Introduction and overview

Chapter 1 Introduction and Overview Michael J. Reiss, Yusef Waghid, Sue McNamara, and Judith D. Chapman Introduction There has been a substantial and continuing growth in recent times in the number, range and types of faith-based schools in countries around the world. This has led to a growing interest in and concern for issues associated with the establishment, val- ues and varying modes of provision and practices of faith-based schools. In this context, policy makers, academics, education professionals and members of the broader community have identified the need for a rigorous analysis of developments in faith-based learning, teaching and leadership. These have included such matters as the educational, historical, social and cultural contexts of such institutions; the conceptions, nature, aims and values of education involved in and adopted by faith- based schools; and an account of current practices and future possibilities arising from and associated with various issues such as the curriculum and its delivery, modes of teaching and learning, and leadership and administration.  M.J. Reiss () Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, UK e-mail: [email protected] Y. Waghid Faculty of Education, Stellenbosch University, GG Cillie Building, Ryneveldt St, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] S. McNamara Faculty of Education, Australian Catholic University, Ballarat, Victoria 3350, Australia e-mail: [email protected] J.D. Chapman Faculty of Education, Australian Catholic University, Locked bag 4115, Fitzroy MDC, Victoria 3065, Australia e-mail: [email protected] J. Chapman et al. (eds.), International Handbook of Learning, Teaching 1 and Leading in Faith-Based Schools, DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8972-1_1, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 2 M.J. Reiss et al.  Given the evidence of the increasing awareness of the need for an analysis and justification of such matters it is timely that a publication be made available that provides an examination of faith-based education in a range of countries. An addi- tional value arises from the exploration of issues facing faith-based schools by a range of scholars and practitioners from various religious and faith traditions, work- ing from a range of perspectives and experiences gained in culturally rich and diverse communities. Aims of the Publication The International Handbook on Learning, Teaching and Leading in Faith-Based Schools is international in scope. It is addressed to policy makers, academics, educational professionals and members of the wider community. The book is divided into three parts. (1) The Educational, Historical, Social and Cultural Context The first part of the book aims to: • Identify the educational, historical, social and cultural bases and contexts for the development of learning, teaching and leadership in faith-based schools across a range of international settings; • Consider the current trends, issues and controversies facing the provision and nature of education in faith-based schools; • Examine the challenges faced by faith-based schools and their role and responses to current debates concerning science and religion in society and its institutions. (2) Conceptions: The Nature, Aims and Values of Education in Faith-based Schools The second part of the book aims to: • Identify and explore the distinctive philosophies, characteristics and guiding principles, values, concepts and concerns underpinning learning, teaching and leadership in faith-based schools; • Identify and explore ways in which such distinctive philosophies of education challenge and expand different norms and conventions in their surrounding soci- eties and cultures; • Examine and explore some of the ways in which different conceptions within and among different religious and faith traditions guide practices in learning, teaching and leadership in various ways. (3) Current Practice and Future Possibilities The third part of the book aims to: • Provide evidence of current educational practices that might help to inform and shape innovative and successful policies, initiatives and strategies for the development of quality learning, teaching and leadership in faith-based schools; 1 Introduction and Overview 3  • Examine the ways in which the professional learning of teachers and educational leaders in faith-based settings might be articulated and developed; • Consider the ways in which coherence and alignment might be achieved between key national priorities in education and the identity, beliefs and commitments of faith-based schools; • Examine what international experience shows about the place of faith-based schools in culturally rich and diverse communities and the implications of faith- based schooling for societies of the future. Approach We hope that many, though certainly not all, of the important topics, issues and problems relevant to learning, teaching and leading in faith-based schools have been addressed in the various chapters constituting this International Handbook. In the writing and thinking assembled in the various chapters contained in this publication we have drawn upon the widest range of insights and experiences. Some aspects of the book may be deemed by some readers to be controversial, pointing to the need for further exploration and analysis, discussion and debate. One of the chief prin- ciples held by the editors of this publication is that the best way forward in address- ing such controversies and issues as this book raises is by the kind of critical problem-solving that such discussion and debate promotes. Such a process draws upon the widest range of contributors and sources, listens seriously to their argu- ments and animadversions and approaches these with respect and open mindedness. Thus, in the examination of problems arising from or contiguous with the issues under examination, seriousness and integrity of purpose, mutual respect and the acceptance of criticism and admissibility of alternative points of view are presup- posed as normative in the process of scholarly discussion and debate. These principles we hope are instantiated and exemplified in the approach adopted in this volume. We trust that this approach will have been successful in generating a range of questions, even whether there should be faith-based schools at all, giving rise to further thinking and research and the continuation of such explorations in the future. Lines of Enquiry By the end of this publication we hope that we shall have helped readers to engage in, develop and expand some of the thinking necessary for facing the range of opportunities and challenges associated with faith-based education. We have tried to set out many of the main ideas of leading thinkers in the conceptualization of faith- based schools. We have detailed some of the distinctive histories and examined some of the policies articulated and implemented by governments, agencies and schools widely across the international arena. We have pointed to examples of pro- grams, activities and experiences that have been planned, developed and put in  4 M.J. Reiss et al.  place in schools and classrooms, in a range of countries. We have delineated a number of research projects and initiatives that have shed light on many concerns. Throughout the work, we have been concerned to point to successful examples of policy and action to underline suggestions for practice that can be put into place as a result of reading what other people have been doing in various settings. Of course, there is still much that needs to be done, but in facing future challenges we hope that the International Handbook on Learning, Teaching and Leading in Faith-Based Schools will have helped policy makers, academics, education professionals and members of the wider community to frame policies, practices and research that will assist them to identify and address the many issues, problems, challenges and opportunities relevant to faith-based education now and in the future. Part I – The Educational, Historical, Social and Cultural Context of Faith-Based Schooling Section Editor: Michael J. Reiss In Part I, it is shown that whilst faith-based schooling is growing worldwide, it remains controversial. On the one hand those who support faith-based schooling argue that to ban it is to trample on the rights of parents to frame their children’s education and, furthermore, that when faith-based schooling is banned, all that hap- pens is that children are removed from schools and either not educated or educated at home, with the possibility for some children that the education they receive is then neither broad nor balanced (e.g. Parker-Jenkins et al. 2005; Haydon 2009; Kunzman 2010; Oldfield et al 2013). On the other hand are those who argue that faith-based schooling inevitably entails at least a certain amount of indoctrination and, further- more, that such schooling is socially divisive (Mason 2006; MacEoin 2009). For some people, their religious faith is absolutely at the core of their being: they could no more feel comfortable acting or thinking in a way that conflicted with their religious values than they could feel comfortable not breathing. Other ways of expressing this are to say that their worldview is a religious one or that religion plays a central part in their identity. For other people, religious faith is either an irrelevancy – an historical anachronism – or positively harmful with many of the ills that befall humankind being placed at its door (Halstead and Reiss 2003). Religious believers need no arguments to be voiced in favour of taking religious values seriously. Agnostics and atheists might be tempted to ignore religious values but this would be a mistake. For a start, it is still the case that even in countries, such as Denmark, England, Sweden and The Netherlands, where the national signifi- cance of religion has been in decline for many decades, a substantial proportion of people report that they have a religious faith when asked in national surveys. Although a stated belief in God may not translate into much overt religious activity, such as communal worship, it often connects with what people feel about important issues in life. In addition, religious values still permeate, for historical reasons, much of society and need to be understood. 1 Introduction and Overview 5  Furthermore, to make another point entirely clear to anyone familiar with religious faith and practice, every religion has considerable diversity within it. For all that many of the world’s religions have scriptures and teaching that are taken with the utmost seriousness by their adherents, language always needs interpreta- tion, so that even those with a literalist approach to the scriptures often disagree. This point is educationally relevant as it is sometimes presumed by those who lack a religious faith that teaching young people about religion, or life more generally, in a faith-based school is necessarily indoctrinatory. This is not the case. Of course, one can teach about religion in a faith school in a way that is indoctrinatory, but then one can teach about music, science, literature or any subject in a common school in a way that is indoctrinatory. How one teaches is in the hands of teachers and the oth- ers responsible for the education that a school provides. The authors of the chapters in this part of The International Handbook on Learning, Teaching and Leading in Faith-Based Schools, although they write about a wide range of issues in faith-based schooling and come from a range of perspec- tives, not all of them sympathetic to faith-based schooling, nevertheless share at least three beliefs. First, it is worth attending carefully to the history of education. Although history of education all too often receives only limited attention (cf. McCulloch 2011), understanding something of it helps make sense of what sometimes otherwise appear as bewildering anomalies, whether over school fund- ing, governance arrangements, admissions policies or curriculum matters. Secondly, it is equally worth attending to the current cultural and social contexts in which schools operate. Indeed, one of the values of undertaking rigorous fieldwork in schools and policy analysis of the contexts in which schools exists is that this makes crude generalisations and polarisations less tenable. Thirdly, a central component of school education is to enable learners to develop into autonomous, flourishing indi- viduals, capable of respecting others and making a contribution to society. These three beliefs help provide a common backdrop against which the specifics of each of the chapters can be interpreted. Charlie Glenn, in ‘The Impact of Faith-Based Schools on Lives and on Society: Policy Implications’, begins by noting that research, the US element of the Cardus Study, has shown that those who have attended Catholic and Evangelical schools in the US differ in significant ways, not only from those who attended public schools, but also from each other. After controlling statistically for a host of variables known to impact development, it was found that Catholic schools in the US provide supe- rior academic outcomes, an experience that translates into graduates’ enrollment in more prestigious colleges and universities, more advanced degrees and higher household income. At the same time, however, the research found that the moral, social and religious dispositions of Catholic school graduates largely run counter to the values and teachings of the Catholic Church. For example, students graduating from Catholic schools in the US divorce no less than their public school counter- parts and significantly more than their Protestant Christian and nonreligious private school peers. Similarly, having attended Catholic school has no impact on the fre- quency with which those graduates will attend church services, and Catholic school graduates are less likely to serve as leaders in their churches. On the other hand,  6 M.J. Reiss et al.  contrary to the popular stereotype of Protestant Christian schools producing socially fragmented, anti-intellectual, politically radical and militantly right-wing graduates, the data revealed a very different picture of the Protestant Christian school graduate. Compared to their public school, Catholic school and non-religious private school peers, Protestant Christian school graduates are individuals who stabilise their com- munities by their uncommon and distinctive commitment to their families, their churches and their communities, and by their unique hope and optimism about their lives and the future. Glenn’s interest is in understanding how these differences may reflect the historical moment in which Catholic and Protestant schools find them- selves and in exploring what implications such an understanding may have for pub- lic policy, especially in relation to the emerging phenomenon of Islamic schools. To a large extent, US Catholic school education arose in the nineteenth century in opposition to the Protestant character of the common public elementary school and the semi-public academies. However, by the mid-twentieth century, US Catholics became part of the mainstream in countless ways, including on issues that might be expected to distinguish them, such as attitudes toward birth control and divorce. The primary focus of Catholic schools is now on equipping their students to be success- ful in selective colleges and professional schools and thus in life. The origins of US Protestant schooling are very different. After the Second World War, religious prac- tices in public schools were successfully challenged in a series of cases, mostly in federal courts, based on the ‘Establishment’ clause of the First Amendment. Within a few years, all such practices had been removed and religion was seldom men- tioned, even in subjects like history, literature, art and music and this led to a marked impoverishment of the curriculum. The public school curriculum was censored to present a view of reality that could give students the impression that religion was totally irrelevant to the real world. One of the responses to this quite sudden trans- formation of US public schools, formerly infused with Christian motifs, to strictly secular settings was a rapid expansion of evangelical and fundamentalist Protestant schools, as well as of home-schooling. Millions of parents concluded that the public schools were no longer a fit place for their children, and sought alternative forms of education informed by the biblical perspectives no longer available – in however attenuated a form – in the public schools. Glenn goes on to argue that just as evan- gelical Protestant schools are sustained by a conviction on the part of parents and educators that elements of the mainstream culture are toxic to the appropriate development of children into adults prepared to put obedience to God ahead of compliance with peers, with popular media and even with government, so the grow- ing number of Islamic schools in Western Europe and North America reflect – and evoke – similar concerns. Conflicts over schools, including Islamic schools, that propose an alternative understanding of life based on non-negotiable religious con- victions are therefore an international phenomenon that has recently taken on a new urgency in many countries. This comes as something of a shock to those secularists who had confidently assumed that faith-based schools were a phenomenon of a less enlightened age and would soon pass from the scene. Mark Halstead, in ‘Values and Values Education: Challenges for Faith Schools’, points out that values and values education have always been central to the 1 Introduction and Overview 7  provision of faith schools. Nevertheless, the upsurge of interest in (and research into) values and values education across the western world in recent decades makes it incumbent on