Showing papers on "Religious education published in 2014"

The Transmission of Knowledge in Medieval Cairo: A Social History of Islamic Education

Abstract: This study interprets the social and cultural consequences of Islam's regard for knowledge, showing how education in the Middle Ages played a central part in the religious experience of nearly all Muslims. Focusing on Cairo, which under Mamluk rule (1250-1517) was a vital intellectual centre with a complex social system, the author describes the transmission of religious knowledge there as a highly personal process, one dependent on the relationships between individual scholars and students. The great variety of institutional structures, he argues, supported educational efforts without ever becoming essential to them. By not being locked into formal channels, religious education was never exclusively for the elite but was open to all.

Islamic Religious Curriculum in Muslim Countries: The Experiences of Indonesia and Malaysia

Abstract: Education from the Islamic perspective, as a long life process and the function of Islamic religious education, should endeavor to teach and help students acquire different aspects of knowledge within the parameters of Islam through the use of a well designed curriculum. This paper attempts to investigate and discuss the development of Islamic religious curriculum in Muslim countries with emphasis on South-East Asia especially Indonesia and Malaysia. It begins with a brief history on the curricular reform of religious education in Arab countries and their impact on Southeast Asia. Then, it focuses on reform in religious education curriculum and the challenges faced by both countries. Some suggestions are put forward to reach cherished goals of Islamic religious education and the betterment of Islamic curricular reform in Muslim countries.

Contesting Buddhist Narratives: Democratization, Nationalism, and Communal Violence in Myanmar

Abstract: Executive SummaryFor the past few years, Myanmar's political transition has been hampered by violence between Buddhists and Muslims. A nation with an ethnically Burman and religiously Buddhist majority, the population also comprises a large minority of Muslims and members of other religions, and includes many different ethnic groups. As such, Myanmar society is complex and innately plural.While the country has struggled with a range of political and socioeconomic challenges related to the transition, the violence between religious groups has taken center stage since 2012, particularly with the rise of the 969 movement and MaBaTha (the Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion). These Buddhist nationalist groups, led by Buddhist monks, claim that their purpose is to protect and promote Buddhist values and traditions in the midst of the country's transformation and as it opens up to the modern world.Leaders associated with both groups articulate a Buddhist national discourse that describes its culture, values, practices, identity, and even its very existence as threatened by foreign elements within and outside the country. They have accused Muslims-particularly those from the Rohingya ethnic community-as seeking to displace Buddhism, and they have articulated through sermons and publications anti-Muslim sentiments that are often based on rumor or mischaracterizations of Islamic teachings and objectives. These groups have also begun to advocate aggressively for a series of laws that would restrict religious freedom, and they have developed religious education curricula for "Buddhist Sunday Schools" and leveraged media-particularly social media-to advance their cause. The shift from 969's initial knee-jerk "Buy Buddhist" campaign to targeted political and legal advocacy efforts through MaBaTha reflects both the ability of those promoting Buddhist nationalism to alter their strategies in response to changing political conditions and opportunities and the emergence of new actors in the political landscape.By providing political, social, religious, and historical context to Myanmar's current situation, this paper challenges the claim that the recent violence between Buddhists and Muslims is inevitably rooted in communalism. Although nationalist movements such as 969 and MaBaTha express themselves in religious terms, they are not seeking to defend a doctrinal stance as such. Instead, they refer more to notions of Burmese Buddhist national identity and traditional ideas about the fragility of Buddhism and its teachings that have circulated within Theravada Buddhist societies for centuries.The paper examines the dimensions of Buddhist national identity in Myanmar expressed through these movements, considering their dominant narratives that justify fear and hatred, their resonance among the public, and their leaders' denial of responsibility for violence fueled by these narratives. In doing so, it acknowledges a reflexive defense against what is perceived by some to be the threat of a globally spreading Islam, as well as the motivation to preserve and promote Buddhist practice and behavior in Myanmar during a time of significant change. These overarching concerns regarding the fragility and perpetuation of Buddhism help to explain the widespread popularity of the movements, but also complicate characterizations of them as exclusively "anti-Muslim." The analysis in this paper reveals more complex motivations for the popular support of 969 or MaBaTha.The authors simate arguments for Buddhist nationalism and the rise of these movements within the history of monastic mobilization and religious/ethnic conflict in Myanmar, highlighting the ways in which current monastic political mobilization can be seen as an extension of past anti-colonial movements and rooted in traditional roles of the monastic community to defend the religion, respond to community needs, and guide political decision-makers. …

