08
Fall
Are Faith Schools Socially Divisive?
SAHOTA, Karandeep
Extended Learning Project; Dissertation
Candidate Number; 7209 Center Number; 55349
Contents Page
Abstract 3
Introduction 5
Literature Review 6
Indoctrination? 12
Are Faith schools Socially Cohesive? 22
Parent Rights VS Children’s Rights 26
Conclusion 32
Appendices
* Evaluation
* Interview
* Project Log
* Project Proposal
* Project Presentation
* Bibliography
Abstract
Introduction
There are approximately 2400 schools in the independent sector providing education for 550,000 pupils. Forty percent (n = 957) of independent schools are faith schools, educating approximately 21,200 pupils. Eighty-two percent (n = 786) of faith schools have a Christian or inter-denominational ethos, and the remaining eighteen percent (n = 171) comprise Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh. These faiths have links with religious character to educate students with the influence of the particular faith.
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Aims
This thesis investigates the controversial matter of Faith schools that is debated throughout Britain. Faith schools have drawn a range of expert views this thesis will draw attention upon. It looks at the judgments, beliefs and critical assertions made about the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of faith schools in Britain. This study examines cultural divisions if any, conflicting evidence and a balance of religious opinions and what causes individuals to learn in a certain ways about certain things. The overall aim of this investigation is to conclude the main dispute over faith schools and if they are for the greater good or if they lead to divisive doctrine that is hard to shake off in future society.
Method
This investigation used primary and secondary sources of material. Primary source use was an interview with a student attending a faith school. Secondary sources used were: books, Internet resources, television documentary, newspaper articles, academic journals and reports, and other material sourced from bibliographies.
Findings
Faith schools have created many social implications that this thesis explores. These include the context of education in faith schools that effect students, parents and even teachers in their civil rights and social rights.
Conclusion
I concluded from this investigation that Faith School can be divisive in the long term particularly those that preach extremism. I also feel that those faith schools that give a well-rounded education are the ones that are not divisive.
Introduction
Educational issues today like faith schools really interest me because of their significant link towards future progression of society. Growing up in a Sikh family has made me aware of the influence of a religious environment. I have always tried to be open-minded when it comes to the topic of faith. I am undecided about the merits of faith schools and I wish to learn more about different expert views. Although I can say my education has definitely broadened my mind about the topic of religion.
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In this project I will attempt to answer the question: are faith schools socially divisive? Divisiveness is defined as a cause for disagreement. Faith schools as a subject certainly causes discussion between many societies. My dissertation will highlight this discussion and analyses, and comment on whether faith schools are divisive.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Modern Britain has developed into a multicultural society. Given the significant progress that has been made in integrating various ethnic minorities from a diverse range of backgrounds, is it wise to permit the development of an education system that segregates children from a young age on the basis of religion? And is this counterproductive of the aim of a harmonious and equal society?
The Church of England sees faith schools as not divisive. In fact their mission is “for enabling children and young people to develop spiritually, morally, socially and intellectually according to the beliefs of the Christian faith”. The Christian faith is not the only faith that uses moral values to attract individuals to their intuitions.
There are now many Muslims schools in Britain today. The association of Muslim schools in the UK obviously specializes in the Muslim faith and has a mission for children to “love and pursue learning and excellence, become effective leaders, fulfil their potential, contribute positively to their own well-being and that of society and its members, attain success in this life and the next”. These seem like very fulfilling aims and decent to achieve. It appears as if there is no divisiveness intended.
However, critics focus on the divisiveness that they fear will be created by the expansion on the faith school system. For example, one view is that faiths schools are not only divisive, but are ‘wicked’ to children in the way that indoctrinates their way of thinking at an early age. That makes it difficult for them to make their own assumptions about religion when they strive towards maturity (Richard Dawkins).
Richard Dawkins was the presenter of the Documentary “Faith School Menace?” Here, he investigates a number of issues that can arise from faith schools being menacing, in particular, he raises the issue of “indoctrination”. He argues that when parents label their child with their own religion. This creates barriers to open their mind to think critically, and question the world for evidence.
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It can be argued that Richard Dawkins may have a biased opinion on the “Faith” in faith schools rather than a neutral opinion because he has no religious beliefs and is very much well known as being an atheist. This has been very much emphasized through his books on “The God Delusion” and “The Blind Watchmaker”.
Contrary to opinion Era Bora argues, in The Guardian, that Richard Dawkins is wrong and that Faith school don’t blinker children or indoctrinate them. Era argues from a personal perspective, she has taught secondary-level science to pupils in both state and faith schools. She is careful to teach her kids all the science they are required to know for their age group. They are then equipped with all the knowledge and information they need to both pass their exams and “make their own minds up about the origins of the universe”.
