A new paper published by Christian think-tank Theos and Christian educational charity the Stapleford Centre has cast doubt on overstated claims about the effectiveness of faith schools. In a review of the existing literature, researchers found some grounds to think that Christian schools have a positive impact, but cautioned that the evidence is “very limited” and that it is difficult to distinguish between the effect of schools and the impact that home and the family might have.
The report’s main call is for more research to be done into the impact that Church schools have. It is hard to disagree that further study is always helpful. However, one can’t help thinking that it is simply wrong for the government to allow widespread discrimination against teachers and students, compulsory collective worship and the teaching of a biased RE curriculum without any real evidence that it is needed.
While evidence of the positive impact of Christian schools overall has been hard to come by, there have been many who have raised concerns about issues such as community cohesion and social segregation.
The next time that a faith school provider blithely asserts that religious schools are unambiguously a force for good it is worth recalling the words of Trevor Cooling, the Research Supervisor of the report:
“Given the high level of investment in Christian-ethos schools on the part of government, churches, religious organisations, and parents, the lack of available evidence is a cause of concern”.
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