Implications for Practice within the School under Study

The quotation included in the title of this thesis is both poignant and indicative of the problematic approach to diversity within the school under study. “I think it’s very difficult to be different”, was articulated by a sixth-year Muslim student describing her experience of school life as a student of minority faith. This statement reflects the shared experience of exclusion expressed by the students with minority religious and secular identities within this study. The sincerity and strength of feeling conveyed by students when speaking of occasions on which they endured experiences of discrimination because of their different religious identities is a significant aspect of this research. For some, it was the first time they formally communicated and recounted these negative experiences, many of which occurred at primary school, as referred to in 4.2 of this thesis. It is notable that these students felt comfortable within the space provided by the focus group interviews to disclose such personal and sensitive experiences. This can be interpreted as reflecting the positive approach taken by the school in encouraging and supporting this research.

Notwithstanding this, the research has found that RE is not fulfilling its potential to contribute to authentic inclusion of students with minority religious and secular worldviews. The reasons for this have already been discussed in Chapter 4 and can be briefly summarised in four major themes:

1. The influence of religious and non-religious identity on students’ experience of a Catholic school and their subsequent experience of RE

143

2. The different understandings of the role of RE in the school community 3. Limitations of the curricula

4. Challenges to inclusive intercultural education within RE and school policy.

The implications these findings are significant for the school under study, at a time of change regarding the increasing religious diversity of its student population and also the pressure to retain its numbers, with the reality of reduced school enrolments. While there may be many contributing factors to a decrease in enrolments, the opening of an Educate Together post-primary school close to the school may be having an impact. The multidenominational and equality based education such a school provides could prove an attractive choice over the school under study’s current inflexibility regarding religious dress and compulsory participation in religious practices for prospective students who are not Catholic.

As researcher and member of this school community, I am conscious of the dual responsibility I have. In my role as researcher, I have collected and analysed the data and presented the findings, therefore I must now outline the implications and recommendations I consider to be most effective in moving the school towards authentic inclusion of religious diversity. However, as a Religion teacher within this school community, I recognise that the approach taken by our Religion Department to religious diversity while well-intentioned, may be limited and limiting. Therefore, I make these recommendations not from a position of superiority to my colleagues, but as one who shares the frustration of this failing. These recommendations are made in the hope of arriving at a shared understanding of what the purpose, nature and scope of our subject should be.

All of these recommendations, if they are to be effective, can only be applied through a collaborative approach involving the school’s trustees, members of the school management, members of the Presentation Sisters still involved in the life of the school, members of the teaching staff, parents, and students.

5.4.1 Recommendations for a Whole-school Approach

This research proposes that a whole-school approach is taken to the significant issue of misrecognition of religious diversity within the school community. The current approach of emphasising a sameness-over-difference approach is inadequate in catering for issues relating to religious diversity. A significant concept of this research is the role of conversation in promoting an openness to religious diversity based on the argument of our shared humanity (Cullen, 2006). An important objective of this study, then, is to begin the conversation of how religious and non-religious diversity can be engaged with and celebrated in the school under study. Moreover, this would assist in promoting a more dialogical culture of learning within the school.

144

It is suggested that this whole-school approach involves establishing a core working group. Ideally, this group would take a collaborative approach and comprised a representative from CEIST, representatives from the school’s board of management, members of the school management team, members of the religious congregation still active in the life of the school, members of the teaching staff, a representative from the school’s ancillary staff, and members of the parent and student body. This working group would be committed to the re-evaluation of the school’s Catholic identity, as informed by the inclusive vision of the founder of the religious congregation. As referred to earlier in section 1.3.2, the school’s mission statement refers to its commitment to providing education to the marginalised. This research recommends that the understanding of those on the margins be broadened to include those of minority religious and secular worldviews within the school community.

The collaborative nature of the working group is key to the revitalisation of the school’s Catholic identity, which will impact upon the intended and operative ethos of the school. This research has shown that the profile of religious diversity within the school needs to be raised and become more visible. Student participants spoke of how the believed that an increased visibility of religious diversity would enhance the identity development of every student, indiscriminate of their religious or non-religious identities.

Moreover, this finding resounds in the literature as outlined in Chapter 2, where Lane’s work on the Catholic Church’s commitment to inter-religious dialogue was reviewed, along with key conciliar church documents. The contemporary understanding of a Christian religious identity as intrinsically involving dialogue with the religious and non-religious “other” is significant in any rumination on this school’s Catholic identity. As outlined previously in the conceptual framework of this study, detailed in section 3.2 of this thesis, it is paramount that the identity of this school is defined in relation to all of its members, in all their religious and non-religious diversity. To borrow from the mission statement of the World Parliament on Religions, a harmony rather than a unity among religious and non-religious identities should be the aspiration as, “the problem with seeking unity among religions is the risk of loss of the unique and precious character of each individual religious and spiritual tradition” (World Parliament on Religions, 2018). Therefore, a renewed consideration of the school’s Catholic identity will see a greater commitment to inter-religious endeavours, which will further enhance the religious dimension of the intercultural education within the school.

It is suggested that the work of this core group would involve a reconfiguration of the school’s faith development plan. In addition, a reconsideration of the written and unwritten rules that influence the operative ethos of the school is needed. At present, the lived experience of the school for students of minority religious and secular worldviews is not fulfilling the school’s mission to provide education, in its broadest sense, to those on the margins. Due to the strength of feeling around the prohibition

145

regarding the wearing of the hijab among all students from every focus group, this research strongly recommends that this rule be reviewed.