Terrence Copley is the author of Indoctrination, Education and God. Copley has a Methodist background. In his book he explores whether an implicitly secular indoctrination is occurring in society and, if so, how far education is helping or hindering this process?
However, he may not have such a neutral view toward this dispute because of his own religious views. Comparing, this source with Richard Dawkins who sees faith schools as indoctrinating. Terrence Copley argues that secular education is indoctrinating because he says “if indoctrination was secular, would it not just be a clever ploy to put people against religious indoctrination” and “if the process of secular education is occurring, it might easily be perceived in apocalyptic terms by some religious believers as a product of Dark or demonic forces working to a concerted plan”.
Jo Cairn sheds light on the debate and addresses the concerns and interests surrounding legitimacy, support and intended expansion of faith schools in his book “Faith schools consensus or conflict”.
National Humanist society is an organization which promotes individuals to live good lives “without religious or spiritual belief”. They focus mainly on non-religious people who seek to live ethical lives without supernatural beliefs. They argue that the problem with faith schools is the admissions policies and the employment policies. They believe that many faith schools have their own admissions authorities, which means they can give preference to children from families which share the religion of the school. Not only does this discriminate against pupils of the ‘wrong’ or no religion and infringe their rights by assuming their beliefs are identical to their parents’, it also leads to segregation along religious and socio-economic lines.
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An independent education report rose by ACORD, has reviled the depth of public concern. It found out “72% agreed or strongly agreed’ that “all state funded schools should operate recruitment and employment policies that do not discriminate on grounds of religion or belief”, with only 9% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.’’ ACORD has also Dr Ian Craig, has highlighted how faith schools are continuing to illegally select pupils based on class and ability. They did so by asking pupils to describe their hobbies – giving extra points for those engaged in bell-ringing – and also asking them questions about their parents income.
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romaine, the Chair of the Accord Coalition which links both religious and secular schools concerned about the impact of faith schools on society, expressed amazement at the findings. ‘‘It is astonishing that, after being condemned by the government inspectors two years ago for using underhand methods to select pupils, faith schools are still doing so. You would have expected faith schools to desist from something that is both illegal and immoral. It also gives credence to the accusation that many faith schools are operating as covert selective independent schools and are more interested in attracting wealthy pupils than serving the local community.
INDOCTRINATION?
The issue of faith schools causes much controversy that this thesis will continue to explore in more depth about modern Britain’s perception into a faith based education and come to a judgement if faith schools really are divisive. Indoctrination is an issue within itself that causes society to have disagreement. Many critics may label faith schools as a doctrine upon children to believe in a particular way. Many who are pro faith schools may say that secular education is indoctrinating as well.
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So what exactly is indoctrination? And how can we tell or not if we are being indoctrinated? Indoctrination can take many different forms; the dictionary defines indoctrination as an “imbue with a partisan or ideological point of view”. So could this mean, whatever point of view or religious character a school may have about faith, and whatever students learn about being religious or non-religious they are still being indoctrinated into that particular view point.
Terrence Copley clearly identifies this in his book “Indoctrination, Education and God”. He argues that in all sense all societies can be said to indoctrinate their young children whether they’re religious or not. Whereas Richard Dawkins states in his documentary that children are more likely to be open minded and critical thinkers if they’re not labeled with a religion at such a young age, which may make it difficult for them to question the faith, that they have being indoctrinated into.
“Faith schools: consensus or conflict?” Written by Roy Gardener is a book that gives a well- rounded analysis of the issues involving faith schools. This book says indoctrination is about blocking out the mind often though strong sentiments of feeling, the possibility of contemplating an alternative point of view. It lies in the removal of the system of belief from the critical tradition from which those very beliefs have evolved. However, the book also portrays indoctrination not only to occur from faith schools, it suggests other factors that close the mind, such as assumption, is self-evidence of the constant portrayal without insight of what people within a particular religion belief in. The book gives up a realization that indoctrination may arise as much from secular assumptions of the media as well as a school that has been based on just a particular religious character.
It can be argued that modern Britain has developed into a multi-ethnic society rather that a multicultural because of the vast amount of faith schools a school “with a religious character” that are seen to be dividing different faiths apart.
Having a view from an eye- witness’s account of their experience of faith schools is essential to study the matter in more depth. An interview with Samantha Chigbo, student, provided my research with greater understanding from an “internal” perspective. Samantha Chigbo describes her experience of Faith schools throughout; in her childhood she has been to three Catholic primary schools. When asked if she found faith schools as not divisive she said, “No, because they do honestly teach primary school kids a lot of good values”. However she did contrast this with “But they do not make you a well-rounded person or expose you to anything but Catholicism.
