Does Religious Education as an examination subject work to promote community cohesion? An empirical enquiry among 14- to 15-year-old adolescents in England and Wales     

Leslie J. Francis  Tania ap Siôn  Ursula McKenna  Gemma Penny 《British Journal of Religious Education》2017,39(3):303-316

This study begins by examining the way in which, in both England and Wales, Religious Education has become implicated in political discussion regarding the role of education in promoting community cohesion. The relationship between taking Religious Education as an examination subject and attitude towards religious diversity (as an affective indicator of community cohesion) is then explored among 3052 14- to 15-year-old students. After controlling for contextual factors (school type and geographical location), personal factors (sex and age), psychological factors (psychoticism, neuroticism and extraversion) and religious factors (Christian affiliation, worship attendance, personal prayer and belief in God), a small but significant positive association was found between taking Religious Education as an examination subject and attitude towards religious diversity. This finding may be interpreted as supporting the view that Religious Education works to promote community cohesion, although the wider debate that the community cohesion agenda has generated among religious educators needs further exploration.  相似文献   

Intercultural sensitization with synthetic cultures: Evaluation of a computer-based multimedia learning tool     

Katharina Klinge  Anette Rohmann  Ursula Piontkowski 《Int J Intercult Relat》2009,33(6):507-515

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate a new computer-based multimedia learning tool for intercultural sensitization that is based on synthetic cultures. The learning tool named “Culture Awareness Training” (CAT) is targeted at learners with few intercultural experiences, and its aim is to sensitize participants to cultural influences on behavior and to intercultural differences, and to enhance perspective taking. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the CAT. Study 1 (N = 107) showed that participation in the CAT led to higher intercultural awareness and higher intercultural interest compared to a control group. In Study 2 (N = 46), the CAT was compared to a simulation game for intercultural sensitization. Participants were students shortly before their stay abroad. Results showed that both the CAT and the classical simulation game enhanced participants’ cultural awareness.  相似文献