ABSTRACT
Since 2014, schools in England have had a duty to promote ‘fundamental British values’ of democracy, rule of law, personal liberty, mutual respect and tolerance. This chapter draws on findings from ethnographic observations, young people’s reflective writing and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to explore the relationship between the values of liberty, respect and tolerance, self-efficacy and subjective well-being as part of a Templeton Religion Trust funded project that ran from 2019 to 2021. The research highlights tensions around the relationship between these values and many of the practices in schools. This chapter draws upon multi-method research, with a particular focus on two schools serving areas of socio-economic disadvantage in the North West of England. In these schools, ethnographic participant observation, focus groups and digital daily diaries were carried out with students aged 11-16. Ecological Momentary Assessment, an ecological quantitative approach, was carried out with 82 participants who were also pupils in these two schools; participants were asked about their moral commitments, well-being and self-efficacy at three data points per day over a 28-day period (6,888 total data points). While EMA findings showed positive within-subject relationships between valuing liberty and having a sense of agency over their lives, ethnographic findings highlighted a growing emphasis on ‘zero-tolerance’ pedagogies of control within schools, which made it difficult for young people to express moral agency. This chapter situates this tension within the wider policy context governing schooling in England, and in relation to philosophical debates about the civic autonomy of children and young people.
