ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an insight into how the RE-flect project changed the teachers’ views of teaching in RE. It begins with contextual information about the types of schools involved and what teachers initially said about the teaching of RE in their schools. The chapter provides a realistic view of how RE is often viewed in schools and the types of activities provided for primary school children. It goes on to show what teachers on the project subsequently came to believe about the opportunities RE can provide to develop children’s thinking and the various ways in which the project has impacted on their classrooms. The chapter then focuses on the difficult and complex issue of assessment in RE. This is discussed in relation to wider issues of assessment and links to policy changes over time. Drawing on observational data from the RE-flect project, we discuss the reality of assessment in RE and show how such an assessment might be improved. Finally, a description is given of the types of assessment used in the project; the strengths and challenges of these; and what the data subsequently told us about the impact of the RE-flect project on children’s learning and perception of RE.
