RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN KINDERGARTENS IN VIENNAHelena Stockinger, 17.11.2014

Outline

• Preface• Religous landscape in Austria and Vienna• Studies on religious diversity on young children• Research question• Research design• Methods• Selection of kindergartens

• First results• Handling of religious diversity in kindergartens• Conversations of children about religious diversity

Introduction

• Diverse contexts in Europe• Importance of the institution kindergarten

• “The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin” (Article 29, Convention on the Rights of the Child)

Population Census 2001 / Estimate 2012, 2013

AUSTRIA VIENNARoman Catholic: 73.7 % / 62.5% Roman Catholic: 49.2 % / 37.1

Protestant: 4.7 % / 3.7 % Protestant: 4.7 %

Islamic: 4.2 %/ 6.8 % Islamic: 7.8 % / 12.5 %

Orthodox: 2.2 % / 5.8 % Orthodox: 5.8 %

no religious denomination: 12 % no religious denomination: 25.6 %

not specified: 2 % not specified: 4.2 %

other religious denominations: <1 % other religious denominations: <1 %

Studies about religious diversity in kindergartens in Germany

• Hoffmann, Eva: Interreligiöses Lernen im Kindergarten? Eine empirische Studie zum Umgang mit religiöser Vielfalt in Diskussionen mit Kindern zum Thema Tod. Berlin: LIT 2009.

• Edelbrock, Anke/Schweitzer, Friedrich/Biesinger, Albert (Hg.): Wie viele Götter sind im Himmel? Religiöse Differenzwahrnehmung im Kindesalter. Interreligiöse und interkulturelle Bildung im Kindesalter Band 1. Münster-New York-München-Berlin: Waxmann 2010.

Research question

How is religious diversity in kindergartens handled and how do young children talk about religious diversity?

Research design

• Ethnographic approach• Grounded Theory (Strauss/Corbin 1996; Corbin/Strauss 2008)• Thematic Coding (Flick 2007)• Transcription of all the data• Coding and memoing

Methods of the research

• Observation during one school year• Group discussion with the children• Group discussion with the pedagogues• Interviews with the heads of the

kindergartens

Selection of the two kindergartens

• Same district in Vienna• Children of all religious denomination are

allowed to visit the kindergarten• Heads of the kindergartens assume

religious diversity as positive• Respect for other religions in the concept• Religion is a factor in the kindergarten• A Catholic and an Islamic kindergarten

Religious denominations in the 2 kindergartens

Catholic kindergarten Islamic kindergarten

Catholics: 45.7 % Catholics: 8.1 %

Muslims: 17.4 % Muslims: 91.9 %

No religious denomination: 17.4 %

Orthodox: 13.1 %

Hindu: 2.2 %

Sikhs: 2.2 %

First findings

• Tendencies concerning religious diversity in kindergartens

• Tendencies concerning the conversation of children about religious diversity

Conceptual considerations of religion and religious diversity in the kindergartens

• Religion as part of the daily routine• Religion as additional, voluntary service• Concepts are fragmentary • No enforcement to take part in religious

activities

Elements of religion and religious diversity in the kindergarten

• Celebrations• Prayers• Conspicuity of religion in the

kindergarten • Religious activities

Celebrations

• Religious celebrations of the majority religion• Religious celebrations of the non majority religion• Celebrations with no religious background• Secularised celebrations of religious origin• Providing information about religious celebrations

Prayers

• Prayers of the majority religion• No prayers of the non majority relgion• Unified prayers • Secular slogan instead of a prayer

Communication about religious diversity in the kindergartens

• Some efforts to broach the issue of religious diversity

• Avoidance of communication about religious diversity

• Reasons for the avoidance:• to avoid challenges and conflicts• to follow the tradition• missing knowledge• equality for all the children• religion as teaching values

Summary of religious diversity in the kindergartens

• Fragmentary concepts• Dominance of the majority religion• Lack of communication

First findings

• Tendencies concerning religious diversity in kindergartens

• Tendencies concerning the conversation of children about religious diversity

Topics raised by children of the majority group about their own religion

Catholic kindergarten:• Church• Celebrations

Islamic kindergarten: • Qu`ran• Mosque• Washing before prayer• Moral commitment• Celebrations• Own religious

denomination

How children of the non majority group discuss their own religion

Catholic kindergarten• no discussion of their religious denomination

or any religious celebration

Islamic kindergarten• mentioning not being a Muslim

How children in the Catholic kindergarten discuss religious diversity

Non majority relgion:• do not mention their absence

Majority religion:• notice the absence of some peers• do not have any explanation for this.

How children in the Islamic kindergarten discuss religious diversity

Non majority religion:• mention that they do not take part in Religious

Education, because they are not MuslimsMajority religion: • questions about religious denominations,

religious habits, celebrations• notice absence of some children in Religious

Education and have explanations for this

How children of the non majority religion behave concerning religious diversity

• Participation in majority religious behavior • Differentiation of the children to the religious

behavior of the majority religion• Alternation between participation and

differentiation

Summary of the discussion of religion and religious diversity of the children

• Differences between the two kindergartens• Differences between the majority and the non-majority

religion• Children notice religious differences, sometimes they do not have explanations.• Differences seem to be a matter of course for the

Muslim children in the Islamic kindergarten.• Children do not talk about religious differences in the

Catholic kindergarten.• Children of the non majority group do not talk about

their religion.

• Muslim children in the Catholic kindergarten do not talk about their religion or religious differences

• Interested in differences, when they know about them• Not talking about religious diversity• Not talking about the own religion• Behave like the majority religion • Missing explanations

A few implications because of the empirical findings

• Kindergartens have to find structures that do not discriminate against the non majority religion

• Educational system• Support for the kindergarten teachers • Development of the kindergartens • Support communication in the kindergartens• Support from a not involved person

For further questions or remarks:

helena.stockinger@univie.ac.at