Society is a complex phenomenon, characterized by constant change, often entailing conflict. This is seen in our own times where philosophies and movements of individualism, pluralism and globalization intersect and often collide. Still, even in this fast-moving and highly materialist world, religion and spirituality remain crucial aspects of human and social living, and therefore must be among the many focusses of the modern school. Teachers of Religious and Spiritual Education (RSE) are therefore expected to support students’ religious and spiritual understanding as well as their overall development. How can they best meet this challenge? This book is comprised of various interdisciplinary research findings drawn from international scholarship. The findings are of a different order from each other but all have in common an element of surprise, sufficient to impel reflection and re-thinking of many of the assumptions that normally underpin RSE. The book therefore constitutes a contribution to ongoing understanding of the role played by religious and spiritual education and of the proper interface between RSE and the modern school, contemporary curricula and the teacher of today. Contributions by Robert Crotty, Ola Erik Domaas, Michael Fricke, Liam Gearon, Adrian-Mario Gellel, Eija Hanhimaki, Laura Hirsto, Tapani Innanen, Terence Lovat, Klaas Macha, Emanuel P. Magro, Adil Mamodaly, Fritz Oser, Ulrich Riegel, Inkeri Rissanen, Sturla Sagberg, Kirsi Tirri, Theo van der Zee, Karen Wenell

From being on the margins of scholarly debate for much of the past century and a half, religion is being recognized once again as an area of concern for scholars, politicians, and public policy makers, and thus, the role of religious and spiritual education has taken on a new importance. Apart from its socio-political ramifications, the place of religiousness and spirituality in the make-up of individuals has been given renewed prominence through updated brain science, and neuroscientists regularly refer to elements of this brain science in terms such as spiritual intelligence and even mystical consciousness. This book explores many of the new directions being taken in the field of religious and spiritual education, as new developments challenge the priorities of formal education, and open up new avenues for incorporating religion and spirituality into the modern curriculum. It asks whether the educational aims of teachers should be focused on specifically personal development, or whether religious education should be used to develop understanding of more global and social issues such as citizenship, conflict, and ethics. The book also addresses neuroscientific insights, which suggest a need to engage with cognition and emotion in order to create a rich learning environment, something to which a particularly contested subject area like religion and spirituality is well-placed to contribute. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Beliefs & Values.

Spirituality and Education introduces the basic contours of current debate in a form accessible to both classroom teachers across the curriculum range, and to school managers. It covers all key areas, including: * problems of defining spirituality * government legislation and supporting documentation * relevant empirical research * the social dimension of spirituality * secular and religious manifestations of spirituality in contemporary society * theories of childhood spiritual development * contemporary approaches to spiritual education, including collective worship and cross-curricular teaching. A variety of different perspectives and approaches will be offered, and readers are encouraged to be reflective through a number of tasks which relate all issues raised directly back to their own specific circumstances. The author includes questions, quotes and lists of further reading.

In today’s pluralistic world, many cultures feel a shift in the relationship of people with religious traditions. A corresponding movement is a resurgence of interest in human spirituality. This Handbook presents the views of education scholars who engage these concepts every day, in a collection of essays reflecting the international state of the discipline. Out of these rises a vision for the emergence of a just and peaceful world.

An introduction to the increasingly popular topic of children's spirituality, showing how choices made in churches and homes can stimulate or stifle a child's spiritual development. Suitable for anyone who works with children.

This collection of 16 reflective accounts and data-driven studies explores the interrelationship of religious identity and English Language Teaching (ELT). The chapters broaden a topic which has traditionally focused on Christianity by including Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and non-religious perspectives. They address the ways in which faith and ELT intersect in the realms of teacher identity, pedagogy and the context and content of ELT, and explore a diverse range of geographical contexts, making use of a number of different research methodologies. The book will be of particular interest to researchers in TESOL and EFL, as well as teachers and teacher trainers.

The project "Religious Education at Schools in Europe" (REL-EDU), which is divided up into six volumes (Central Europe, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe), aims to research the situation with regard to religious education in Europe. The third volume outlines the organisational form of religious education in the countries of Northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Iceland). This is done on the basis of thirteen key issues, which allows specific points of comparison between different countries in Europe. Thereby the volume focusses the comparative approach and facilitates further research into specific aspects of the comparison.

This collection draws on research in educational areas displaying best practice pedagogy, theoretical and practical, underpinned by philosophy, empirical science, and neuroscience, among other disciplines. It focusses especially on implications for higher education, school education, professional ethics, and religion. Higher education exploration is on the diminution of the humanities and implications for the range of knowledge needed for future citizenship. The work includes a revisioning of higher education’s purpose, especially the changing role of the doctorate and its examination. The focus on school education takes the same pedagogical lens to humanities and social sciences, examining values education and religious studies. Ethical issues include colonisation and decolonisation, especially around the concept of land and ramifications for intercultural studies. The ethics and practice of teaching about life and death issues in medical education are explored in light of research in dialogic consensus. The religion section includes research on interfaith education, especially concerning Islam, and eco-theological education, especially focussed on climate change. Contributors are academic colleagues or former doctoral students of Terence J. Lovat (University Professor, Australia, UK, and Canada) whose internationally acclaimed research straddles these areas. Many of the contributors hold positions of influence in the academic or professional world, while others bring their newly minted doctoral research to the content. The intended readership includes academics and doctoral students across education, ethics, religion, social studies, ecology, health and medicine, indigenous studies, and international affairs. This collection, published in honour of Emeritus Professor Terence Lovat, provides rich insights into the scope and multidisciplinary depth of his scholarship. A philosopher of education whose main work has centred on curriculum theory and values education and ethics in education, Lovat’s scholarship reminds us that the education of children and young people must be concerned with more than academic attainment. In emphasising education as a holistic and moral endeavour—one involving hearts and minds—Lovat has consistently advocated for the provision of opportunities for young people to extend their horizons beyond the school environment to engage with issues in society that go beyond academic learning. Professor Lovat has also made a major and longstanding contribution to the development of Studies of Religion in schools and to the theology and history of Islam and Islamic Education. In traversing Lovat’s significant and remarkable contributions to education, religion and ethics, and the links between them, this book serves as a testament to a highly esteemed scholar. Associate Professor Deborah Henderson, Queensland University of Technology, Australia