Christian Education Research
Research Reports
Statistical Survey of the Attainment and Achievement of Pupils in Church of England SchoolsAuthors: Professor James Arthur and Dr Ray Godfrey (Canterbury Christ Church University)
The aim of this project is a statistical analysis of the attainment and achievement of pupils in Church of England Schools. This is calculated by using end of Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 results for all pupils in maintained schools in England in 2004.
Character Formation in Schools and the Education of Teachers
Authors: Professor James Arthur and Dr Lynn Revell (Canterbury Christ Church University)
The aim of this project is an exploration of student teachers attitudes and experience of character education in schools. It looked at students' assessment of the opportunities provided by schools for the development of character and asked them to consider the place and significance of character education in their own training. The data from nearly 2,000 questionnaires in two institutions of higher education (one church college and one secular school of education) indicates that while students believed that the opportunities for character formation and values education depended on their school placement, they were overwhelmingly in favour of developing their own skills as formers of children’s character. Whilst character education or building is seen as part of citizenship education by the government, this research project indicates that it is not well understood or part of the formal curriculum of teacher education.
Authors: Dr Andrew Morris and Dr Ray Godfrey
A statistical survey of attainment in catholic schools in England with particular reference to secondary schools operating under the Trust Deed of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
Authors: Professor James Arthur, Dr. Ruth Deakin Crick, Elspeth Samuel, Kenneth Wilson and Bart McGettrick.
This report will show how 16 to 19 year olds in Britain today understand their moral identity; the role education plays in the formation of their moral identity; and the influential factors that shape young people's characters.
This research was led by Professor James Arthur at Canterbury Christ Church University in conjunction with Dr. Ruth Deakin Crick from the University of Bristol. The project was funded by the John Templeton Foundation.
Professor Arthur said: " This research was undertaken in answer to a concern about standards of public morality in general and moral education in particular. The overall aim of the study was to firstly understand how 16-19 year old students understood the concepts of virtues and values and what they perceived to be the main influences on the formation of their own characters. Secondly, it was to understand how schools can inhibit or facilitate the formation of virtues and values in this 16-19 age group."
Professor Arthur and his team studied 551 pupils from three different sixth form centres in Bristol which reflected the multicultural and multi-faith background of the city - a further education college, a church school and a community school - between 2004-2006. These sixth form centres were selected for the enquiry because they represented a cross-section of education provision in the UK. Teachers from all three education providers were also interviewed about their relationships with their students.
