Articles by Janet Dyson

The value of effective mentoring in school cannot be overestimated, and in the first review in this issue Linda Whitworth recommends a book that will provide support for mentors and teachers of RE in secondary schools...

The current discussions about the nature of ‘worldviews’ in relation to the RE curriculum will, I suspect, continue for a long time. Indeed, it is a very interesting and encouraging conversation, suggesting that...

In this issue’s first review Kate Christopher discusses Kevin O’Grady’s recent book, which addresses the current debate surrounding the transition from teaching RE to the more holistic approach of religion and...

With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the pomp and circumstance surrounding the accession of Charles III, questions about the role of the monarch as Defender of the Faith must surely have been raised for many...

Stories matter. But who tells them? And who hears them? In her TED talk ‘The danger of a single story’, Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns that if we hear only a single story about a person or...

What have you read lately? What sparks your interest? Over the years we have aimed to include a broad range of literature beyond that immediately identifiable as being related to RE. Books reviewed
on these...

There is a sense of ‘back to the future’ in this reviews section. We have reviews of two books to get you thinking and questioning: one review by Geoff Teece, the retiring Editor of Professional REflection, and...

In this issue we have reviews from two members of the RE Today team who have clearly made good use of lockdown time for some significant reading. Lat Blaylock’s review of James W. Sire’s book on philosophical...

Who said, ‘One swallow does not make a summer’? Answer: Aristotle in 340 BCE. Everyone loves a good quote, and as I read Deep Thought by Gary Cox, reviewed below, I thought about my much-missed friend and...

As the Keane song goes: ‘Everybody’s changing ...’ Everything changes. At school in the 1960s I studied Scripture. The sign on the door of the room in Goldsmith’s College where I learned about Contemporary...

Janet Dyson, Reviews Editor The two reviews in this edition will be of particular interest to those involved in teaching and research, and to teachers and students of philosophy. In the first review, Geoff Teece commends...

Janet Dyson, Reviews Editor Of the three books reviewed here two will certainly challenge those interested in theological, social, cultural and spiritual inquiry. First, Ed Pawson’s review of Danish writer and teacher...

Three significant books are reviewed in this edition. Julia Diamond-Conway has explored the elusive nature of religious literacy in her review of Religious Literacy in Policy and Practice, edited by Dinham and Francis,...

Both of the reviewers in this issue have urged us, as professionals involved in RE, to make time for our own reading, going beyond texts we are obliged to read to explore those that provoke us to think more widely and...

Janet Dyson, Reviews Editor As so often happens, I found both of these reviews made me want to know more about the books and their authors. Bill Gent’s wide-ranging reading frequently introduces us to books we might...

On these pages I regularly invite readers and colleagues to share their views about books they have enjoyed. Julie Grove has responded with a review of a book by Mark Oakley – theologian, poet, broadcaster, Dean of...

The two publications reviewed here are of particular value to teachers of RE and those involved in teacher education. Julia Diamond-Conway explores and critiques an exciting approach to developing a pedagogy for teaching...

Janet Dyson, Reviews Editor The two books reviewed below deal with very different subject matter but both are highly relevant for teachers and school leaders. Mark Plater reviews the findings of an important research...

There are occasions when a book warrants the attention and space for a deeper review. Here, Bill Gent provides a critical overview of a book that brings together the writings of a significant scholar in the fields of...

As I read the reviews below I was reminded of the writings of philosopher Maria Lugones¹ and her use of the metaphor of ‘worldtravelling’. She describes how by travelling to the ‘worlds’ of others we can...

It’s important to give time and space for books that are controversial and thought-provoking. Both the reviews below concern writers who have challenged some well-established theological assumptions, offering...

Coincidentally, I had been reading Gadamer’s work on truth and method in the context of my research into the ‘use’ of stories that some people might describe as ‘not even true’, when I read Nigel...

Despite their contrasting genres, the two books reviewed here sit well together because both books challenge their readers to ask and respond to questions about justice, equality and liberation and, ultimately, what...