Pedagogical agility in moments of conflict: how a bricolage approach enables the critical promotion of mutual respect and tolerance in the religious education classroom

This study focuses on mutual respect and tolerance, two of five fundamental British values (FBV) which all teachers in England must promote. Existing research has highlighted the political and securitising nature of FBV, but less attention has been paid to the pedagogical approaches teachers use to promote them. Using data generated through a document analysis of key stage three schemes of work (for pupils aged 11–14) in Religious Education (RE) and semi-structured interviews with teachers in three secondary schools, this study draws on the concept of a pedagogical bricolage to explore how RE teachers promote mutual respect and tolerance. It shows how RE teachers need to be pedagogically agile, shifting between approaches to forge creative engagement with diverse worldviews and moments of conflict. It is argued that this requires strong pedagogical literacy but that when done well, a bricolage approach can afford a more critical promotion of mutual respect and tolerance.