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In Richard Dawkins’s documentary “Faith School Menace?” Dawkins traveled to a number of faith schools trying to explain that faith schools do indoctrinate pupils into believing there is a god thus limiting critical thinking. The program had a mixture of reviews. Sam Wollaston who is a TV critic for the Guardian felt that Richard Dawkins was right in thinking this. He wrote in his article that Faith schools are a menace: “It’s a disgrace that the state pays for our children to be divided and indoctrinated with irrational belief. And the hypocrite parents who go to church so their kids can get into supposedly better schools should rot in hell His arguments are faultless, his thinking crystal clear; it’s fascinating. Most interesting is that children display a natural bias towards some kind of religion, to read meaning into something when there is none, to look for stories. Or, put another way, there’s evidence to show that we are programmed not to look at the evidence”. Even though in his review he mostly mocks Dawkins attempt in the program simply because he feels no one will listen to him.
Defenders of faith schools point to their excellent academic record, and argue that institutions must be free to set their own rules based on their beliefs, noting that the right of free association is not worth much without the right not to associate with some people.
In what some see as an increasingly value-lite society, it might also be asked: just what’s so wrong with being brought up to believe in something? Something that generation has passed down and wants their children to respect.
It is believed that Faith schools are legally allowed to select children of parents with particular beliefs and to discriminate in the appointment of teaching and other staff. They create a sealed environment where children are denied a true education. However, I feel that you can be indoctrinated in secular schools as well as faith schools. Alongside Terrence Copley who I feel gives a good argument about how you don’t know when you are being indoctrinated, Copley’s argument appealed to me because it highlights there is a necessity for a balanced education and that society needs to understand this.
In summary, I think that Richard Dawkins argument is very strong because his views are very evidential and I have seen this in the Faith School Menace? Program. I feel that the there is strength in his argument on faith schools indoctrinating children into a particular religion enables them to think critically. However, I do not share the same view about faith schools being ‘’wicked’’ towards children because every schools ethos in England will not deliberately force a child to be a certain religion and parents will not deliberately be ‘’wicked’’ to a child in sending them to a faith school.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Religious education is compulsory in state education. With faith schools making up a third of the state schools in the UK, millions of parents are choosing them and only in cases where schools are full to capacity can faith be used as a criterion for allocating places.
The basic principles that faith can teach us are good morals and how a person can be a good citizen in society. So if a schools ethos is based on the values of a particular religion then will it help them apply these good morals to everyday life? If many faiths have different believes it is necessary to listen to everyone and still have the basic principles of a good human being.
A program by the BBC called “Panorama: British schools, Islamic Rules” was an investigation which uncovered disturbing evidence that some Muslim children are being exposed to extremist preachers and fundamentalist Islamic Groups. They also exposed the part time schools where hate is on the curriculum. The program asks why school inspectors have missed the warning signs and examines the impact this could have on young Muslims ability to integrate into mainstream British life. This type of religious education isn’t valuable to young Muslims and will only preach hatred towards other faiths.
The Bridge Schools Inspectorate (BSI) has been approved by the secretary of education to inspect schools belonging to the Christian Schools’ Trust and the Association of Muslim Schools throughout England. BSI provides an opportunity for cooperation between faith groups to establish a specialist faith schools inspectorate that respects their distinctive ethos. However if these schools have their own independent inspection from other school it won’t be equal in the sense that OFSTED is not allowed to intervene. This means that the bridge schools have their own standards and this may not get a well- rounded inspection as all the board members are predominantly religious.
Research shows that whatever is being taught in religious studies isn’t having much effect on pupils. British children as well as British adults are uneducated about even the basics of Christianity (let alone other faiths).
Below shows an extract from a survey taken by the British secular society conducted in 2007.
Question | Yes | No |
RE is boring | 53% | 29% |
RE helps me find the rules to live by | 14% | 60% |
RE helps me lead a better life | 9% | 68% |
Studying the Bible is boring | 63% | 16% |
RE helps me believe in God | 11% | 68% |
I like to learn about God very much | 10% | 67% |
One of the British secular society’s principles is to spread education, to promote the friendship of all peoples as a means of advancing universal peace to further common cultural interests and to develop the freedom and dignity of humanity. The research done by the British Secular Society indicates that children are not that concerned with religious studies. The results clearly show that children are not influenced by religious education and feel it is boring. If the results are from a faith school then this tells us religious education isn’t really working, so there may be not any point of it.
In summary, I believe that religious education is important subject to teach and to learn about. However, it is important that it is balanced with other subjects that can take into account all believes and a religious education that takes into account all faiths and believes. The present government, however, is committed to the state funding of faith schools and to expanding the number of both Christian and non-Christian schools. There are also plans to allow religious institutions to fund and help govern many of the New City Academies. They argue that faith schools often produce excellent academic results and many very successful schools have a religious ethos.
