Ethics in Education:
An ethics-based complement to special religious education ('scripture')
Read an article addressing the issue of religious education in schools and St James Ethics Centre's proposal about the possibility of offering an ethics-based complement for students who do not attend scripture classes.
Contents:
Overview
Since July 2003 St James Ethics Centre has been working on an initiative to develop an ethics-based complement to Special Religious Education (SRE) in New South Wales primary schools.
The purpose is to provide for those students whose parents take advantage of the relevant legislative provision and opt that their children not attend SRE classes, commonly known as 'scripture'.
At present the alternative for these students is doing what is referred to as 'private study' under the supervision of a regular teacher (School Manual on Educational Management 15.8 Procedures for SRE, A. Responsibilities of Schools). 'Private study' may include activities that do little or nothing to advantage these children.
Alerted to this by a chairman of the P&C at a local government school, the Centre responded by looking at developing a program that offers an introduction to thinking about 'ways of living' - ethics without requiring a concurrent engagement with "dogmatic or polemical theology" (Education Act 1990 No. 8 Section 30).
NSW Department of Education and Training (NSW DET) has communicated that its existing policy in this regard, based on the NSW Education Act 1990 and the Recommendations of the Rawlinson Committee, Religion in Education in NSW Government Schools (1981) does not support our proposal. Examining this legislation and policy directive we believe there is scope for such a complement to SRE.
Read a consideration of this legislation, policy and policy directive.
Following is an outlining our rationale and aims for developing an ethics-based complement to SRE.
Rationale
In establishing a rationale the Centre recognises two components of SRE, namely: metaphysical belief and a possible code defining 'ways of living'. The Rawlinson Committee supports this understanding expressing it as follows:
5.3 Religion deals with daily living as well as with the ultimate source, meaning and goal of life.
Secondly, we suggest it is possible (in theory and practice) to offer a consideration of ethics without having to profess a particular theological worldview. The Rawlinson Committee acknowledges this stating:
5.35 That ethics, the study of morals and values, is valuable for its own sake and that people can be moral without being religious, in that they do not need to describe to religious beliefs in order to sustain carefully thought-out moral principles.
Thirdly, it would seem unfair that those children whose parents do not profess a particular religion have no meaningful secular alternative during the allocated time for SRE.
The following table is a conceptual model of how a class on ethics for those children without a religious tradition would fit into the curriculum and support the legislation of the NSW Government and policy directives of the NSW DET.
Finally, our proposal takes into account what the relationship would be between ethics and religion. We explain that a class on ethics would not be looking to replace faith. It would not be opposed to but inclusive of religion, possibly using the five major religions as a valuable resource in the same way General Religious Education is taught in the Six Key Learning Areas. A course on ethics would follow the guidelines for teaching as set out in the Education Act 1990 No. 8 Section 30 Secular Instruction which states:
In government schools, the education is to consist of strictly non-sectarian and secular instruction. The words, secular instruction are to be taken to include general religious education as distinct from dogmatic or polemical theology.
Aims
Following is a summary of the essential aims of an ethics-based complement to SRE. To:
- Provide a secular complement for the discussion of the ethical dimension of students' lives
- Offer a secure, non-judgemental space to explore the question, "What ought one to do?"
- Introduce the language of ethics and in doing so, to provide the tools to survey the values and principles we live by
- Inspire an appreciation of virtues and ideals
- Develop the intellectual capacity and the personal attitudes needed for participating in ethical reflection and action
- Encourage an openness towards important personal and public issues
- Introduce dialogue as a means of resolving ethical issues
- Develop students' ability to identify the relevant stakeholders and thoroughly explore, among other things, the consequences of proposed resolutions to the ethical dilemmas which they are considering
- In short, to deepen the ethical sense of the future generation
Conclusion
The Minister of Education, Dr Andrew Refshauge, has made an initial objection claiming that there was no scope to implement what we have proposed. Further to this he states that, "There has been no community wide call" for such a program". The Centre has been collecting comments to refute this.