Religious Organisations in the UK and Values Education Programmes for Schools [1]

Abstract

In the context of English schools' increasing interest in values education programmes this article examines the contribution of three religious organisations: the Brahma Kumaris Spiritual University, the devotees of Sathya Sai Baba and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Discussions of values and values education in relation to citizenship and the new (2002) statutory subject of citizenship education are summarised and, on the basis of preliminary small-scale ethnographic research, the authors report the classroom implementation of three programmes. Issues raised include the programmes' approach to diversity, the degree to which programmes that assert core universal values can incorporate critical reflection on them, and the extent to which the provenance of programmes matters.