A comparative study of how social cohesion is taught in Islamic religious education in Finland and Ireland

Abstract

Based on classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with teachers, parents and students, this comparative study looks at how social cohesion is promoted in Islamic Religious Education (IRE) lessons in Muslim schools in Ireland and non-faith schools in Finland. The study analyses teaching in the following areas: intra-religious cohesion; inter-religious cohesion and commitment to society. The findings reveal that despite differences in the governance of IRE as a subject taught in both types of schools, the IRE classroom emerges as a space, whereby teachers use power as agents for internal governance of religion. The authors conclude with some implications and offer some considerations for future research and practice.

Keywords:

• Islamic Religious Education
• social cohesion
• Finland
• Ireland

View correction statement:

Corrigendum

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Inkeri Rissanen , PhD, is a university lecturer at University of Tampere, Faculty of Education. Her Research interests include religious education, Islamic religious education and multicultural education.

Youcef Sai is an independent researcher who gained his doctorate in Education from Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. His research interests include pedagogy and religious education.

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors. This version has been corrected. Please see Corrigendum (https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2017.1365472).