Problems arise however when religious education focuses only on one religion, or is given by an overly religious teacher who cannot teach impartially. Ideally, religious teachers should be liberals or secularists who are not concerned about any particular set of beliefs, which is capable of being critical of all of them. No teacher of history, humanities or science could get by providing a purely positive view of world events or theory; critical thinking is a necessity. This should go for religious education too. I think it especially important that religious schools provide a religious education, in order to offset a general bias with comparative scope.
I found that the BBC’s Panorama program had a very strong argument because of the clear evidence in the program of extremism. This to me exposed a truth and questioned my assumption on whether there should be faith schools. I found that this program exposed a lot of Islamic schools and this definitely causes a stir for divisiveness.
ARE FAITH SCHOOLS SOCIALLY COHESIVE?
There are many benefits to be gained from diversity. However, diversity needs to be balanced with equality and cohesion in order to create a successful multi-ethnic society.
Despite histories based on challenging poverty and inequality, and high-level pronouncements that infer a mission to serve the most disadvantaged in society, faith schools educate a disproportionately small number of young people at the lowest end of the socio- economic scale. While based on faith selection procedures seem to favour the more privileged. In the case of many faith organizations, therefore, allowing faith to be a criterion for school selection would appear to contradict their mission to provide education for the most disadvantaged.
Faith schools are accused of back door selection by skewing admissions in favour of middle class children. Consumer organizations say that church schools cherry pick wealthier pupils through points based systems that benefit families heavily involved in church activities. Selecting pupils this way will not integrate different students from different background or faiths.
Faith based schools have a criterion of admitting those students based on the practice of their faith. It is however normal for the school to require a student to be committed to support the general and implications of the faith, even if they themselves are not practicing members of the faith community. This can be an area which is hotly disputed, and it is very much part of the wider concerns for inclusion in society it cannot be considered without that broader context.
Jewish schools have also moulded into Britain’s Society, there are 49 independent Jewish schools in Britain. There have been many articles in the news, where Jewish schools admissions have been criticised for being unlawful. For example the BBC exposed an issue raised in ”A London School, a Jewish Faith School rejected a boy whose mother’s conversion to Judaism it did not recognise. This lead the article to conclude that “Jewish schools may have to change admissions rules after the Appeal Court held that ethnic tests of Jewishness amount to racial discrimination.”
Faith school defiantly encourages social cohesion between those with the same faith, but what about those who don’t have the same faith? If we exclude children who are not part of a particular religion this may cause segregation. Therefore, children may not learn to interact with other people outside their religion. This will make it difficult for them to mix in future society. This is including in employment, marriage or demographically.
However, many faith schools promote social cohesion because they bring communities together. Studies carried out by York University show faith schools are achieving community cohesion far better than state schools. The turn in the millennium has also shown an increase in not only faith schools but also parents who are opting to home school their children or send them to academies. These latter institutions are usually failing schools that are sponsored and revamped into academies in which parents have a greater input into what should be taught. There is clear evidence that faith schools were awarded substantially higher inspection grading for promoting community cohesion than community schools,” according to Professor Jesson.
However, it is important that inequalities and failure to tackle religious discrimination in non-faith schooling is a significant driver for faith school attendance. Faith is an important marker of identity for many. Schools need to be able to show that they respect this by challenging bullying on the basis of faith background, and improving the quality of teaching about religion and faith.
In summary, Faith schools try to promote cohesiveness like every school in the UK. But I think it is important to know if schools are divided into particular faiths then this may automatically create segregation. This is then left to be dependent on the child’s home and out of school social environment for them to mix with other children from other faiths. This will be difficult because a child is most likely to make their friendships at school. I think that how cohesive a faith school is will depend on its admissions and the approach a school gives in their selection process. I think If selection is purely based on religion like the some cases I have mentioned then it is more likely that the school will be less diverse hence a less cohesive society.
PARENTS VS. CHILDRENS’ RIGHTS
“[Parents] are scared that their children will forget the ways of their ancestors and that’s why they’ll send their children to a religious school”
15-year-old female Muslim
Who’s right is it to tell a child which type of school they should attend? Should parents have this right, because they are the guardians of the child, because they will only seek the best for their child and because they want the child to be educated in the beliefs and values of their own?
Or should a child chose because in essence, it is their education and they have the right not to be educated in one school which is based on the foundation of one religion. Or are they too young to know or even care, especially in their first primary school?
Analyzing these conflicted rights can be difficult because both sides have a fair and non-divisive view. However, does the choice of faith schools as opposed to secular make this divisive? Some parents may argue that faith schools provide a better academic education as opposed to secular schools. For this to be true, primarily we may have to look at statistics. In 2007/08 seventy-one percent of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in faith schools achieved five or more grades A*-C at GCSE or equivalent. Sixty-five percent of pupils at non-faith schools met this standard. But why is this the case?
