Pedagogical Purposes of Narratives in Worldview Education: Teachers’ Conceptions

Raili Keränen-Pantsu, Hannu Heikkinen

Abstract


This study explores teachers’ pedagogical purposes for using narratives in Finnish religious and worldview education. The article stems from a philosophical and pedagogical view on narrative cognition as a fundamental element of worldview education.  Teachers work as interpreters of the cultural stock of stories, including culturally fundamental religious narratives, and convert it into a pedagogical tool for identity work. The research data consists of interviews with primary school class teachers (N=6) about using narratives in the context of worldview education. Using qualitative content analysis as a research method, four main categories were identified. Teachers used the narratives: (1) to offer knowledge about religions and worldviews to their pupils; (2) to help their pupils to reflect on existential and transcendental issues; (3) to develop pupils’ ethical abilities; and (4) to promote pupils’ sense of community. Narratives are used in diverse ways; teachers use narratives in a dialogical manner in teaching, and pupils are encouraged to share their own thoughts and ideas. The narrative approach in worldview education provides means for teachers to promote conditions for a safe space and promote dialogue enabling worldview reflection. Narratives have a lot to offer for pluralistic and polyphonic education, opening up diverse ways of viewing the world.  The study confirms that the narrative approach offers promising potential for worldview education but, given the restrictions of the small sample of this study, further research is needed.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.5.5


Keywords


worldview education; religious education; teachers; narrative; pedagogy

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bamberg, M., & Andrews, M. (Eds.). (2004). Considering counter-narratives: Narrating, resisting, making sense (Vol. 4). John Benjamins Publishing.

Basic Education Act 628/1998, 13 § (6.6.2003/454) Retrieved from https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/1998/en19980628.pdf

Biesta, G. J. J., & Miedema, S. (2002). Instruction or pedagogy? The need for a transformative conception of education. Teaching and Teacher Education 18. 173–181.

Bruner, J. (1987). Life as narrative. Social research, 1987, 11-32.

Clark, M. C., & Rossiter, M. (2008). Narrative learning in adulthood. New directions for adult and continuing education, (119), 61-70.

Copley, T. (2007). The Power of the Storyteller in Religious Education. Religious Education 102 (3): 288–297. doi:10.1080/00344080701496264

Egan, K., & McEwan, H. (Eds.). (1995). Narrative in teaching, learning, and research. Teachers College Press.

Elo, S., & H. Kyngäs. 2008. The Qualitative Content Analysis Process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(1): 107–115. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x.

Erricker, C., & Erricker, J. (2000). Reconstructing religious, spiritual, and moral education. Psychology Press.

Geertz, A. W., & Jensen, J. S. (2014). Religious narrative, cognition and culture: image and word in the mind of narrative. Routledge.

Goodson, I., & Gill, S. (2011). Narrative pedagogy: Life history and learning. New York: Peter Lang.

Grimmit, M. (1987). Religious Education and Human Development: The Relationship between Studying Religions and Personal, Social and Moral Education. Great Wakering: McCrimmons.

Halstead, J. M., & Taylor, M. J. eds. (1996). Values in Education and Education in Values. London: The Falmer Press.

Hatch, J. A. (2002). Doing Qualitative Research in Education Settings. State University of New York Press.

Heikkinen, H. (2002). Whatever is Narrative Research? In Huttunen, R., Heikkinen, H., & Syrjälä, L. (Eds.) Narrative research. Voices of Teachers and Philosophers (pp. 13-28). Jyväskylä: SoPhi.

Heimbrock, H-G. (2001). Introduction. In Heimbrock, H-G., Sheilke, C., & P. Scheiner, P. (eds.), Towards Religious Competence. Diversity as a Challenge for Education in Europe (pp. 3-11). Schriften aus dem Comenius-Institut. Műnster: Lit.

Hyvärinen, M. (2010). Revisiting the narrative turns. Life Writing, 7(1), 69-82. doi:10.1080/14484520903342957

Hänninen, V. (2004). A model of narrative circulation. Narrative inquiry, 14(1), 69-85. doi:https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.14.1.04han

Jackson, R. (2014). Signposts-policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious world views in intercultural education. Council of Europe.

Kallioniemi, A., & Ubani, M. (2016). Religious Education in Finnish School System. In Niemi, H., Toom, A., & Kallioniemi, A. (eds.) Miracle of Education (pp. 177–188). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Kansanen, P., Tirri, K., Meri, M., Krokfors, L., & Husu, J. (2000). Teachers’ Pedagogical Thinking: Theoretical Landscapes, Practical Challenges. New York: Peter Lang.

Keränen-Pantsu, R., & Rissanen. I. (2018). What kind of tensions are involved in the pedagogical use of religious narratives? Perspectives from Finnish Evangelic Lutheran and Islamic religious education. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 157-168. doi:10.1080/13617672.2018.1450804

van der Kooij, J., de Ruyter, D. & Miedema, S. (2015). Can We Teach Morality Without Influencing the Worldview of Students? Journal of Religious Education 63(2), 79–93. doi:10.1007/s40839-016-0022-4

National Core Curriculum for Basic Education. [Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelmien perusteet] (2014). Finnish National Agency for Education. Accessed September 25, 2018. Retrieved from http://oph.fi/download/163777_perusopetuksen_opetussuunnitelman_perusteet_2014.pdf (in Finnish).

McAdams, D. P., & McLean, K. C. (2013). Narrative identity. Current directions in psychological science, 22(3), 233-238. doi: 10.1177/0963721413475622

Miedema, S. (2014). Worldview Education and Beyond: The Strength of a Transformative Pedagogical Paradigm. Journal for the Study of Religion 27(1), 82-103.

Moore, D. L. (2016). Diminishing religious literacy: Methodological assumptions and analytical frameworks for promoting the public understanding of religion. In A. Dinham, & M. Francis (Eds.), Religious literacy in policy and practice (pp. 27–38). Bristol: Policy Press.

Polkinghorne, D. E. (1988). Narrative knowing and the human sciences. Suny Press.

Pollefeyt, D., & Bieringer, R. (2005). The Role of Bible in Religious Education Reconsidered. Risks and Challenges in Teaching the Bible. International Journal of Practical Theology 9: 117–139. doi:https://doi.org/10.1515/IJPT.2005.007

Poulter, S., Riitaoja, A-L., & Kuusisto, A. (2016). Thinking multicultural education ‘otherwise’ – from a secularist construction towards a plurality of epistemologies and worldviews. Globalization, Societies, Education 14(1) 68-86.

a. doi:10.1080/14767724.2014.989964

Smart, N. (1989). The world religions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Smart, N. (1996). Dimensions of the sacred: An anatomy of the world’s beliefs. Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Smart, N. (2008). World philosophies. London and New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis.

Selcuk, M., & Valk, J. (2012). Knowing Self and Others: A Worldview Model for Religious Education in Turkey. Religious Education 107(5), 443–454. doi:10.1080/00344087.2012.722473

Ã…hs, V., Poulter, S., & Kallioniemi, A. (2017). Preparing for the world of diverse worldviews: parental and school stakeholder views on integrative worldview education in a Finnish context. British Journal of Religious Education 40(1), 78-89. doi: 10.1080/01416200.2017.1292211


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493