How students view the boundaries between their science and religious education concerning the origins of life and the universe

Billingsley, B., Brock, R., Taber, K. S. and Riga, F. (2016) How students view the boundaries between their science and religious education concerning the origins of life and the universe. Science Education International, 100 (3). pp. 459-482. ISSN 2077-2327 doi: 10.1002/sce.21213

Abstract/Summary

Internationally in secondary schools, lessons are typically taught by subject specialists, raising the question of how to accommodate teaching which bridges the sciences and humanities. This is the first study to look at how students make sense of the teaching they receive in two subjects (science and religious education) when one subject’s curriculum explicitly refers to cross-disciplinary study and the other does not. Interviews with 61 students in seven schools in England suggested that students perceive a permeable boundary between science and their learning in science lessons and also a permeable boundary between religion and their learning in RE lessons, yet perceive a firm boundary between science lessons and RE lessons. We concluded that it is unreasonable to expect students to transfer instruction about cross-disciplinary perspectives across such impermeable subject boundaries. Finally we consider the implications of these findings for the successful management of cross-disciplinary education.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/45900
Identification Number/DOI	10.1002/sce.21213
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > Institute of Education > Improving Equity and Inclusion through Education
Publisher	International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE)
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