Search

The mitigating role of education during an ongoing conflict is pertinent, yet curiously underplayed and under-researched. For instance, little is known about the conflict in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria and its effects on education. Schools have been burnt, attacked or shutdown. Children have been forced out of schools and girls violated, but this has not received adequate attention. Meanwhile, in the area of the study, Christian church organizations are playing an important role in conflict resolution and peace education. This paper explores how peacen education activities in the faith-based education sector in Nigeria provide resilience and protection for children and especially vulnerable girls. The research was conducted in the Middle Belt region as a qualitative study. It included 13 semi-structured interviews with leaders of Roman Catholic and Protestant church organizations. Findings show the two-sided nature of the relationship between conflict and schooling. On the one hand, peace clubs in schools offer safe spaces for mediation and trauma relief. On the other hand, everyday school life is still characterized by forms of social feedback that stir rather than curb conflict such as the use of corporal punishment and demand for obedience. Moreover, peace education offered in the chools under study pays little attention to the condition and processes of learning. Aspects such as the development of self-esteem, good learning climate, critical thinking, cooperative learning and decision making, which have been identified by research as key elements of peace education do not feature in the pedagogical framework of the schools. The paper concludes by underlining that further professional development for educational leaders in faith based (and secular) schools is needed to enhance schools’ role in contributing to the resilience and the mental well-being of children in ongoing conflict situations. (DIPF/Orig.), Die entschärfende Rolle der Bildung während eines laufenden Konflikts ist relevant, wird aber merkwürdigerweise unterschätzt und nicht ausreichend erforscht. So ist beispielsweise nur wenig über den Konflikt in der Region des Mittleren Gürtels in Nigeria und seine Auswirkungen auf die Bildung bekannt. Schulen wurden niedergebrannt, angegriffen oder geschlossen. Kinder wurden aus den Schulen vertrieben und Mädchen vergewaltigt, aber dies wurde nicht angemessen berücksichtigt. Im Untersuchungsgebiet spielen christliche Kirchenorganisationen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Konfliktlösung sowie Friedenserziehung. In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, wie friedenserzieherische Aktivitäten im religiösen Bildungssektor in Nigeria Kindern und insbesondere gefährdeten Mädchen Widerstandskraft und Schutz bieten. Die Untersuchung wurde in der Region „Middle Belt“ als qualitative Studie durchgeführt. Sie umfasste 13 halbstrukturierte Interviews mit Leitenden von römisch-katholischen und protestantischen Kirchenorganisationen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Beziehung zwischen Konflikten und Schulbildung ambivalent ist. Einerseits bieten die Friedensclubs in den Schulen sichere Räume für Mediation und Traumabewältigung. Andererseits ist der Schulalltag nach wie vor von Formen der sozialen Rückkopplung geprägt, die Konflikte eher schüren als eindämmen, wie z.B. die Anwendung von Körperstrafen und die Forderung nach Gehorsam. Die Friedenserziehung an den untersuchten Schulen berücksichtigt zudem wenig die Bedingungen und Prozesse des Lernens. Aspekte wie die Entwicklung von Selbstwertgefühl, ein gutes Lernklima, kritisches Denken, kooperatives Lernen und Entscheidungsfindung, die von der Forschung als Schlüsselelemente der Friedenserziehung identifiziert wurden, sind im pädagogischen Rahmen der Schulen nicht enthalten. Das Papier schließt mit der Feststellung, dass eine weitere berufliche Entwicklung für pädagogische Führungskräfte in religiösen (und säkularen) Schulen erforderlich ist, um die Rolle der Schulen bei der Förderung der Widerstandsfähigkeit und des psychischen Wohlbefindens von Kindern in anhaltenden Konfliktsituationen zu stärken. (DIPF/Orig.)

Following an initial programmatic summary of ‘fundamentals’, the author puts forward (with reference to other programmatic ‘minimum presuppositions’ for the scientific study of religion(s)) his basic presuppositions and principles for a scientific study-of-religion(s)-based religion education as a time-tabled, compulsory, and totally normal school subject, taught by teachers educated at study-of-religion(s) departments of public universities. The article, thus, reflects what Cathy Byrne named ‘Jensen’s scientific approach’ to religion education. (DIPF/Orig.)

