‘Spoon Feeding or Critical Thinking?’

A Level / Higher to First Year Progression in

Religious Studies and Theology

Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious StudiesSt Anne's College, Oxford

3rd - 4th July 2008

The Academic Integrity of Theology and Religious Studies:Towards Long Term Solutions to

the Problem of Progression

Andrew Wright

Department of Education and Professional Studies

King’s College London

3

introduction

Session Outline

• progression

• the fragmentation of liberal education

• the rehabilitation of liberal education

• progression and student motivation

• progression and social enhancement

• progression and critical thinking

4

progression

Problems: Diversity and Fragmentation

• object of knowledge (domain of study)

• academic disciplines (method of study)

• student motivation

• teacher motivation

• justification

• curriculum development

• pedagogy

5

progression

Possibilities: Academic Integrity

• the cycle of progression

• progression as a perennial problem

• surface solutions

• deep solutions

• the National Strategy for Religious Education

• towards a common framework

6

liberal education: fragmentation

Contours of Liberal Education

• roots: classical paideia

• truth: the pursuit of knowledge

• truthfulness: personal flourishing

• truthfulness: social flourishing

7

liberal education: fragmentation

The Modern / Postmodern Impasse

• Locke: public facts v. private values

• Kant: Conflict of the Faculties

• knowledge > understanding > evaluation

• constructivism

• dualism: truth v. truthfulness

• learning ‘about’ religion

• learning ‘from’ religion

8

liberal education: rehabilitation

Critical Realism

Ontological Realism• nature, minds, culture, transcendence

• empirical, actual, real

• ordered, stratified, dynamic, open

Epistemic Relativity• relational knowledge

• contingent knowledge

• inclusivity: critical realism as ‘under-labourer’

Judgemental Rationality• some accounts of reality are more truthful than others

• informed judgements between conflicting truth claims

• post-foundational criteria: congruence, coherence, fertility, simplicity, depth

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liberal education: rehabilitation

Critical Religious Education

Non-dualistic Pursuit of Truth / Truthfulness

• truth: contested secular/religious worldviews

• truthfulness: personal flourishing sub species aeternitatis

• truthfulness: social flourishing sub species aeternitatis

Theological, Religious & Spiritual Literacy

• the ability to think, feel, communicate and act wisely

• in relation to the contested nature of transcendent reality

• and personal/social flourishing sub species aeternitatis

10

progression: student motivation

Curriculum Development

• plurality of student motivations

• extrinsic curriculum development: feeding students’ interests

• intrinsic curriculum development: challenging students’ interests

• teaching as an intentional activity

• the priority / integrity of the object of study

• the unavoidability / inclusion of students’ interests

• the variation theory of learning

• contested object + contested interests = religious literacy

• implications for progression

11

progression: social enhancement

Curricular Justification

• plurality of social needs / expectation

• extrinsic curriculum justification: feeding societies needs

• intrinsic curriculum development: challenging societies needs

• teaching as an intentional activity

• the priority / integrity of the object of study

• the unavoidability / inclusion of societies interests

• the variation theory of learning

• contested object + contested interests = religious literacy

• implications for progression

12

progression: critical thinking

Constructive Critical Thinking

• (relatively) arbitrary ‘facts’

• plurality of meanings

• modernity: dislocation from tradition & authority

• Kant: the courage to think for oneself

• Kantian legacy: active construction of meaning

• post-modernity: (relatively) arbitrary ‘constructs’

• criteria: originality, imagination, freedom

• implications for progression

• ‘spoon feeding’ versus (autonomous) critical thinking

13

progression: critical thinking

Realistic Critical Thinking

• unity of knowledge / understanding / evaluation

• contested meanings, contested reality

• realism: rooted in tradition & authority

• Anselm: faith seeking understanding

• discernment of conflicting meanings via variation

• academic apprenticeship

• criteria: depth & breadth of discernment

• implications for progression

• ‘spoon feeding’ + grounded critical thinking

14

conclusion

Session Summary

• progression: surface and deep responses

• shared framework: rehabilitated liberal education

• ontological realism: integrity of subject

• epistemic relativity: contested world-views

• epistemic relativity: student motivation

• epistemic relativity: social enhancement

• judgemental rationality: religious literacy

• progression: shared search for truth + truthfulness