18th Nov 2012

Rigorous Religious Education

Stakeholders Online Survey

Dear Teacher of Religious Education,

Your views on the aims and practice of delivering religious education are sought to determine if a consensus can be formed among the different stakeholders of Religious Education (RE). In the first phase an online questionnaire tosurvey what might constitute the delivery of academic rigour in RE in light of recent educational research for both teachers of RE, and if willing, their pupils will be undertaken.

As you may be aware RE wasn’t included in the E-Bac of “academically rigorous” subjects on the basis that it has to be taught anyway by law. However, the exclusion of RE has had the implication that it is not considered an academically rigorous subject. It is envisaged the findings of this questionnaire will help develop an academically rigorous identity for RE to support its inclusion into the E-Bac. This project is also supported by NATRE (National Association of Teachers of RE) who have similar concerns on the implication on the academic standing of RE with regards to the E-Bac.

I have 6 years experience in teaching RE at all key stages and have completed 2 years of research into the topic of academic rigor in RE towards an MA in Religious Education with Edge Hill University. This learning has provided the foundation for a final year research project to help develop an academically rigorous identity for RE.

The questionnaire can be accessed by clicking the relevant link below (for RE teachersor pupils) or by entering the address into the address bar and following the online instructions. Alternatively you can access the link via the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) web site. Completing the questionnaire should take around 5min to10min.

No personal data is recorded and any judgements or conclusions will be based upon category data and not on any individual or school in accordance with the ethical guidelines informed by both the British Educational Research Association (BERA) policy and continuous review by tutors at Edge Hill University (details of which can be obtained from ). Furthermore all data collected is handled in accordance with EU data security regulations (full details obtained at Smart-Survey.com).

Your participation in the research is greatly valued and much appreciated, all participation is on a voluntary basis and all data submitted is anonymous.

It is expected that project results will be analysed and submitted for an MA in RE by July-September 2013 and a summary or links to the final project can be requested by or later accessed by request from NATRE.

Thank-you in advance for your time and participation in this vital issue for RE.

For any further questions or concerns about this survey please contact me at or Edge Hill University at .

Yours Sincerely, Dr. Paul Spencer

To begin questionnaire please click on the link below

Teachers:

Pupils: