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5 APPLYING THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM STRUCTURE TO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
NCC is aware that consideration is being given at local level as to whether or not agreed syllabuses for RE should be framed in the form of attainment targets and programmes of study, and how this might be done. This document gives advice based on NCC's experience in other curriculum areas. The following paragraphs answer questions which have been put to NCC by SACREs and LEA officers. No attempt is made to prescribe attainment targets or programmes of study, nor to offer models since if it is decided to draw up such a framework, it will need to be specific in each case to the local agreed syllabus and the local needs which it is intended to meet.
Should religious education have attainment targets and programmes of study?
SACREs, agreed syllabus conferences and LEAs will need to decide if attainment targets and levels of attainment in RE are appropriate for pupils in schools and sixth-form colleges. They will also need to decide whether attainment targets and programmes of study, should they be devised, are to be mandatory and therefore included in the agreed syllabus. SACREs may wish to offer advice to agreed syllabus conferences and LEAs on this matter.
HMI has in the past been concerned at an over-emphasis on factual knowledge and a neglect of pupils' own spiritual development. They have, moreover, observed that a distinctive subject content is often lacking when RE is combined with humanities or personal and social education.
Carefully structured attainment targets and programmes of study which relate to the local agreed syllabus could be used to:
- help teachers ensure a balance between learning about religion and personal development
- help teachers, parents and governors identify what is unique to RE
- clarify links between RE and National Curriculum subjects
- improve standards by providing clear objectives which show what pupils are expected to know and understand in RE at different stages
- give teachers information about pupils' progress in RE so that suitable tasks can be set give information about progress to pupils and their parents
- enable pupils to see a connection between what they study in RE from one year to the next
- provide clear criteria which enable the LEA to monitor effectively standards of pupils' work in RE.
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What considerations guide the choice of attainment targets in religious education?
Many LEAs are currently working on a new curriculum framework for RE. The first proposals for attainment in RE written after ERA contained ten or more attainment targets based largely on areas of content, such as lifestyle or celebration (see Westhill College, 1988; Association of Religious Education Advisers and Inspectors, 1989). Some agreed syllabus conferences have adopted these, but others are now proposing that content-based attainment targets in RE may give a distorted view of the learning objectives of the subject. They see topics such as celebration as matters to be studied which therefore belong in the programmes of study. They are suggesting instead that a few attainment targets based on processes such as evaluation of religious and moral issues may be more appropriate for RE.
Individual SACRE, conference or LEA working groups adopting the National Curriculum framework should give careful attention to the type of targets they devise.
In considering how attainment targets can be developed for RE, it is important to remember that:
- there is widespread agreement among SACRE and agreed syllabus conference working groups that attainment targets cannot cover everything that pupils are expected to achieve in RE
- the subject is often seen as contributing to pupils' development in many ways which cannot easily be measured
- an area of competence has the same importance when placed in a programme of study as when it is an attainment target.
A large proportion of agreed syllabuses describe two broad areas of attainment in RE. These are that pupils should:
- understand the teachings and practices of Christianity and other world religions
- be encouraged to develop their own beliefs and values.
It is by maintaining a balance between these two areas that RE is generally seen as contributing to the spiritual, moral, cultural and intellectual development of pupils. Most proposed attainment targets in RE reflect these two areas of learning.
What is the connection between religious education and religious studies?
SACREs and working groups need to remember that religious studies is generally agreed to be only a part of RE and does not normally require pupils to consider the possible application of religious teachings to their own lives. They should therefore consider carefully the implications of adopting only religious studies attainment targets, and, if this approach is taken, how to cover other aspects of RE.
SEAC is preparing a draft for new national criteria for Religious Studies. These will not be in the form of attainment targets, but are expected to set out two assessment objectives requiring that pupils should be able to demonstrate:
- knowledge and understanding of:
(a) the key elements of the religion(s) studied
(b) the effect of the religion(s) on the individual and society;
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and be able to:
- evaluate issues that arise from their study of religion.
How much content should be included in programmes of study?
Section 8 (3) of ERA provides that all agreed syllabuses now adopted must "reflect the fact that religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain". In its letter of 18 March 1991 to Chief Education Officers (CEOs), DES passed on advice that an agreed syllabus, if it is to comply with the law, should be sufficiently detailed to give clear guidance to teachers as to what is to be taught about Christianity and the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. Whether an agreed syllabus complies with the law should not be tested against such shorthand phrases as "mainly Christian" or "multifaith" because these phrases do not encapsulate all the requirements of the section.
There are two possible options in specifying the content of programmes of study within the agreed syllabus.
- All of the content to be covered at each key stage is defined. This has the advantage of requiring the same content for all schools following the agreed syllabus, thus facilitating transfer from one school to another. The disadvantage is that it may appear over-prescriptive and allows no room for variation in the time and resources available between one school and another.
- Some of the content is defined as essential, as in the core units for history. Schools may then have some choice between specified alternatives and also be given the opportunity to develop the treatment of themes specified in the agreed syllabus in a way which is relevant to their own situation, whilst keeping within the legal requirements described above.
How should programmes of study be constructed?
Programmes of study should include those experiences and activities which are considered a necessary part of RE. These might include the development of pupils' understanding of religion and their ability to relate it to their own experience.
NCC experience suggests that learning activities should:
- require teachers to set progressively more demanding tasks for pupils
- enable pupils to reach their full potential
- enable pupils to build on previous study and make links with other subjects
- make clear links between what is learnt at different stages of education
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- be relevant to pupils' aptitudes by relating to the questions they ask at different stages and enabling them to relate what they learn in RE to their own lives
- provide subject matter for pupils at their individual stages of development
- take into account pupils' different religious backgrounds
- promote the spiritual and moral development of pupils, as well as their cultural and intellectual growth, by requiring pupils to learn from religion as well as learning about it.
Programmes of study should also specify content to be taught, bearing in mind that they must not require teaching which is distinctive of any particular religious denomination. The following advice was given in the letter to CEOs on 18 March 1991. Content should:
- be based on the religious traditions, practices and teaching of Christianity and the other major religions
- extend beyond information about religions and religious traditions, practices and teaching, to wider areas of morality and consideration of how religious beliefs and practices affect people's daily lives
- have regard to the national position as well as the local population.
When drawing up programmes of study integral to an agreed syllabus, a conference "should assume that there will be a reasonable time available for the study of RE" (DES Circular 3/89).
How might working groups be organised?
An effective way of producing attainment targets and programmes of study might be as follows.
- Establish a working group of teachers from primary, secondary, special schools and from sixth-form colleges, with advisers or advisory teachers.
- Establish a steering committee made up of members from each of the SACRE or conference groups to monitor progress, make recommendations to the working group, and report to SACRE or conference.
- Devise a list of tasks and timescales for the working group and steering committee.
- Consult people with an understanding of attainment in RE and the National Curriculum.
- Trial the proposals in schools and make changes in the light of the results.
- Ensure that the proposals are ratified by SACRE or conference.
- Agree a monitoring period.
- Decide how to review the work at given intervals in the light of new developments and experience.