Education, Religion and Diversity: Developing a new model of religious education

Abstract: "In this thoughtful and provocative book Philip Barnes challenges religious educators to re-think their field, and proposes a new, post-liberal model of religious education to help them do so His model both confronts prejudice and intolerance and also allows the voices of different religions to be heard and critically explored While Education, Religion and Diversity is directed to a British audience the issues it raises and the alternative it proposes are important for those educators in the United States who believe that the public schools have an important role in teaching students about religion" Walter Feinberg, Professor Emeritus of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign "Philip Barnes offers a penetrating and lucid analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of modern religious education in Britain He considers a range of epistemological and methodological issues and identifies two contrasting models of religious education that have been influential, what he calls a liberal and a postmodern model After a detailed review and criticism of both, he outlines his own new post-liberal model of religious education, one that is compatible with both confessional and non-confessional forms of religious education, yet takes religious diversity and religious truth claims seriously Essential reading for all religious educators and those concerned with the role of religion in schools" Bernd Schroder, Professor of Practical Theology and Religious Education, University of Gottingen "What place, if any, does religious education have in the schools of an increasingly diverse society? This lucid and authoritative book makes an incisive contribution to this crucial debate" Roger Trigg is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, and Senior Research Fellow, Ian Ramsey Centre, Oxford The challenge of diversity is central to education in modern liberal, democratic states, and religious education is often the point where these differences become both most acute and where it is believed, of all curriculum subjects, resolutions are most likely to be found Education, Religion and Diversity identifies and explores the commitments and convictions that have guided post-confessional religious education and concludes controversially that the subject as currently theorised and practised is incapable of challenging religious intolerance and of developing respectful relationships between people from different communities and groups within society It is argued that despite the rhetoric of success, which religious education is obliged to rehearse in order to perpetuate its status in the curriculum and to ensure political support, a fundamentally new model of religious education is required to meet the challenge of diversity to education and to society A new framework for religious education is developed which offers the potential for the subject to make a genuine contribution to the creation of a responsible, respectful society Education, Religion and Diversity is a wide-ranging, provocative exploration of religious education in modern liberal democracies It is essential reading for those concerned with the role of religion in education and for religious and theological educators who want to think critically about the aims and character of religious education

The Development and Dissemination of Council of Europe Policy on Education about Religions and Non-Religious Convictions.

Abstract: This article, written from an insider perspective, and in a personal capacity (the author has been involved with the Council of Europe’s work on religion and education since its inception in 2002), gives an account of the developing interest in the study of religions (and latterly non-religious convictions) in publicly funded schools by the Council of Europe, one of several international institutions to have focused on the place of religions and beliefs in public education in recent years. Particular attention is given to the 2008 Recommendation from the Committee of Ministers (the Foreign Ministers of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe) on teaching about religions and non-religious convictions in schools, and to current work on its dissemination. In 2011, the Council of Europe and the European Wergeland Centre set up a joint committee to produce a document (Policy and Practice for Teaching about Religions and Non-Religious Worldviews in Intercultural Education) to assist policymakers, schools ...

Developments in religious studies: towards a dialogue with religious education

Abstract: The early days of non-confessional, multi-faith religious education in Britain benefitted from close collaboration between academics in universities, teacher educators and teachers. This article attempts to initiate a revival of such a dialogue, by summarizing some developments in religious studies at university level and suggesting possible implications for religious education in schools. After a brief retrospective of phenomenological and ethnographic approaches in religious studies and religious education, it examines feminist, queer and postcolonial theory as well as the changing religious landscape in contemporary Britain and the wider world. Themes emerging from this analysis prompt the following proposals: to take an anti-essentialist approach to ‘religion’ and ‘religions’; to stress diversity within and between traditions; to recognise complexity and change in religion and society; to acknowledge both local and global contexts; to focus on real people and seldom-heard voices; and to criticize domi...