faith schools to engage in a process of serious reflection on the explicit and implicit values which underpin their work, in order to ensure that their provision in terms of values education is justifiable, in line with contemporary edu- cational thinking and in the best interests of the young people they teach. Indeed, Halstead argues that values and values education may represent a major challenge for faith schools in spite of the belief many parents have that this area of provision is one of their main strengths. He distinguishes two forms of values education and suggests that faith schools are well placed to provide their students with ‘primary’ values education (i.e. moral guidance, an understanding of right and wrong and an introduction to a core framework of moral values). This is because the core values of faith schools are broadly shared by teachers, parents and the community they serve, and thus they are able to provide a consistent ethos and a coherent, authorita- tive approach to teaching values. Indeed, for most UK Muslim parents, attendance at faith-based schools is more about developing sound moral values than an in-depth understanding of Islamic doctrine. However, the capacity of faith schools to provide ‘secondary’ values education (i.e. to develop children’s moral imagination in the sense of making them aware of different possible ways of acting in particular situa- tions, and to lead them towards moral autonomy) may be more open to question, partly because their very certainty about the values they hold dear may make them less comfortable with (or less open to) the diversity of values that are found in the broader society or the possibility that their students might come, as mature, autono- mous individuals, to hold values different from those they have been taught in school. For many parents and teachers involved in faith schools, religion provides a clearer, more objective and more lasting source of authority in relation to values than alternative sources like the state, one’s family, the media, the law, one’s peers, politicians, celebrities, and so on. In fact, one thing that unites most of the major world faiths is the belief that there is a higher source of authority than the state. However, there is a tension between such a view and the belief that one of the roles of schooling is to enable students, as they age, to develop their autonomy along with the ability to critically examine what they have been taught. Jan Ainsworth, in ‘Church of England Schools: Into the Third Century’, exam- ines the historic and contemporary presence of the Church of England in state- funded schools (including academies) in England. On 16 October 1811, the inaugural meeting was held of the National Society for the Promotion of the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church (i.e. the Church of England). Within 50 years, 12,000 schools had been built, staffed and main- tained. With the foundation of so many schools there was an immediate issue of teacher supply and the initial model of training older pupils to teach younger chil- dren rapidly became inadequate. Teacher training colleges were established, first by the National Society itself and then by the Church of England dioceses. These were the first higher education institutions open to women, though recent developments have seen a high proportion of those colleges close or become part of another Higher Education institution, losing their special character. Somewhat similarly,  8 M.J. Reiss et al.  during much of the twentieth century, the state determined more and more of school education and the Church of England retreated into a narrow concern for just reli- gious education and worship. Diocesan authorities continued to perform their statu- tory duties to do with contributing to the maintenance of buildings and appointing governors but conceded most other functions to the state. Confidence gradually returned to the Church of England school system with a significant turning point around the 1988 Education Reform Act. The Act allowed a greater degree of paren- tal choice in the selection of schools for their children, which highlighted both popular and unpopular schools. The publication of league tables suggested that Church of England schools were in many cases outperforming other schools. The result was a significant shift in both community and Church of England attitudes towards the schools and since the start of the twenty-first century there has been an upturn in the number of Church of England schools. In parallel, there has been a rise in the frequency with which it has been asserted that faith schools produce sepa- rated societies, with all that implies in terms of community tension. The response from the Church of England was to emphasise the traditional dual focus of its provi- sion, which includes both families seeking a faith-based education and those of other faiths and none. In practice, the vast majority of Church of England primary schools and a significant majority of Church of England secondary schools do reflect the nature of the local community. This means that many Church of England schools are multi-faith in nature. In some cases the majority of pupils come from Muslim or other faith families. Helena Miller, in ‘Jewish Schools and Britain: Emerging from the Past, Investing in the Future’, reviews the historical context for the development of Jewish schools in the UK, explaining how social, cultural and demographic changes have affected the framework and content of Jewish education. Jewish day school education has been established in Britain since Jews were re-admitted to England in 1656. With the nineteenth century growth in the number of Church of England schools, there was a concern within the Jewish population that if Jewish children were to attend these schools, they would be at risk of losing their heritage and identity. The threat was too great to be ignored and by 1850 Jewish schools had opened to serve the Jewish population. In 1851, 12 years after the government accepted that schools of a Christian religious nature were eligible for State funding, Jewish schools were per- mitted to receive grants in the same way, provided they agreed to read the scriptures of the Old Testament every day and provided they were also prepared to submit to government inspection. By the 1950s and 1960s, whilst around 80 % of Jewish chil- dren received some form of Jewish education, only 20 % of these children attended full-time Jewish schools. Then, in 1971, the Chief Rabbi of the United (mainstream orthodox) Synagogue, Lord Jakobovits, launched the Jewish Educational Trust, which significantly raised the profile of Jewish Education within the Jewish com- munity, so that now some 50–60 % of all Jewish children in the UK are educated in Jewish faith schools. Whilst a proportion of the Jewish schools are private institu- tions, funded by trusts and individuals within the Jewish community, the majority of Jewish primary and secondary schools fall within the state sector. Four of the most pressing issues for Jewish schooling are pluralism, the curriculum, capacity and the 1 Introduction and Overview 9  government agenda. Until 1980, all the Jewish schools in the UK were affiliated to the orthodox community. Since then, there has been a growth in pluralist Jewish schools in the UK. Such schools teach from each of the mainstream Jewish perspec- tives: Orthodox, Masorti, Reform, Liberal and Secular Judaism. Jewish schools in the state system in England operate within the National Curriculum but in such schools, there is no National Curriculum for Jewish religious studies and each school decides for itself the time it devotes, what is covered and the standards the pupils are expected to reach at different stages. Capacity issues relating to a lack of trained and professionally qualified Jewish studies and Hebrew teachers has been a long-standing issue. The government agenda impinges on Jewish schools in a num- ber of ways, one of which relates to admissions policies. All mainstream Jewish schools have had to change their admissions criteria to comply with the 2009 UK Supreme Court ruling which now makes it unlawful for Jewish schools to give pri- ority to children who are born Jewish. Admission to Jewish schools is now seen as a matter of faith and not one of ethnicity. To gain entry to a Jewish school, families have to show evidence of adherence to the faith (Synagogue attendance, for example) and not merely birth. Joseph O’Keefe and Michael O’Connor, in ‘Faith Related Schools in the United States: The Current Reality’, provide a portrayal and analysis of the current reality of private faith-related elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Throughout their history, such schools have received little or no funding from the government. Because of these financial restrictions, they have remained a minority in the broader education landscape, currently accounting for 7 % of all students, 9 % of all teachers and 20 % of all schools. Slightly over half of all these students are Catholics, but this is well down on the peak in 1965 when Catholic schools enrolled 12 % of all US students. Unusually, three-quarters of Catholic schools have a woman as principal, whereas for other religious schools the figure is two-fifths. The Catholic school figure is most likely a result of a history of religious sisters assuming leadership positions in Catholic, especially Catholic elementary schools, while the figure for other religious schools may represent a lingering patriarchal dominant leadership present in many religious leadership circles. US faith schools score well on academic and other measures of performance. They outperform pub- lic schools on both Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) scores. Students in faith schools report substantially lower levels of violence than do students in public schools and their teachers report lower levels of student misbehavior. However, the future of US faith schools is uncertain, in large measure because of funding pressures but also because of the rise of the charter school move- ment and a steady rise in the proportion of young US adults who report themselves as having no religious affiliation. Farid Panjwani, in ‘Faith Schools and Religious Diversity: The Case of Muslim Schools’, begins by noting that surprisingly little academic work has been under- taken on how faith schools, and Muslim faith schools in particular, engage with religious diversity. This is despite the fact that a 2009 review by Ofsted (the schools inspectorate in England) of independent faith schools found that many of the schools the inspectorate visited were reluctant to teach about other faiths in  10 M.J. Reiss et al.  great detail. There are about 150 Muslim faith schools in the United Kingdom, 12 of which are state-funded, though this means that about 94 % of Muslim children in the UK do not attend Muslim faith schools. The origins of Muslim faith schools are rooted in parental and communal concerns about the preservation of tradition and safeguarding of Muslim children against what was perceived as the onslaught of a western secular tide. This conservation goal has always been accompanied by another aim, that of socio-economic mobility through education. Panjwani reports on a research project undertaken in six Muslim faith schools to see how these schools taught about religious diversity. Four of the schools were of Sunni orienta- tion and the other two of Shi‘i orientation. There were three primary (all co-educational) and three secondary (two all girls, one all boys) schools in the sample. Teachers in the schools and professionals engaged in interfaith education were interviewed, classroom observations were undertaken and educational mate- rials used in teaching about religious diversity were examined. Though the research aimed to cover both intra-Islamic diversity and inter-religious diversity, and the interview questions were about both of these, it was mainly the latter that the respondents spoke about. Teachers in all six schools said that children, particu- larly as they lived in the UK, should acquire a positive view of the people belong- ing to other religions. In part this was because they believed that Islam accepted other religions and their prophets as genuine. Most teachers approached religious diversity as plurality of people and not of doctrines or truth claims. Their aim was thus to help students live peacefully with the people of other religions; it was not to deal with and reconcile doctrinal diversity at any theological or philosophical level. Except for one teacher, who had a degree in comparative religion, teachers’ knowledge of other religions was mostly based on personal readings, attending talks and browsing the Internet. Their knowledge of the intricacies of religious histories, intra-religious diversity within Judaism and Christianity, workings of governing organisations and modern theological thinking within these religions was understandably minimal. The formal teaching of other religions – in religious education or history topics – was primarily through an approach that took Islam as the standard religion and tried to make sense of other religions through its lens. This approach often led to creative solutions to difficult questions. As part of their learning about other religions, students were required to do project work. Some, but not all, of these were of high quality and displayed a desire and an ability to understand people of other religions in a complex manner. The most active forms of engagement with religious diversity were outside the classrooms, and often outside the school. Three of the six schools visited had participated in school link- ages programmes, working with organisations such as the Joseph Interfaith Foundation and the Three Faiths Forum. They participated in activities ranging from inter-faith art projects to football matches among schools from different reli- gious traditions. The linkage programmes also included invited speakers from dif- ferent religions to talk about their tradition and engage with the students. Above all, it appears that the teachers in the study approached religious diversity as a social fact and tried to deal with it at that level. 1 Introduction and Overview 11  Marie Parker-Jenkins, in ‘Identity, Belief and Cultural Sustainability: The Experiences of Jewish and Muslim Schools in the UK’, begins by noting that, while Muslim and Jewish groups in the UK have different cultural and historic roots, they are similar in that they are both minorities seeking to sustain cultural heritage in the face of assimilationist trends. Both communities often operate in a self-imposed form of ‘segregation,’ creating a type of cultural enclave, frequently locally based, whilst engaging with the wider community on their own terms. She then goes on to report on a study where she was particularly interested in how anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hostility surfaced towards schools formed by Jewish and Muslim communities. The study involved a case study approach, using five Muslim and four Jewish schools representative of primary/elementary and secondary/high school levels and incorporating a range of independent to state-funded institutions within both religious traditions. A key finding was the experience of hostility and the con- sequences of this. Muslim girls said that outside school they had their hijabs or haed scarves pulled off accompanied by shouting. One non-Muslim teacher reported that since the 2005 London bombings, the schools used a mini-bus for school visits, where as previously a train might have been used. One Jewish head teacher of a voluntary school and a primary school in a remote part of the countryside said “If you went to the school next door you have to press the buzzer and say who you are, you wouldn’t be told with CCTV cameras. This is what we have to do. We have to be vigilant at all times”. Sylvia Baker, in ‘Faith-Based Schools and the Creationism Controversy: The Importance of the Meta-narrative’, is interested in why some “creationist” pupils when they are presented with evidence for Darwinian evolution refuse to accept it. She contrasts two responses of commentators: one that sees it as the duty of science teachers to combat any rise in creationism; the other that sees creationist pupils as operating within a worldview that makes it difficult to persuade them to adopt a dif- ferent viewpoint. Baker argues that now is the time to take this second approach further. She draws on data obtained from teenagers in small, independent Christian schools in England founded within the last 40 years. The founding parents and churches for these schools have largely been drawn from two main streams operat- ing within Protestant Christianity in England. The first of these is the Reformed tradition, dating back to the Reformation itself. The 1960s saw a revival of interest in the writings of the Reformers and Puritans amongst evangelical Christians in the UK. This ‘neo-Calvinist’ movement strongly influenced some of those who founded the early new Christian schools. The second tradition from which early founders were drawn was the much more recently-established Charismatic sector, with its emphasis less on theology and more on a direct experience of the work of the Holy Spirit. In the early years of the movement, it was often possible to identify within which of these traditions a particular school was operating. Today, that is much less likely to be the case. Baker surveyed almost 700 13–16 year-old students (52 % male, 48 % female) from a total of 25 of these schools. Eighty-seven percent of the sample identified themselves as Christian, 2 % belonged to other religions and 11 % identified themselves as having no religious faith. The survey showed that only some 7–10 % had evolutionist views; the great majority