ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the participant RE teachers’ practices and their pedagogical perceptions regarding their own teaching and regarding student learning before the learning study took place and whether—and if so how—these were informed through the use of the Critical Religious Education and Variation Theory framework during the learning study. In the analysis of the teacher data five main critical aspects/themes were found: ‘teacher’s perspectives of RE’, ‘subject matter knowledge’, ‘awareness of students’ pre-understandings’, ‘use of Critical Religious Education and Variation Theory principles’, and ‘teachers’ pedagogical practices’. Each theme is presented with a detailed explanation accompanied by example quotes from the teachers’ interviews and meetings. The author argues that the framework of Critical Religious Education and Variation Theory, through a learning study, leads religious education teachers to successfully identify the relationship between the pupil and the object of learning through variation, orienting learners towards a deeper understanding of the object. It was also found that the learning study helped the teachers to improve their teaching practice by aiding them to evaluate and reflect on their lessons as well as to systematically develop pedagogical content knowledge.
