1st Edition
Unearthing Policies of Instrumentalization in English Religious Education Using Statement Archaeology
This book presents the theoretical basis and practical steps involved in using Statement Archaeology, an innovative method that enhances understandings of policy development, exemplifying its use in relation to one curriculum subject, Religious Education.
The book is the first of its kind to fully describe the theoretical foundations of Statement Archaeology and the practical steps in its deployment, acting as a methodological handbook that will enable readers to use the method subsequently in their own research. Further, the book offers an unparalleled contribution to the historical account of the development and maintenance of compulsory RE in English state-maintained schools and uses this to engage with key current debates in Religious Education policy. It unearths important insights into how the present is built, informs future policy direction and potential implementation strategies, and helps prevent the repetition of unsuccessful past endeavours.
This book will be of great interest for academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of religious education, educational policy and politics, and research methods in education.
CHAPTER 1 - An Introduction to Statement Archaeology
Introduction
Becoming familiar with Statement Archaeology
Theoretical foundations
Foucault’s principles for historical enquiry
Statement Archaeology in practice
Selecting appropriate starting points
Interrogating the statements selected
Contextualising English Religious Education
The introduction and maintenance of compulsory provision of RE
English RE a story of Indoctrination, Ideology and Instrumentalization?
Indoctrination
Ideologies in RE
Instrumentalization in English RE
Current debates in English RE
Structure of the book
Notes
CHAPTER 2 - How Did The Provision of RE Become Compulsory?
Introduction
The criteria of formation of Statement One
Circumstances of production
Authorship and authority of Statement One
The criteria of transformation of Statement One
Statement One in context
Assessing the originality of Statement One
1944 Education Act
Educational Reconstruction: the 1943 White Paper
Educational Aims – The Conservative and Unionist Party Report
The Green Book, June 1941
The Archbishops’ Five Points of 1941
The programmatic nature of Statement One
The criteria of correlation of Statement One
Correlation between Statement One and its own domain of discourse
Correlation between Statement One and other domains of discourse
Religion in Education
The Times, 1940 and 1941
Subsequent repetitions of Statement One
How did it become possible for the provision of religious teaching to be made compulsory under the 1944 Education Act?
Notes
CHAPTER 3 - Making Little Christians
Introduction
The criteria of formation of Statement Two
Circumstances of production
The Institute of Christian Education (ICE) Study and Research Committee
Religious Education in Schools: The 1954 Report
Authorship and authority of the report
The criteria of transformation of Statement Two
Assessing the originality of Statement Two
The Programmatic nature of Statement Two
The criteria of correlation of Statement Two
Correlation between Statement Two and its own domain of discourse
Correlation between Statement Two and other domains of discourse
Subsequent repetition and non/repetition of Statement Two
Changing rules for the repeatability of Statement Two.
The rise and fall of proselytizational RE?
Notes
CHAPTER 4 - Unearthing Religious Pluralism in RE
Introduction
The criteria of formation of Statement Three
The context in which WP36 was produced
The Religious Education in Secondary Schools Project
Production, authorship and authoritative status of WP36
The criteria of transformation of Statement Three
Assessing the originality of Statement Three
Towards the origin of the statement
The programmatic nature of Statement Three
The criteria of correlation of Statement Three
Correlation between Statement Three and its own domain of discourse
Correlation between Statement Three and other domains of discourse
Reception and subsequent repetition of Statement Three
Unearthing Religious Pluralism in RE
Notes
CHAPTER 5 – The Changing Peculiarity of Compulsory Religious Education
Introduction
The criteria of formation of Statements Four and Five
The political context in which the Education Reform Bill was produced
Religious Education and The Education Reform Bill 1987
The criteria of transformation of Statements Four and Five
Assessing the originality of Statement Four and Five
The origin of Statement Four
Responses to the Consultation Document
Attempts to include RE in the National Curriculum
RE and the Basic Curriculum
The origin of Statement Five
Exposing ideological commitments
Attempts to prescribe the content of Religious Education
RE should be predominantly Christian…
The programmatic nature of Statements Four and Five
The criteria of correlation of Statements Four and Five
Correlation between Statements Four and Five and their own domain of discourse
Correlation between Statements Four and Five and other domains of discourse
Initial repetition of Statement Four
Initial repetition of Statement Five
Subsequent repetition of Statements Four and Five
The changing peculiarities of compulsory Religious Education
NotesCHAPTER 6 - Indoctrination, Ideology, and Instrumentalization in English RE
Introduction
How did the compulsory provision of RE become and remain possible?
To what extent is the story of English RE one of ‘Indoctrination, Ideology and Instrumentalization’?
Informing current debates
Should RE remain compulsory?
By whom, and to what ends, should the content of the RE curriculum should be determined?
Should there be a right of withdrawal (and if so, how should it work)?
Understanding the process of change
Conclusion
NotesCHAPTER 7 - Applying Statement Archaeology
Introduction
Revisiting the theoretical underpinnings of Statement Archaeology
Why Statement Archaeology and not Statement Genealogy?’
Why focus so much on the search for discontinuities?
What makes Statement Archaeology different to other approaches to Critical Discourse Analysis?
Revisiting the use of Statement Archaeology in practice
Balancing the three criteria
Using multiple starting points
Which avenues of investigation to follow?
Interpretation of artefacts
Reflecting on the use of Statement Archaeology in other fields
What might Statement Archaeology reasonably achieve in your work?
What ethical issues should you consider?
What potential developments might affect your use of Statement Archaeology?
Using Statement Archaeology in your work
Conclusion
NotesBiography
Jonathan Doney is a lecturer at the University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education where he teaches history of education and education policy. His research interests focus on educational policy development, methodological innovation and the transmission of educational ideas.