believed that the world was  12 M.J. Reiss et al.  once perfect but has been affected by sin and that there was once a worldwide flood as described in the Bible. What the survey also reveals is that a high proportion of the sample understand their lives within much the same meta-narrative as that held by the seventeenth century reformers, including many of the founders of modern science. The meta-narrative has been summarised as the creation/fall/redemption/ restoration narrative and is the ‘big story’ that provides the framework and founda- tion for teaching within the schools. The meta-narrative is based on numerous Biblical texts, not simply those in Genesis, and provides a comprehensive view of the world. Living things are perceived as specially designed by God and perfectly suited to an originally good created order, in which there was no suffering or death. Humans are seen as unique, made in the image of God and created for an intimate relationship with Him. In previous work Michael Hand has written that faith schools are necessarily in the business of nurturing religious faith. In his chapter, ‘On the Idea of Non- confessional Faith-Based Education’, he revisits the issue, concluding that while it is clear that a faith base and confessional aims are often found together in educa- tional institutions, he is no longer persuaded that there is any necessary connection between them. Furthermore, this is more than a semantic point. Hand contends that confessional education, i.e. imparting religious beliefs to others, requires indoctri- natory methods of teaching. Indoctrination is considered a significant harm because of the subsequent difficulty of shifting beliefs one has come to hold non-rationally. Insofar as one holds one’s beliefs on the basis not of indoctrination but of evidence and argument, they are open to revision and correction. One is prepared to modify or relinquish them in the light of fresh evidence or fresh appraisals of old evidence. Insofar as one’s beliefs are held non-rationally, on the other hand, they are highly resistant to reassessment. Because they are not founded on evidence, the discovery of counter-evidence has little or no effect on them. What, then, might non- confessional faith-based education look like? Hand concentrates not on pedagogy or the ethos of the school but on its curriculum. Suppose, he argues, it is true that curriculum design requires criteria for the selection of worthwhile activities, and that no such criteria currently enjoy the support of rationally decisive arguments. Under these circumstances curriculum designers must adopt selection criteria on the basis of whichever non-decisive arguments they find most persuasive. And here, Hand thinks, there is room for religious considerations to enter the picture. One way of selecting worthwhile activities for inclusion in the curriculum is to identify some activities as more worthwhile than others, as having special value or significance in the lives of human beings. And one way to do this is to invoke a specific conception of human flourishing in which certain kinds of activity and relationship are centrally important. Insofar as religious belief systems include such conceptions, they supply just the sort of criteria needed for the purposes of curriculum selection. If religious beliefs may be said to represent the best guesses of those who hold them about the conditions of human flourishing, the curriculum criteria they supply will seem to those people to enjoy the most persuasive argumentative support. Hand concludes that religious organisations involved in the provision of schooling might reasonably draw criteria for the selection of curriculum content from their theological 1 Introduction and Overview 13  conceptions of human flourishing. This is likely to yield curricula distinguished by their emphasis on such worthwhile activities as inquiry into the meaning of life and forms of service to others. Andrew Copson, in “Faith schools’ in England: The humanist critique” presents a number of humanist objections to faith schools. For a start, faith schools select at least a substantial portion of their pupils on the grounds of parental religion and this raises a number of problems including unfairness of access to a public service that such discrimination represents. Related to this is the issue of faith schools being permitted to select their staff on grounds of religion. A different objection relates to variance in the curriculum. Examples have included: narrow religious education, leading to an ignorance of alternative viewpoints or a distorted view of some religious groups or of non-religious people; untrue claims being presented as fact; censorship of literature because of themes or activities deemed immoral; history and geography being limited; and the immorality of gay or bisexual relationships being taught with consequent negative reactions against gay pupils. An added risk is that faith schools’ RE and other religion-specific arrangements are not inspected by the state inspectorate but by a religious one. The concern is that such an arrange- ment will not detect what may be unacceptable and counter-educational practices. The solution proposed by humanist campaigners to the issue of variance in the cur- riculum has been to make statutory both PSHE and a balanced and non-confessional RE, and issue National Curriculum guidelines for them, as well as to restore the National Curriculum as statutory for all state-funded schools. Confessional reli- gious instruction, it has been suggested, could then be provided to pupils on an opt- in basis as a supplement to the timetable, though still on school premises. The first plank on which humanist critiques of faith schools have rested is one that is pre- sumed to be universal – internationally accepted principles of human rights. In prac- tice, Copson points out, it motivates not just humanist critics of faith schools but many religious critics of faith schools as well. A second plank is that of secularism, understood as the separation of state institutions from all religious practices and institutions. Three main arguments are advanced in favour of secularism: one based on autonomy – that in a good society no one should be coerced in matters of religion or belief; one based on fairness – that in a good society no one should be privileged or discriminated against because of their religion or belief; and one based on prag- matism – that in a diverse society secularism is the only mechanism to avoid a ‘war of all against all’. Finally, humanist critiques of faith schools, it is argued, are based on a clear view of what education is – a process directed towards the social, moral, cultural and spiritual development of the child as a clear-thinking and curious, whole and unique person with his or her own values, ambitions and purpose, per- sonally fulfilled and with a care for others. The campaign against faith schools is a campaign against institutions and policies that are seen as barriers to the achieve- ment of these ideals. Lee Meadows, in ‘Shepherding and Strength: Teaching Evolution in American Christian Schools’, asks what the teaching of evolution would look like in faith- based schools if science teachers took on the dual challenge of both nurturing their students’ faith and teaching evolution as accepted science. He answers this question  14 M.J. Reiss et al.  by finding 12 science teachers who teach evolution in US Christian schools and interviewing them to find out how they do this within the broader context of their school’s mission to nurture children’s faith. The teachers responded quickly to the call to participate. They talked energetically and enthusiastically during interviews, and they expressed sincere appreciation for being included and having an opportu- nity to communicate what they have learned about teaching evolution in their faith- based school. The backdrop to the study is the fact that evolution is one of the most controversial topics to teach in US science classrooms. Much of the US public con- sistently registers opposition to evolution, and US school science teachers them- selves are not widely supportive of evolution. While standards for the US science curriculum recommend a central place for evolution, the reality is that most public schools students do not have the consistent opportunity to learn evolution. The pros- pects for teaching evolution in US schools are even less hopeful for students in faith-based schools, especially those in schools belonging to the broad sweep of evangelicalism where “Young Earth” creationism is often taught. One of the core categories emerging from the data was the pastoral approach these teachers took toward their students while they were teaching evolution. They felt a responsibility to actively care spiritually for their students, and this pastoral care for students included maintaining students’ trust, nurturing students’ graciousness to others when discussing evolution and caring for students in their classes who weren’t Christian or who were struggling with doubt. The other core category emerging from the data was teacher practices aimed at helping students see that Christian belief spanned a spectrum with regard to the origin of life on earth. Participants did not teach students a single view of origins, such as 6-day creationism or progressive evolution. Since adults are on a spectrum, these teachers allowed their students to be on a spectrum of belief about evolution as well. Participants viewed the teaching of evolution as a requirement of teaching science with integrity, and they often gave examples of how they taught natural selection or speciation and how they corrected student misconceptions to guide them to understand evolution better. Some partici- pants described focusing their students on belief in God as creator as the only essen- tial thing Christians must believe about origins. Some of the participating teachers incorporated hermeneutics, the study of how to interpret scripture, into their teach- ing of evolution. They spoke of how students and they themselves had to properly interpret Genesis in order to approach well the learning of evolution. Most teachers described how teaching evolution required them to address worldview issues with their students. They described how teaching the nature of science, the nature of faith or how the two intersect helps students learn evolution. A key duty many participat- ing teachers took on was preparing their students to face evolution later in life, especially in college when students might have a professor antagonistic to Christian faith. Many participants made statements regarding how learning about evolution is a long-term process seen as a form of growth requiring much more time than the few weeks of a typical evolution unit. This category includes statements by teach- ers about their own growth and about how they make space for their students to grow, including developmental approaches to certain evolution content. It expli- cates how teachers pastor their students by not rushing them into any kind of 1 Introduction and Overview 15  decision now, especially since many of these teachers have worked for years or even decades to come to their own current understandings of evolution and their faith. The final category teachers described was the support they needed for teaching evo- lution well in their faith-based context, especially support from administrators and parents, and negative examples of how resistance teachers experience when teach- ing evolution undermines the support they need. Michael Poole, in ‘Challenges Faced by Faith-Based Schools with Special Reference to the Interplay Between Science and Religion’, looks at the science- religion issue as experienced by faith-based schools, with particular reference to schools in England. A key task, he argues, is to ensure adequate teaching about the nature and history, and not just the content, of science. Much confusion about the relationships between science and religion arises through bad science teaching. This may be exacerbated by the teaching, or lack of it, of the history and philosophy of science. Sensational, but sometimes utterly misleading, versions of the Galileo affair, the Wilberforce-Huxley exchange and other controversies seem entrenched in popular perception, promoted by certain media programmes which pander to a public appetite for confrontation. Much of science consists of studying matter at the component level (analytically), reducing complex entities mentally or in practice to more simple ones as one of its many methods of enquiry. Such methodological reductionism offers no threat to religion. What does offer a threat is ontological reductionism, the claim that matter is all there is, that the world is nothing but atoms and molecules. An important undertaking of science is to seek out regularities and to encapsulate them in concise expressions called scientific laws. The metaphoric use of the word ‘law’ in science (cf. the ‘law’ of the land) can cause confusion. Scientific laws are descriptive of the normal ways the natural world does behave; laws of the land are prescriptive of the ways societies ought to behave. Scientific laws do not ‘govern’ the world’s working and the word ‘broken’ when used in con- nection with them is misleading. The theist sees scientific laws as reflecting the normal ways in which God works. Without such regularities life would be chaotic. But if God wishes occasionally to act uniquely in miracles, scientific laws describ- ing normal behaviour do not need revising on this account. In Christian theology, miracles are not God acting where he does not normally act, but God acting in a different way from normal. For some religious believers evolution has become problematic, not only because it brings in the origins of humankind and raises ques- tions about the biblical accounts of beginnings, but also because it raises questions about the role of “stochastic” processes like chance and randomness in the forma- tion and functioning of a world claimed to have been designed by a loving God. Can natural selection, with its apparent ‘wastage’ and suffering, be squared with this teaching? Poole concludes that good science education, in faith-based schools and others, needs to be integrated with other aspects of the school curriculum, particularly with religious education/studies, history and philosophy/critical thinking. It also needs to convey a clear message that there is no necessary connection between sci- ence and atheism, nor any necessary disparity in following a scientific career and following God. The notion that science and Christian belief are at loggerheads appears to reflect muddles about the philosophy, history and languages of science and religion, rather than conflict.  16 M.J. Reiss et al.  In ‘Sex Education and Science Education in Faith-Based Schools’, I assume the existence of faith-based schooling and then look at the consequences of this for two contrasting parts of the school curriculum, namely sex education, particularly from a Christian viewpoint, and science education. Christian views about virtually every- thing derive from perhaps five main sources: first, the writings of the Bible, contain- ing both the Jewish and New Testament scriptures; secondly, the teachings of the Church down the ages; thirdly, the conscience of individuals informed, they believe, by the Holy Spirit; fourthly, their God-given, though imperfect, powers of reason; fifthly, the particular cultural milieu they inhabit. This catalogue alone makes it likely that there will be a diversity of Christian views about almost any important subject. To illustrate Christian views about sex, I concentrate on marriage and same- sex sexual relationships. This is partly because both subjects are extremely impor- tant ones, but also because more of a consensus exists among Christians on one than on the other. Christian teachings about marriage are widespread in the New Testament and the doctrine of marriage has been very widely debated over the last two millennia with considerable agreement resulting. One significant shift in Christian views about marriage, though, is in the attitude taken towards people who live together (cohabit) before marriage. Although many Christians still see this as a second-best option, cohabitation is increasingly being accepted. One Christian per- spective on cohabitation is offered by those who argue that marriage is to be under- stood not as a sudden event that starts with a wedding or cohabitation, but rather as a gradual process, so that a wedding is seen as the authentication of what has gone before. Compared to marriage, the New Testament teaching about homosexuality is sparser and it is only in recent decades that it has been analysed in any great depth and there currently exists a wide diversity of opinion on the subject in Christian circles. The traditional view is that homosexuality is, at best, a sin that can be cured by repentance, prayer and Christian counselling; at worst, it is an abomination, an instance of humankind at its most depraved. Over the last few decades, however, a tremendous amount of scholarship has questioned this traditional view. This re- evaluation has tackled the question from a range of viewpoints: hermeneutical, sci- entific, sociological, ethical and pastoral. For all these reasons a consensus among Christians about homosexuality currently does not exist. Some Christian Churches are moving towards a position in which mutually faithful homosexual relation- ships – though typically only among the laity rather than among the clergy – are considered acceptable. Time alone will tell whether this is merely a further sign, as some would maintain, of the spiritual decline of institutionalised Christianity or the beginnings of a full acceptance of all people, whatever their sexual identity. For many science educators, whether