A Framework for Teaching Epistemic Insight in Schools

Abstract

This paper gives the rationale and a draft outline for a framework for education to teach epistemic insight into schools in England. The motivation to research and propose a strategy to teach and assess epistemic insight followed research that investigated how students and teachers in primary and secondary schools respond to big questions about the nature of reality and human personhood. The research revealed that there are pressures in schools that dampen students' expressed curiosity in these types of questions and limit their developing epistemic insight into how science, religion and the wider humanities relate. These findings prompted the construction of a framework for education for students aged 5-16 designed to encourage students' expressed interest in big questions and develop their understanding of the ways that science interacts with other ways of knowing. The centrepiece of the framework is a sequence of learning objectives for epistemic insight, organised into three categories. The categories are, firstly, the nature of science in real world contexts and multidisciplinary arenas; secondly, ways of knowing and how they interact; and thirdly, the relationships between science and religion. Our current version of the Framework is constructed to respond to the way that teaching is organised in England. The key principles and many of the activities could be adopted and tailored to work in many other countries.

Argumentation and interdisciplinarity: reflections from the Oxford Argumentation in Religion and Science Project

“…Research on argumentation is broadly related students' epistemic understanding of religion and science, and the overlap and boundaries between them in schools. (Billingsley, Nassaji, Fraser, & Lawson, 2018;Taber, Billingsley, Riga, & Newdick, 2011). However, in addition to epistemic views students should also be guided to adopt the ways scientists ask questions and approach a problem within the discipline, i.e.…”

Perceptions of the relationships between science and religion held by upper-secondary school students in Church of England schools

“…Epistemic insight refers to ‘knowledge about knowledge’ and, in particular, knowledge about disciplines and how they interact. There is a basis to say that in England and more widely internationally, there are pressures and barriers in schools that teaching and learning about epistemology is given insufficient attention (Billingsley et al., 2018b). Firm boundaries between the sciences and other areas in secondary schools mean few opportunities to discuss ways to relate science, religion and the wider humanities (Kötter and Hammann, 2017).…”

“…To address these pressures and barriers and the gaps in young people’s education that they produce, we have produced a draft Framework for Education which sets out learning objectives for epistemic insight organised into a progression for school students aged 5–16 (Billingsley et al., 2018b). The Framework has three categories, designed to overlay the curriculum compartments and overcome the pressures and barriers that currently operate: One category focuses on ways to develop students’ interest in Big Questions and ways to teach about the relationships between science and religion. A second category is called ‘the nature of science in real world contexts and multidisciplinary arenas’.…”

“…These are for students to appreciate that ‘science and religion are mostly concerned with different types of questions including different types of why question’ (in upper-primary school), ‘some people say science and religion conflict and some people say they do not’ (in lower-secondary school) and ‘science and religion do not necessarily conflict’ (in upper-secondary school). In a parallel article, we have explained the rationale for the objectives for ‘ways of knowing and how they interact’ and ‘the nature of science in real world contexts and multidisciplinary arenas’ (Billingsley et al., 2018b).…”

Primary school students’ perspectives on questions that bridge science and religion: Findings from a survey study in England

“…and 'to what extent are we each responsible for our actions?' (Billingsley et al, 2018). The study we report in this article was prompted by concerns about how schools manage students' expressed curiosity about Big Questions and their developing epistemic insight into ways that disciplines and other knowledge domains interact.…”