Reimagining the accidentally local in English RE

This paper will critically analyse the assertion that ‘The local argument for the Locally Agreed Syllabus has been lost’ (57). It will begin by briefly sketching the historical background to the unique way that Religious Education is structured in England, with each local area having its own syllabu...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:Localities and regions in religions and worldviews education
Main Author: Smalley, Paul (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2025
In: Journal of beliefs and values
Year: 2025, Volume: 46, Issue: 3, Pages: 432-444
Further subjects:B Religious Education
B agreed syllabus
B Curriculum
B Hermeneutics
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This paper will critically analyse the assertion that ‘The local argument for the Locally Agreed Syllabus has been lost’ (57). It will begin by briefly sketching the historical background to the unique way that Religious Education is structured in England, with each local area having its own syllabus. It will then outline some of the main points of the local/national debate, which has been an issue for over 50 years. It will then critically analyse what is meant by local, drawing on debates in History education, before turning to consider what content means in Religious Education syllabi, drawing on the work of the Religious Education Council’s Religion and Worldviews Project. It will conclude by suggesting that the initial assertion is accurate and that the concept of local content should be reimagined as a hermeneutic encounter between the pupil and the subject matter, recognising that each encounter will be unique because of the perspectives of the individuals involved in that encounter. Practically, schools should be free to determine their own curricula for RE in line with national benchmarks, as with any other subject.
ISSN:1469-9362
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of beliefs and values
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13617672.2024.2423480