or not they have any religious beliefs themselves, the relationships between science and religion, i.e. the ‘science-religion issue’, appears somewhat outside the scope of science education. However, a range of fac- tors, including a greater awareness of the benefits of dealing explicitly in the school classroom with the nature of science and the increasing influence of creationism in schools, suggests that this perspective may be too narrow. When it comes to dealing with creationism, I argue that school science lessons should present students with the scientific consensus about evolution and that parents should not have the right to 1 Introduction and Overview 17  withdraw their children from such lessons. Part of the purpose of school science lessons is to introduce students to the main conclusions of science – and the theory of evolution is one of science’s main conclusions. At the same time, science teach- ers should be respectful of any students who do not accept the theory of evolution for religious (or any other) reasons. Overall, the role of religion is therefore, I would argue, somewhat different in science education and in sex education. In science education, a teacher needs to be sensitive to religious objections to aspects of the science curriculum for two reasons: first, out of respect for students; secondly, because not to be sensitive is to make learning in science less likely for some stu- dents. However, it is not the case that a science teacher should alter the science that is taught because of the religious views of students or anyone else. Scientific knowledge is independent of religious views. In sex education, though, religious views, while they should not have the power that some religious believers would like, nevertheless can, indeed often should, have a place in decision making. This is because of the central importance of values in general and religious views in particular for sex education and because values lack the degree of objectivity of scientific knowledge. Part II – Conceptions: Nature, Aims and Values of Education in Faith-Based Schools Section Editor: Yusef Waghid In this part, the contributors and I endeavour to offer theoretically enhanced descrip- tions on the nature, aims and values of education in faith-based schools. Although we do not explicitly show how particular understandings of education in faith-based schools respond to issues, such as racism and multiculturalism, we nevertheless identify theoretical ideas that can address such issues. The latest book produced by James C. Conroy and colleagues Does religious education work? A multi-dimensional investigation not only accentuates rich and innovative descriptions, explanations, and analyses of policies and practices vis-à-vis religious education in schools but also offers theological and philosophi- cal insights into the ethnographic work of educators of religious education in (British) classrooms. As aptly stated by Conroy and colleagues, ‘[one] of the most significant claims for Religious Education was that it should be an educa- tional resource in challenging racism and promoting multiculturalism … in the classroom’ (2013: 224). In a similar fashion this second part of the International Handbook of Learning, Teaching and Leading in Faith-Based Schools addressing the ‘Nature, Aims and Values of Education in Faith-Based Schools’ offers interpretive accounts of con- tributors’ work in relation to religious literacy (knowledge and understanding of religious ideas and language and their social and cultural impact), truth claims and pluralism, multicultural awareness, citizenship education, spiritual and social cohe- sion, socialising learners in particular communities, virtues of moral development, spiritual life and religious observance.  18 M.J. Reiss et al.  At least three primary theoretical ideas guide the contributions in this part: (1) autonomous action as expounded on by Speelman, Plaatjies and Davids; (2) humane action, focusing on inclusiveness, multiculturalism, cooperativeness, democratisation, cosmopolitanism and justice as explicated by Gross, Du Preez, Mohamed, Dangor, Esau and Davids; and (3) authentic action in the forms of responsibility and dignity as articulated by Mohamed and Claasens. In other words, the notions of autonomy, humanity and authenticity seem to underscore what education in faith-based schools involves and how and why it is enacted in relation to pedagogical activities in school classrooms. My own contribu- tion, which is presented as the first chapter in this part, offers a more detailed account of these constitutive notions of education in faith-based schools, namely, autonomy, humanity and authenticity. I also show how these theoretical ideas can be enacted in classrooms through pedagogic disruptiveness. Thereafter, chapters in this part should be read in conjunction with the aforementioned thoughts on what con- stitutes autonomous, humane and authentic (responsible) learning in and through faith-based education in some liberal and non-liberal communities. In my chapter, Yusef Waghid, ‘Faith-Based Education and the Notion of Autonomy, Common Humanity and Authenticity: In Defense of a Pedagogy of Disruption’ three prominent philosophical issues in relation to the nature, aims and values of education that seem to have an impact on faith-based schooling in the modern era are examined. I propose firstly, that faith-based education aims to incul- cate in learners a sense of autonomy; secondly, that faith-based education aims to cultivate the notion of a common humanity; and thirdly, that faith-based schools are confronted by a culture of authenticity in which every individual chooses his or her own way of realising his or her humanity. In relation to the aforementioned issues, I firstly, expound on faith-based education in some liberal societies, with the inten- tion of pointing out how the notions of autonomy, common humanity and authenticity seem to have impacted on thinking about faith-based schooling. Secondly, I exam- ine how autonomous, humane and authentic action under the guise of democratic citizenship education can be cultivated, especially in the Arab and Muslim world where such a form of education seems to be constrained. Instead, I make a defence for a pedagogy of disruption that can hopefully advance autonomous, humane and authentic action in faith-based schools. Gé Speelman’s ‘The Hermeneutical Competence: How to Deal with Faith Issues in a Pluralistic Religious Context’, lucidly connects with the point that faith-based education should be redirected towards initiating learners autonomously into learn- ing within a pluralistic society. After providing an overview of the Dutch educational system and trends in the formation of the religious identity of young people, specifi- cally young Muslims, the chapter explores two issues: first, examining the three educational contexts of religious or faith-based education (RE) – sometimes as teaching into religion, sometimes as teaching about religion and sometimes as teaching from religion, the author examines how RE could contribute to the educa- tion of young people to become self-confident (autonomous) citizens in a multicul- tural, multi-religious society; and second, the author examines how teachers with a Christian confessional background, who struggle with having to cater to a much 1 Introduction and Overview 19  more multi-religious school population, can create an open climate of interreligious understanding in these schools. Speelman commences by identifying two phenomena in the Dutch educational system. One is ‘pillarisation’, where parents, if certain conditions are met, have the right to establish their own schools, based on religious affinity or other ideological considerations – leading to a situation where religious diversity could take place in a mono-cultural setting. This was followed by the process of ‘de-pillarisation’, where people, no longer feeling bound to their own pillars in every respect, started voting for non-religious political parties, and church attendance started to drop very quickly. However, this had a minimal effect on the school system, where tightly organised networks of faith-based schools managed to attract many children of parents from largely secularised backgrounds. One of the results of pillarisation is that faith-based schools are in the majority, even if it is not one well-defined reli- gious tradition shared by parents, children and teachers. Of these schools, Islamic schools have met with most resistance in Dutch society, for two reasons: (1) while there is a justified fear about the quality of these schools, the general tone of the public debate in the Netherlands is highly Islamophobic; and (2) there is a fear that a separate system of education may contribute to the isolation of the Muslim minor- ity in Dutch society. The author notes that, while their identity as ‘Muslims’ is enormously and increasingly important for young Dutch-Moroccan, Dutch-Turkish or Dutch-Surinamese Muslims, it partly takes the place of a more ethnically or culturally defined identity. She ascribes this to dissociation from the ‘Cultural Islam’ of their parents: a form of Islam where religion is part and parcel of the cul- tural habits of the homeland, in search of a ‘Pure Islam’ or an organised Islam. This has led to a tension between the religious identity at home and the expectations of the school and society, leaving young Muslims to construct their own story about their religious identity. In addressing how schools can create an open climate of interreligious under- standing, Speelman highlights the following problems prevalent in many faith- based schools: they provide an adequate programme to learn into the religion that is connected to the identity of the school, but they see this identity as a monolithic whole; they convey the teachings of a concrete religious community in a deductive manner and bypass the actual, lived identity of pupils and their parents; and pupils do not learn how to deal with religious differences, or to develop a dialogical atti- tude. Politically, there has been a call for teaching about the ideas of religion, rather than the actual experience of a religion. While teachers, says the author, would like to guide their pupils towards a more fruitful relationship with religious traditions, they are afraid of appearing biased, and they lack the competence to guide them in religious traditions they don’t know about. The result is that, in many cases, reli- gions are not discussed at all by the regular teachers in state schools, leaving chil- dren inadequately prepared for an attitude of active tolerance, or to become citizens in the present-day multicultural Dutch society. Attempts have been made in Christian schools to introduce a more inductive teaching method and a more dialogical approach in school practice. But this depends largely on the teacher, who has to change from being a religious expert to a hermeneutical guide: someone who is able  20 M.J. Reiss et al.  to correlate the everyday experience of children and their questions about existence with insights from (their) religious traditions. To this end, ‘religion’ is no longer a set of propositions and rules, but part and parcel of the individual process of mean- ing-making of both the teachers and the pupils. Speelman argues that, given the homogenous populations of Muslim, Jewish or Hindu schools, a similar approach could be used – by using autobiographical and narrative entrances, pupils would learn from their religious traditions how to relate to others who follow other reli- gious paths. If religion in faith-based schools in general is perceived not only as a school subject, but as an integral part of the day-to-day identity of the school, this would teach pupils to relate to their own faith tradition, to the religious changes these traditions are undergoing, and to the religious other who is their neighbour. Zehavit Gross’s ‘Faith-Based Ideological School System in Israel: Between Particularism and Modernity’ presents an analysis of state religious education in Israel at a faith-based ideological school. Based on its three population groups – secular, religious Zionist and ultra-orthodox – there are three types of state-supported school systems within the Jewish-Israeli educational system: the secular state edu- cational system, the religious Zionist educational system and the ultra-orthodox educational system. The phenomenon of non-separation of state and religion affects the public sphere, particularly the educational system. The author explains that the philosophy of the state religious educational (SRE) system is based on three main tenets: (1) religious education – a traditional, Jewish religious education; (2) mod- ern education – comprising of basic skills that learners need to acquire in order to function properly as future citizens in a secular, democratic state; and (3) nationalist education – or Zionist education necessary to preserve the unity of the Jewish peo- ple. In her analysis of each tenet, the author explains that within religious education one can differentiate between education into religion, which brings the pupil into one specific faith tradition, education about religion, where the pupil learns what religion stands for to believers of a particular faith, and education from religion, where pupils are expected to consider different answers to major moral and reli- gious questions in order to develop their own autonomous views. Because of its humanistic nature, there is more prestige in and more hours are dedicated to reli- gious studies than to secular subjects – resulting in a fundamental difference between religious and secular subjects. In return for state funding, SRE institutions are required to teach the official state curriculum in terms of general studies. Gross identifies some of the challenges presented by SRE. In terms of the reli- gious tenet, a number of schools are not teaching English, contending that English is unnecessary for their learners, who continue on to religious educational frame- works after graduating. One of the challenges faced by the state is whether to cease funding or not. If funding is ceased, the schools will seek alternative funding from private religious organisations, whose interest is solely ideological – resulting in the school becoming recognised as a non-official educational institution and open to educating values possibly inconsistent with those of the state. In terms of its national tenet, the Six Day War in 1967 gave rise to a need for the establishment of an elite religious educational network that would sustain Israel’s religious revitalisation. Consequently, a new educational network was established to compete with the SRE 1 Introduction and Overview 21  system, known as Noam (for boys), and followed by Zvia (for girls). With an emphasis on Judaic studies, total separation between girls and boys and more strin- gent criteria for pupils and teachers concerning religious behaviour, these schools attracted many learners from religious families. While this weakened the SRE sys- tem, it forced the latter to reassess and improve its educational and religious activi- ties. But yet another challenge emerged with the attempt by religious-Zionists to renege on the peace treaty with Egypt, which potentially was as damaging to the country’s economy, security and nationalist dreams. This resulted in a sweeping process to delegitimise the religious-Zionist public, since religious education was blamed for constituting a factory for these destructive processes. At the same time, the educational emphasis within the SRE schools was on the need to reinforce the Jewish settlement in Israel and to nurture Zionist attitudes that leaned more towards the political right. However, spurred by the murder of Rabin, the education system focused on the need for more intensive teaching of tolerance as a condition for creating a healthy society, ultimately leading to dialogue on the need for openness (an idea commensurate with harnessing the common good) regarding the variety of religious behaviour patterns in the SRE system. In response to the perception that SRE did not nurture pluralistic attitudes, new and varied religious educational insti- tutions – state-religious and yeshiva schools – emerged. But the criticisms remain – that is, the religious standard of SRE is too low, seclusive and exclusive, and prevents access to liberal religious practices. While many consider that its education is paro- chial and outdated, others believe that its emphasis on achievement-targeted educa- tion is too strong, and comes at the expense of imparting value-based education in general and quality religious education in particular. Yet others assert that the major emphasis on achieving national goals means that learners receive a nationalist, rather than national, education. It is Gross’s contention, though, that state-religious education constantly seeks the appropriate balance and equilibrium between tradi- tional, particularist commitment and the postmodern global world. Petro du Preez, in ‘Religious Values and/or Human Rights Values? Curriculum- Making for an Ethic of Truths’, addresses the dilemma of contradicting value sys- tems in education and the inability to frame a value system for a diverse context, as well as to explore theoretical possibilities to think about curriculum-making pro- cesses that could surpass these problems. Inspired by Rorty (1979) and Badiou (2002), the author, firstly, argues that discourses of values in education have been too fixated on objective answers to address descriptive moral challenges and, in so doing, have resulted in an inability to overcome outdated dichotomous reasoning and to enter the domain of alternative, innovative understandings of values in educa- tion. She explores the implications of these arguments in the context of curriculum- making in secular and faith-based school contexts. Secondly, she argues for an ongoing process of curriculum-making for an ethic of truths that provide a norma- tive base from which values in education could stem organically, and which does not set a good way of being as an abstract aim, but a concrete departure point. Petro du Preez explains that questions have often been asked about the role of faith-based schools in preparing learners to function in diverse societies and, particularly, what their role is in terms of curriculum-making inclusive of minority  22 M.J. Reiss et al.  8 and/or marginalised groups from various ethnic, religious, cultural, national, class, disability and gender orientations. And while many faith-based schools include teaching and learning about religious and cultural traditions (and perhaps other forms of diversity) as part of their personal reflection and spiritual growth agenda, some might rightly question the extent to which human rights are addressed, for example as part of the ethical agenda of the school. On the contrary, it might also be asked whether it is at all necessary to include human rights as an ethical practice in the curricula of faith-based schools. Arguments for the inclusion of values in education have varied considerably over the years. These arguments included those that argue for a religious value system to be included in the curriculum, those that argue for the inclusion of all religious value systems in the curriculum, and those that are against the inclusion of any religious value system. In addition, some scholars have proposed that all religious values are compatible with human rights values and therefore human rights values could be included, but there also are pro- ponents of not including human rights values, based on their own religious beliefs or because they see human rights as being in tension with religion. Another school of thought has proposed that any value system could be included in the curriculum, but that these values should be justified and negotiated on the basis of a universal, core set of values. In addressing whether it is people who can be expected to set aside their religious ideals and adhere to human rights values as a core social morality in the public domain, and simultaneously to prioritise their religious ideas of the good life in their private lives, du Preez explores various curriculum-making approaches and teaching- learning for values in education – namely, (1) religious education and character education approaches; (2) multicultural education approaches; (3) diversity and inclusivity approaches; and (4) social justice and equity approaches. Du Preez explains that, while variations exist, faith-based schools might typically opt for reli- gious education and/or character education approaches, with elements of multicul- tural education, which will ensure the preservation of a particular ethos or philosophy that informs the values of the particular school context. Secular schools would typi- cally adopt multicultural, diversity and inclusivity, and/or social justice and equity approaches. The author raises concerns, however, about how curriculum-making in a polarised education landscape mostly draws on approaches that sustain binaries instead of challenging them, and proceeds to argue for the transcendence of curric- ulum-making that is anchored so as to facilitate the process of addressing questions pertaining to values in education in a diverse context, including both secular and faith-based school contexts. She proposes that the explicit curriculum should be seen as the situation, and the enacted curriculum as the space where an event could transpire and from which an ethic of truths could emerge. The conditions for this event include the resilient fidelity of subjects (teachers and learners), who bear the trajectory of the event and express discernment, courage and moderation in their pursuit of a good way of life. This, according to her, will result in curriculum- making for an ethic of truths, which assumes a particular ontological understanding of education and the curriculum as such. To sum up, conceptualising values in edu- cation and enabling curriculum-making for an ethic of truths necessitate that we 1 Introduction and Overview 23  reflectively and critically consider the situations in which we find ourselves, so as to pierce the boundaries of our situations. This process will not only enable us to for- mulate values in line with the context we find ourselves in, but will also assist in attending to the universal beginning of the good way of life. To enable this process we also need to think about the way we frame discourses about and in education and the curriculum, since a systemic understanding might undermine our intentions and fidelity to change. Najma Mohamed, in ‘Capturing Green Curriculum Spaces in the Maktab: Implications for Environmental Teaching and Learning’, explores two key ele- ments: looking at the ways in which maktab (elementary religious) education repre- sents the ecological ethic of Islam, and reviews two sets of curriculum materials in terms of environmental relevance. The central argument of the chapter is that because makātib (elementary religious schools) continue to thrive amid the continu- ing demand to introduce Muslim learners to the beliefs, values and practices of their religious tradition, they therefore can play a vital role in awakening the ecological consciousness of Muslims; instilling in learners the importance of just, responsible and respectful interaction between humans and nature. After examining the eco- justice ethic of Islam, particularly as a vehicle for political, socio-economic and environmental change, the chapter looks at environmental education in relation to the Islamic educational conceptions of ta‘līm (learning), tarbiyyah (nurturing) and ta’dib (good action), as espoused by Al-Attas and Waghid. By arguing that environ- mental education builds on critical Islamic pedagogy to actualise the eco-justice ethic of Islam, the author finds that, when viewed through an environmental lens, ta‘līm requires critical engagement with all knowledge structures in constructing an eco-justice ethic; tarbiyyah extends the process of engaging with this ecological knowledge (ta‘līm) towards actualisation of this eco-ethic, or in other words, under- standing the ‘why’ of being a ‘green’ Muslim; and tadib transports the eco-ethic of Islam, as all other social values, into the realm of social action. In considering two curricula – the Madrasatul Quds and Tasheel series, both widely used in South African madāris (Muslim religious schools) – the author evaluates the ways in which curriculum materials incorporate the environmental teachings of Islam. Mohamed found that, while both curricula contain the essential ingredients of an environmental education programme based on the teachings of Islam, both, how- ever, fall short of highlighting purposive and positive change in self and society (ta’ dīb) as a valued educational outcome in Islam, and show very little engagement with other knowledge structures in equipping learners to understand how the envi- ronmental narrative of Islam concurs with, and differs from, other positions. She also found, however, that this shortfall could be remedied by re-examining the very intent of madrasah education, which should demonstrate that, while remaining faithful to the Islamic tradition, the Muslim child must take her place in combating the injustice, oppression and tyranny that threaten society and nature. In looking at a re-imagined environmental education in Islam, the author concludes, firstly, that the maktab (as the institution of Islamic elementary education) can play a vital role in alerting Muslims to the rich ecological narrative within the Islamic tradition, which should be auctioned and extended to all knowledge, namely in knowledge of  24 M.J. Reiss et al.  the Qur’an and nature. Secondly, the maktab can provide Muslim learners with opportunities to engage with knowledge, voice their opinions, and participate in public deliberation, striving to fulfil their duties as Muslims in advancing ecological and social justice – a matter of practising their authenticity. Thirdly, for the maktab to take its place as a key instrument in making known and revitalising Islamic eco- ethics, it needs to reflect the action-oriented, lived spirituality that this eco-theology embodies. And lastly, that while the maktab, one of the foundational institutions in the Muslim educational landscape, does not yet embody the liberatory eco-ethic of Islam, there are promising indications that curriculum spaces to introduce a trans- formative and activist EE process do exist. Juliana Claasens, in ‘Towards a Logic of Dignity: Educating Against Gender-Based Violence’, starts from the premise that faith-based schools perform a dual purpose – on the one hand, they represent the space and period during which adolescents are figur- ing out their gender identity and thus are a fertile breeding ground for creating the sexual stereotypes and norms that contribute to the logic of indignity that underlies gender-based violence. And, on the other hand, these schools can also serve as the space in which education may occur that may provide some essential steps in trans- forming a rape culture by challenging a logic of indignity and substituting it with a logic of dignity, which may prove to be redemptive. The author proceeds to explore the link between male sub-cultures and gender-based violence, and highlights three areas in particular that promote the formation and expression of masculinity – sport teams and college fraternities, and then specifically in a South African context, boys’ schools and gangs, and the media. By using a horrifying story of violence against women the author sets out to show that learners at faith-based schools can be taught to hone their critical thinking skills, which may include compassion, in order to identify the logic of indignity inherent in gender-based violence. In addition, the author seeks to provide various creative strategies in which the topic of gender-based violence may be broached in a school setting, with the ultimate goal of transforming aspects of the broader society and culture Suleman Dangor, in ‘Islamisation and Muslim Independent Schools in South Africa’, explores the tensions between Western and Islamic epistemologies, as iden- tified by the pioneers of Islamisation, and as a prelude to the emergence of the concept of the Islamisation of knowledge. This is followed by an assessment of the implementation of Islamisation in Muslim independent schools in South Africa, with some concluding remarks on the prospects of the Islamisation project. The author explains that one of the primary factors that contributed to the emergence of the notion of Islamisation was and continues to be how to resolve the dilemma of the bifurcation of knowledge and the educational system in Muslim countries into modern secular and traditional Islamic. The secular-religious divide that now char- acterises educational institutions in Muslim countries has resulted in a chasm between the so-called ‘secular sciences’ and the shari’ah (Islamic legal) sciences. The pioneers of the ‘Islamisation of knowledge’ believed it was possible to achieve a synthesis of the two divergent systems of education, which differ substantially in their ultimate aims and in their fundamental values. In addressing the concept of Islamisation and how it has manifested itself (or not) in Muslim independent 1 Introduction and Overview 25  schools, the author commences by drawing a comparison between education in Islam and modern education. In his discussion of modern education, the author states that there are two dominant positions relating to the purpose of education: (1) a society-centred position, and (2) a child-centred position. He explains that the society-centred position conceives of education primarily as a vehicle to produce good citizens. Advocates of this approach argue that education should prepare indi- viduals to function and adapt successfully in their respective societies. In the second half of the chapter, Dangor explains that the original motive for founding independent schools for Muslim learners was to provide an Islamic envi- ronment that would enable them to protect their Muslim identity, since the public school environment was viewed as unsuitable for Muslim learners. In essence, Islamisation of the school curriculum was understood to mean providing an Islamic perspective on issues in the syllabi and locating, where relevant, secularised disci- plines within the Islamic Weltanschauung. However, while a study revealed that the majority of Muslim educators at Muslim independent schools supported the Islamised syllabi, the majority of educators had not received adequate training in implementing the Islamised curriculum. This was despite the fact that sufficient resources, as well as a network, existed to assist in the process, and at least half the parents were not informed about the new curriculum and syllabi. Furthermore, the introduction of Outcomes-based Education forced Muslim independent schools back to the drawing board. Schools were virtually obliged to abandon the Islamised syllabi. Consequently, states the author, the Islamisation project faces many chal- lenges, from a conceptual perspective as well as in relation to implementation. On the global level, other than a few exceptions there has been little or no support for Islamisation from Muslim governments. At the theoretical level, there are sub- stantive differences among scholars with regard to the issue of Islamisation. There are scholars who regard Islamisation as an irrelevant exercise, with some even view- ing it as an absurdity. Others remain sceptical about the entire enterprise. They doubt that the objectives of Islamisation are achievable, or that Muslim scholars have the capacity to produce an alternate paradigm of knowledge. Philip Plaatjies’s ‘The Nature, Aims, and Values of Seventh-Day Adventist Christian Education’ looks at the aims and values of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Christian education. The author commences by explaining that Adventist schools were established specifically for those learners who are interested in living a Christian life in this modern world, which is perceived to have turned its back on Christianity. The purpose of Adventist education is to provide a barrier against a society that is seen as having become violent, corrupt, mercenary and morally degenerate, and that considers life as being very cheap. The Adventist school there- fore provides a safe haven where the learners’ spiritual, mental, physical and social faculties can be stimulated and developed, and where they learn to be of service to their fellow men. Much of the church’s philosophy of education is drawn from the Bible and the writings of Ellen G. White. The church is commissioned to ‘make disciples of all nations’ and ‘baptize in the name of the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit’. The author explains that Seventh-day Adventist schools equip their young people with various skills and educate them for various vocations – it is in these  26 M.J. Reiss et al.  chosen professions, careers and jobs that they are encouraged to live out the values inculcated at SDA institutions. SDA schools exist to bring the learner into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and it is in this relationship that the character is developed. Given the high cost of SDA education, many parents are wondering whether it is worth the expense, but the schools are clear about their mission and provide their learners with opportunities for service and outreach, and inspire them to make contributions to society and to the church. The home is seen as a natural extension of the school, and at the primary school in particular, whatever the teacher says is more important than what anyone else says – a view that seems to invite crit- ics of the initiation thesis that faith-based schools discourage autonomous thinking. The Seventh-day Adventist institutions, therefore, make sure that they employ com- mitted Adventist teachers – teachers who, according to E.G. White, will ‘stand for the right though the heavens fall’. Churches are directly responsible for the opera- tion of the primary schools in particular. But because many young children do not attend SDA schools, the church is under extra pressure to provide for the religious education of the children. SDA educators make it more difficult for learners to suc- cumb to the negative influences of society by encouraging positive influences and exerting positive influences themselves. Plaatjies explains that the SDA philosophy of education is very different to that of other philosophies of education. Adventist educators embrace a worldview dif- ferent to that of non-Adventist educators. The integration of faith and learning has become an important concept in SDA education, since it becomes part of a founda- tion on which the learner can build a Christian life and, in so doing, inculcate those values and principles that will prepare him for life. The author points out that many non-Adventists prefer the Adventist schools and outnumber the Adventist learners – claiming that even if the non-Adventist learners do not become Adventist, non-Adventist parents notice the difference in lifestyle and attitude of their children after they have attended an Adventist school. The author concludes that SDA educa- tion faces many challenges – one of which is to remain true to the aims, goals and core values of Christian education. Yasien Mohamed, in ‘The Gülen Philosophy of Education and Its Application in a South African School’, firstly examines the educational philosophy of Fethullah Gülen and its impact on the moral ethos of Gülen schools in the context of Turkey and South Africa. Secondly, the author specifically looks at the Gülen school in Cape Town, South Africa, known as Star International High, and attempts to answer the questions of whether the Gülen school provides a good alternative to the Islamic private school and the secular liberal school, and whether it provides a middle way between these two types of schools – offering learners the opportunity to integrate into a pluralist society. While the school is faith inspired, the Gülen movement refers to it as a secular school, primarily because Islamic studies is not taught as a subject, teachers are not permitted to preach religion in the classroom, and the cur- riculum conforms to the national curriculum of the Department of Education (South Africa). The primary criticisms levelled at the Islamic private school and at the secular liberal school are that, while the former is too insular, making it difficult for Muslim learners to integrate into a multi-religious society, the latter is too free from 1 Introduction and Overview 27  moral and religious conventions, and so would pose a problem for religious Muslim learners. Fethullah Gülen, on the basis of reconciling religion with science, extended his work into the public sphere, among other things through established schools rather than traditional madrasas and mosques. His work is premised on the notion that true education combines modern science with Islamic knowledge and produces learners who are agents of positive change. The aim, explains the author, was to teach the whole person, body and soul, and the teachers were expected to lead by example. These were not religious schools, but secular schools, for religious schools were not permitted within a Turkish secular system of education. For Gülen, educa- tion should prepare learners to be useful citizens and good people. He emphasised character building as an integral part of his educational philosophy, basing his con- cept on a classical humanist conception of the soul, with its three faculties in balance and the four Platonic virtues of courage, wisdom, temperance and justice. The author describes Star International High School as a secular school for boys, open to all children, Muslim or non-Muslim, that attracts learners from various socio- economic backgrounds and religions, but mainly middle-class Muslim and Christian coloured learners, as well as a few Africans. While the school follows the state cur- riculum, it includes Turkish as a language up to grade 11. Mohamed explains that the school fosters social virtues such as respect, co-operation and tolerance, and prepares learners to integrate into a secular society without losing their religious identity by encouraging them to be faithful to their own religious identity, and to respect the beliefs of others. Central to the success of the Gülen schools is the dedi- cation and good moral example of the teachers and the industriousness of the pupils. Moral values are not taught as separate subjects, but are integrated into classroom lessons. Contrary to Islamic schools, where more attention is paid to the outer prac- tices of Islam, such as wearing Islamic attire and performing ritual prayers, the Gülen schools focus on moral practices, and outward Islamic attire and religious practices are not prescribed in the classroom. While the teachers do not practice Islam in the classrooms, they do so outside during informal gatherings – with other teachers, learners and parents. The author concludes that Star International can be considered an alternative to the Islamic school, since it provides a modern education with a moral orientation, offering Muslim parents an alternative to the secular liberal independent schools and the Islamic private schools. Omar Esau’s chapter, ‘A Teacher’s Perspective on Teaching and Learning at a Faith-Based Muslim School in Cape Town’, offers a perspective from an educa- tional leadership position, using self-reflexivity and documentary evidence as research methodology. The author sets out to identify and explore how the values and ethos of a faith-based Muslim school affect practices in learning, teaching and leadership, and how these contribute to the democratisation of society and to nation building. He commences by sharing his childhood experiences during apartheid – at primary and high school and in his time at a teachers’ training college, where he claims the students were trained to become ‘teacher technicians’ who would treat learners homogeneously, regardless of their feelings and socio-economic back- grounds. The author’s first teaching post was at a Muslim-based school, where Islamic subjects played a central role in creating a religious ethos and shaping  28 M.J. Reiss et al.  religious identity at the school, and where the author felt that his two worlds (Muslim and secular) had come together. For the rest of the chapter Esau provides an historical account of the school and its various transitions – from its first principal in 1929, the role of the Muslim Education Trust, its Parents Teachers Association, and changes during post-apartheid South Africa. Parents, says Esau, preferred this public school because both religious and secular subjects were taught under a single management. After the historical account, the author introduces a discussion of how faith-based schools have a role and responsibility in the pursuit of the goals of multicultural education, concluding that faith-based schools can serve the greater public good over and above the good they can serve within their own faith-based communities. He concludes the chapter by stating that he has attempted to reflect from an insider’s perspective on how a teacher with ‘lived’ experience of both Muslim and secular society, as well as a teacher-researcher and a reflective practitioner, views the chal- lenges facing faith-based schools, adding that, while his experiences reflected those at a Muslim faith-based school in a South African context, they hold value for other faith-based schools as well. Nuraan Davids, in ‘Muslim Women and Cosmopolitanism: Reconciling the Fragments of Identity, Participation and Belonging’, examines how the multiple understandings and practices of Muslim women reflect the plurality of interpreta- tion within Islamic education. By analysing three specifically identified images of identity construction amongst six Muslim women – domesticity and patriarchy; identity, belonging and hijãb (head-scarf); and public/private participation – the author explores how these women, through their respective relationships and their varied interpretations of Islam, offer a renewed understanding of what could be a contribution to a cosmopolitan society. By drawing on contributions from both Muslim women and cosmopolitanism, the chapter looks at the implications for Islamic education. In her examination of the first image, domesticity and patriarchy, the author finds that the practices of the six women reveal a disconnection between knowledge of Islam and the lived experiences of Islãm, often leading to an unques- tioning acceptance of largely patriarchally-based interpretations of Islam, which have detrimental effects on Muslim women. In order to redress this, the author calls on Muslim women to reconcile their knowledge of Islam with their living enact- ments and experiences, and to consider a manifold as opposed to a monolithic Islamic identity in order to facilitate their engagement with a cosmopolitan society. In the second image – identity, belonging and hijãb – the author notes that the varied understandings of the wearing of the hijãb make it the most contentious issue among the six women. The challenge faced by Muslim women is ensuring that the image of wearing the hijãb becomes commensurate with their identity. The author links the gap between the action of wearing it, and the understanding thereof, to the dis- connection between the knowledge of Islãm and the lived experiences of Islãm. Muslim women, argues the author, have to abstract an internalised message of Islãm, so that they can take responsibility for who they are and how they respond to others. In concluding her presentation of the continuum of images, the author explores the third image, of public/private participation, by recounting some of the various difficulties – such as restricted access and taunting – that Muslim women 1 Introduction and Overview 29  encounter when trying to access the public sphere, leaving them with the idea that their external identity is incommensurate with their society. In addressing this perceived incommensurability, the chapter shifts in terms of looking at possible reconciliation between the practices of Muslim women and cosmopolitanism. Davids contends that the continuum of images is a manifestation of the cosmopolitan nature of Muslim identity amongst women, and that these diverse identities ought to find accommodation and expression in a cosmopolitan society, while a cosmopolitan society ought to contribute to the lived experiences of Muslim women. In reconciling with a manifold Muslim identity, the challenge for cosmo- politanism is to recognise and respond to the individualisation of self-understandings that constitute a pluralist society. A renewed cosmopolitanism, continues the author, needs to acknowledge that the construction of identity is always incomplete, which, by implication, means that a culture, and all its associations, is always evolving. In recognising and accepting that each is an individual by virtue of his or her culture, this type of cosmopolitanism will create deeper moments of engagement, and greater levels of co-existence, by constructing a language that originates from rec- ognition, rather than from peculiarity. In examining the implications for Islamic education, the author maintains that, if the challenge for cosmopolitanism is to rec- ognise the individualisation of self-understandings that constitute a pluralist society, then the challenge for institutions of Islamic education is to shift from places of mere rhetoric to spaces of public deliberation. Teaching at these institutions needs to be in terms of respecting the difference in others – in other words, a space of tarbiyah (nurturing). In effect, her renewed Islamic education calls for a return to the notion of halaqas (study circles) as a space that encourages debate and disagree- ment (ikhtilaf), and promotes a type of education for the dialogue and engagement of commonalities and differences. In addition a gender-free interpretation of the Qur’an, the author highlights the need to all Muslims to be both extractors from and contributors to Islam. The chapter concludes that the conceptual and actionable link between Islamic education and cosmopolitanism lies in its treatment of others which is in the teachings of Islam. Moreover, Islamic education needs to be cogni- sant of the continual emergence of newly constructed Muslim communities and identities, who are in search of new articulations of Islam – as are being found in the communities of all the women in the cases. The author views the cosmopolitan composition of these communities as constitutive of modern-day Islam and Islamic education, which ought to create the context for democratic citizenship in action. Nuraan Davids in ‘Women, Identity and Religious Education: A Path to Autonomy, or Dependence?’ draws on Schreiner’s (2005) distinction between education into religion, education about religion, and education from religion, and explores what it means for women to acquire religious education in the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. This is fol- lowed by an examination of whether religious education assists women in their realisation of an autonomous identity, or whether it impedes them in enacting their full humanity. The chapter concludes by looking at whether religious education ultimately leads to an enhanced enactment of social justice. After providing a brief overview of why women are pursuing and acquiring religious education, the author  30 M.J. Reiss et al.  spends time in examining the depiction of women within the various religious traditions, and how women are attempting to reclaim their original position and space afforded to them by the sacred texts. Attention is drawn to the parallel experi- ences of women – namely, their subjugation, marginalisation, exclusion and oppres- sion, and how women, through religious education, are attempting to reconcile their identities as women with the sacredness of their religious identities – a sacredness, which in most of the major religious traditions, was attributed to women at their particular historical inceptions. In her examination of whether religious education can contribute to an enhanced enactment of social justice, Davids commences by focusing on two factors. Firstly, that in order for women to re-conceive and re-construct their religious traditions, so that they many gain self-recognition. They need to re-visit both the sources and sup- pressed visions of the various religious traditions; and secondly, women, in empow- ering themselves, instead of simply becoming the equals of men, need to use their suffering to empathise with the oppression of others, and bring something new and positive to the religious scene and transform faith for the better – one of which is ensuring that social justice becomes the responsibility of both women and men, and not women only. The author emphasizes that women’s realization of self-autonomy and self-agency cannot be restricted to the experiences of women alone, and that their process of consciousness-raising as individuals within certain religious tradi- tions has to be contextualised in their relational interactions with men, and it has to be understood within a wider social and political context, so that, ultimately, what is cultivated is humanity. By drawing on Nussbaum’s (1997) argument that one cultivates humanity by developing three capacities – the capacity for critical thinking about one’s own cul- ture and traditions; to see oneself as a human being who is bound to all humans with ties of concern; and the capacity for narrative imagination, the author argues reli- gious education has to comprise of education into religion, education about religion, and culminate in an education from religion, so as to nurture the ability to empathize with others and to engage from the perspective of others. Moreover, by drawing on Miller’s (1999) conception of social justice – need, desert, and equality – Davids asserts that women, in their experiences of marginalisation, could legitimately argue that their needs as humans are not being met and that because of their imposed silences, lack the capacity to function effectively within their religious traditions and within society. While not arguing that the right to be human is actually tied to notions of social justice, the author, by turning to Taylor (1994), maintains that how individuals are treated by others can either enhance or harm the individual. Davids continues that religious education can ultimately lead to an enhanced enactment of social justice if the different forms of religious education are re- conceptualised in terms of its objectives of effecting social change and social justice. She argues that if specific interpretations of religious texts and doctrines have often been responsible for keeping women from enacting their full humanity, then, by using narrative imagination women will have the capacity to recognize not only that they are human among other humans, specifically men, but they also have the capac- ity to cultivate a humanity that contributes to an enhanced enactment of social 1 Introduction and Overview 31  justice. The contribution of women, through religious education, to an enhanced enactment of social justice, is not found in whether she knows only her religion; it is found, as Müller (1873) asserts, in her knowing about other religions, too. In conclusion, Davids argues that, women’s autonomy is not only connected to their own self-discovery; it is both stimulated and present in a re-imagining of the sacredness of all life-forms and within relationships of all life forms, and which includes the experiences and ways of being of others who do not adhere to any specific religion, or who do not ascribe any meaningful connection to a higher being. Both the enhancement of women’s autonomy and a sense of social justice are not tied to a spe- cific religion, nor is it tied to a specific religious education. It is, however, embedded in, and shaped by a way of being, that invites and respects other ways of being. Part III – Current Practice and Future Possibilities Section Editors: Sue McNamara and Judith D. Chapman In the final part of this book, current policies and practices and future opportunities and challenges for faith-based schools are examined. Many nations are now charac- terised by pluralism and a richness of diverse religious and cultural communities. Education is increasingly being explored as a means of shaping society and addressing the numerous challenges associated with adapting or blending the cul- ture of these communities within already existing social and cultural frameworks or in changing existing frameworks to accommodate greater diversity. In many set- tings, faith-based schools, either from within their own classrooms, educational sys- tems or networks, or working within predominantly secular or government-controlled education policies and structures, are exploring various dimensions of educational practice in quality learning, teaching and leadership in order to fulfil their responsi- bilities and commitments to the students they educate, the communities they serve and the national and international communities of which they are a part. Examples of the possibilities and challenges currently being faced in teaching, learning and leadership in schools across the world can be found in the recent