A Response to the Research Questions

The overall aim of this research was to give voice to the challenges being experienced by principals, co-ordinating teachers of GMGY and parents in Community National schools due to the reality of religious diversity. Five key research questions which informed the research aim were presented in Chapter One and these have been addressed by the research process.

The first question asked whether Community National School’s inclusive policy meets the needs of the various communities of faith and worldviews in Ireland today. It is clear from this research that they do not. A bias towards the faith formation needs of Roman Catholic children emerged in the findings. The practice of faith formation during belief specific teaching for Roman Catholic children and preparation for sacraments during the school day in some Community National schools are posing considerable challenges to principals and teachers in the schools. They have also been recognised by the Irish bishops as inadequate. The research concludes that the practice of belief specific teaching in the schools creates an inequality in terms of providing for the different beliefs in the schools.

The second research question asked if it is possible to cater for all faiths and worldviews in a common religious education programme. This research provides evidence that a common religious education programme cannot cater for all beliefs if there is a requirement for faith formation within the programme. While the rationale for belief specific teaching is to respect difference and nurture children in their own belief identity it was clear

from the findings of this study that there is a lack of equity in the approach taken. Placing Roman Catholics in one group, all ‘other’ Christian denominations in another group, all Muslims together and creating a group for Humanists, Buddhists and Hindus and whoever else is not catered for does not create equal educational experiences for the children nor does it recognise the plurality that exists within beliefs.

The third question in this research wondered what type of religious education programme and pedagogy would be appropriate in a state school system that seeks to support and cater for the belief nurture of all pupils during the school day. The GMGY junior programme does not fit into any one model of religious education. It adopts a hybrid approach to religious education through the use of narrative, conversation and quiet time. It seeks to incorporate learning from religion through inter-belief conversation and learning

into religion in the belief specific element. Learning about religion is unstructured as it

depends on what children share about their different beliefs in the classroom.

The junior GMGY programme is currently under review by the NCCA and will most likely be aligned with the approach taken in the senior GMGY programme. This approach offers a multi-belief approach and explores themes common to all beliefs, such as celebration or pilgrimage. These experiences can be secular or religious in nature. The role of parents remains central to this process. The children conduct family projects that explore the concept with their parents from the belief perspective of their family and belief community (NCCA 2016a). This approach retains the junior programme’s aim to use human experience as a vehicle for dialogue and belief nurture. It also continues to hold a narrative approach as central to the process. However, the efforts to learn about and from religion are more explicit and structured through the family projects. Of particular note is the fact that the children are not divided for belief specific lessons in the senior GMGY programme. The individual beliefs of the children are nurtured through the exploration of the common themes within the class and with their families through the family projects (NCCA 2016a).

European policy documents on religious education support this approach as they state that RE in public schools should incorporate learning about as well as from religions (Council of Europe 2008; Jackson 2014).

The fourth research question was interested in other challenges facing the schools regarding religious and secular iconography, sacramental preparation for Roman Catholic children and the celebration of times of significance and religious festivals. This research reveals that there are contrasting views among principals on the display of images and iconography in the schools. An uncertainty also exists among the principals and teachers as to whether the display of religious symbols is for educational purposes or as a means of recognition and respect for the diversity of beliefs in the school.

The approach taken to Sacramental preparation differs in each school and seems to depend on the relationship and resources available in the local parish. The schools which were persuaded by their parishes to provide sacramental preparation during the school day reported that this was logistically difficult. The celebration of festivals also seems to require further deliberation and consensus among the schools. A lack of adequate recognition of the festivals belonging to the majority culture, namely Christmas and Halloween, was highlighted as an issue for some parents.

Finally, the views of parents regarding the ethos and guiding principles of the religious education programme and the challenges they experience due to their faith or belief were sought. The questionnaire for parents in this research revealed interesting findings. The vast majority of the parents were supportive of the ethos of Community National schools and the guiding principles for the GMGY programme. Almost half of the parental respondents also stated that they engage with the GMGY programme at home with their child. These findings were of interest because the majority of the teachers and principals interviewed believed that parents were not engaging with the GMGY programme at home or taking responsibility for the faith formation of their child. Challenges that emerged for some parents were around the perceived dilution of the celebration of some festivals and a tension between their private values and the ethos of the school.