Even though faith schools perform better they have a lower proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals and lower rates of Special Educational Needs. Does this mean that faith schools cherry pick the wealthier and academic children?
Some believe that faith schools are biased towards middle class families and only pick the brightest pupils. “New figures show that religious schools, in England, admit ten per cent fewer poor pupils than is representative of the local area. Local authority schools, meanwhile, take in thirty per cent more and have a disproportionately deprived intake.” The result is a school system deeply divided by social class.
Professor Anne West, Professor of Education Policy at the London School of Economics, studied the intake of faith schools across the capital using an extensive ‘pupil-level’ database compiled by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Although the majority of faith schools were established to educate the poor, the two academics report that many had moved away from their original remit. While observing exceptions, the researchers found religious secondary schools in London educate a smaller proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals than non-religious schools and that their intakes are ‘significantly more affluent’ than the neighborhoods in which they are located.
More evidence has emerged of tricks used by schools to select through the back door. Researchers found head teachers, who asked parents to come in to collect a prospectus, attended pre-admissions meetings and wrote letters of reference for their children: “It does look as if some schools are using practices that might enable them to select in or select out … some children”. Professor Anne West reported that some of the practices would be ‘problematic in relation to the code’, that bans heads from interviewing parents or asking for unnecessary supplementary information. However, she stressed that the work was in the very early stages.
With response of the research done by Professor Anne West, the education reporter for the telegraph newspaper wrote an article. It stated that Removing faith schools’ rights to admit pupils on the basis of religion would be a “perverse and unjust” way of responding to demand for places, religious leaders warned”. The article talks about the response made by the leaders of major faiths in England. The article argued that pupils and their parents have the right to choose the type of school where children can “flourish”. We believe that parents and students should continue to have the right to choose the type of school in which they can flourish academically, socially and spiritually. It argued that” the idea of removing one of the means by which these schools of religious character protect and enhance their valued ethos would be a perverse and unjust way of responding to the increasing demand for places in such schools.”
If a child is unaware of all the details of their parent’s religion, it is important that they learn at the early stages of their education so they are able to accept other believes and their parents believes and find out what they believe in as well. Further if a child is already religious they have a right to practise and find out more about their religion. This is likely to be easier in a single faith school.
It may not be the faith in faith schools that makes them different; so much as the communities those build support and sustain them. Some parents may value this ethos and want their child to be taken by it. Even though Europe is the most secular continent the number of parents who send their children to faith schools is growing. More and more parents want them, and are prepared to go to great lengths to get their children admitted.
Is it right for a child to attend a religious school without knowing which religion they are part of yet? In my opinion this will depend on how religious the family is. In many cases parent send their children to a certain school for its convenience to home. Many deeply religious families may want to preserve the faith in the family. I think that parents shouldn’t label their child with there own faith simple because they want to preserve the faith in their family.
The evidence that has strengthened my opinion about why some parents might want to send their children to faith school has been Richard Dawkins who found out that “many parents simply have a widespread practice of pretending to find God – which many parents do every year in order to secure their child a place in faith schools, which are often educationally outstanding”. Therefore some parents may just feel that a faith school will help their child towards academic excellence.
I also feel that parents that may send their child to a faith school to preserve faith will also need to consider Children must also be introduced to a “secular world view”, such as Humanism. Faith schools, on the other hand, tend to only teach children about the religion or sect to which they are affiliated.
Conclusion
The aim of the majority of faith schools is to preserve the faith in their respective communities. They say, they aim to create unity in their religious community and make children and parents believe it is for the greater good of the future. But these common morals of unity, peace and a harmonious environment can also be found in a non-faith school because they too promote these principles.
I have found many pieces of convincing evidence that has led me to believe faith schools are divisive, such as the investigations done by Panorama and from the professor Richard Dawkins. Although I do feel this has been parallel with the civil rights of individuals and there beliefs of how much faith matters in there lives, I have concluded that a well rounded education in terms of non religious and religious education needs to be balanced for their to be less argument and for children’s rights to be respected so they have a clear view of every view to have their own view.
When making judgments I need to look at the wider implications and the consequences of this divisiveness. In the long term if children are exposed to extremism then this will impact in their perceptions of other faiths and cultures. Therefore, resulting in divisions in society this could result in conflict. We have a better chance of cohesion if children have a well-rounded education about different beliefs.
Wider implications I would research further into would be “is there tolerance of faith schools in society”. I would have to find out why or if communities have learnt to tolerate faith schools. This would be interesting to research because if this were the case, then it would give me a good counter argument against the divisiveness of faith schools.