OECD report Trends Shaping Education (2013). This report identifies a number of global trends, each of which is relevant to the policy development and curricula, pedagogy, leadership and practices of all schools and school systems. It elaborates trends in the ‘dynamics of globalisation’: economic development, global intercon- nectivity with communications and technology, multinational business and indus- try, the transformation of societies, increasing global migration, changing family compositions, and the notions of ‘infinite connection’ afforded by technological innovation. It notes the impact of these trends on education. Each of these interna- tional trends will demand changes in the practices of education and each will have implications for education in faith-based schools. As an example, the growth of migration brings with it much greater cultural and faith diversity than ever experi- enced before in many nations. Nations which might have been viewed as being  32 M.J. Reiss et al.  steeped in histories of a dominant culture with a small number of related faith traditions are now needing to develop educational policies and practices, curricula, pedagogies and associated leadership, teaching and learning approaches which are responsive to much broader cultural, social and faith commitments and sensi- tivities. These trends have a number of implications for education and they are evidenced in the major themes addressed by authors in this part. In particular, the chapters address the major themes of policies and practices in teaching, learning and leadership and the tensions facing faith-based schools, located in increasingly secular societies characterised by complexity and diversity. Each chapter com- bines one or more of the themes in the story they tell. In addressing the aims of this part a number and range of approaches are adopted. Several of the authors provide an historical analysis of policies and practices in particular national settings. Coolahan examines the Irish experience; Feinberg bases his chapter on the development of faith-based schools in the United States of America; whilst Picken presents a comprehensive historical review of developments in Japan. Dimmock, Selah and Cheng combine an historical analysis with a case study in discussing the current position of faith-based schools in Singapore. Rizvi and Miura also adopt a case study approach examining developments in the UK and Japan. Black, Miura, Lovat and Clement, De Souza, and O’Donohue and Clarke examine examples of particular pedagogical and curriculum strategies and approaches which might be characterized by unique attributes of faith and its asso- ciated values and expectations. Pedagogy and curriculum take on a ‘systems’ per- spective in chapters by Miura, Mitchell, Chapman, McNamara and Horne; and Butler, Summers and Tobin. Many of the chapters, such as those by Coolahan; Feinberg; Black; Sullivan; Gaffney; Buchanan and Chapman, and O’Donoghue and Clarke, provide proposals for future policy and practice that might be considered by faith-based schools internationally. John Coolahan’s chapter on ‘The Shaping of Ireland’s Faith-Based System and the Contemporary Challenge to It’ explores the alignment with national priorities and the challenges of identity, beliefs and commitments of faith-based schools in Ireland. Coolahan’s study of Ireland describes how one nation is endeavouring to move from having a predominantly single denomination faith-based national educa- tion system to being a nation with a system inclusive of multi-denominational and secular considerations in its education system. Ireland presents an interesting study of the effort to re-cast a faith-based system to become a more pluralist one in contemporary society. Ireland’s state-supported primary school system, established in 1831, was planned to be an inter-denominational one. However, in a society with deep political and religious divisions, this did not prove possible. While de jure the system remained formally inter-denominational, the de facto position was that, by 1870, it had become predominantly denominational, with some regulatory safe- guards against proselytism. The patronage and trusteeship of schools rested with religious authorities. The faith-based character of the system became more intensi- fied following political independence, in 1922, and was formally declared to be denominational in the Rules issued in 1965. The chapter examines how the system was shaped, and tracks the steps to reverse the policy with the emergence of the 1 Introduction and Overview 33  ‘Educate Together’ movement in the 1970s. Even though the problems posed by the faith-based system for non-believers were highlighted by responsible public agen- cies in the early 1990s, the 1998 Education Act did not address the issue. The chapter gives a detailed treatment of the current attempt by government to re-cast the system. Government sought to ensure that the provision of schooling, which is at present largely denominational, could become more inclusive and answerable to the needs of all citizens in a state which is becoming more multi-religious and more secular. The National Forum on School Patronage, set up in June 2011, has been a major catalyst in charting a way forward. Walter Feinberg in ‘Religious Education in a Time of Globalization and Pluralism: The Example of the United States’ tells the story of a government intent on maintaining neutrality in its education system, minimizing the possible influence of faith-based practices in government sponsored schools. In a nation largely concerned with coherence and alignment with key national priorities in education and with social and individual identity and philosophy, Feinberg argues that the role of religion in public education in the United States can be traced back to motivation of the Pilgrims to protect against tyranny, and to follow their own conscience as dictated by religion. Ironically, their settlement of Massachusetts was followed by a series of repressive measures directed against different religious beliefs. When the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution, the founding document of the country, the first amendment dealt with religious freedoms among others. The first two clauses read: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Over the years this has meant less and less religious influence in the public schools, but it has also meant more interest in pri- vate, sectarian public schools. And it has also motivated a drive to teach Bible and religion as academic courses in public schools. The chapter explores the changing role of religion in the American educational experience and asks the question: ‘What might other countries with different histories, but committed to similar prin- ciples of equality, and religious liberty draw from this experience?’. Feinberg argues that while the United States is not, nor should it be, the model for other liberal democracies, nevertheless because of an increase in religious pluralism world wide the experience of the United States can be instructive for other countries. Paul Black in his chapter entitled ‘Classroom Practice in a Faith-Based School: A Tale of Two Levels’ focuses, in particular, on pedagogy in faith-based schools. He uses the example of the structuring and intent of pedagogical practice in the classroom in the light of the unique characteristics attributed to faith-based schools of educating the whole student for life. He shows how these practices might be articulated and developed in relation to the ethos and characteristics of faith-based schools. The author concentrates on the learning relationship between student and teacher in the classroom environment, suggesting that findings about the dialogic interaction between teachers and pupils, and between the pupils themselves, derived from work in science, mathematics and English classrooms, give considerable indi- cations for improving the quality of classroom interactions. The claim being made is that although such work has been aimed at all schools, faith-based schools should recognise that it has particular significance for them, in that their mission should be ! 34 M.J. Reiss et al.  implemented in the day-to-day detail of the way every teacher respects and enhances the unique dignity of every pupil. Black uses two illustrations of the issue on which he focuses; one from Thomas Groome’s book Educating for Life in which Groome speaks of education and a curriculum as reflecting inherent goodness, dignity, self worth and the development of gifts and talents, in God’s image. The second illustra- tion is a description of a classroom interaction episode or exchange between a teacher and a class and individual students in which the teacher shows none of the elements of which Groome speaks. Black argues that the central concepts of faith- based education, in this case from a Christian perspective, should be articulated and evident in the interactions between teachers and students, and those involved in education in a faith-based school. His chapter details several examples drawing on elements of learning such as assessment and within this element feedback and dia- logue, written work, marks and grades, peer and self assessment and tests and relates them to the growth of the student and teacher. Stuart Picken writes of the situation in Japan in ‘Faith-Based Schools in Japan: Paradoxes and Pointers’ profiling another dimension of the complex ‘story’ behind the current place of faith-based schools in a multi-religious nation in which both ‘eastern’ and ‘western’ religious traditions are recognised in conjunction with a secular education perspective. Picken maintains that the question of how faith-based schools operate in Japan brings out the paradoxical nature of Japanese culture, namely that it is a modern secular society that is also home to many religious traditions. These have learned to co-exist over the centuries, showing a large mea- sure of mutual respect and tolerance of differences. Education in Japan has a long history with a discernable base surrounding Buddhist temples since the 1600s. The Meiji Restoration (1868) saw the first attempt at establishing a national education system based on the temple schools (terakoya). The principal purpose of the educa- tional system was to create useful, competent and responsible members of society. The needs of the state were of overriding importance. Japanese law distinguishes between Gakko Hojin (incorporated educational bodies) and Shukyo Hojin (incor- porated religious bodies). While religious bodies may create educational institu- tions, they must be licensed by the relevant government ministry before they can function. Christian schools began to appear after Christianity ceased to be a pro- scribed religion and indeed became educational pioneers in many respects. However, they never became proselytizing organizations. They expose students to their ethos but little more. The key role of the concept of kanyo (tolerance) in Japanese society, Picken argues, should not be underestimated. It goes beyond the principle of ‘live and let live’ or even the philosophy of ‘mutual co-existence’. It frequently induces or even inspires cooperation between what would ostensibly appear to be rival groups. Picken gives us the first glimpse of the role of government as the dominant figure in relation to a diversity of faith-based schools and their role in achieving the national priorities and goals of ‘the promotion of cultural and harmonious wellbe- ing’ of the society. Alongside this ideal is an implicit belief that human nature is not fundamentally flawed, the antithesis of the concept of Original Sin found in most branches of the Christian tradition. This also comes from Japan’s Confucian heritage. Consequently, education is a support to social order. The Japanese have a 1 Introduction and Overview 35  deep sense of spirituality associated with sacred places. But they have little interest in dogma in the Western sense. The historical strands of Japanese culture have developed and interacted over the centuries to produce a value system that enshrines the virtues of harmony, tolerance, and cooperation. This is but one aspect of what makes Japanese culture unique but which certainly explains why the faith-based school issue is not nor ever has been divisive in Japan. Clive Dimmock, Hairon Salleh and Cheng Yong Tan’s chapter ‘Curriculum, Leadership and Religion in Singapore Schools: How a Secular Government Engineers Social Harmony and the ‘State Interest’ provides further evidence, drawing from the Singapore experience, of the place of faith-based schools in culturally rich and diverse communities and the implications for contemporary and future policy and practice in these schools and societies. The chapter firstly aims to illustrate the tensions that exist and balances that need to be struck by the existence of multi-ethnic and faith schools in the otherwise secular state of Singapore. The authors then describe and explain those features of the Singapore school system – in particular the curriculum and leadership – that reflect the multi-ethnic and multi-faith society of Singapore. They follow this with an overview account of the curriculum and leadership of one group of faith schools in Singapore, the madrasas, and finally they account for how government – through its pro-active education policy inter alia – engineers and achieves multiple (sometimes conflicting) objectives. The chapter argues that the Singaporean society is multi-ethnic and multi-faith and for the most part is seen as a model of how to successfully achieve a balance between expression of diversity through recognising individual/group rights while still meeting the over-riding aim of achieving national harmony and citizenship to underpin their chapter. Dimmock, Saleh and Cheng maintain that the government, while secular, adopts a carefully thought through strategy to achieve a number of seemingly diffi- cult if not contradictory objectives. It does so, inter alia, by its approach to and positioning of educational policy making. On the one hand, it appears tolerant in allowing the existence of schools reflecting the interests of diverse faiths and eth- nicities; on the other, it subtly influences the curriculum of faith schools by, for example, requiring them to engage in the same national tests as other schools (e.g., the primary school leaving exam – PSLE). The government is seen to be champion- ing faith-based schools by encouraging and supporting new pioneering futuristic versions of them, by virtue of which it is then able to exert influence over how such schools might evolve in future. At the heart of Singapore government policy is the prime objective of ensuring the continuation of a harmonious and closely integrated multi-ethnic, multi-faith society. The primacy of a well educated and aligned work force and society attuned to the future needs of a twenty-first century knowledge based economy is underpinned by values associated with excellence and meritocracy. No particular ethnic or faith group can be allowed to be too different or diverse from the mainstream, otherwise harmony, national citizenship and economic prosperity are threatened. It is argued that the Singapore government manages to achieve these multiple objectives through a well-planned, strategic, proactive – and often subtle – approach to policy making. At the same time, policies are uncompromising on the long-term vision and values underpinning and sustaining Singapore into the future.  36 M.J. Reiss et al.  John Sullivan in ‘Critical Fidelity and Catholic School Leadership’ looks at leadership in faith schools. Drawing on the example of leadership in Catholic schools, Sullivan believes that increasingly, in the future, many Catholic school leaders are likely to experience a tension between faithfully representing the church (from which they receive their mission) and applying the critical thinking and ques- tioning that are integral to education, to the pronouncements and policies of the church’s leaders. In Part I of the chapter, the focus is on the need for Catholic school leaders to have sound theological foundations for their work if they are to model fidelity and to ensure that faith permeates decisions and practice. In Part II, Sullivan indicates a few examples of features of church life that undermine the effective car- rying out of the mission of the school. He claims that these should be questioned and critiqued, in aid of that mission, and thus that the fidelity needed must be criti- cal. In Part III, some of the qualities and features that are part of critical fidelity are proposed and applied to the issue of gender. Terry Lovat and Neville Clement in their chapter ‘So Who Has the Values? Challenges for Faith-Based Schools in an Era of Values Pedagogy’ look at the influ- ence of values in education, and on educational outcomes. Located largely in a substantial research body of work around values education, these authors suggest that the past decade has seen a significant increase in emphasis on values pedagogy, variously titled values education, character education and moral education, across the world, largely in governmental and broadly non faith-based educational con- texts. The potential of such pedagogy to influence educational outcomes, ranging from socio-emotional to academic outcomes, has been demonstrated in ways that supersede most historical evidence. Granted that most of the earlier evidence about the effects of values pedagogy has come from faith-based contexts, these authors explore the challenges for faith-based schools in an era that sees much of its tradi- tional distinctive pedagogy being implemented and arguably perfected more widely outside such contexts. Sadaf Rizvi in her chapter ‘Use of Islamic, Islamicised and National Curriculum in a Muslim Faith School in England: Findings from an Ethnographic Study’ draws on ethnographic research conducted in a secondary Muslim faith school for girls in England. The Muslim school is different from madrassas in providing mainstream formal education to pupils with an addition of a few Islamic subjects. The chapter starts with a brief discussion of the socio-cultural context within which Muslim schools have emerged in Britain and the controversies around their existence which primarily relate to the integration of Muslim minority children in Britain. The chap- ter then analyses how the girls (11–14 years) are ‘socialized’ through three different types of curriculum, i.e. ‘Islamic’, ‘National’ and ‘Islamicised’, used in the studied school. The author argues that teaching through these forms of curriculum aims to help the young Muslims develop a British Muslim identity which is compatible with their religion and prepares them to integrate in the society. The chapter informs the contested debates around the role of Muslim faith schools and highlights the teach- ing and learning processes through which the young Muslims are socialized. Such processes are largely ignored in the debates surrounding the education and integra- tion of Muslim minority children in Britain. 