Re-Imagining Christian Education for the Twenty-First Century

B. Morris Andrew

Description

The first annual Conference of the National Centre for Christian Education at Liverpool Hope University, held in July 2012, was advertised as:" a multi conference exploring the opportunities and dilemmas facing Christian education and educationalists at a time of significant social and demographic change when the certainties of the 1944 settlement are fast disappearing ... contributing to the debate about effective strategies for the enhancement of Christian education, and what it might offer the diverse, pluralistic society of 21st century England, with its current predominantly materialistic and instrumental perspective on the purposes of education."It attracted delegates from across the world and contributions from distinguished educational practitioners, theorists and administrators. Four main themes emerged from the papers accepted for inclusion in the Conference: the politics of Christian educational provision; vocation and Christian leadership, the formation of teachers as Christian educators; and Christian pedagogy and school effectiveness. Each theme is addressed in the selection of papers included in this book edited by Andrew B. Morris.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 14 janvier 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781910265116
• Langue: English

Extrait

Title Page
RE-IMAGINING CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Edited by
Andrew B. Morris



Publisher Information
First Published in Great Britain 2013 by:
Matthew James Publishing Ltd,
19 Wellington Close,
Chelmsford,
Essex CM1 2EE
www.matthew-james.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed in 2015 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© 2013, 2015 Andrew B. Morris
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research, or school staff development, or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication be only reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, with the prior permission of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
Cover design by James Shaw