The main evidence that I used to come to this judgment was the Panorama documentary on Muslim faith schools and Richard Dawkins view in “Faith School Menace?” Richard Dawkins view has strengthened my opinion because of his evidence of the effect of faith schools. For example, the evidence he found into the bias selection process in the Church of England schools. Another was how parents can’t label their child to a particular faith that they believe in because they are too young to understand about religion.
Other sources that have strongly convinced me of how divisive faiths schools can be are some their inspection processes with the “Bridge schools inspectorate”. This was very divisive in the way that it didn’t give a well- rounded inspection, as all the board members are predominantly religious. Therefore, if they don’t use the same inspector as every other school this could suggest they may have something to hide. This is very divisive because I think that all schools should have the same inspector to ensure a fair and equal view of the schools.
Although I feel that faith schools are divisive, when looking at if they can be indoctrinating or not, I found strong evidence that suggests that they can be equally as indoctrinating as secular schools. I made this conclusion from, Terence Copley argument which was ’’ how do we know when we are being indoctrinated?’’ Therefore, this research has led me to believe that faith schools do not intentionally indoctrinate their pupils because if this was the case, indoctrination could happen in non-faith schools as well.
How cohesive a faith school is will depend on its admissions and the approach a school gives in their selection process. Therefore, if selection is purely based on religion then it is more likely that the school will be less diverse hence a less cohesive society. Strong evidence I found to suggest that faith schools are not cohesive was from various different articles that highlighted biased selection based on family income and the background faith of families. This evidence strengthened my opinion because they were real life situations that occurred. Therefore, from this evidence I can conclude that faith schools are not cohesive if they are selecting on these terms.
Faith schools have a position in society that is highly controversial and cause a lot of disagreement from their segregation to cohesiveness and what parents want for their children to what children need as a balance in their education. In this case they can be seen as divisive because they cause disagreement in some societies. However, this divisiveness is not intentional. As the amount of faith schools are growing in the UK is important to remember they play a big part in today’s society.
Overall, I think that the long- term effect of faith schools will be divisive; ultimately if children are not exposed to any diversity at a young age they may be resistant to mix with other cultures, as they grow older. Although, this may depend on many factors such as: where they grow up, or whom they work with, and if they are able to broaden they’re thinking. I also feel that if faith schools are seen in anyway as promoting extremism then they are seriously divisive and will harm children’s thinking that may be hard to shake off. They are divisive if one faith is forced upon students and they are divisive if they use biased selective methods such as on the terms of the family’s wealth or religious background.
EVALUATION
The intension of this research I have done was to conclude whether faith schools are really divisive. I used many different forms of research to reach a valid conclusion.
The overall aim of the literature review was to identify the key sources of my dissertation and to understand different arguments that I have included in this project. I felt that my literature review truly reflects and explains the different sources that have been used.
A good structure was important in my enquiry to keep it organized and easy to follow for the reader. I split my project into four sections that were Religious education, Indoctrination? Parents Rights vs. Children Rights and Are faith schools socially Cohesive? I feel that these sections clearly highlight what is supposed to be included to achieve the aims of the project.
I think that my dissertation was fit for purpose because it had clear debate and structure. There are many skills I have learnt throughout the project and they will be highlighted in this evaluation. There are also some aspects in this project where I feel I have gained a lot of experience and I also have learnt a lot from any problems I have faced.
I have learnt a lot from completing an independent project. Although at times it may be seen as challenging it has been very rewarding as well. Overall, I think that my Dissertation has gone well and I am very pleased with the final result. I have learnt a lot about how to work independently and gather research and analyze the information effectively.
Judging the knowledge I had at the start of this extended project I have become very knowledgeable about this subject matter now. I have also learnt how to make judgments and how to interpretate judgments and develop strong arguments. I found that recording my progress in a project log to be very useful to keep on track and record things I have found difficult. I think skills I have learnt be very useful in the future. Other skills, such as researching independently and presenting information confidently, could be used in further higher education and my future career as a teacher.
If I had to do this project again I would have had more primary sources particular interviews. This would have given me more references about personal experience.
I discovered problems during my research which I took steps to overcome as I went through the project. Firstly, my original plan was to complete my research before I start writing up the project. However I discovered that I needed to do more research when I was in the writing phase. Secondly, I initially had problems in making my own interpretations and in what was needed to be included to have strong judgments. I approached this problem by seeking advice from my tutor who encouraged me to make precise judgments and reach conclusions on my own. Thirdly, preparing the presentation was difficult because I was not sure which aspects to talk about or how much detail to include. I overcame this problem by seeking advice from my assessor; rehearsing the presentation and referring back to the project specification to meet the requirements.
