Panel: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE AND TRANSFORMATION



63.12 - TRANSFORMATION THROUGH RELIGION EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

AUTHORS:
Boehme K. (University of Education ~ Heidelberg ~ Germany) , Mitropoulou V. (Aristotle University ~ Thessaloniki ~ Greece)
Text:
According to the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002), once children reach school age, it is no longer possible for them to alter the dispositions they have acquired within their family environment—what he terms their habitus. As "schemas of perception, thought, and action […] that function as structuring structures," children's habitus manifests itself at an early age in polarised oppositions. Nevertheless, Bourdieu's work itself allows for the identification of three key components that can bring about habitus change in students, ultimately fostering a "transformation for the better" and strengthening "social cohesion." These components are: 1. Irritation (disruption or cognitive dissonance), 2. Embodiment (physical experience and encounter), 3. Space (the influence of the environment and learning context). Taken together, these factors can lead to the transformation of individuals by enabling a shift in their habitus. This paper aims to engage with Bourdieu's critique while simultaneously introducing a didactic concept based on his ideas. This concept, Sharing Worldviews (or Interreligious Learning in Encounter), can be implemented at all levels of schooling, beginning in the later years of primary education. Since 2002/03, this approach has been tested in school projects and, since 2013, in teacher training programmes. It was subsequently internationalised and digitised through the Erasmus+ project (2021-2024). Professor Dr Vasiliki Mitropoulou (Aristotle University, Thessaloniki) will present the evaluation of the Erasmus+ project Sharing Worldviews.