Several new and insightful pieces of research have been added to the Accord Coalition’s research databank – the most comprehensive source of information available on policy implications of the state funded faith school sector and their practices. They include pieces looking at attitudes towards faith schools, as well the impact of ethnically diverse schools upon community cohesion.
Research in this latter category includes three papers examining the contribution of ethnically mixed schools in Northern Ireland, such as ‘Inter-group contact at school and social attitudes: evidence from Northern Ireland‘ by Joanne Hughes, Andrea Campbell, Simon Lolliot, Miles Hewstone and Tony Gallagher (Nov, 2013). The author’s of this study undertook a detailed survey of over 3,500 pupils in Northern Ireland who self identified as either Catholic or Protestant.
Their survey controlled for respondents’ cross group contact outside of the school setting, and found a strong correlation between religious heterogeneity at schools and more positive attitudes among pupils on a range of measures, including around their empathy and anxiety towards out group members, and willingness to form friendships with them. The academics offered in conclusion that ‘the positive effects of diversity on the different measures under investigation appear to be linear.’ (p777)
The research highlights the capacity for friendships to cross social barriers when children from different backgrounds are educated together. It speaks against facilitating ethnic homogeneity within the school system if, as a diverse society, we serious about promoting community cohesion.
Another piece of research added – which offers provoking observations about the nature of the public debate around faith schools – is ‘Attitudes towards School Choice and Faith Schools in the UK: A Question of Individual Preference or Collective Interest?‘ by Stratos Patrikios and John Curtis (July, 2014). The paper draws on surveys in the constituent countries of the UK regarding public attitudes towards parental choice in school age education and a diversity of school providers.
It found widespread support for the principle of school choice in general, but only minority support for parents being able to choose faith schools. It also found much stronger support for faith schools among denomination members in countries where their denomination has a significant presence in the school age education sector.
For example, there is a widespread provision of Catholic schools throughout the UK, but only a widespread provision of non-Catholic Christian schools in England and Wales. The paper noted the lower level of support for faith schools among protestants in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and among the non-religious throughout the UK. In conclusion it noted that by:
‘Drawing on social identity theory, we suggest that attitudes towards faith-based schools reflect social (religious) identities and group interests associated with those identities rather than beliefs about the merits of individual choice … We conclude that rather than reflecting a supposedly a-social concern with choice, support for diversity of educational provision may be rooted instead in collective – and potentially antagonistic – social identities.’ (Abstract, p1)
A further addition to the databank is ‘Challenges and Opportunities for the New Evangelisation: A Case Study of Catholic Primary School Parents in England and Wales‘, by Dr Ann Casson for the Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (November, 2014). The study interviewed 39 parents and surveyed a further 107 about their Catholicity, with a view to exploring how Church Schools could contribute towards the Church’s outreach programme to baptized Catholics who have become distant from the faith.
The paper adds to the debate about the appropriateness of state funded faith schools having a missionary task to maintain adherence. In its final section it noted:
‘The Catholic primary school acts as a threshold space between secular society and the Catholic Church; many Catholic parents remain on this threshold. The task for the Church is to resource this threshold space … it would offer an opportunity for baptised Catholic parents and their children to encounter the Catholic Faith in an accessible way.’ (p70/71)
Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, said ‘Debate over faith schools suffers from people arguing from fixed ideological positions. The databank brings together and summarises high quality research from reliable and trusted sources on an ongoing basis. We hope that by helping to collate this information Accord will continue to give the public debate around the role of religion and belief in education greater focus.’
