BERA Bites 15

‘In the absence of critical and objective information, children may be forced to rely on other, less desirable resources to appraise other religious beliefs, including populist discourses and biased news sources.’ Second, and relatedly, by failing to provide pupils with the language and concepts of religions other than Christianity, the current curriculum may prevent children from non-Christian backgrounds from communicating their social and spiritual experiences in a way that is meaningful to them and their peers. In such cases, the available interpretive resources may only offer these children ‘at best ill-fitting meanings to draw on in the effort to render [their experiences] intelligible’ (Fricker, 2007, p. 148). As Dotson (2011) describes, such experiences can lead to self-silencing (or ‘testimonial smothering’) by a speaker who fears they will not be understood. Towards a new syllabus for religious education In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the NI Minister for Education, Paul Givan, has announced a review of the Core Syllabus for RE. Positively, the review’s terms of reference 6 state that the revised syllabus should be structured in an objective manner and be pluralist and inclusive. Although Christianity is to remain ‘the central focus’, the new syllabus will ensure ‘pupils explore a range of religious and non-religious worldviews’ 7 – knowledge that can help them to navigate a religiously diverse society. Somewhat concerningly, however, there is no specified role for representatives from non- Christian traditions in drafting the syllabus, which risks perpetuating hermeneutical marginalisation. Beyond RE and Northern Ireland, this case speaks to the importance of epistemic inclusion in education, ensuring children have access to knowledge that enables them to make sense of others’ experiences and to understand and share their own. From decolonial pedagogies in the classroom to curriculum policies that centre pluralistic knowledge, epistemic inclusion should be embedded within education systems. Educational research can support this through the empirical analysis of distinctly epistemic inequities in education and consideration of strategies for redress. 6 https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/terms- reference-review-re-core-syllabus 7 https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/ files/2026-02/Updated%20TOR%20-%20RE%20Core%20 Syllabusrb.pdf

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What would an RE curriculum characterised by strong inclusion look like? 2. What steps can we take to ensure curriculum development fulfils principles of epistemic justice? 3. How might the framework of epistemic injustice shape our understanding of inclusion in education more broadly? Loader, R., Hughes, J., Jiménez, E., & O’Boyle, A. (2024). The primary curriculum for religious education in Northern Ireland: Making a case for epistemic justice. In M. Moncrieffe, O. Fakunle, M. Kustatscher, & A. Olsson Rost (Eds.), The BERA guide to decolonising the curriculum: Equity and inclusion in educational research and practice (pp. 31–39). Emerald Publishing. https://bookstore.emerald.com/the-bera-guide-to- decolonising-the-curriculum-pb-9781835491478.html McNulty, L., & Henning, L. (2019). Children’s epistemic rights and hermeneutical marginalisation in schools. In T. Feldges (Ed.), Philosophy and the study of education (pp. 54–64). Taylor REFERENCES Dotson, K. (2011). Tracking epistemic violence, tracking practices of silencing. Hypatia , 26 (2), 236–257. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527- 2001.2011.01177.x Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing . Oxford University Press.

BERA BITES 15 | EDUCATING FOR ALL