Overall, I think the main strengths of this extended project are that a variety of sources have been used, there is a clear structure in my written work, the project log has been kept updated throughout and sources have been recorded and are easy to find again to provide evidence.
Interview with Samantha Chigbo
Name: Samantha Chigbo
Religious character of school: Catholic School
Future Career Path: International Medicine
Why did you/Parent choose to attend a faith school?
My parents chose to send me to a Catholic school. At the time my parents thought that the schools had better standards in terms of discipline and education.
Do you feel faith schools are socially divisive?
No, because they do honestly teach primary school children a lot of good values. However, they do not make you a well rounded with other religion or expose you to anything but Catholicism.
Do you find it difficult to interact with other people, from other faiths?
Definitely not, but I thinks that’s because I grew up in a very diverse area.
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[ 1 ]. This can be found here: . This is a reliable source because it shows updated facts and figures relating well with the subject matter. As this is a statistical source this is seen to be reliable. However, if statistics increase or decrease then this will have to be kept updated.
[ 2 ]. Church of England, “SALED” The Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education, formed in 1830, The Salisbury Diocesan is one of the oldest formal diocesan bodies. The history of the Church’s involvement with education is long and distinguished, and the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education is proud to continue that mission into another century. In both Dorset and Wiltshire, more than half of all primary schools have a Church foundation. This source is based upon the majority of Religious views. It could be argued that these views protect the interests of those of the Christian faith only.
[ 3 ]. AMS, the Association of Muslim Schools. An Organization that supports the development of Muslim schools in the UK. This again could be argued that these views protect the interests of those of the particular religion in this case Islam.
[ 4 ]. Richard Dawkins, An evolutionary biologist, was a University of Oxford professor for Public understanding of Science. Presenter of the documentary “Faith School Menace” 2010 and author of “The God delusion”
Richard Dawkins also took part in “the big debate” on faith schools [online] Available from: http://www.teachers.tv/videos/religion-in-schools. Richard Dawkins point of view cannot be generalized and considered to be right because others have different opinions. However, in his documentary the evidence seems to be very clear and concise suggesting a clear and well-proven argument. He also has an expert view because of his well-educated background we can take him seriously.
[ 5 ]. Faith School Menace is a television documentary presented by Richard Dawkins and aired on More4. Channel 4 documentaries are usually considered to be very reliable. The documentary also contains many convincing evidence that suggest the divisiveness of faith schools. However, Richard Dawkins is not very neutral and perhaps this influences his approach in how the documentary is presented.
[ 6 ]. An article written by Era Bora in the Guardian online on Thursday 19 August 2010.The Guardian Newspaper is a broadsheet newspaper that is considered to have a good reputation. However, no information is provided about the journalist or their qualifications. Nonetheless, the source has been useful in gaining an understanding from the opposite view of Richard Dawkins and that some people may feel he is biased. Available from; http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/aug/19/dawkins-wrong-religion-doesnt-blinker-children.
[ 7 ]. Terrence Copley Indoctrination, Education and God [2005] Terence Copley is Professor of Educational Studies (Religious Education) at the University of… Oxford, England and also Emeritus Professor of Religious Education at the University Of Exeter, England. Terrence Copley’s opinion can be seen as an expert opinion because of his higher qualifications.
[ 8 ]. Jo Cairns, Author of Faith School’s consensus and conflict,
Formerly head of religious of religious education at the institution of education, university of London and the assistant director of quality assurance. Jo Cairns is considered as a reliable source because of his expertise within higher education.
[ 9 ]. National Humanist Society… continued on next page
Polly Toynbee is the president of the British Humanist Association. Polly Toynbee often writes and speaks on the issues that concern humanists: the rise of religious fundamentalism; faith schools; equality; secularism. She is President of the Social Policy Association and won the Political Journalist of the Year Award in 2003. Polly Toynbee is considered can be considered as a reliable source because of the recognition that she has for her work. However, she is not very neutral in her opinion because of her left wing and atheist views.
Available on: http://www.humanism.org.uk/campaigns/religion-and-schools/faith-schools.
[ 10 ]. ACORD, Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development is a Non-profit standards developer. Most widely known accomplishment is the publication and maintenance of a huge library of standardized forms for the insurance industry.
[ 11 ]. Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romaine. He is a writer and broadcaster, minister of Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire. He has a PhD in the history of British Jewry. He writes for The Times, The Guardian and The Jewish Chronicle and appears on radio or television. He was Chairman of the Assembly of Rabbis, now known as Assembly of Reform Rabbis UK, from 2007 to 2009.
[ 12 ]. This is from the Oxford dictionary that has defined Indoctrination. I consider the dictionary as a very reliable source because it very widely used and is considered to have a good reputation worldwide.