Preface
The involvement of religious communities in the provision of education in this country predates that of the state in recognising the value of education for all. Between 1811 and 1860 the Church of England founded 17,000 schools through its National Society to offer education to the poor at a time when the Government was not prepared to take on the role. The first Jewish school for the poor was set up in 1732 and from 1852 the Catholic Bishops have worked to make available, wherever possible, schools for all Catholic children regardless of their parents’ ability to pay before the state got in on the act with the Education Act of 1870.
The ‘dual system’ of education in England, a mix of voluntary and state provided schools, established by the Education Act 1870 was a pragmatic response by the government of the day to a pressing need. It recognised that education was such an important individual and social good that it should become available to all regardless of their financial circumstances. At the same time, however, the Act established that though it was appropriate for the state to insist that all children should be educated, governments should not have the right to override the wishes of parents as to where and how their children should be educated.
In 1935, in response to the “... uncertainty and some measure of discontent in some quarters ...” with the government education policy, a ‘Memorandum by the President of the Board of Education’ was submitted to the Cabinet Education Policy Committee of the day with a view to include a commitment to raising the school leaving age in the government manifesto for the forthcoming election. It sought to implement educational recommendations contained in the Hadow Report of 1924 and meet the growing economic demands for a better equipped workforce (Cabinet Paper 143, 1935).
Despite the still uncertain outcome of the Second World War, in 1943 politicians turned, with hope and expectation, towards the country’s post-war reconstruction - both economically and socially. Reflecting upon the parliamentary and other debates of the time, it has been argued that there was a widely held view that saw the conflict as the forces of Christian civilisation resisting Nazi neo-pagan values (Cropley, 2005: 107-109). Certainly, the White Paper Educational Reconstruction , which built on that earlier Memorandum, regarded its proposed educational reforms as being concerned both with the physical and moral reconstruction of the state (Board of Education, 1943).
The resultant Education Act 1944 recognised the role that religious groups were then playing in educating the nation’s children and, among other things, re-affirmed the dualistic character of the English educational system. As such it supports the idea of a plurality in educational provision through separate but collaborating sectors, with voluntary providers of schools, such as dioceses, being co-ordinate with, rather than subordinate to, local education authorities, and provides the legal underpinning for state support of schools with a religious character.
Today around a third of all maintained schools have a religious character, approximately 6,250 schools from a total of nearly 21,000. Around 600 are for secondary age pupils, with the remainder being primary schools (DCSF, 2008). The great majority are Church of England and Roman Catholic. Nearly 2 out of every 5 independent schools in England have a religious character (around 900 independent schools with a religious character out of a total of just over 2,300 independent schools). Over 700 of these independent schools represent various Christian denominations;
In 2007, against a background of concern about a potential lack of societal cohesion and solidarity (see, for example, Ouseley, 2001; Cantle, 2003) and a view expressed by some that Church schools may be an obstacle (see, for example, House of Commons, 2004; Osler, 2007; Association of Teachers & Lecturers, 2007; Berkeley & Vij, 2008) the then Labour Government published a document setting out its “... shared vision and understanding of the integral part which schools with a religious character play in the publicly funded school system and our society” (DCSF, 2007: 20).
That document, titled ‘Faith in the System’, explicitly recognised the value of voluntary schools supported by religious organisations and emphasised “the benefits to society that this system brings for parental choice and diversity and we [the government] recognise that with the changes in society, it is only fair that pupils of all faiths and none have the opportunity to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents.” (ibid: 3). It continues, “[T] he Government recognises that faith schools are popular with parents and make a valuable contribution to the way in which this country discharges its duty under Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to respect the right of parents to ensure education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions” and “Our [the government’s] unequivocal purpose in agreeing this document is for other parties to appreciate the contribution of faith schools [and others] ... make to promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development ... and the fostering of community cohesion.” (ibid: 3).
In the light of such statements it seems most unlikely that there will be the sustained political momentum necessary to repeal that element of the longstanding settlement in the foreseeable future, despite the dramatic changes in the structures established almost seventy years ago by the introduction of a new legal framework for Academies under the provisions of the Academies Act 2010 and Academies Act 2011.
All the above does not, however, in any way, suggest that the Christian schools do not have to respond to the changing socio/political circumstances of our multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and secular culture. Just as the models and methods employed prior to 1870 were developed and evolved through 1902, 1944 and during subsequent decades, so too must the current manifestations of Christian schools and the style of education they provide.
For nearly half a century, the provisions of the Education Act 1944 have shaped the thinking of the major Christian Churches. We are now, I would argue, in a similar situation to those who in the depths of the Second World War looked to plan an educational system fit for the needs of the post war years. They did not know, for certain, that their plans would bring all the benefits that they wished but they took a leap of faith in producing the legislation that has served the country well for so long. Just as they had to imagine what the new system should look like and deliver, it is time to re-imagine what the next fifty years will demand of schools with a religious character.
This book is the result of the first annual Conference of the National Centre for Christian Education at Liverpool Hope University, held in July 2012. It was advertised as:
‘a multi-disciplinary conference exploring the opportunities and dilemmas facing Christian education and educationalists at a time of significant social and demographic change when the certainties of the 1944 settlement are fast disappearing ... contributing to the debate about effective strategies for the enhancement of Christian education, and what it might offer the diverse, pluralistic society of 21 st century England, with its current predominantly materialistic and instrumental perspective on the purposes of education’.
Four main themes emerged from the papers accepted for inclusion in the Conference: the politics of Christian educational provision; vocation and Christian leadership, the formation of teachers as Christian educators; and Christian pedagogy and school effectiveness. Each of these major themes will be addressed in the selection included in this book.
I trust that they will provide opportunities for all those who are involved in any way in the provision and practice of Christian education to develop their understanding and appreciation of the on-going task of re-imagining what it will be like in the 21 st Century.
Andrew B. Morris - Editor
References
Association of Teachers and Lecturers (2007) Faith Schools, London, Association of Teachers and Lecturers, http://www.atl.org.uk/images/Faithschools/PS20 2007.pdf (accessed 14 th March 2007).
Berkeley R. & Vij, S. (2008) The Right to Divide? Faith Schools and Community Cohesion, London, Runnymede Trust.
Board of Education (1943) Educational Reconstruction Cmd 6458, Presented by the President of the Board of Education to Parliament July 1943, London, His Majesty’s Stationery Office.
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