Two secondary school students studying together in class

Research: RE Teachers and Values Education

Providing RE teachers with the space to reflect on and influence the shifting landscape of values education.

About the research project

Research Summary

  • January 2020 - December 2020

This project brought together a cross-section of Religious Education (RE) teachers from across England to share their experiences, reflect on their responses to new policy developments and to engage in imaginative work on the future of values education. 

As a consequence of recent policy developments in England, the nature of values education in schools is changing. These developments include the promotion of ‘fundamental British values’ (FBV) and character education in schools. RE teachers are often at the forefront of this shift. 

The project built on findings from a pilot study on teachers’ perceptions of FBV, which was carried out with secondary school teachers of RE, Citizenship Education (CE) and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in 2018.   

Read the research article about the pilot study, written in the Cambridge Journal of Education, for more information. 

AIMS

The project brought together a cross-section of RE teachers from across England to: 

  • provide time and space to teachers to reflect on the issues raised in the pilot study 

  • find out the extent to which findings from the pilot study resonated more broadly

  • explore the current landscape and future direction of values education in schools 

Quote from Dr Jane Mcdonnel

It was great to have the opportunity to talk to teachers of RE from across the country to see how they are responding to the shift in values education going on in schools at the moment, and to provide a platform for exploring critical issues around this together.
Dr Jane McDonnell

Research methods

RESEARCH METHODS 

This research project extended the narrative approach used in the pilot study to explore the current experiences of teachers and how they see their future as values educators.  

Eight teachers participated in the study, which involved: 

  • online focus groups to discuss the findings of the pilot study   

  • online creative writing workshops on current experiences and imagined futures 

"World Airline Routes" by josullivan.59 
The creative practitioner shared a range of artists’ maps before asking participants to create their own maps as a start point for creative writing.

Research findings and outputs

Research findings

Several themes emerged from the focus groups, including: 

  • contrasting perceptions of the motivations behind specific policies

  • enthusiasm for values education, despite reservations about some policies

  • the importance of RE pedagogies for values education more broadly

  • the positioning of RE teachers as ‘experts’ in and advocates for values education

  • the purposes of values education and critical issues in its development over time

In the creative workshops, teachers produced narratives that explored these themes and their past, present and future engagement with values education imaginatively.

research outputs

Outputs from the project include: 

  • a reflective resource compiled from narratives produced in the creative workshops 

  • a practitioner-focus article to be published in REToday 

  • articles for academic journals (currently in progress) 

Download the resource

Read the resource by clicking the link.

Research team

Research team

principal investigator

External collaborators

  • Michelle Green (creative writing practitioner)
  • Creative Huddle (online facilitation consultants)

Contact us

If you have any questions about the project, please email Dr Jane McDonnell.
 

[email protected]