Inclusive education: a case of beliefs competing for implementation

Abstract: The study explored the understanding and implementation of inclusive education in an independent Jewish community school; a school with a community ethos of care and belonging, whose context is, by definition, exclusionary on the grounds of a particular social category – religion. However, this exclusionary agenda positioned the school as inclusive on the grounds of strong communal values. Nevertheless, the school struggled with difference and diversity despite its purportedly strong communal spirit and religious culture. Further, it is arguable that the challenges encountered by the school may be indicative of the emergent economic context of South Africa where aspiration is often thwarted by economic realities. This study relied on qualitative methods of data generation such as insider interviews, personal accounts and document analysis. The participants were drawn from four stakeholder groups, namely, teachers, parents, middle managers and top managers. Guided by Lewin’s theory of planned change, the study identified four belief systems which influenced the way inclusive education was both understood and practised in this school. The study argued for the recognition of the importance of different belief systems in the implementation of inclusion in South Africa. Keywords : conditional inclusion, emergent economic contexts, inclusive education, Jewish community school, Kurt Lewin’s theory of planned change

From religious education to worldview education and beyond: The strength of a transformative pedagogical paradigm

Abstract: Varieties of Paradigm ShiftsCrucial in Cornelia Roux's writings is a strong awareness of tensions, contradictions and challenges in education and schooling in South Africa and abroad. Already before the abolition of the Apartheid system in 1994 and also reinforced by this tremendous change and based on an academic hermeneutical understanding of education and religion in education as well as a personal-hermeneutical understanding of religion (Roux & Van der Walt 2011; Roux 2012; Roux 2013: 245), her plea has been for paradigm shifts with an eye on how to teach religion, how to deal with the multicultural situation, and how to concretize citizenship education. Finally her plea is for a paradigm shift in pedagogy for human rights education as the inclusive concept that can embrace cultural, religious and gender differences and diversity. The question behind this seems always to be: What need to be changed in theory and practice in order to be able to deal in an adequate pedagogical, political and practical way with the challenges in new or changing educational, political and religious constellations? Here I will briefly pay attention to some of Roux's paradigm shifts and especially focus on the role and place of religious education.In her recent 2013 essay Roux clearly describes the paradigm shifts she has proposed before and after 1994, the date of the abolishment of the Apartheid regime, as being embedded in a developing hermeneutical and social constructionist view in respect to education and religion in education (Roux 2013). First there was the need to really replace the former preferential status of the mono-religious (read Christian) and the mono-cultural (read Afrikaner) school curricula, in order to promote the official South African policy of inclusiveness after 1994 also in the schools. Already in 1998 and based on her theoretical as well as empirical research and on her knowledge of developments in for instance Hamburg in Germany launched by Wolfram Weisse, Roux proposed a paradigm shift from mono-cultural to multi-cultural and from mono-religious to multi-religious or even interreligious curricula in both private and public schools and dealt with the consequences for the teaching and the teachers (Roux 1998a; 1998b). Her conclusion was that students 'in mono- and multi-cultural schools were able to deal with multireligious and multi-cultural religion education classes' (Roux 1998a: 88)But focusing on a second paradigm shift in respect to the teaching of religion she stated: 'However ... the need for a paradigm shift by educators, teachers and school communities is of the utmost importance before any religious education can be implemented in a multi-cultural school' (Roux 1998a: 88), because teachers mainly based their aims of religious education on Christianity: 'To gain knowledge about the bible and to make people 'better' human beings by knowing the Bible ... and also to convert learners to Christianity, or to nurture the religious growth of Christian children' (Roux 1998b: 128). In 2013 she concludes thateven today there are still many teachers and parents romanticizing the previous dispensation's power (religiously and politically). They argue that the influences of mono-religious and mono-cultural schools' curricula are the only means to support the moral fiber of a society (Roux 2013: 246-247; the results of Ntho-Ntho 2013 unfortunately strongly support Roux's conclusions).Roux concluded around 2005 that 'in a developing democracy, which still needs to come to grips with its own inhumane past, religion will not be the core denominator to infuse a culture of humaneness, respect for diversity, and cohesion toward a social just society' (Roux 2013: 247), but that human rights education in diversity and a focus on human rights values could provide a helpful new paradigm. To that end she developed a human rights values theory (see Roux, du Preez and Ferguson 2009) and a human rights education theory applicable in diverse contexts (see Roux 2012). …