[ 13 ]. Roy Gardener, Jo Cairns The Author of Faith Schools Consensus or Conflict? Roy Gardner is a published author and an editor. Some of the published credits of Roy Gardner include Education For Citizenship
[ 14 ]. Samantha Chigbo is currently a student studying in Shaftesbury Sports College. Has a future ambition is in the study of International Medicine. This source is a primary source that contains a personal experience. This should be reliable because it is from an eyewitness’s perspective. However, as reliable as a personal experience can be for one, cannot be generalized for all this means that non all Christian faith schools are the same from this evidence because this person has not been to all of them.
[ 15 ]. Sam Wollaston’s review can be found here; http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/aug/19/faith-schools-menace-tv-review. Sam Wollaston is the TV critic for the guardian newspaper. This is a personal opinion from a source, which has qualified to have the professional position to criticize and make their opinion in a newspaper article.
[ 16 ]. BBC Panorama. BBC Panorama is a TV series that investigates controversial matters in the UK. The BBC is considered as a reliable source because of their reputation and professional image in the UK as the longest running current affairs documentary program. 27th November 2010. This is available on You Tube here;
[ 17 ]. The bridge school inspectorate administrator is Julia Morgan. Inspection teams are led by highly experienced retired HMIs who understand the distinctive characteristics of faith based education. The aim is to raise standards in schools and to foster school improvement through inspection. It could be argued that this source could be considered biased because it could be seen as protecting the right of faith schools. As bridge schools inspectorate is not run by OFSTED. This means that it could not be having the same equal inspection as other schools that are part of the OFSTED inspection.
[ 18 ]. This source can be found on the British secular society website located; http://www.secularism.org.uk. The extract from the survey found on the website is very useful because of its reliability. The British secular society is a very reliable because we have the ability to see from a survey about children’s opinion giving a clearer insight. However, it is not clear that this research has been done in just faith schools or both faith and non-faith so this may tell us a over estimated negative result for faith schools. It also does not state which type of faith school the results are from.
[ 19 ]. Faith schools biased towards middle classes. Kate Loveys for the Daily Mail wrote this article. The Daily Mail could be considered as a reliable… source. However, it is not always a neutral paper compared to papers like the Guardian.
[ 20 ]. BBC News article in the education section. The BBC can be seen as a reliable source because they have a good Reputation and have a high status in there publications. This article is available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8118828.stm.
The article did not include the author it could be argued as incomplete and hard to analyse without the authors name because we don’t know the background and reliability of the author.
[ 21 ]. York University. A study by Professor David Jesson of the University of York, commissioned by the Church of England, looked at the reports of 400 secondary schools inspected between March and June 2009 and 700 primary schools inspected in June this year. This can be found here: http://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/faith-schools-community-cohesion.htm. The study by this professor can be seen as reliable because of his high academic qualifications. This gives him an expert opinion. The research done by this professor has included many schools therefore it gives a broad outlook. However, this cannot be generalized among every school in Britain because the research has not included every school in Britain.
[ 22 ]. This is available on; . Diversity and Dialogue is no longer running, but you may still find this website and the resources useful if you are planning youth interfaith and intercultural work. Diversity and Dialogue was conceived at a meeting of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular NGOs in July 2002. Representatives were discussing ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the negative repercussions on interfaith relations in the UK. They thought about their potential to help counter these tensions and their conclusion was a commitment to run an interfaith education project in partnership – Diversity and Dialogue. Diversity and Dialogue began work in 2004 and aims to build understanding and friendship between young people from different faiths and backgrounds in the UK. This source can be seen as very neutral because it takes into account many faiths and doesn’t show commitment to one single view, apart from trying to help Cohesion between children and other faiths.
[ 23 ]. DfES performance tables and EduBase. These figures are the weighted average of results by the number of pupils in Key Stage 4. As they are based on rounded data they may differ slightly from figures based on unrounded data. This source can be seen as reliable because it has statistical information that shows actual finds from research that have been done in 2007/08. However, this research could be seen as out dated as it is now 2011 and without the latest figures, it could be argued, the statics could have varied since 2007/08 therefore giving an outdated argument.
[ 24 ]. . These figures are from the observer newspaper. The observer newspaper is a very respectable source. Anushka Asthana who is the education correspondent for the observer wrote this article.
[ 25 ]. Professor Anne West is of the London School of Economics. She is carrying out research for Rise. (Research and Information on state Education).
Professor Anne West can be considered as reliable source because she is highly qualified which makes her have expert knowledge in the subject. Her research can be found here: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/news/archives/2007/ReligiousSchoolsLondon.aspx
[ 26 ]. This article can be found here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/4947124/Removing-faith-school-entry-criteria-is-unjust-say-religious-leaders.html.
Even though the article does not include the author’s name, the telegraph is a reliable and respectable source.
