A Call for Teacher Professional Learning and the Study of Religion in Social Studies

Résumé

Religion is important to study in social studies because many religious iReligion is important to study in social studies because many religious individuals, groups, and movements engage with public issues and because countries are increasingly religiously diverse. In response, scholars are promoting education about religion in citizenship education. However, there remain few programs about religion in Canadian public schools and even less research about them. This article begins to address the gap by proposing three priorities for teacher professional learning and the study of religion for social studies teachers. The priorities are drawn from interviews with Alberta teachers, whose beliefs about religion in the classroom can be divided into three categories identified by the authors as nominal, attentive, and integrated. If many teachers fall into one of these categories, then the professional learning priorities suggested here have wide-ranging application.