This article critically reviews the European religious education landscape and argues that a religious notion of religion prevails in most models, not only in confessional RE but also in integrative models and even in so-called alternative subjects that are compulsory for pupils who do not take part in confessional RE. Thus, schools in Europe provide hardly any chance for pupils to acquire a secular perspective on religion and religious diversity, based on a non-theological study of religion. Furthermore, the explicitly or implicitly religious character, particularly of integrative approaches or obligatory alternative subjects to confessional RE, is frequently hidden or played down. Building on analyses of separative (Germany) and integrative (Norway, England) models of RE, the article argues that carefully distinguishing between religious and secular approaches to religion in school is a serious human right’s issue, not least because only secular approaches may be compulsory. The predominant religious framing of religion – that is always linked to confirming the exceptional position of Christianity among the religions in RE – in combination with an actual lack of secular alternatives creates a climate of what may be called ‘small ‘i’ indoctrination’, i.e., an unquestioned discursive hegemony of a particular (Christian) notion of religion as a frame of reference for almost all education about religion, which is, furthermore, often represented as if it constituted not a particular religious view of religion, but a kind of universal perspective on religion. This results in highly problematic conceptualisations, both of religion in general and individual religions – most visibly in stereotyping ‘other’ religions, that are not complemented with an unbiased secular perspective. Thus, the subject matter religion is widely exempted from the secular approach to education in European schools, while a particular religious perspective on religion is promoted, even in models that are designed for all pupils of a religiously heterogeneous class.

When discussing Religious Education, the topic of religious symbols in educational spaces is largely overlooked in academic literature and often side-lined in political considerations as well. This paper examines the issue of religious symbols in public schools by highlighting two foci: how the Muslim veil is managed in public schools in select European countries and zooming in on specific suggestions for managing religious symbols in public schools in Slovenia. By combining a broader, comparative perspective with practical, small-scale policy suggestions, the paper highlights the need to include a discussion of religious symbols in public schools in our academic and political considerations of religion and When discussing Religious Education, the topic of religious symbols in educational spaces is largely overlooked in academic literature and often side-lined in political considerations as well. This paper examines the issue of religious symbols in public schools by highlighting two foci: how the Muslim veil is managed in public schools in select European countries and zooming in on specific suggestions for managing religious symbols in public schools in Slovenia. By combining a broader, comparative perspective with practical, small-scale policy suggestions, the paper highlights the need to include a discussion of religious symbols in public schools in our academic and political considerations of religion and educationeducation V akademskih obravnavah religijskega izobraževanja je tematika religioznih simbolov v šolskih prostorih pogosto spregledana, podobno pa je tudi v političnih premislekih. Članek analizira problematiko religioznih simbolov v prostorih javne šole, tako da se najprej osredini na reguliranje zakrivanja muslimank v javnih šolah izbranih evropskih držav, potem pa še na primer konkretnih strokovnih priporočil za reguliranje religioznih simbolov v slovenskih javnih šolah. S kombiniranjem širše primerjalne perspektive in praktičnih priporočil za politično regulacijo avtorja poudarita potrebo po vključevanju problematike religioznih simbolov v akademske in politične premisleke religije in izobraževanja

This article outlines some issues in incorporating the study of religions, together with non-religious world views, into the curricula of publicly funded schools in Western democratic states. Attention is given to examples from work on this topic conducted within the Council of Europe since 2002, with a particular focus on Signposts: Policy and Practice for Teaching about Religions and Nonreligious World Views in Intercultural Education, a text published by the Council of Europe in 2014. Signposts is designed to assist policy makers and practitioners in interpreting and applying ideas from the 2008 Recommendation from the Committee of Ministers (the Foreign Ministers of the 47 member states) dealing with education about religions and non-religious convictions. Various issues raised by the Signposts document are considered. Towards the end of the article, recent UK and Council of Europe policies which emphasise the study of religions and beliefs as a means to counter extremism, and which have appeared since the publication of Signposts, are summarised and discussed critically. Attention is drawn to the dangers of certain policies, and also to the plurality of aims which studies of religions and non-religious world views need to have in providing a balanced educational programme.

