Difference for Spiritual Dialogue and Human Well-Being.

This article seeks to explain why spiritual education must be clear about the nature of spiritual knowledge and truth and how it differs from the knowledge and truth generated by science. The author argues this is important in order that spirituality and science are equally valued, and in order that spiritual pedagogy appropriately reflects the nature of spiritual truth in the context of spiritual diversity and commitment. Based on these arguments, and inspired both by the ideas of inter‐faith dialogue and the philosophy of Michael Bakhtin, the author then suggests a dialogical approach to spiritual pedagogy for spiritual development and wellbeing. The article suggests education will best enhance human wellbeing if it is positive about the contributions of both science and spirituality, and if it promotes understanding of spiritual difference and commitment.

Including secular philosophies such as humanism in locally agreed syllabuses for religious education

The 2004 National Framework for Religious Education (NFRE) innovatively recommended that secular philosophies such as humanism, or secular worldviews, be included in locally agreed syllabuses for religious education (RE) in England. However, the NFRE is a non‐statutory document, and Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs) and Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs), the bodies responsible for RE in each local authority (LA) in England, are not obliged to respond to its recommendations. This article reports the responses of 80 LAs to the recommendation to include secular worldviews, and examines the range of mechanisms for including secular worldviews across 27 agreed syllabuses. The author discusses key issues to consider when revising agreed syllabuses to include secular worldviews and concludes that, while there is not yet a best model for inclusion of secular worldviews, many locally agreed syllabuses are valuable in pointing ways forward.

Spiritual development: constructing an inclusive and progressive approach

This article examines the notion of spiritual development as it was conceptualised for state schools in Britain through the Conservative Government’s education reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, reforms which also introduced the National Curriculum. The article puts forward the argument that spiritual development was conceptualised in such a way as to attempt to reinstate progressive pedagogical values rejected by the National Curriculum reforms, but that the conceptualisation led to two conservative outcomes. First, spiritual development was not sufficiently robust to counteract the reforms and may have helped ease their passage. Second, education for the development of spiritual beliefs and values continued to be primarily located in Religious Education, even though a first principle of spiritual development was that spirituality should not be synonymous with religion in order that spiritual development should be inclusive. The article recommends that changes to Religious Education should be encouraged to ensure schools can provide opportunities for an inclusive and progressive education for spiritual development.

Post-secular schooling: freedom through faith or diversity in community

Post-secularism and neo-liberalism have converged in education policy and theory to generate a new enthusiasm for faith schools, along with criticism of the publicly-funded common or community school. However, in a post-secular social context, where religious and spiritual pluralism exponentially increases, and belief positions are both polarised and syncretised, the democratic notion of the common or community school appears even more crucial to address community understanding. There need to be strong reasons, therefore, for abandoning the common or community school in favour of faith schools. This article presents a critique of recent key philosophical defences of the public funding of faith schools, put forward by Richard Pring and Harry Brighouse, and by the Christian educationalist, Trevor Cooling. It also gives support to Michael Fielding and Peter Moss’ arguments for radicalising and reforming the common school, to enable it to be a community for understanding in an increasingly challenging post-secular environment.

Responding to Difference: Spiritual Development and the Search for Truth

If schools are responsible for the spiritual development of all their pupils, how can we make sense of this responsibility given the range of worldviews pupils’ families may belong to and the range of spiritual truths children and young people may hold or reject? Constructing a form of spiritual pedagogy compatible with the broader expectations of education in a liberal democracy is problematic.

Knowing through the felt-sense: a gesture of openness to the other

In the discussion of children’s spirituality and education, David Hay and Brendan Hyde place emphasis on the felt-sense. Originally identified by the psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin, the felt-sense is a way of knowing that involves attentiveness to the body and body wisdom. Although emphasised by Hay and Hyde, the felt-sense does not feature strongly in the academic discussion of children’s spiritual education. This article compares Gendlin’s use of the term ‘felt-sense’ with that of Hay and Hyde, and discusses understandings of the felt-sense and body wisdom gathered through interviews with focusing, shiatsu and yoga practitioners, and through the author’s encounters with these practices. The article considers synergies between the notions of ‘felt-sense’ and ‘bildung’, as described by Gadamer, and concludes that their shared openness to the other points to ‘a way of being’ for the educator which may hold the greatest value for spiritual education, given the complexity of post-secular spiritual identity.