What does \u201cnew learning\u201d require from religious education teachers? A study of Finnish RE teachers\u2019 perceptions

Abstract

This article examines “new learning” skills from the perspective of Finnish in-service Religious Education (RE) teachers by exploring which skills teachers emphasize in their instruction. The data of this study consist of a quantitative online questionnaire (N = 83), and qualitative semi-structured interviews (N = 18) that were conducted to clarify the data. Skills were categorized and analysed by using the Assessment and Teaching of twenty-first century Skills (ATC21S) framework. The study shows that, from the four categories in the framework, teachers emphasized skills in Ways of thinking, Tools for working, and Ways of working categories, quite equally highly, though this was less true of the skills in Ways of living in the world category. However, the diversity among individual skills was high. Comparing individual skills, understanding diversity, religious literacy, communication skills (excluding leadership) and critical thinking were the most important in RE and leadership; producing a result and productivity were less emphasized skills in teachers’ instructions. The results were explained by ongoing changes, such as religious pluralization, and digitalization in Finnish society, and the aim of RE as developing equal communication and developing, not finalizing, pupils’ thinking.