A tiny section on the agenda of the National Assembly of the Weimar Republic from February to July, 1919 was entitled ?Religious instruction and the public elementary school”, part of the preparation for the new Constitution of the German Reich, the so-called Weimar Constitution [Weimarer Reichsverfassung; abbr. WRV], of August 11th, 1919. The three democratic parties, the moderate-socialist SPD, the Catholic Zentrum Party and the liberal-democrat DDP, were the political mainstays of the Weimar Republic, which existed from 1919 to 1933. But these three parties had absolutely different ideologies concerning the role of religion in public education, especially in the elementary school (Volksschule), the lower school system. While the topic ‘religion and school’ in the Weimar Constitution has been often presented from a politically leftish point of view in the past, here, following the principle of a plurality of historical perspectives, the interests of the Catholic Zentrum Party will be more strongly focussed upon. I would like to also show how difficult the circumstances were that eventually led to an agreement regarding the school articles of the Weimar Constitution. Article 146(1) WRV required a national school act which was to be the framework for further educational laws of the ‘Länder’ (states). All political attempts failed to produce such a national law (Reichsschulgesetz) during the era of the Weimar Republic (in the interest of standardization of state education) because of different policies in the ‘Reich’ and the ‘Länder’ (which were responsible for school education and its legal basis). Just like the parties’ differences in school policy could not be bridged in the years after establishing the Constitution of 1919., Der Kompromiss zum Religionsunterricht der Volksschulen in der Weimarer Reichsverfassung. Der Beitrag behandelt einen kleinen Ausschnitt aus der Agenda, die die Nationalversammlung der Weimarer Republik von Februar bis Juli 1919 abzuarbeiten hatte: "Religionsunterricht und öffentliche Schule”. Die drei demokratischen Parteien, die gemäßigt sozialistische SPD, die katholische Zentrumspartei und die liberal-demokratische DDP, waren die politischen Säulen der Weimarer Republik, die im Deutschen Reich von 1919 bis 1933 bestand. Aber diese drei Parteien hatten völlig unterschiedliche Vorstellungen bezüglich der Rolle der Religion in der öffentlichen Bildung, insbesondere in der Volksschule. Gezeigt wird, wie schwierig die Umstände waren, um schließlich doch noch einen Kompromiss zu erreichen. Während das Thema ‘Religion und Schule’ in der Weimarer Verfassung von Bildungshistorikern bisher eher aus politisch linker Sicht dargestellt wurde, soll hier unter dem Aspekt der Mehrperspektivät von Geschichte die Interessenlage der katholischen Zentrumspartei stärker Berücksichtigung finden. Den Vätern der Weimarer Verfassung war bewusst, dass der in den Schulartikeln ausgehandelte Kompromiss zum Religionsunterricht weiterer Regelungen bedurfte. Gefordert wurde in Artikel 146(1) WRV ein Reichsschulgesetz als Rahmen für die Ländergesetzgebung. Wiederholte Versuche, ein solches Reichsgesetz in der Ära der Weimarer Republik zu verwirklichen, scheiterten zum einen an divergierenden Interessen der Länder und der Reichsregierung, zum anderen waren die schulpolitischen Differenzen der Parteien nicht überbrückbar.

This study examines the internal discourse on religious education (RE) at two secondary schools in Vienna using a qualitative empirical method. At these schools RE have reached their oraganisational limits. The study has made a major contribution to religious education sensitive to contexts by exploring the most times implicit attitudes towards religion and RE from teachers and from members of the school community board., Mit Hilfe eines qualitativ-empirischen Verfahrens untersucht diese Studie den schulinternen Diskurs um den Religionsunterricht an zwei höheren Schulen Wiens, an denen dieser organisatorisch an Grenzen gerät. Die Studie leistet einen wertvollen Beitrag zu einer kontextsensiblen Religionspädagogik, indem sie die vielfach impliziten Einstellungen zu Religion und Religionsunterricht von Lehrkräften und Mitgliedern des Schulgemeinschaftsausschusses erforscht.

