ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the research aim of considering how ECtHRs’s “judicial pedagogies” shape the Europeanisation of religions and beliefs in education. First, broad reasons for needing the concept of judicial pedagogies will be considered, in relation to both the competence of the courts and the sociology of the judiciary, notably in wider explanations as to why and how judges make their decisions, such as social background, education or gender. The concept’s roots are exposed in Bruner’s notion of ‘folk pedagogies’. Bruner’s four models of folk pedagogy are explained as are Sfard’s contrasting metaphors of acquisition and participation. The use of the term ‘pedagogies’ is discussed, to include curriculum and assessment. Two research questions are then introduced: What judicial pedagogies can be found in the ECtHR’s decisions? How coherent are these judicial pedagogies? A narrative comparative case-study approach is justified, in focusing on selected contrasting cases on five themes: definitions of key terms; curriculum; teaching; learning; assessment.
