When teachers face religion in public education. Case examples from Finnish public education

Ubani, Martin

doi:10.1007/s40839-018-0064-x

Cited by 9 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…These guidelines may include booklets, in-service training for principals, teachers and other personnel, and maintaining an open or closed web portal. (Ubani 2018;Mäkelä et al 2017. ) To sum up, when compared to many other European countries, Finnish educational policy is characterised by a rather uniform educational structure.…”

Section: Public Schools and The Governance Of Religious Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this type of school, Islam is sometimes regarded as an internal attribution that connotes aspects related to, for instance, challenges in social integration, language and learning. In concrete terms, this means that the challenges experienced among some Somalis in Finnish society are also attributed to Muslim students from other ethnic communities (Ubani 2018(Ubani , 2019.…”

Section: Intra-religious Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Absences without permission also occurred during swimming lessons and city hall receptions with dancing. Those explained as extra day absences due to Eid were interpreted by professionals more as a practical problem or the custom of a certain group in the community than a situation rooted in religious convictions or a sense of not having a voice to negotiate religious rights in school life (Ubani 2018). A "secular Protestant" mind-set also indicates a lack of recognition that religion is an important thing for some students; discourses on the incorporation of religious diversity and religious rights in school often reveal an agenda of "liberalizing students" from the religion-based demands of their parents and religious communities, revealing an underlying assumption that religion is not a significant identity factor for young people (Rissanen 2018).…”

Section: Protestant Conceptions Of Religion and Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It also includes quantitative data based on different members of a school community. In addition, we also studied the policy documents concerning public education in Finland (Ubani 2013(Ubani , 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Challenges of Religious Literacy in Education: Islam and the Governance of Religious Diversity in Multi-faith Schools

Rissanen

Ubani

Sakaranaho

2020

The Challenges of Religious Literacy

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This chapter seeks take part in an emerging research where religion is approached as a whole school endeavor. Previous research and policy recommendations typically focused on teaching about religion in school, but the accommodation of religious diversity in the wider school culture merits more attention. Based on observations in our multiple case studies, we discuss the multi-level governance of religious diversity in Finnish multi-faith schools with a particular focus on the challenges of religious literacy for educators. The three examples we present focus on the inclusion of Muslims in Finnish schools and in particular on the challenges for educator (1) in interpreting the distinction between religion and culture, (2) in recognizing and handling intra-religious diversity, and (3) in being aware of Protestant conceptions of religion and culture. A theme cutting across these examples is how they reflect the tendencies either to see different situations merely through the lens of religion (religionisation), or not to recognize the importance of religion at all (religion-blindness). We argue that religious literacy should be recognized and developed as a vital part of the intercultural competencies of educators.

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Section: Public Schools and The Governance Of Religious Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Intra-religious Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Protestant Conceptions Of Religion and Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Challenges of Religious Literacy in Education: Islam and the Governance of Religious Diversity in Multi-faith Schools

Rissanen

Ubani

Sakaranaho

2020

The Challenges of Religious Literacy

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…For another, qualifications for RE teachers are strictly academic. Research by Ubani (2018b) among Finnish Somali parents shows that they nevertheless assume a strong bond between RE and religious formation and judge the suitability of the RE teacher based on his or her religiosity. At least some of the Orthodox parents seem to have similar kinds of expectations.…”

Section: Poor Re Arrangements Push the Religious Minority Aside In Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making minority faith (in)visible through religious education: parents’ experiences of the identification of their children’s Orthodox identity in Finnish public schools

Metso

2019

j. relig. educ.

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The focus of this article is on parents' experiences with and perceptions of their children's religious education (RE). The data consist of letters from 41 parents of Finnish Orthodox children and youth. In the letters, the parents describe their understanding of minority religious upbringing and how it is affected by different factors like RE. RE is a mandatory subject in Finnish schools, and it is taught in groups consisting of children with the same religious backgrounds. The main questions in this article are (1) how do the parents view the arrangements for Orthodox RE to make their children's minority religious affiliation visible at school, and (2) what is the effect of RE on the formation of their children's minority identity? The analyses show that parents perceive RE as an important factor in their children's identity formation. Despite the sometimes inadequate arrangements for Orthodox RE in school, the parents are mostly happy with the subject and with their children's RE teachers. RE makes the minority religious affiliation of Orthodox children both visible and invisible: their difference from the majority is exposed, but minority RE classes often take place outside of regular school hours and even outside of school premises.

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States of Mind: Peace Education and Preventing Violent Extremism

Benjamin¹,

Koirikivi²,

Gearon

et al. 2022

Wiener Beiträge Zur Islamforschung

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When teachers face religion in public education. Case examples from Finnish public education

Cited by 9 publications

References 18 publications

Challenges of Religious Literacy in Education: Islam and the Governance of Religious Diversity in Multi-faith Schools

Challenges of Religious Literacy in Education: Islam and the Governance of Religious Diversity in Multi-faith Schools

Making minority faith (in)visible through religious education: parents’ experiences of the identification of their children’s Orthodox identity in Finnish public schools

States of Mind: Peace Education and Preventing Violent Extremism

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