1 Introduction and Overview 37  Marion de Souza in her chapter ‘A Mobile School – Bringing Education to Migrant Children in Goa, India’ turns our focus to a different kind of ‘school’, detailing a small study which explored the partnership between religious entities and government to deliver education to those who otherwise would not be able to access or continue their education. Catholic schools in India are part of a faith-based education system that has had a long and rich history dating back to the fifteenth century with the arrival of the Christian missionaries. Initially, the schools were run by European Religious Orders but since Indian Independence in 1947, the teaching staff and the governance of the schools was gradually taken over by Indian religious and lay people. In general, the schools aim to be inclusive and cater for a range of students from different religious and social backgrounds and most have a reputation for offering a high standard of education. A fairly recent innovation in Catholic schooling in India is the development of mobile schools. This has been generated by an initiative of the Indian Government ‘to provide for a variety of interventions for universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in ele- mentary education and improving the quality of learning. Some Religious Orders saw this as an opportunity to fulfil their mission to reach children on the edges of society, the marginalized. The Salesian Order of Priests is one of the Religious Congregations that became involved in the Government’s Project. The Salesian Religious Congregation was founded by John (Don) Bosco (1815–1888) in Italy and their mission is formed from Don Bosco’s vision to offer learning and education to boys who lived on the margins of society. This chapter is based on a small study which examined the mission, organization, curriculum and pedagogy of one Mobile School which is part of the Indian Government’s Mobile School Project: the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyanan. The school is being run by the Salesian Religious Congregation in Goa in collaboration with the Goa Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (GSSA). The main purpose is to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6 to 14 age group with particular attention being given to promoting access for mar- ginalized children to bridge social, regional and gender gaps. The study identified the positive achievements of the school as well as those areas that may require further consideration. Nozomi Miura’s chapter ‘Religious Education in Japanese ‘Mission Schools’: A Case Study of Sacred Heart Schools in Japan’ presents the story of a particular faith-based school in Japan. She focuses on the example of the place of a group of schools sponsored by a religious congregation and in particular a Catholic girl’s school within the Japanese education system. Miura notes that the number of ‘Christians’ has never been large in Japan (less than 1 % of the total population); however, Christianity, in spite of its being a minority religious tradition, has been a uniquely influential element in the Japanese educational system, particularly in women’s education. Various data provide evidence that Christian educational insti- tutions, along with their value systems, are well received in Japan. Briefly tracing the history of the religious congregation the sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart and its mission in the education of young women in Japan, the chapter delin- eates an example of Catholic ‘mission schools’ in Japan: the schools and the col- leges of the Sacred Heart, focusing on the religious education in these educational  38 M.J. Reiss et al.  institutions. Miura describes the community of Sacred Heart Schools; a college (The University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo); a Professional Training College (Sacred Heart Professional Training College) and five schools including elemen- tary, junior high and high schools and the International School of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo which incorporates a kindergarten as well as elementary, junior high and high school. With the exception of the kindergarten of the International school, all are female, single-sex institutions. Miura’s chapter notes in its discussion of the future need for future teachers trained in religious education and for teacher educa- tion to address the characteristics put forward in faith-based schools of the concerns for the whole student and the human condition as well as academic considerations. Helen Butler, Bernadette Summers and Mary Tobin’s chapter, ‘A Systems Approach to Enhancing the Capacity of Teachers and Leaders in Catholic School Communities to Link Learning, Student Wellbeing, Values and Social Justice’, puts forward an example of professional learning for working within a faith-based edu- cation system. The authors maintain that good practice in learning, with a focus on the whole child, needs to be underpinned by good practice in professional learning for educators. The chapter presents a case study of a partnership between the Catholic Education Office of the Archdiocese of Melbourne (CEOM), a Catholic Diocese in Victoria, Australia and the Australian Catholic University, one of only two faith-based universities in Australia. It shows how student learning is supported by the Student Well-Being framework and portfolios of the CEOM, which in turn are supported by a systems approach to accredited professional learning through the formal university qualification of a Master of Education/Postgrad Certificate in Education (Wellbeing in Inclusive Schooling). In particular, the chapter concen- trates on a whole school approach to social justice which is a component of a course for accredited practicing teachers. The chapter describes how theories from a range of fields are used in the course, including Catholic Social Teaching, to scaffold teachers’ reflection on their own practice. Annie Mitchell, Judith Chapman, Sue McNamara and Marj Horne in ‘Schools and Families in Partnership for Learning in Faith-Based Schools’ are concerned with work undertaken to involve parents, families and communities in the education of their children in faith-based schools. This chapter draws on a study of a system- wide reform effort by four Catholic dioceses in the Australian state of Victoria directed towards improving student learning outcomes through strengthening family-school-community partnerships, and the role of educational systems in sup- porting and enabling such reform. The reform effort was located within the Australian Commonwealth Governments’ Family-School Partnerships Framework for parent engagement and was informed by the work by Epstein (2002) on catego- ries of parent engagement in the US. This work from the US provided a conceptual guide for considering the multiple dimensions of family school partnerships and student learning. The dimensions included: communicating; connecting learning at school and learning at home; building community and identity; recognising the role of the family; consultative decision-making; collaborating beyond the school; and participating. The research reported on in this chapter was undertaken by the authors over 3 years and embraced multiple and repeated interviews with staff, parents, 1 Introduction and Overview 39  system and community personnel, surveys of parents, children and other stakeholders, the analysis of existing quantitative data sources of information about the schools and student learning and a number of case studies. The chapter discusses school and system-level impacts on improved links between parent participation and student learning particularly in faith-based schools. The chapter by Michael T. Buchanan and Judith D. Chapman, ‘Learning for Leadership: An Evidence Based Approach for Leadership Learning in Faith-Based Schools’, aims to contribute to an understanding and articulation of what leaders need to learn, to know and to do, as a rigorous evidence base for informing and shaping initiatives and strategies for the learning of leaders in faith-based schools. The chapter draws on research commissioned by the Catholic Education Office Melbourne (CEOM), Australia, to provide a rigorous, evidence base for the learning of educational leaders in the Catholic setting. It is also informed by the international OECD activity on ‘Improving School Leadership’ and developments in leadership and learning in various international settings. A number of guiding principles, con- cepts and concerns considered vital to the learning of leaders in Christian faith- based schools are identified and discussed. Michael Gaffney in ‘Leading Australian Catholic Schools: Lessons from the Edge’ presents a series of themes about leadership and positioning of Catholic schools ‘on the edge’. The author shares his insights about Catholic schools (1) on the edge of the mainstream, through reference to their position as nongovernment schools in policy and funding terms relative to schools in the public sector and secu- lar Australian and State/Territory governments and statutory authorities, (2) on the edge of town, highlighting the context and challenges of Catholic schools serving diverse low, middle and high SES communities and the hope and distinctive educa- tional opportunities they promote, and (3) on the edge of faith, drawing upon eccle- sial writings, research findings and emerging forms of governance relating to the authenticity and sustainability of Catholic schools. The message from these insights is that leading Catholic schools ‘on the edge’ not only requires a thorough under- standing of the local community context, of broader educational trends, account- abilities and opportunities and of the teachings and changes in the Church, but also an appreciation of what emerging Catholic school communities can be. The implica- tion is that Catholic school leaders need to have a vision for Catholic schools on the edge of possibility that encompasses the challenges of distinctiveness, equity, diver- sity, authenticity and sustainability, and the capability to share and realize that vision. Tom O’Donoghue and Simon Clarke in ‘Faith-Based Non-government Organizations and Education in ‘Post-New War Societies’: Background, Directions and Challenges in Leadership, Teaching and Learning’ bring Part III of this book to a close with an intriguing exploration of faith-based education beyond the boundar- ies of traditional formal schooling with which it is most often associated. In many ways they remind the reader of the original essence and purpose of much of the world’s faith-based education in looking at the work of faith-based organisations and education in places of current upheaval, turmoil, war and natural disaster in the global world. They begin their story by positioning the role of government in educa- tion. The authors indicate that state intervention in education throughout much of  40 M.J. Reiss et al.  the world is a relatively recent phenomenon. In general, it is associated with the foundation of modern industrial nations. They argue that the models of state educa- tion usually adopted, however, derive many of their characteristics from the dominant providers for centuries, namely, faith-based organisations. These have included, but have not been restricted to, organisations from the Judaeo-Christian tradition and Islam. Along with providing schools on the home front, outreaches were also developed to emigrant communities and in the missionary work of evan- gelization. This latter work continues today along the traditional pattern of running schools, technical and vocational education and university education, as well as hospitals and social-care facilities in long-established mission settings. In more recent times, however, faith-based organisations, like individual-country aid agen- cies, multi-lateral organisations and NGOs, have also been responding to various crisis situations around the world, including those generated by famine, climate, disease, and conflict and post-conflict. The general focus of this chapter is on the work of faith-based organisations in a particular form of post-conflict setting, namely, that of ‘post-new-war’ societies. This notion of ‘new wars’, coined, and elaborated on, by Kaldor, refers to those wars which have their origins in the infor- mal wars of the second half of the twentieth century and have become most promi- nent in recent decades with the disintegration of authoritarian states. Thus, ‘post-new-war’ societies relates to such post-military conflict zones as Iraq, Northern Ireland, Lebanon, Kosovo, Solomon Islands and Rwanda, to mention just a few. Specifically, the chapter provides a brief outline of the historical background to the outreach work of faith-based organisations, particularly through schools. It broadly portrays the ways in which faith-based organisations have become involved in vari- ous crisis situations around the world and elaborates on the nature of ‘new wars’ and ‘post-new-war’ societies as one type of such crisis situation. It considers the recent emphasis in the academic literature on the importance placed by academics and multi-lateral organisations on the role of education in post-new war settings and illustrates a variety of initiatives undertaken by faith-based organisations in the pro- vision of education, particularly schooling, in ‘post-new-war’ societies. The chapter draws on the small, but significant, body of work that has been undertaken in the field to date, which should be instructive to leaders of faith-based schools (and of state schools and schools run by non state secular organisations also) in their decision-making, particularly with regard to leading learning. Concluding Comment The chapters in the book articulate at least three aspects that seem to bring together a range of insightful contributions offered by the authors as they endeavour to clarify their understandings and experiences of faith-based education in schools. Firstly, faith-based education cannot be thought of in some singular monolithic way that undermines different, multiple and heterogeneous notions of what it means to teach, learn and lead faith-based education in schools. After all, if faith-based 1 Introduction and Overview 41  education is meant to achieve and enhance human interrelations and co-existence, then any attempt to present and enact faith-based education in a single dominant and hegemonic fashion would be incommensurate with understandings of education that seek to expand and expatiate upon meaningful ways of human engagement. Secondly, the book also accentuates the importance of looking at faith-based education as continuously in a process of becoming. This implies that thoughts and practices about faith-based education remain open to the new and unimaginable. That is, faith-based education in schools cannot be looked upon as some completed, final project but rather as one that is always in the making, thus allowing for the emergence and incorporation of the incalculable and possibly even the impossible to be encountered through engagements with ideas in and about teaching, learning and leading in faith-based schools. As several contributions highlight, faith-based education cannot just be discounted on the basis of its supposed, at times doctrinaire stances, but also must be considered for its own improbable ways of looking at human experience. After all, what is the purpose of faith-based education, in all its various forms, if it cannot instil confidence in humans to seek to move towards more virtuous ways of being and living? Thirdly, the book also brings ideas about faith-based education into communica- tion and interaction with prominent intellectual projects such as democracy, multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism. By implication, the authors have not shied away from bringing faith-based education into systematic controversy with those often encountered in some contested notions that are sometimes presented as being out of tune with religion and faith. The fact that authors have been bold enough to raise teaching, learning and leading faith-based education in relation to ways of being that can contribute towards the cultivation of humanity, accentuates further the significance of a book about faith-based education in schools primarily because the latter ought to contribute towards the enhancement of our humanity in plurality.  References Badiou, A. (2002). An essay on the understanding of evil. London/New York: Derso. Conroy, J. C., Lundie, D., Davis, R. A., Baumfield, V., Barnes, L. 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