Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms

Abstract

Recent reports on Religious Education (RE) in England and Wales highlight the need for guidance on pedagogy and learning. The RE-flect project addressed this by promoting the creation of metacognitively oriented learning environments in primary school RE classrooms.Six primary school teachers and 160 pupils (8 -10 years) took part in the second year of this two year project. Meta-thinking, worldview and resources zones were created in each classroom. Attainment in RE and pupil perceptions of the learning environment were measured. Data from classroom observations, Worldview Profiles, and pupil and teacher interviews were analysed qualitatively. Results show an overall increase in attainment; a positive change in pupil perceptions of the learning environment; and the ability of pupils to reflect on and articulate their worldviews. Implications for RE curricular and pedagogy are discussed.

Implementing a Ricoeurian lens to examine the impact of individuals’ worldviews on subject content knowledge in RE in England: a theoretical proposition

“…Yet much of this existing research is focused on specialist secondary RE teachers (those trained in the subject to degree level) and there is very little research on the role of nonspecialists or primary teachers of RE. Furthermore, gaps exist in the literature in that research on identifying personal worldviews focuses on pupils (Jackson, 1997, Larkin et al, 2014) rather than teachers. Research which exists into teachers' worldviews focuses on their professional identity as an RE teacher Everington, 2003, 2004), personal knowledge of the teacher (Everington, 2012) and professional knowledge of the teacher (Freathy et al, 2014) rather than being specifically concerned with the potential impact of the teachers' personal worldviews on their SCK choices.…”