Survey finds that pupils oppose separation by faith

A new study on the teaching of religious education in community national (primary) schools in Ireland has revealed that separating Catholic students from their classmates for sacramental preparation during the school day has led to a perception that Catholic students are being privileged over other children, writes Sarah Mac Donald.

Community national schools (CNS) are a new model of multidenominational school in Ireland. There are currently 11 such schools operating across the country, with more due to open.

CNS schools aim to provide an inclusive education to children of all faiths and none. The aim of the study was to examine how this has been borne out in practice.

This new model of multidenominational primary school offers a general religious education programme, as well as opportunities for children to separate into belief-specific groups, such as Catholics or Muslims. This allows Catholic students to have time for faith formation within the school day. But it also means they are separated from their classmates for some class periods.

The schools operate under the patronage of the state’s Education and Training Boards (ETBs) and they have no formal connection with the Catholic Church.

The research, which was carried out by Trinity College Dublin sociologist, Professor Daniel Faas, revealed that students expressed a preference for a “whole-classroom” approach rather than being separated on a “belief-specific” basis for religion classes. Over 70 children aged 11 and over were interviewed across six of the schools.

It also found that the amount of time dedicated by Catholic students to preparation for the sacraments differed depending on the school, and was largely influenced by the local priest’s availability.

Professor Faas’ study suggests that parents and priests should play a greater role in sacramental preparation.

Last April, the separation of four- to nine-year-olds into Catholic, Christian, Muslim and other groups for belief-specific teaching was suspended in most community national schools.

Currently, nine- to 13-year-olds are not separated for belief-specific teaching in CNS schools.

The programme operated by CNS schools will be reviewed from September 2017 by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).