The church is very important to me’: a consideration of the relevance of Francis's ‘Attitude Towards Christianity’ scale to the aims of Church of England aided schools.

Abstract

Research by Leslie Francis measuring children's attitude towards Christianity, found that Church of England aided schools had no additional influence on attitudes towards Christianity (once he had controlled for sex, social class, parental and child's own church attendance). Earlier studies had found that Anglican aided schools had a negative influence, compared with county schools. This article assesses the implications of his finding for Anglican aided schools, by comparing the attitudes measured by the scale with the aims of these schools and the values they seek to inculcate in general ethos, in religious education and worship. The article concludes that the scale does not measure the attitudes which Anglican schools aim to encourage nor can the scores help to explain differences between schools and changes over time. Explanations for the differences between types of schools can only come from more detailed qualitative studies of specific children, their families, schools, churches and the communities in which they live.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Main Levitt

Dr Main Levitt is Research Assistant in the Centre for Professional Ethics, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE.