How, in practice, do Church of England schools endeavour to create cohesive communities which respect both their Anglican Christian ethos and the diverse, often multi-faith demographic of their student bodies? This is being explored in Birmingham in case study research by a team from Newman University, led by Dr Stephen Pihlaja. The project, funded by St Peter’s Saltley Trust, will investigate:
- What are the strengths and challenges of diverse student bodies in Church of England schools?
- What strategies do teachers, parents, churches and communities use to deliver social success in the light of these factors?
- What lessons can other church schools derive from the outcomes of these strategies?
In late 2018 and early 2019, research is taking place with a number of Church of England schools within the Diocese of Birmingham. It’s planned to publish and share the fruits of this research towards the end of 2019. Watch this space for further details!
(Blog post image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)