Establishing the need for a handbook for educators teaching a religious diverse classroom

Abstract

Maltese society is changing in a variety of ways. Although there is no clear statistical data on the religious adherence in the Maltese Islands, there are clear indications that the number of diverse religious and non-religious communities is on the increase. Educators are in need of basic and handy information that helps them to better interact with students and their families. The study starts by looking at the current situation of religious education in the primary classroom. Religious education is seen from the perspective of its importance and relevance to these children’s everyday life. At the moment the dominating religion that is being practiced and taught to the children is the Catholic religion. This study investigates what is happening to those children of a different faith or who are non-religious during the Religious education lessons. Furthermore it explores what is being discussed in order to move more towards a more inclusive educational system. Last but not least it comes across the possible solution in helping the teachers become more knowledgeable in dealing with students pertaining to different belief systems. The possible solution would be a handbook that would be a guide for teachers since it would provide them with all the necessary information about the most practiced religions in Malta.