School Influence and Pupil Attitude Towards Religion

Abstract

Summary. Attitudes towards religion of 2,272 third and fourth year junior pupils were studied in relation to the type of religious education provided by their school. Comparisons were made between Roman Catholic aided, Church of England aided, and Local Education Authority schools. Comparisons were also made between schools which provide no religious education, schools which follow a ‘traditional’ syllabus, and schools which follow a ‘modern’ syllabus. It was found that there was no difference in pupil attitude in State schools which provide no religious education, State schools which follow the ‘traditional’ syllabus, State schools which follow the ‘modern’ syllabus, and Church of England Schools which follow the ‘traditional’ syllabus. Pupils in Roman Catholic schools scored higher on the attitude scale and pupils in Church of England schools which followed the ‘modern’ syllabus scored lower. These findings question both the effectiveness of syllabus revision in religious education, and the specifically religious contribution of certain Church of England aided primary schools.

So Far, So Good: levels of academic achievement in Catholic schools

“…The findings seem to be consistent across the primary and secondary sectors and with pupils in England, Scotland and Ireland ( (Francis, 1979(Francis, , 1986(Francis, , 1987Gibson, 1989;Greer, 1981). Evidence from Australia and the United States of America suggest the possibility that the more positive attitudes are not simply a reflection of home background.…”

Denominational Schools and Pupil Attitude Towards Christianity

“…This scale has been shown to function reliably throughout the age range 8-16 years (Francis, 1978). Francis (1979a) employs this scale to assess the influence of church primary schools on pupil attitudes by using path analysis to build up a model of the influences on pupil attitude towards religion. Francis (1979a) employs this scale to assess the influence of church primary schools on pupil attitudes by using path analysis to build up a model of the influences on pupil attitude towards religion.…”

Academic standards in Catholic schools in England: indications of causality

“…A number of studies have reported higher levels of religious experience and adherence among Catholic children than their non-Catholic counterparts (Francis, 1979(Francis, , 1983(Francis, , 1986a(Francis, , 1987. Empirical research has also found that religiosity, indicated in frequency of church attendance and personal prayer, is a significant predictor of positive attitudes towards school in general, individual lessons and overall academic achievement (Flynn, 1993;Francis, 1992).…”