Religion, education, dialogue and conflict : perspectives on religious education research

Abstract: Religion, Education, Dialogue and Conflict analyses the European Commission-funded REDCo project, which addressed the question of how religions might contribute to dialogue or conflict in Europe. Researchers in education from eight countries -- the UK, Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Norway and Spain -- studied how young Europeans of different religious, cultural and political backgrounds could engage in dialogue in the context of the school. Empirical studies conducted with 14-16 year old students included them offering their own perspectives and analyses of teaching and learning in both dialogue and conflict situations. Although there were some different national patterns and trends, most students wished for peaceful coexistence across differences, andbelieved this to be possible. The majority agreed that peaceful coexistence depended on knowledge about each other's religions and worldviews, sharing common interests and doing things together. The project found that students who learn about religious diversity in school are more willing to discuss religions and beliefs with students of other backgrounds than those who do not. The international range of expert contributors to this book evaluate the results of the REDCo project, providing examples of its qualitative and quantitative studies and reflecting on the methods and theory used in the project as a whole. This book was originally published as a special issue of the British Journal of Religious Education.

A Guide to Educational Research

Abstract: Geography, Bill Marsden history, Martin Booth English, Tony Burgess music, Piers Spencer religious education, Leslie J. Francis science, John Ogborn technology, Richard Kimbell economics and business education, David J. Whitehead modern foreign languages, Colin Wringe education policy, Stewart Ranson curriculum study, John Eliott children's learning, Kathy Sylva special education, Seamus Hegarty gender, Sara Delamont comparative education, Keith Watson.

The paradigms of contemporary religious education

Abstract: 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

Philosophy for Children, Values Education and the Inquiring Society.

Abstract: How can school education best bring about moral improvement? Socrates believed that the unexamined life was not worth living and that the philosophical examination of life required a collaborative inquiry. Today, our society relegates responsibility for values to the personal sphere rather than the social one. I will argue that, overall, we need to give more emphasis to collaboration and inquiry rather than pitting students against each other and focusing too much attention on ‘teaching that’ instead of ‘teaching how’. I will argue that we need to include philosophy in the curriculum throughout the school years, and teach it through a collaborative inquiry which enables children to participate in an open society subject to reason. Such collaborative inquiry integrates personal responsibility with social values more effectively than sectarian and didactic religious education.

Secondary school teachers’ perspectives on teaching about topics that bridge science and religion

Abstract: The question of where to locate teaching about the relationships between science and religion has produced a long-running debate. Currently, science and religious education (RE) are statutory subjects in England and are taught in secondary schools by different teachers. This paper reports on an interview study in which 16 teachers gave their perceptions of their roles and responsibilities when teaching topics that bridge science and religion and the extent to which they collaborated with teachers in the other subject areas. We found that in this sample, teachers reported very little collaboration between the curriculum areas. Although the science curriculum makes no mention of religion, all the science teachers said that their approaches to such topics were affected by their recognition that some pupils held religious beliefs. All the RE teachers reported struggling to ensure students know of a range of views about how science and religion relate. The paper concludes with a discussion about implications f...

Spirituality, values and the school's ethos: Factors shaping leadership in a faith-based school

Abstract: Studies which examine how educational leadership in faith-based schools is understood and practised are few and far between in the research literature. This is surprising given the important role faith-based schools play within the Australian school system and the controversy that has often surrounded them. Taking into consideration the gap in the research and the debates surrounding these types of schools it seemed timely to examine faith-based school leaders' perspectives on educational leadership. This article describes an interpretive study which sought to uncover how members of faith-based schools' management teams understood and practised leadership. Three different faith-based schools were selected for the study; a Catholic, Islamic and Greek Orthodox school. Four different qualitative data collection methods were used, comprising semi-structured interviews, concept mapping, document analysis and non-participant observation. Using a grounded theory approach for the data analysis it was found that the ways in which these faith-based school leaders understand educational leadership are underpinned by values which often had a faith dimension. In addition, it was found that the school leaders used this framework of faith-based values to guide their practice. It is further argued that the ways in which the school leaders' values and spirituality influenced their perspectives demonstrate the influence of context on leadership perspectives.