Tekst ima dva dijela koji predstavljaju dva različita koncepta odnosa između građanskog obrazovanja i prihvaćenog vrijednosnog sustava u državnim školama. U prvom dijelu analizirat ćemo javne rasprave koje se odnose na građansko obrazovanje: želimo provjeriti koliko su izložene utjecaju javnih i političkih očekivanja i stajalištima koja se formiraju kroz mehanizme političke moći. Koncepte građanskog obrazovanja analiziramo kao diskurzivni fenomen. Želimo pokazati kako diskurs utječe na koncepte građanskog obrazovanja. Pritom diskurs interpretiramo kao društvenu vezu ili kao točku identifikacije u kojoj se možemo prepoznati. U drugom dijelu rada nastojimo dati odgovor na pitanje o uspostavi građanskog obrazovanja kao posljedice izgubljenih iluzija na kraju Velikih priča i poslije ‘’sloma’’ u bivšim socijalističkim ili komunističkim zemljama, koji se dogodio nakon uspostavljanja parlamentarne demokracije i tržišne ekonomije. Pitamo se: Kako nastavnici promatraju građansko obrazovanje kao nastavni predmet? Što bi trebali biti sadržaji građanskog obrazovanja ako određeni predmet promatraju učenici, i to kao predmet koji nema vrijednost ili koji im je nepoznat? Trebaju li sadržaji građanskog obrazovanja reflektirati želje učenika?, The text is divided in two opposing parts, presenting two different concepts of the relation between civil education and the accepted system of values in state schools. The first part of the text is an analysis of public debates about civil education: the authors wanted to determine to what extent they are influenced by public and political expectations or convictions formed through political power mechanisms. The concepts of civil education are analysed as discursive phenomena. The authors’ aim is to show how a discourse influences the concepts of civil education. A discourse is interpreted as a social connection or a point of identification for an individual. The second part of the paper tries to answer the questions raised by the introduction of civil education as a reaction to the disillusionment at the end of the big stories and after the breakdown in former socialist or communist countries, made necessary by the establishment of parliamentary democracy and market economy. The questions raised in that part are: How do teachers perceive Civil Education as a subject? What should Civil Education contain, from students’ point of view, especially if such a subject is thought to be worthless or totally alienated from their reality? Should the content of Civil Education reflect students’ wishes?, Der Text hat zwei Teile, deren Einschränkungen mit Hilfe von zwei verschiedenen Beziehungskonzepten zwischen der Bürgerbildung und dem geltenden Wertsystem an den Staatsschulen veranschaulicht werden. Im ersten Teil wird die öffentliche Diskussion über die Bürgerbildung analysiert: Wir möchten überprüfen, in welchem Ausmass sie von den öffentlichen und politischen Erwartungen und Überzeugungen beeinflusst wird, die durch Mechanismen der politischen Macht gebildet werden. Konzepte der Bürgerbildung werden als diskursives Phänomen analysiert. Wir möchten aufzeigen, wie der Diskurs die Konzepte der Bürgerbildung beeinflusst. Dabei wird der Diskurs als gesellschaftliche Beziehung oder als Identifikationspunkt gedeutet, in dem wir alle uns wiedererkennen können. Im zweiten Teil unserer Arbeit versuchen wir, die Frage zu beantworten, ob die Einführung der Bürgerbildung als eine Folge von verlorenen Illusionen am Ende der grossen Geschichten nach dem «Zusammenbruch» in den ex-sozialistischen oder kommunistischen Ländern anzusehen sei, der nach der Einführung der parlamentarischen Demokratie und Marktwirtschaft erfolgte. In diesem Teil stellen wir die Fragen: Wie betrachten die Lehrer die Bürgerbildung als Unterrichtsfach? Was sollten die Inhalte der Bürgerbildung sein, wenn wir sie vom Gesichtspunkt der Schüler aus betrachten als ein Schulfach, das für sie keinen Wert besitzt oder ihnen völlig fremd ist? Sollten die Inhalte der Bürgerbildung die Wünsche der Schüler wiederspiegeln?