Stephen Frank Bigger

A discussion of how humans have conceptualised ideas of self and relationships with others, applying this to teaching and learning. Relational pedagogy puts understanding of relationships first, highlighting ethics and social justice, and applies to the whole curriculum. Pupil engagement is viewed as the development of Self, in cognitively and socially critical directions. This is the full version of the paper discussed at this meeting. Part 2 has been developed further in the light of this and other discussions.

Spiritual education concerns the quality of our thinking about ourselves, our relationships, our sense of worth and identity, and our sense of well-being. All curriculum subjects can contribute to this search for meaning. Religious education and the act of worship can contribute but are in practice very problematic if dogma inhibits open reflection. No one tradition of spirituality should be promoted since spirituality is a process. The world faiths provide starting points, but life provides more. The human spirit may be finite or eternal; but we are concerned with the here and now and education should promote open qualitative questioning. * First published in 2003 in Prospero: A Journal of New Thinking for Education vol 9, no 1, pp.12-18. This version has been revised.

We explore how story has the potential to encourage environmental engagement and a sense of agency provided that critical discussion takes place. We illuminate this with reference to the philosophies of John Macmurray on personal agency and social relations; of John Dewey on the primacy of experience for philosophy; and of Paul Ricoeur on hermeneutics, dialogue, dialectics and narrative. We view the use of fiction for environmental understanding as hermeneutic, a form of conceptualising place which interprets experience and perception. The four writers for young people discussed are Ernest Thompson Seton, Kenneth Grahame, Michelle Paver and Philip Pullman. We develop the concept of critical dialogue, and link this to Crick's demand for active democratic citizenship. We illustrate the educational potential for environmental discussions based on literature leading to deeper understanding of place and environment, encouraging the belief in young people that they can be and become agents for change. We develop from Zimbardo the key concept of heroic resister to encourage young people to overcome peer pressure. We conclude with a call to develop a greater awareness of the potential of fiction for learning, and for writers to produce more focused stories engaging with environmental responsibility and activism.

This volume, published in Germany with the support of the European Commission,is the product of a collaboration (Socrates and later Erasmus funded) which brings together nine contributors from seven countries. The project was eventually called "Building Bridges" and the book begins with a commentary on a Rembrandt painting of a bridge, which forms the book cover. The theme is broad—human rights and values education as these relate to the school curriculum and textbooks. Each writer interprets this differently, some not achieving a balanced focus. Overall, the contributions consist of a collection of progress reports: many had not completed everything they set out to do. The English style throughout is patchy but acceptable: for example the series' strap-line is "to think Europe through values looking at Human Rights"... Interesting issues are raised about values and human rights education, much superficially descriptive. It cries out for a thorough-going debate of these important issues and principles, which it reveals as having been neglected by the contributing countries of the European Union.

Review of Piper, H and Stronach I (eds) 2004 Educational Research: Difference and Diversity (Cardiff Papers in Qualitative Research) Aldershot: Ashgate Publishers. £45.00. IBSN 0754633551 This collection of papers on educational methodology are drawn from two conferences, ‘Realism, Relativism or Post-Modernism’ (1997) and ‘Feminism and Educational Research Methodologies’ (1999), suitably updated and with additional material. The overview and introduction are given in the final chapter, with separate text from each editor side by side in two columns. This overview is critical, even ‘rude’ (Piper’s word) so as not to seem to be 'sycophantic'...