Understanding the approaches to the teaching of religious education of pre-service primary teachers: The influence of religio-scientific frameworks

This paper explores what foundational concepts pre-service primary teachers are employing when they teach religious education. The study measured the attitudes to science and its relationship to religion of 92 pre-service primary teachers. Analysis of extended interviews with eight of the pre-service primary teachers illustrated how specific religio-scientific frameworks could be linked to distinct differences in approach to the teaching of religious education. The implications for teacher education were then discussed, as well as the necessity to integrate the teaching of religion and science into the design of future pedagogical approaches.