| Date: | From 2017 - 2023 |
| Institute: | Canterbury Christ Church University |
| Researchers: | Dr. Ann Casson, Ann Pittaway, Dr Sabrina Hulbert, Professor Bob Bowie |
| Funding body: | Douglas Trust |
| Grant | £420,000 |
How do church primary schools facilitate opportunities for children’s exploration of faith and spiritual life in the home?
The Faith in the Nexus research project was an extensive empirical mixed methods study undertaken by NICER at Canterbury Christ Church University. Throughout this two phased project, the research team took a child-centred approach by attentively listening to the voices of Year 5 and Year 6 children speaking across 27 church primary schools in England and Wales.
Three core animations support the first research phase. The first animation draws attention to the key findings of the report whilst the second animation has an empowering message for parents nurturing their child’s spiritual journey. The third animation is aimed at encouraging children to consider their own spirituality.
In the second phase of the research, we have captured the voices of children speaking openly about their own faith and spiritual experiences in the home, school, and church environments. Seven further animations encapsulate children responding to various aspects of faith and spirituality.
In essence, the Faith in the Nexus project has identified the fruitful ways in which the Nexus of home, school and church can work in collaboration to encourage and nurture children’s spiritual flourishing.
Outputs from this phase:
Outputs from this phase:
What are the key findings?
A flourishing Nexus of school, church, and home:
In the home:
Church primary schools encouraged more faith interactions in the home when:
Parents’ confidence is increased when the church primary school:
Characteristics of positive relationships between church and school:
What needs to change?
We now have more knowledge about the relationship between multiple factors, such as faith-based admissions criteria, school, church, and diocesan strategies, and the presence of fruitful faith conversations, prayer, and other practices in the home environment.
There is a need for:
We believe that changes can be made by targeted and effective dissemination of the key findings to significant influencers and animators through a sustained campaign that is integrated with stakeholder activities and strategies, in particular Growing Faith in the Church of England.
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