Tolerance and mutual respect in three secondary schools in England: how teachers of religious education working with 11-14 year olds construct and promote these concepts

Ackroyd, Rebekah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7557-9985 (2023) Tolerance and mutual respect in three secondary schools in England: how teachers of religious education working with 11-14 year olds construct and promote these concepts. Doctoral thesis, University of Cumbria.

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Abstract

My research stemmed from a policy statement from the Department for Education (2014, p. 5) asking all teachers in England to “promote the fundamental British values [FBV] of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”. Drawing on but moving beyond existing research which has examined the securitising and nationalistic connotations of FBV, my research provides an original close analysis focused on mutual respect and tolerance. As a former Religious Education (RE) teacher, my experiences of the complexity of promoting mutual respect and tolerance led to intellectual curiosity about whether and how RE teachers critically construct and promote these two concepts. Working from a social constructionist epistemological stance, I have explored mutual respect and tolerance from the perspective of seven RE practitioners who work in three secondary schools with contrasting pupil demographics in England. The data comprises semi-structured interviews and document analysis of the schemes of work of Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14) RE. Data analysis used critical discursive psychology, a form of discourse analysis, to facilitate nuanced and critical insights. The analysis identifies how using a pedagogical bricolage approach enables a more critical promotion of mutual respect and tolerance which responds to the political and practical problems raised by the requirement to promote FBV. The bricolage is underpinned by a frank and honest classroom environment and a positionally aware teacher. Classroom discussion and real-life examples are identified as significant but sometimes knotty moments for promoting mutual respect and tolerance. In order to use this pedagogical bricolage, recommendations are made for the importance of RE teachers having the opportunity to critically reflect on the range of possible constructions of mutual respect and tolerance. The need for RE teachers to have a thorough understanding of RE pedagogy is also identified.

Item Type:	Thesis/Dissertation (Doctoral)
Departments:	Institute of Education > MA Programmes (Education)
Additional Information:	This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Institute of Education, Arts and Society, University of Cumbria, September 2023, word count: 83,397.
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	31 Oct 2023 15:26
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2024 15:30
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/7397

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