Religious Education in Finland

Abstract: In recent decades, the Finnish state has developed multicultural policies that aim at fostering the cultural identity of people coming to Finland from different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. This aim has had clear practical consequences in the Finnish state-supported schools, where, along with the Finnish and Swedish languages, pupils with different linguistic backgrounds now have the right to learn their native tongue within the frame of the school curriculum. In similar fashion, the state favours a multiple solution as regards religious education, so that pupils belonging to different religious communities have the right to “education in accordance with their own religion”. In addition, Ethics is taught to those pupils who are not members of any religious community. Consequently, several religions are today taught in Finnish schools, as well as secular Ethics. Nevertheless, the current system of religious education in Finland is ridden with contradictions. This article first offers an overview of the most recent developments, legal provisions and contents of religious education in state-supported schools in Finland. Next, it identifies some of the sore issues in the current system, and, finally, it reflects on the possible role of the Study of Religions in the field of religious education.

Towards International Comparative Research on the Professionalisation of Religious Education.

Abstract: This article calls for international comparative research on the professionalisation of Religious Education (RE). To this end, it provides a rationale for focusing upon the concept of professionalisation and a theoretical justification for international comparative research, particularly identifying its significance in terms of the development of RE in England and Germany. The article outlines a methodology for exploring the concepts of professional knowledge, professional self-organisation and politics and professional development. The proposed methodology involves a systematic analysis of primary documentary sources including: (1) academic and professional journal articles and textbooks; (2) the archives of relevant institutions and organisations; and (3) external evidence, such as inspection and research reports. An analytical case study of two leading journals in each national context, Religion in Education in England and Der Evangelische Erzieher in Germany, in the immediate post-war era is appended ...

Teaching the Millennial Generation in the Religious and Theological Studies Classroom

Abstract: This essay provides an overview of the distinctive challenges presented to teaching and learning in religious and theological studies by the conditions and characteristics of “millennial” students. While the emerging literature on this generation is far from consistent, it is still instructive and important to engage, as students that are immersed in technology and social networking have different facilities and difficulties that educators would do well to carefully address and critically employ. Teachers in theological and religious studies are distinctly positioned to grapple with such conditions, particularly around the practices of identity formation, media literacy, and embodiment. Attention to the development of such practices engages key issues for both the millennial students and the religious and theological studies teacher: virtual reality, spiritual identity, globalization and violence, critical consumption and ethical creativity, focused and contemplative thinking, and intercultural and interpersonal respect.

A Fresh Look at Islam in a Multi-Faith World: A philosophy for success through education

Abstract: A Fresh Look at Islam in a Multi-Faith World provides a comprehensively theorised and practical approach to thinking systematically and deeply about Islam and Muslims in a multi-faith world. It makes the case for a contemporary educational philosophy to help young Muslims surmount the challenges of post-modernity and to transcend the hiatuses and obstacles that they face in their interaction and relationships with non-Muslims and visa-versa. It argues that the philosophy of critical realism in its original, dialectical and metaReal moments so fittingly ‘underlabours’ (Bhaskar, 1975) for the contemporary interpretation, clarification and conceptual deepening of Islamic doctrine, practice and education as to suggest a distinctive branch of critical realist philosophy, specifically suited for this purpose. This approach is called Islamic Critical Realism. The book proceeds to explain how this Islamic Critical Realist approach can serve the interpretation of the consensual elements of Islamic doctrine, such as the six elements of Islamic belief and the five ‘pillars’ of Islamic practice, so that these essential features of the Muslim way of life can help Muslim young people to contribute positively to life in multi-faith liberal democracies in a globalising world. Finally, the book shows how this Islamic Critical Realist approach can be brought to bear in humanities classrooms by history, religious education and citizenship teachers to help Muslim young people engage informatively and transformatively with themselves and others in multi-faith contexts.

