Norman Richardson

Opting out or opting in? Conscience clauses, minority belief communities and the possibility of inclusive Religious Education in Northern Ireland

A recent research study has examined the role and effectiveness of conscience clauses as a means of protecting the freedom of religion and belief of members of minority faith communities in relation to the teaching of religious education (RE) in schools. While the specific context for this study related to young people from such communities in Northern Ireland, its implications have wider application to other national contexts. In this article, the principal focus is on the significance of the study for the content of, and approach to, RE in schools.

Faith Schooling: Implications for Teacher Educators. A Perspective from Northern Ireland.

The separate and parallel systems of schooling in Northern Ireland that largely reflect Protestant/Catholic divisions have been much criticised on the grounds that they have failed to promote social cohesion. These divisions are also evident in teacher education provision and attempts to offset the negative effects of this separation have made only a limited impact. By means of a brief survey of the relationship between two de facto religiously separated teacher education institutions, from the early twentieth century to the present day, this article considers the issues for teacher educators and argues that separateness at this level has been disadvantageous in relation to the challenges of preparing student teachers to work in a diverse, plural society.

Primary humanities – a perspective from Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT The word ‘humanities’ does not appear in the current Northern Ireland Curriculum (NIC). Geography and history are taught within an Area of Learning called ‘The World Around Us’ which also contains science and technology. The curriculum has a strong emphasis on an integrated, ‘connected learning’ way of teaching and learning. Religious Education is a separate subject that stands alongside, rather than within, the NIC, and the curriculum also includes a new Area of Learning – ‘Personal Development and Mutual Understanding’. The distinctive content and modes of teaching which the humanities subjects tend to encourage ought to be seen as particularly important in Northern Ireland – a part of the UK which has endured a complicated past and remains to a large extent segregated, both socially and educationally. This complicated past means that there is often wariness and reluctance on the part of teachers towards tackling controversial personal and social issues in the primary school.

Issues and Dilemmas in Religious Education and Human Rights: Perspectives on Applying the Toledo Guiding Principles to a Divided Society

In a divided society like Northern Ireland, where religious separation in education remains effective in relation to over 90 % of the school-going population, discussion often centres on significantly divergent approaches to the place and role of religion in schools. Human rights principles are frequently used to justify the existence of faith schools but also increasingly to emphasise the importance of intercultural learning, and the significance placed on one or other of these can be the source of intense disagreement and sharp conflict. Debate focuses on the educational purposes of RE, on “faith ethos”, the place of confessional preparation in publicly funded schools, school worship, requirements for faith-based qualifications for teachers, the ethical appropriateness of withdrawal from RE classes and the possibility of creating shared schools for pupils of all backgrounds together. Many of these issues have been discussed internationally from a human rights perspective in documents such as the Toledo Guiding Principles (OSCE, Toledo guiding principles on teaching about religions and beliefs in public schools. Warsaw: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, 2007) and statements from the Council of Europe. This contribution will examine some of the contentious issues in Northern Ireland by particular reference to the Toledo document and will consider possible future options for a more inclusive approach to RE, concluding with reference to similar debate in other divided societies.