How can we help pupils to make sense of Science Religion encounters in the classroom, when so little dialogue and discussion happens at the planning stages of curriculum development?
Our toolkit of resources has been designed based on our research findings to support schools and teachers in improving science religion encounters.
For Beginning Teachers
Find out how you can feel more confident and supported in planning for, and responding to, science religion encounters in your school.
1 What are science/religion encounters and how can I prepare for them?
We conducted a survey with beginning teachers and more experienced teachers to explore what science/religion encounters they had experienced in their classrooms. The findings are shared in this document, along with some suggestions of what you might be able to do to support your teaching around science/religion encounters in the future.
2 What is the purpose of RE on the school curriculum?
Secondary teachers of RE have a variety of different views on the purposes of RE. Purpose matters because it affects all the classroom and curriculum decisions. Being able to articulate purpose matters because a teacher is required to be able to explain the intentions of their subject to different audiences. Having a joint department view matters for a coherent curriculum experience.
3 Sharing the purpose of secondary RE in the school?
Religious Education as a school subject has suffered a decline in status over recent years. An analysis from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education in 2019 showed significant decline in RE in secondary schools with almost 40% of community schools and 50% of ‘Academy schools without a religious character’ not meeting ‘their legal or contractual requirements for the subject’ (NATRE, 2019, p.2).
4 How can I teach about truth in a complex world?
How should a pupil make sense of what Science and Religious Education lessons offer, especially when they have aspects of shared content, but might cover different ways of knowing?
5 What role can different disciplinary knowledges play in shaping RE?
Within cohorts of student RE teachers, we found evidence of debates about the value of different disciplinary knowledges underpinning the purpose of RE as a school subject.
6 How can I foster collaboration between the RE and science departments in my school?
Participants in our online survey were asked to describe the relationship between science and RE departments/subjects in their schools by choosing one of five options: Collaboration, Conflict,Dialogue, Independence, Integration. Research shows that religion and science can often have a complementary relationship.
There are new challenges in ITE, but how might we give beginning teachers, especially student teachers of Science and RE, opportunities to come together and talk about the topics they have in common?
8 How can I use questioning to explore the unexpected without losing control?
Teacher questioning, exploring the unexpected and ‘losing control’ in the classroom: Discussion and analysis of a lesson on Creation.
For Curriculum Leaders & Designers
Find out how your school can more effectively plan curricula with science religion encounters in mind.
1 What are science/religion encounters and how can I prepare for them?
We conducted a survey with beginning teachers and more experienced teachers to explore what science/religion encounters they had experienced in their classrooms. The findings are shared in this document, along with some suggestions of what you might be able to do to support your teaching around science/religion encounters in the future.
4 How can I teach about truth in a complex world?
How should a pupil make sense of what Science and Religious Education lessons offer, especially when they have aspects of shared content, but might cover different ways of knowing?
5 What role can different disciplinary knowledges play in shaping RE?
Within cohorts of student RE teachers, we found evidence of debates about the value of different disciplinary knowledges underpinning the purpose of RE as a school subject.
The question of how science religion encounters are made sense of, brings up Christian school ethos intentions of an integrated holistic or overarching philosophy of education or knowledge.
For Teacher Educators & Developers
Find out about ways you can prepare and develop teachers to be more confident in science religion encounters through session/inset/CPD opportunities.
1 What are science/religion encounters and how can I prepare for them?
We conducted a survey with beginning teachers and more experienced teachers to explore what science/religion encounters they had experienced in their classrooms. The findings are shared in this document, along with some suggestions of what you might be able to do to support your teaching around science/religion encounters in the future.
2 What is the purpose of RE on the school curriculum?
Secondary teachers of RE have a variety of different views on the purposes of RE. Purpose matters because it affects all the classroom and curriculum decisions. Being able to articulate purpose matters because a teacher is required to be able to explain the intentions of their subject to different audiences. Having a joint department view matters for a coherent curriculum experience.
3 Sharing the purpose of secondary RE in the school?
Religious Education as a school subject has suffered a decline in status over recent years. An analysis from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education in 2019 showed significant decline in RE in secondary schools with almost 40% of community schools and 50% of ‘Academy schools without a religious character’ not meeting ‘their legal or contractual requirements for the subject’ (NATRE, 2019, p.2).
4 How can I teach about truth in a complex world?
How should a pupil make sense of what Science and Religious Education lessons offer, especially when they have aspects of shared content, but might cover different ways of knowing?
6 How can I foster collaboration between the RE and science departments in my school?
Participants in our online survey were asked to describe the relationship between science and RE departments/subjects in their schools by choosing one of five options: Collaboration, Conflict,Dialogue, Independence, Integration. Research shows that religion and science can often have a complementary relationship.
8 How can I use questioning to explore the unexpected without losing control?
Teacher questioning, exploring the unexpected and ‘losing control’ in the classroom: Discussion and analysis of a lesson on Creation.
How can themes from a Global Citizen ITE module feed through into Science ITE to support the confidence and competence of student teachers?
For Researchers
Find out more about the findings, the researchers and the research processes involved in this project.
12 Science and religion in the classroom
Dr John Paul Riordan writes about research and the science religion encounters project.
13 Research summaries from the project
Key insights from the findings of the science religion encounters project.
This project has been funded by
