There are widespread calls for school education to put more emphasis on developing students’ appreciation of the power and limitations of science. Without effective teaching, there is a risk that sensationalist media claims will unduly influence students’ perceptions of the power of science to already explain and predict aspects of our daily lives. Secondly, schools have a role in preparing students for a future in which they are likely to work and play alongside increasingly humanlike machines. The study reported here (...) assessed the feasibility of a survey to discover students’ stances on the predictive and explanatory power of science in relation to personality, behaviour and the mind The study forms part of a larger project that seeks to identify ways that schools can develop students’ epistemic insight when they consider big questions about the nature of reality and human personhood. Beginning with a broad conceptualisation of personhood designed to pick up on questions in the science-religion dialogue, we drew on interviews and focus groups with students in upper secondary school to formulate a set of statements that seemed to be effective in stimulating discussion about the power and limitations of science. The questionnaire was administered to 311 secondary students. Students’ responses indicate that they were engaged by the theme and that they were generally not working with a secure overarching scientistic or nonscientistic framework. When we grouped students according to how they responded to the narrower theme of personality and behaviour, one in five of the cohort was labelled as strongly scientistic. We also found that in their comments at different points in the survey, the majority of students expressed ideas and everyday phrases associated with scientism. The article concludes with implications for future research and further recommendations for teachers. (shrink)

This book has its origins in the output from a conference that took place in Oxford in the Autumn of 2016. The conference represented a ground-breaking attempt to bring together interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners in order to have a meaningful dialogue about the many issues that surround science and religion in an educational setting. Topics that have been at the forefront of the study of science and religion, such as evolution and the origins of the Universe, were considered from new (...) perspectives. In particular, the notion of conflict as a necessary model for the relationship between science and religion was challenged and new approaches considered. Conflict itself was considered in new ways, recognising that it too can be creative and constructive if dealt with appropriately. The debates and questions relating to science and religion continue and will continue for quite some time. The work reported in this book, we believe, represents a step forward at all levels, not least the thorny problem of how we present these debates and questions to young people. (shrink)

Questions which bridge science and religion cross many boundaries, and this is especially the case in schools and other educational institutions. The boundaries that a curriculum puts around different types of knowledge and different ways of constructing knowledge work well in so many ways in education, but they can become barriers to asking and exploring questions that bridge science and religion if they become systematic and entrenched. At the heart of this book and this introductory chapter, there is a belief (...) that a model of the relationship between science and religion that presumes conflict to be the only way in which they can be viewed does neither science nor religion justice. (shrink)

This book brings together the latest research in education in relation to science and religion. Leading international scholars and practitioners provide vital insights into the underlying debates and present a range of practical approaches for teaching. Key themes include the origin of the universe, the theory of evolution, the nature of the human person, the nature of science and Artificial Intelligence. These are explored in a range of international contexts. The book provides a valuable resource for teachers, students and researchers (...) in the fields of education, science, religious education and the growing specialist field of science and religion. Science and Religion in Education is a compelling read for current and future generations of academic researchers and teachers who wish to explore the fascinating intersect between science education and religious studies. The research findings and insights presented by these international scholars offer new dimensions on contemporary practice. - Vaille Dawson, Professor of Science Education, University of Western Australia Science and Religion in Education offers a fascinating and diverse collection of chapters surveying the current state of thinking about how science and religion can be understood in education. The book offers a wealth of thought-provoking material for anyone interested in the natures of science and religion, their relationship, or their representation within the curriculum. - Professor Keith Taber, University of Cambridge Science education and religious education are uncomfortable bedfellows. This book, written in part as a response to the – perhaps too clear – accounts of Ian Barbour, provides suitably nuanced pictures of how science and religion are dealt with in schools. Whatever the views of specialists, young people ‘receive’ an education in both science and religion: hearing their voices is refreshing in such a serious academic account. - Julian Stern, Professor of Education and Religion, York St John University Humans have long endeavored to make sense of the world often using science and religion. Yet, these two great traditions are frequently seen as incompatible. This useful volume features thoughtful contributions from experts whose work straddles the divide and provides educators with arguments, engaging strategies and historical perspectives to help build a bridge and allow a fruitful discussion in schools. - William F. McComas, Distinguished Professor of Science Education, University of Arkansas Equal parts critical examination of existing models for the relationship between science and religion, scholarly exposition of newer models, and insights toward practical application in classrooms, this book is an invaluable resource for science and religion educators. If you have been thinking it is time we looked beyond Barbour’s taxonomy, you will want to read this book. If you have not, I implore you to read this book. - Jason Wiles, Associate Professor of Biology and Science Education, Syracuse University. (shrink)

This open access book draws from 10 years of research into how epistemic insight can transform compartmentalized structures of learning. It presents a range of strategies and approaches for how educators, including schoolteachers, teacher educators, lecturers and education policy-makers, can facilitate epistemically insightful educational experiences. This book provides a distinctive contribution to the field of inter/multi/transdisciplinary education and will be of interested to anyone exploring the power and potential of these approaches.