Correlation between grade point averages and student evaluation of teaching scores: taking a closer look

Abstract: One of the most contentious potential sources of bias is whether instructors who give higher grades receive higher ratings from students. We examined the grade point averages (GPAs) and student ratings across 2073 general education religion courses at a large private university. A moderate correlation was found between GPAs and student evaluations of teaching (SETs); however, this global correlation did not hold true for individual teachers and courses. In fact, there was a large variance in the correlations between GPAs and SETs, including some teachers with a negative correlation and a large variance between courses.

Religious Education for Peaceful Coexistence in Indonesia

Abstract: This paper argues that recent inter-religious conflict in Indonesia highlights a need for the education system to address problems of religious intolerance through religious education and the relig...

Islamic Education, Eco-ethics and Community

Abstract: Amid the growing coalescence between the religion and ecology movements, the voice of Muslims who care for the earth and its people is rising. While the Islamic position on the environment is not well-represented in the ecotheology discourse, it advances an environmental imaginary which shows how faith can be harnessed as a vehicle for social change. This article will draw upon doctoral research which synthesised the Islamic ecological ethic (eco-ethic) from sacred texts, traditions and contemporary thought, and illustrated how this ethic is enlivened in the educational landscape of Islam. Knowledge of the relationship between human beings and the natural world, of the creative order upon which the world was created, and of right living, is essential in this educational project and the global ecoIslamic movement employs a range of institutes, from the masjid to the maktab, to impart the environmental message of Islam. Despite the manifestation of environmental education activities across the educational establishment, much of what passes as Islamic education today is not representative of the holistic, integrated and comprehensive educational philosophy of Islam. Contemporary social concerns, such as the environmental question, can, in my view, act as an impetus to develop a pedagogy which endeavours to be true to the religious traditions, values and ethics of Islam, while also displaying the transformative force of this faith. Muslims, at more than one-fifth of the world population, own a fair share of global concern around the earth’s health and well-being. Across the world, many continue to base their life and lifestyle decisions on the teachings of Islam, and are showing the relevance of traditional resources and institutions in meeting one of the greatest challenges facing humanity—the health of our planet.

Religion Education in Norway: Tension or Harmony between Human Rights and Christian Cultural Heritage?

Abstract: Both research and public and scholarly debate on religious education (RE) in Norway have mostly revolved around the subject in primary and secondary school called Christianity, Religion and Ethics (KRL) (later renamed Religion, Philosophies of Life and Ethics, RLE), not least due to the criticisms raised by the UN’s Human Rights Committee in 2004 and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2007 of the Norwegian model for RE in primary and secondary schools. The RE subject in upper secondary school, however, is hardly ever mentioned. The same applies to teacher education. This article therefore aims at providing some insight into how RE has developed in the Norwegian educational system overall, ranging from primary and secondary to upper secondary and including the different forms of teacher education.

Catholic education: from and for faith

Abstract: Catholic education arises from the deep structures and earliest traditions of Christian faith. Its commitments throughout the centuries have been to educate both from and for faith. It educates from a faith perspective by drawing upon the universal values of Catholicism to provide a distinctive philosophy, perhaps even more so a spirituality, for its curriculum, purpose and ethos. It educates for faith by proposing Christian faith in ways that all students, regardless of their traditions, can learn from it for their lives. These symbiotic purposes face new challenges in our ‘secular age’ (Taylor, 2007. A Secular Age. Harvard University Press). However, by drawing upon its deepest faith-based convictions, Catholic education can continue to educate effectively from and for faith, and is all the more needed ‘for the life of the world’ (John 6:51).

Contextualizing the Tools of a Classical and Christian Homeschooling Mother-Teacher

Abstract: This article reports on the resurgence of classical and Christian education in the United States. This education has been especially popular with evangelical homeschooling mother‐teachers. It seeks to cultivate the biblical virtues of truth, goodness, and beauty through contemplating scripture. The curriculum relies on the ancient Trivium tools of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom in order to do this. The inquiry seeks to examine the contexts surrounding a mother‐teacher’s classical and Christian educational practice guided by two questions: (1) Why and how does an evangelical homeschooling mother‐teacher use classical and Christian tools? (2) What are the possibilities and challenges of classical and Christian homeschooling for an evangelical mother‐teacher? This curriculum is illustrated with the portrait of April Greene, an evangelical homeschooling mother‐teacher of two preteen boys. April enacted agency through the complex and dynamic development of her children and herself. April engaged ...