This article explores the mixed fortunes of historical inquiry as a method in educational studies and exposes evidence for the neglect of this method in religious education research in particular. It argues that historical inquiry, as a counterpart to other research methods, can add depth and range to our understanding of education, including religious education, and can illuminate important longer‐term, broader and philosophical issues. The article also argues that many historical voices have remained silent in the existing historiography of religious education because such historiography is too generalised and too biased towards the development of national policy and curriculum and pedagogical theory. To address this limitation in educational research, this article promotes rigorous historical studies that are more substantially grounded in the appropriate historiographical literature and utilise a wide range of original primary sources. Finally, the article explores a specific example of the way in which a historical approach may be fruitfully applied to a particular contemporary debate concerning the nature and purpose of religious education.

The necessity of historical inquiry in educational research: the case of religious education

The word ‘paradigm’ appears in a number of Cornelia Roux’s published works (Roux 1998; 1998a; 2003; 2008; 2009; 2011). This article re-examines her use of ‘paradigm’ in the light of Thomas Kuhn’s (1996) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on recently published work on religion and education (Gearon 2013; 2014), I elaborate why researchers and educators alike require a more rigorous theoretical conceptualisation of the underlying paradigms of contemporary religious education. Outlining how a satisfactory understanding of the paradigms in religious education require an understanding of the epistemological grounds of each, the article presents, by way of demonstration, a critical outline of six such paradigms: the scripturaltheological; the phenomenological; the spiritual-experiential; the philosophical- conceptual; the socio-cultural; and the historical-political. Keywords : religion, education, paradigm, philosophy, epistemology

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The paradigms of contemporary religious education

This article provides a defence of my theoretical analysis of paradigm shift in contemporary religious education, particularly in light of Robert Jackson’s (2015) article published in this journal:...

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Paradigm shift in religious education: a reply to Jackson, or why religious education goes to war

Children's and adolescents' spirituality is important, especially to those entrusted with their education. To effectively nurture children's spirituality, parents, teachers, and ministers would benefit in knowing how young people experience God, what they think about God and how they relate to God: in effect, their lived experience of God. Learning about these phenomena could help greatly in communicating with children and adolescents about God. This study aims to build on the work of those who have investigated elements of the spirituality of children and adolescents in a qualitative way.

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The lived experience of God and its evolution in children and adolescents

After a brief consideration of the history of religious education in England and Wales, this paper analyses developments under three main headings: pupils, religions and methods, and suggests that changes can be seen in the light if variations revolving around these three areas. The paper then describes the design of a new RE syllabus for Anglican primary schools in Wales using a life-of-founder approach and recommends the advantages of this approach for wider use.

Rethinking Primary Religious Education

Summary In Part One of this article (Vol. 6, No. 2, Spring 1984), following a description of the development of the psychology of religion in religious education during the earlier decades of this century, the first (religious thinking) of three areas of contemporary research was considered. Part Two considers religious attitude and religious experience. Finally, the relationships between these three areas, together with some current trends, are discussed.

J. E. Greer

Papers

Fifty Years of the Psychology of Religion in Religious Education (Part Two)