‘I’m less intolerant’: reflexive self‐assessment in religious education

Abstract

This article describes practitioner research which shows how selfassessment as a form of assessment for learning can be aligned with all the educational goals of religious education in England, notably the selfassessment of attitudes and values, such as tolerance and respect. The background literature on assessment for learning is described, as well as the literature on reflection in religious education, notably 'learning from religion'. Practitioner research with Year 9 pupils in a monocultural comprehensive school is described. The analysis shows how pupils are able to reflect on their development in: knowledge and understanding; evaluation and reflection; and attitudes and values. Reflexive selfassessment is defined, drawing on social science descriptions of reflexivity, both in the light of assessment for learning and interpretive approaches to religious education. The implications of this for policy and practice are considered.

Measuring attitude towards RE: factoring pupil experience and home faith background into assessment

“…In spite of pleas for 'authentic assessment' (Blaylock 2000) and a lack of pointers to the features of good interfaith education, especially in the light of the Freire critique (Byrne 2011, 48), pupil self-assessment as a solution may be of limited reliability concerning technical aspects of the RE learning experience (Fancourt 2005, 124). It might be more helpful if the pupils limit their self-assessment to their own attitude to RE (Fancourt 2010). My argument is not that assessment should be neglected in education -since quantification is as necessary to maintain 'accountability' to stakeholders in RE as it is for other subjects.…”

Educational Communication Based on Qur’ānic Religious Pluralism in Increasing Religious Moderation of Muslim Students in Indonesia

“…Meanwhile, hate speech originates from religious prejudice and efforts to eliminate this problem are crucial to building substantive religious moderation. Several cases of religious intolerance occurred due to the clash of ideologies, secularization, as well as the arrogance of militant religious groups and authorities (Karpov & Lisovskaya, 2008;Crosby & Varela, 2014;Fancourt, 2010;Muzakki, 2008).…”

A practitioner action research approach to learning outside the classroom in religious education: developing a dialogical model through reflection by teachers and faith field visitors

“…Although there has been extensive research into the impact of poverty on 'failures' of multiculturalism (West 2016) (Thomas et al 2018) and into the contribution of Religious Education to multicultural aims in the UK (Jackson 2004) (Conroy, et al, 2013), until now there has been no direct research into the impact of social disadvantage on the intercultural competences of young people experiencing poverty and disadvantage. There is a longstanding literature on pupils rejecting the value of Religious Education altogether (Fancourt 2010), sometimes stemming from the subject's failure to cohere with their lived experiences (Conroy, Lundie, and Baumfield 2012) or with perceived existential commitments (Chater and Erricker 2013). Through dialogical research, we sought to understand the needs, concerns and reasons for disengagement of disadvantaged communities.…”