"Effectiveness of interreligious learning through perspective-taking with different forms of pupil-oriented Religious Education (RE): a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial“
Final Report Abstract
The research project investigated the effectiveness of different levels of student-oriented teaching units on the interreligious competence of students. It took place in the years 2018 to 2024. The effects of differently designed student orientation (four variants of a six-hour teaching unit) were examined by collecting the corresponding learning prerequisites and learning outcomes at three measurement points (pre-, post-test and follow-up). Student orientation was determined and varied in terms of content and methodology. Based on this concept an initial result of the project are appropriately varied teaching materials for religious education in the entry-level class of the vocational high school in Baden-Württemberg. In addition, scales for measuring religion-related knowledge, religion-related perspective-taking, behavior-related attitudes towards religious perspective-taking and teaching quality were already validated as part of the pilot study (N = 521 students). The main run (N = approx. 1800 students), in which the quality of teaching and surveys were checked using process evaluation, showed the greatest increase in knowledge among students who were taught in the least student-oriented variant. The ability to take on a religionrelated perspective experienced the greatest increase among students who were taught with medium or high student orientation. Relevant changes in attitudes could not be observed. The pattern of results of the observations suggests that a minimum level of knowledge is a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite for achieving high competence in religion-related perspective taking. These results speak for the need for a differentiated consideration of student or subject orientation in religious education. According to the results, optimal teaching should aim for a relatively low subject orientation for the teaching of content that is primarily designed to impart knowledge, whereas the promotion of the ability to take on a perspective can be expected through a medium (or alternatively high) subject orientation. The findings described reinforce the currently increasingly critical discussion about a mere axiomatic use of the principle of subject orientation. Furthermore the study demonstrates the sense of empirically based subject didactics. In this sense, follow-up studies should, for example, further clarify which students/subjects are assumed in a didactic strategy, how reference to students‘ experience can be ensured and what role other factors such as the embedding of the knowledge to be learned play. In addition, analogous studies on other religious didactic principles are desirable. Concerning the transfer of knowledge into teaching practice, training courses have already taken place for the teachers involved in the study. They are now being continued in information for school management as well as in study days and training courses for those responsible for training and continuing education as well as active teachers.
