Keyaction II:

Strategicpartnershipsfor school education

“Cooperationforinnovationandtheexchangeofgoodpractices”

READY - Religious Education and DiversityPartner Institutions

University of AberdeenSchool of EducationScotland

University of London School of Education England

Staatliches Seminar für Didaktik und Lehrerbildung (Gymnasien) Tübingen / Germany

University of Karlstad / Sweden

Comenius-Institut Münster / Germany

Kirchliche Pädagogische Hochschule Wien-Krems / Austria

StaatlichesSeminarfürDidaktik&Lehrerbildung(Gymnasien)Tübingen

www.seminar-tuebingen.de

Department II / Subject Group:Religion – Ethics– Philosophy & Music

Ethics / Philosophy

Christoph Schilling, Marcel Remme & Kai Voss

Protestant RE Birgit Maisch-Zimmermann & Uta Knoerzer

Catholic RE Uta Hauf

MusicFrançois Förstel

Peter Kliemann

…is notanacademicresearch project …

…does notintendto providelesson plansfor tomorrow morning

…is notacompetition:

„Whichnationalsystemof teaching REis the best one?“

Keyaction II:

Strategicpartnershipsfor school education

“Cooperationforinnovationandtheexchangeofgoodpractices”

Ready I

Ready II

Ø Onlineexchange about teaching REand becoming anREteacher

Ø Guidelinesfor onlinecommunication &using the eTwinning platform(=“intellectual output 1“)

Ø Workingoncase studies about REand REteacher educationindifferentEuropeancountries(=“intellectualoutput3”)

Ø Preparing study visits of year 2/Guidelinesfor study visits(=“intellectual output 2“)

Ø DevelopingandexchanginglessonplansonReligionandDiversity(guidelines=“intellectualoutput4”)

www.readyproject.eu >>>„Intellectual output 5“

RErun by faith communities or by the state?

Neutrality or impartiality?

REas asafe space?

‘We‘and the ‘others‘…

Religious vsnon-religiouswordviews?

Criticalthinking orteaching to the test?

Learningabout – learning from?

Overview or deep drilling?

‘Truth claims‘?

STUDYVISITSIntellectualoutput2

CONCEPT– OBJECTIVES

OBSERVATION– ANALYSIS– EVALUATION

HEINZIVKOVITS

CHURCHUNIVERSITYCOLLEGEOFEDUCATIONVIENNA /KREMS

2017

Inhowfardotherespectiveorganisational/didacticconcepts

ofREsupportthepupils’perspectiveofpluralityanddiversity?

ReligiousEducation- Sittinginthesameboat?

Objectives

• Teachertraineesandeducatorsasalearningcommunity

• Sharingofexperiencesbetweenpeoplewithdifferentreligious,culturalandpedagogicalbackground

• Practicalacquaintancewithculturalandreligioustraditions

• InsightsintoandexchangeofreligiouspedagogicalconceptsofRE

Cooperation&networking

Structureofexploration

Analysis Casestudiesinschools&classrooms

JobshadowingExploration Interviews&Observation

Documents WebsitesMissionstatements

Interaction Face-to-faceencounters Interviews Videotapings

Reflection Analysis Documentation

Underlyingconcepts

Phenomenographic

Identificationofdifferencesagainstabackgroundof

sameness

Ethnographic

Learningaboutacontextandthepeoplelivingorworking

init

Understandingtheirvalues,needs,motivationor

vocabulary

Criticalincidentanalysis

(Overlappingsituations)

Incidentsarisingfromcultural/religious

differencesorwherethereisaproblemofcross-culturaladaptation

Flanagan 1954

Monitoringtasks

• Whatkindofdiversitydoyouperceive?• Howisdiversityaddressed?•RE-lessons:Howarepupilsinvolvedintheirreligious/culturaldiversity?• RE&CollectiveWorship:Istheexistingreligiousdiversityinthisschool

reflectedintheformsofworshipoffered?• Informationwillbecollectedthroughobservation,interviews,videorecording

Diversity&Belonging

Lessonobservations

• Toexploreanddescribepupil/teacherinteraction,

andcommunicationpatternsinthecontextofdiversity

• Toidentifycriticalincidents oroverlappingsituationsinthecontextofdiversityandhow

teachers/pupilsdealwiththem

Purpose

Note:Analysisoflessonsfromadidacticormethodologicalperspectiveisnotthemainaimof

theobservationphase

Lesson topic: possible triggers of war (with R. Singh)

Very large room, 29 kids mixed, some girls wearing turbans. Huge plasma screen,whiteboard on side, some students with their backs to it.

„R + N + E + I = W“ (Religion + Nationalism + Economics + Ideas = War)

In the lesson, there was a lot of “ex-cathedra teaching”, but the pupils are always giventhe opportunity to exchange ideas or write their own opinions. Singh gave manyexamples of the trigger for wars, from the region of India, but also Europe and Africa.

He knew that different religions are represented in the class, but he didn’t knowwhich pupil has which religious affiliation.

Anette teaches in 6 different classes. In RE she wants to describe a little how it is to be part of a specific religion. Her special T-shirt refers to world religions.

On her necklace she wears a cross, which symbolizes the topic of the following lesson.

Her coffee-cup in the stuff-room, where we met and got a first impression of the school, shows the mosaic of Tabgha, with the 5 breads and the 2 fish. She bought it during a trip to Israel.

Evaluation- Logbook

• FEELINGSWaysinwhichmycuriosityandinterestwerearoused(examplesfromordinarydailyschoollife,especiallywhentheymademere-considermyownreligion/culture)

• KNOWLEDGEThemostimportantthingsIhavelearntaboutdealingwithreligious/culturalvarietyatschoolThemostimportantthingsIhavelearntabouttheorganisationofRE

• ACTIONSCriticalincidentsorfeaturesthatcanberelatedtothedifferentreligions/culturespresentintheclassroomExamplesoftimeswhenIhadtoaskquestionsandworkoutmyownanswers(tounderstandreligious/culturalcustomsandbeliefs)

Concluding your observations, do the observed RE lessons facilitate the dialogue betweenstudents of different faiths in this school?

Not at all, as the teachers do not seem to be interested in the different faiths of their pupils. One told usthat he himself does not believe in God. For him it is easier not to know the belief of his pupils and hedoes not know any facts about the family or religious background of the pupils.

Logbookexcerpts

I think it is not possible to convert this system to Austria one-by-one. Firstly, the school systemhas a different structure; and secondly, access to one's religion/denomination seems to get lost. Asan ideal, I would prefer a dual system: Religious Education (focus: ethics, basics, interrelatedness...) as a compulsory subject for all and confessional education in the ratio 50:50. So the pupils canlearn together, with and from “the others”, but in the second phase it also can sharpen theunderstanding of one’s own religion/denomination.