Teaching about religious diversity in schools. Applying and developing an interpretive cultural approach to religious education.

Norwegian religious education has since 1997 focused on three aims; learning about religions and world-views, learning from religions and world-views, and learning to live together. Religion and world-views is one of the most important arenas in the schoo l community where cultural diversity (ethnic, national, religious) is displayed. This is a challenge for the whole school, but in particular for religious education. Diversity in the classroom has consequences for learning processes and learning outcome a nd is challenging for teachers. Much new research has been done in religious education, but less has been done to improve the real teaching. This project aims at making teaching and learning in schools more effective by implementing and evaluating resear ch based approaches to religious diversity in a systematic way by use of action learning and action research methods. The theoretical framework and pedagogy is based on a combination of two approaches to religious education suggested by Robert Jackson in England and Geir Skeie in Norway. Experienced teachers will be trained in the interpretive cultural approach taking into account their present competence and teaching practice. They will adjust the approach to their local context and apply this approach t o teaching religious education over a period. At certain points the learning processes as well as learning outcome will be evaluated and adjustments made. The final analysis will be fed into local curriculum planning according to the increased decentralis ation in the 2005 reform. The researchers continue to work with the data and to discuss the results. Based on this a teacher-training project (B) will follow up the school based project (A). A similar action research project going on in England gives oppo rtunities to cooperate and compare results. Several international networks provide excellent possibilities for seminars with religious education researchers that also work in the field of applied research