The work of this core group could also include an appraisal of the religious diversity present within the school community and a implement measures to enhance the religious dimension of intercultural education. A school policy for intercultural education could be produced in light of this work. The lack of confidence in embracing the religious diversity of the school population, as revealed in the research findings, has highlighted the need for continuing professional development in the area of inclusive intercultural education.

5.4.2 Recommendations for the School’s Religion Department

An important finding of this research is the positive appraisal of students studying LCRE for the subject. The value of this subject was expressed by students and teachers in terms of its capacity to promote critical thinking and enquiry, along with its greater emphasis on inter-religious content. A recommendation of this study for the Religion Department would be to adopt and adapt, where necessary, the approach taken to teaching and learning of LCRE for JCRE and non-exam RE at senior cycle. This research suggests a revision of the departmental plan, stipulating the omission of Section C: ‘Foundations of religion – major world religions’ for study. The research also recommends continuing professional development in the area of teaching world religions as part of in-service education for Religion teachers, to assist with the promotion of RE’s inter-religious objective.

As mentioned in section 5.4.1, it is hoped that the reconsideration of the school’s Catholic identity will awaken a spirit of enquiry regarding the religious and non-religious “other” within it. Once harnessed, this spirit of enquiry, which is rooted in the school’s educational and religious principles, will have the potential to work towards authentic inclusion, based on the argument of the school’s shared humanity. Moreover, this would seek to fulfil the syllabi aim of contributing to the moral and spiritual development of every student, along with developing the Catholic faith of students with this renewed sense of the Catholic faith as one of universal inclusion. This would also work to alleviate some of the pressures teachers feel regarding the duality of their role in this school community. Lane identifies a further insight from Nostra aetate and its subsequent reception, as follows:

an awareness that encounter with other religious traditions has the capacity to enrich the particularity of one’s own Christian faith and so offers an opportunity to learn “from” and “with” the other in a way that can deepen Christian faith and the faith of the other from anthropological, soteriological and theological points of view. (2011, p.21).

Accounts from the Gospels in which Jesus engages in dialogue with people of different religious traditions act as blueprints for these inter-religious educational encounters. Jesus’ inter-religious

146

dialogical encounters with the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:25-30), the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:7-26), and the Roman centurion (Luke 7:1-10) emphasise the transformative nature of the conversation for both participants. This approach advocates a learning about and from different religions, which could also enhance a learning into religion for Catholic students. This would support approaches to RE that value positive pluralism, such as Ipgrave’s dialogical approach and Jackson’s interpretive approach, as previously discussed in the review of the literature. These approaches are informed by a positive pluralism described by Denise Cush as to:

welcome plurality as an opportunity rather than a problem … Positive pluralism does not teach that all faiths are equally valid like the relativist, or all paths to the same goal like the universalist. It takes the differences and incommensurability of world views seriously, but approaches them from a viewpoint of “epistemological humility” or methodological agnosticism. (1999, p.384)

The importance of opening a conversation regarding the school’s Catholic identity and its responsibility to engage with religious diversity has already been noted. However, this research also suggests that teachers may benefit from reflection on their personal philosophy of education. This could be followed by a collaborative re-evaluation of the role of the Religion teacher within a religiously diverse Catholic school, which in turn could harbour fruitful insights for future professional practice. Spillane (2018) identifies the value of meaningful interactions and conversations between colleagues as contributing to social capital, thus increasing efficacy of practice. This research recommends reflective practice and collaborative engagement between colleagues in the hope that a more effective and successful approach to religious diversity might be negotiated.

It is noteworthy that participating teachers do not see the challenges they face in their roles as related to the religious diversity within the school community. This research suggests that by employing a more inclusive, pluralistic and dialogical approach to religious diversity, the problems of student motivation and engagement, as expressed by teachers, could be considerably alleviated. This recommendation is made in light of the research findings on the dichotomy which exists between student and teacher understanding and expectation of what the purpose, nature and scope of RE ought to be.

Another significant finding of this research is the reduced agency teachers experience when trying to fulfil obligations of faith development, as mandated by the Catholic Church, along with the attainment of the syllabus’ aim, to contribute to the moral and spiritual development of each student. While this research acknowledges the dilemma attendant upon this dual role Religion teachers of Catholic schools must assume, it finds this unnecessarily exacerbated by the clash in understanding and expectation concerning the role of RE within this specific context which does not adequately engage

147

with religious diversity. This research recognises the systemic issues at play and how they are disempowering teachers and reducing their autonomy and agency.

Cochran-Smith identifies that teaching quality and teacher accountability are understood in contemporary educational discourse as being inextricably linked (Cochran-Smith, 2003, p. 3). It is important to note that this research acknowledges the considerable demands placed upon teachers who are answerable to the expectations of the Trust board, the Department of Education and Skills and indeed the students and their parents. However, the opening up of a conversation relating to the role of the Religion teacher could lead to a new understanding of the unique role Religion teachers have in catering for the religious dimension of an intercultural education. Cuban’s (2017) recognition of teachers as policymakers of classrooms offers insight into how Religion teachers can become instrumental in strengthening intercultural education within their own classrooms.

5.5 Recommendations for Policymakers and those Involved in Curriculum Development