Religion, Education and Religious Education in Irish Schools

Hyland, Áine; Bocking, Brian

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-32289-6_8

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The system of education in Ireland may seem difficult to understand for the uninitiated, especially considering that the Irish state funds the vast majority of schools in Ireland yet retains very limited control over what happens inside them (Hyland & Bocking, 2015). As of 2016, the vast majority of primary schools in the Republic of Ireland are owned by religious communities (or boards of governors).…”

Section: Research Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A democratic school: Teacher reconciliation, child-centred dialogue and emergent democracy

Motherway¹

2022

Journal of Philosophy of Education

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This article is an exploration of a democratic school where the author spent several years researching and engaging with teachers and students while investigating the practice of Philosophy for/with Children (P4C) within Irish Educate Together schools. I offer an account of how teachers in these contexts seek to reconcile and harmonise their P4C practice with their own educational and democratic outlooks. These perspectives were uncovered through a ‘lived enquiry’ study involving deep immersion in the day‐to‐day life of a school as a researcher and P4C practitioner. Teachers seeking to reconcile their practice with their views in this context resulted in the children in their classrooms learning through democratic processes, where democracy is not merely prescribed, but instead becomes a way of life. By drawing upon excerpts of teacher interview data from my doctoral studies, I suggest that there is a ‘rough ground’ of practice where diverse and unique perspectives can be revealed when lived, deeply immersive and sensitive approaches are taken towards practitioners and their communities. The intertwining of Educate Together and P4C philosophies of education is explored, with particular emphasis on the notion of child‐centredness, dialogue and philosophical enquiry with children. Expanding on the democratic educational ideas of Biesta and Fielding, I argue that there is a deeply contextual and philosophically compelling connection between teachers engaging in P4C, the atmosphere or environment in which dialogue with children can occur and a different understanding of democracy through education that may result.

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Section: Research Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A democratic school: Teacher reconciliation, child-centred dialogue and emergent democracy

Motherway¹

2022

Journal of Philosophy of Education

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“…In countries where there is a close church and state relationship, the church has a strong influence on children in their phase of socialization via the school system, which transports the fundamental belief of the inextricable interlinkage of moral values and religiosity. Many school systems around the world such as in Ireland and Russia (Hyland and Bocking 2015;Mawhinney 2015;Köllner 2016) have been strongly criticized for systematic early religious indoctrination.…”

Section: Cross-national Attitudes Towards Atheistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Of Pride and Prejudice—A Cross-National Exploration of Atheists’ National Pride

Bechert

2021

Religions

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This paper explores how atheism relates to national pride. Previous research reports the strong positive relationship between religiosity and national pride. Inversely, it can be assumed that atheists feel less national pride. Whether this assumption holds true and whether the perceived relevance of religiosity for values perceived as fundamental for national pride is a national-specific or a global phenomenon will be investigated here by examining attitudes towards atheists and assessing cross-nationally how proud atheists truly are of their countries. The data reveals cross-country differences in both respects. In highly religious countries, prejudice against atheists is pronounced, while atheists’ feelings of national pride indeed tend to be weaker. But what exactly predicts atheists’ feelings of national pride? For a Multilevel Analysis of this question, this article uses the ONBound database offering cumulated and harmonized data from international survey programs as well as linked country-level data on national identities and religion. Results identify countries’ ideological background as one of the crucial country-level predictors for national pride among atheists. In highly religious countries, people who deny religion also seem to possess ambivalent feelings towards their country. In turn, if the state ideology opposes religion, atheists tend to support the combination of anti-religiousness and patriotism.

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“…However, those ticking the 'No Religion' box became the fastest growing category in the 2016 census and represented one-tenth of the overall population (Central Statistics Office, 2017). In this evolving context, the adequacy of Ireland's denominational primary school system to address the needs of a rapidly-growing secular society is a recurring theme in research literature (Hyland & Bocking, 2015;Smyth et al, 2013). In 2018 the International Humanist and Ethical Union Report (IHEU) identified Ireland as one of the least favourable countries (115th out of 196) in recognising Atheist, Humanist and Non-Religious rights (IHEU, 2018).…”

Section: The Rise Of the Non-religious In Irelandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond belief? Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on teaching RE in Ireland

Kieran

Mullally²

2021

j. relig. educ.

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This article overviews the contemporary context for teaching Religious Education (RE) in Ireland and profiles changing religious demographics in an increasingly secular context. It presents the findings of a two-year mixed-methods study undertaken in two third-level Catholic colleges in Ireland, investigating four hundred third-level Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students' perceptions of the religiously unaffiliated. The research data reveals the complexity and ambivalence of ITE students' attitudes to teaching RE in primary schools in a rapidly changing Irish society where one in ten is religiously unaffiliated (Central Statistics Office, 2017). Several challenges emerge for ITE students as they begin teaching RE in Ireland's denominational primary school context. The religious and convictional perspectives of the sample group are profiled and findings reveal that participants' personal worldviews impact on their understandings of their future professional roles as religious educators. Data from this mixed methods research suggest that while ITE students view the teaching of RE as an important professional duty, a disconnect between their own personal beliefs and the curricular content they are required to teach in sacramental RE programmes in Catholic primary schools creates a climate of ambivalence and uncertainty.

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Religion, Education and Religious Education in Irish Schools

Cited by 6 publications

References 2 publications

A democratic school: Teacher reconciliation, child-centred dialogue and emergent democracy

A democratic school: Teacher reconciliation, child-centred dialogue and emergent democracy

Of Pride and Prejudice—A Cross-National Exploration of Atheists’ National Pride

Beyond belief? Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on teaching RE in Ireland

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