POLITICS AND PARTICIPATION:

The construction of RE teachers’ identities through online communities of practice in a time of subject change.

James Robson 9th May 2011

WHAT IS RE?

As a result of the 1988 education reform act RE is:

A statutory subject, but locally determined.

Required to teach the principle religions represented in the UK.

Required to reflect ‘the fact that religious traditions in the UK are in the main Christian’.

WHAT IS RE?

Numbers of students taking RE GCSE and A Level has consistently risen since 9/11.

Nearly 60% of all students take short course GCSE RE.

RE CONTRA MUNDUM

RE is still seen as a ‘Cinderella subject’ and afflicted by school hierarchies and prejudice.

RE teachers frequently view themselves and their subject as victims (Sikes and Everington 2004).

RE is divided over aims, pedagogies, and the future.

RE IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CONTEXT

The Changing nature of RE in Schools: The English Baccalaureate (Ebac)

proposals. Reduction in teaching time. Reduction in academic rigor as fewer

students take accredited RS courses. Challenges to statutory requirements.

RE IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CONTEXT

Increasing Isolation of RE Teachers: Isolation a frequent complaint of RE

teachers. Reduction in size of RE departments. Erosion of LA support structures. Reduction in CPD funding.

RE IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CONTEXT

Changes in Teacher Training 50% drop in ITT places. Further reductions due to subsequent

closures of courses. Erosion of mentor networks.

AIMS

To provide insight into the ongoing construction of RE teacher identity through online communities of practice at a time when RE as a subject is facing significant changes and challenges.

To make recommendations on the role informal online networking might play in RE teacher CPD given the reduction of more traditional face-to-face networking options.

THE TES RE TEACHER FORUM

Extremely active. Wholly RE focused. A large number of regular contributors

as well as ‘power posters’. Micro and macro level discussions and

politicking. A vibrant online community of RE

teachers.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Rooted in socio-cultural theories of learning.

Broadly Communities of Practice as espoused by Lave and Wenger (1991) and Wenger (1998), but critically adopted.

Communities of Practice vs Affinity Spaces.

RESEARCH QUESTION 1

In what ways does the use of online communities of practice facilitate theconstruction of RE teacher identities as compared to other professionalnetworks/ groups? a. Using Wenger’s theory of social learning as an analytical lens, several subquestions naturally emerge from this. In what ways do RE teachers express and negotiate online as compared to other

professional networks/ groups: Subject meaning; Subject aims; Subject practice; A sense of belonging (to both a larger subject community and the smaller

community of practice that is the focus)? b. What contextual factors might facilitate the expression and negotiation of these

aspects of identity?

RESEARCH QUESTION 2

What distinctive benefits, if any, do RE teachers see their use of online

communities of practice affording them? a. Why do RE teachers use online communities of practice? b. What benefits of such use do they report, as compared with other

professional groups/ networks?

c. Do RE teachers view their subject as being distinctively suited to online professional networking?

 d. How are the various communities, professional subject networks and

groups related to each other and how do RE teachers understand and negotiate multi-group membership?

RESEARCH QUESTION 3

What are the implications of the changing political landscape for the use of

online communities of practice and the construction of RE teacher identities?

 This questions is asked in relation to three main areas:The changing nature of RE in schools (i.e. the likely non-inclusion of the subjectin the EBac, the further reduction of space on the timetable, the legal position(statutory but not enforced), etc.).

Increasing isolation of RE teachers (i.e. in terms of locality with the reduction inthe number of LA RE advisors and the changing role of Local Authorities in general; andat school level with the reduction of specialist RE teachers).

Changes in teacher training (i.e. the likely growth in on the job training and trainingschools at the expense of university based teacher education and (potentially)associated professional networks).

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH

A Life Histories

‘A story of action, within a theory of context’ (Goodson 1992: 6)

LIFE HISTORY INTERVIEWS

Purposive targeted sampling of forum users based on number of posts users have made in order to get a mixed picture of users.

Random sampling of interviewees for NATRE Local Groups and non-users based on Culham’s database of national RE teachers.

Likely cross-over between NATRE and forum users – the messy reality of of group membership and indistinct boundaries.

EMAIL INTERVIEWS

Facilitate the long-term interviewer/ interviewee relationships necessary for successful life-history work.

Allow participants more time and space to construct their narratives.

Provide more time and space for participant reflexivity.

Allow forum users to retain their online IDs Allow for a national study.

EMAIL INTERVIEWS ISSUES

Maintain relationships through mutual personal disclosure, legitimizing credentials with a project website and short reasonably frequent communications.

Focus explicitly on the tension between online and offline identities in the interview.

Provide participants with the option of oral interviews.

FORUM ANALYSIS

Sampling based on life cycle of threads – approximately 3 weeks (apart from stickies/ ongoing issues).

A three week sample in the summer term for the pilot.

Three week samples taken from each term in the main study to get a picture of the ebb and flow of the whole academic year.

All posts in an active thread will be taken, even if they occur prior to the sampling period.

THE CURRENT POLITICAL CONTEXT

Grey literature – policy documents and press material.

Observations of meeting of key RE organizations (e.g. REC; Culham; St Gabriel’s).

Elite interviews (e.g. Chair of the REC; Director of NATRE; Director of Culham/ St Gabriel’s).

THE PILOT

Analysis of a three-week sample of the TES RE forum.

Email interviews with two TES forum users.

Email interviews with two NATRE group users.

Ongoing contextual analysis. Aim to test the email interview

(possibly trial a telephone interview to compare levels of data)

MAIN STUDY

Analysis of three (one per term over the course of a year) three-week samples of the TES RE forum.

Email interviews with approximately 10 TES forum users, looking into range of experience.

Email interviews with approximately 10 NATRE group users.

Email interviews with approximately 10 non-users.

Validation of results with participants.

ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES

Online forums are used to influence political discourse which in turn can shape the way RE teachers negotiate subject meaning, aims, practice and their sense of belonging to a subject community.

Sectarian tendencies in the RE world may be emphasized by online CoPs, reflected in identity construction.

Group membership and group boundaries are highly complex.

NOTABLE ABSENCES

Clarity of conceptual framework. Detailed interview schedule. Clear plan for analysis. Ethical discussion.