Theory and practice
‘Ah, now I see!’ Why the metaphors we use for ‘understanding’ in RE matter
In this article Karen Walshe shares with us the fruits of her recent research into the use of metaphors when people talk of understanding. This has significant importance for RE as much of the subject’s literature...
A pedagogy of belonging for RE
In this reflective piece David Aldridge poses some very interesting questions and possibilities regarding what really counts as teachers’ subject knowledge within the context of understanding something about the...
From unconscious incompetence…? A personal journey to understanding spiritual development
The requirement that all education contributes to children’s and young people’s spiritual development, as well as RE’s particular role in this, continues to fascinate. In this article, Georgia Prescott tells
A landscape of distinct practices: teaching a deeper Buddhism
How does a teacher engage with a religious tradition so that it can be presented in an engaging manner yet with accuracy and authenticity? Here, Rae Hancock talks through some of the issues that she has had to work...
Welcoming poetry into RE
The image of students of RE as ethnographers was presented by Eleanor Nesbitt in the journal REsource some years ago. Now, eight years on, she presents the image of students of RE as potential (if not actual)...
The place of knowledge in RE
Under the previous Secretary of State for Education’s watch, the role of acquiring knowledge in education has received high profile. Here, drawing on the experience of working on a succession of Cornish agreed...
Passing through the mirror: making time and space for reflection and reflexivity
What better way could there be of beginning the Professional REflection section of the new-style REtoday than with an article exploring the nature – indeed, the necessity – of reflection itself?
Dialogue with difference in primary schools
What have we learned from the first time through the new GCSE and A level?
Reflections on The Way Forward: a neo-liberal future for RE in England?
Reviews
Having not received an anticipated review for this edition I decided (with the agreement of the esteemed Editor, of course) to share something of my own recent reading experiences.
Young people’s mental health and well- ing, research and RE
Should RE be concerned with promoting the mental health and well-being of young people? Can RE contribute to this aim? Does research suggest any answers to these questions? The answer, according to Kevin O’Grady, is...
Green eggs and Ham: how to change a curriculum
Most people think that the new Ofsted framework for inspecting schools with its emphasis on the quality of the curriculum is a good thing. Reportedly there have already been positives for RE in that if a school is not...
Conversational RE: a hermeneutical approach
In this article Antony Luby draws on the benefits of his PhD studies to provide us with an interesting aspect of dialogue in the classroom through a hermeneutical approach (see Stephen Pett’s definition below) using...
The truth is two-eyed: reflections on being Christian and practising Zen
It is with great pleasure that we are able to publish this article from Christopher Collingwood, who is not only Chancellor of York Minster but an authorised Zen teacher. He has what has been referred to as ‘dual...
Using research to help students remember at GCSE
Reflections on the progress of developing religiously literate citizens in England
Big Ideas for Religious Education by Barbara Wintersgill
Where do you stand? Insider and outsider views on religion in RE
What change in vision has there been between old and new GCSE specifications?
This article by Joe Eden, who is a head of RE and Philosophy in Reading, is a summary of work done for his dissertation submitted in September 2018 as part of an MA in Religious Education at the Institute of...