This article gives an account of a qualitative research project which investigated acts of collective worship (hereafter CW) in primary schools through non-participant observations undertaken by second year trainee teachers during one of their placements. The data were gathered from a range of schools across the West Midlands. The findings…

Growing evidence indicates that trusting relationships between mentors and teachers is crucial for effective mentoring. In diverse communities, where the mentor's culture is distinctly different from that of the teachers, it is more difficult to form a trusting relationship because of different cultural norms, values, and beliefs (Johnson-Baily…

This focus issue of CEPS Journal raises two topics usually treated separately, Religious Education and the use of religious symbols in public schools. Both involve the challenge of applying liberal democratic principles of secularism and pluralism in a school setting and refract policies on religion under conditions of globalisation, modernisation…

Growing secularisation of the population and the arrival of new culturally and religiously diverse migrants are posing new challenges to schools in the Republic of Ireland (Ireland). These challenges are particularly acute in Irish primary schools, the majority of which are under Catholic patronage. Recent changes have necessitated an extensive…

This study was established to profile students currently studying religion at Advanced level (A level) in terms of their demography, motivation, experience and attitudes. Eight specific areas were identified for examination: their personal motivation to study religion at A level, the personal challenges posed by the subject, their personal…

Existing GCSE and A-level syllabuses include modules on religion and the media, but these have not been widely or well studied for a variety of reasons. The modules may be considered difficult to teach well, and teachers have few good resources to use in comparison with more popular topics such as medical or environmental ethics. The newly…

We report findings from three longitudinal studies investigating the extent, quality and consequences of intergroup contact in schools between young Asian-British and White-British secondary (high-school) students. Results provide robust support for Allport's 'contact hypothesis' in this setting. Specifically, mixing (vs segregation) in high…

The article deals with the concept of religion in the laws which regulate access of religious organisations to public education in the Czech Republic. The analysis of the laws reveals that the World Religions Paradigm (WRP) is applied here. Religious organisations representing 'important world religions' have a privileged position in accessing…

This article draws on three sources of evidence that together indicate hermeneutical weaknesses in exam courses on Christianity in English Religious Education (RE). It scrutinises a single exam paper and an associated text book from a recent authorised course. It conceptually explores features of a new style of long Religious Studies (RS) exam…

The condition of education in Albanian territories before and after ottoman invasion of the country reflects the change of existing social structures and the beginning of the process of building new ones. These changes were reflected in education system as well. Due to the contradiction that Papati and catholic powers of Europe made upon Ottoman…

The present paper deals with theology from the point of view of the school of Eckankar and its critique based on the Islamic teachings. Three major topics are probed into in the school of Eckankar, i.e. the definition of religion, the origin of religion, and exclusiveness. On the topic of the definition of religion, Eckankar essentially regards as…

In this article, I explore an ethical and pedagogical dilemma that I encounter each semester in my world religions courses: namely, that a great number of students enroll in the courses as part of their missionary training programs, and come to class understanding successful learning to mean gathering enough information about the world's religious…

This series of three essays by educators from Georgia, Texas, and Alabama examines teaching Asian Religions in the American South. Through reflection on individual experience, each essay offers concrete strategies for the classroom that can be utilized by fellow educators working in the American South, but can also inform pedagogy in other North…

In our ostensibly secular age, discussing the real-world contexts and impacts of religious traditions in the classroom can be difficult. Religious traditions may appear at different times to different students as too irrelevant, too personal, or too inflammatory to allow them to engage openly with the materials, the issues, and each other. In this…

Secularisation is often mentioned as an explanation for changes in worldview education in modern history. Worldview education has become less preoccupied with preaching religious truths and more with developing children's personal worldviews. However, how secularisation exactly explains these changes is not clear. To get a clearer picture, we…