The Attitudes of Future Educational Agents to Religious and Cultural Diversity in Education in Catalonia

Abstract

The religious diversity in Catalonia is a challenge for the coexistence in the public space and for the education of future educators. This article emphasizes the challenge of religious diversity in the educational context, analyzing which attitudes have the educational agents of the future towards: a) the religious diversity, b) the interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and c) the role of education in the management of this diversity. In order to ask these questions have been conducted a survey study on the framework of the Project AGAUR-2014RELIG00019 named "Attitudes towards religious and cultural diversity in education for intercultural dialogue and interfaith scale". The population of the study has been the students in Teacher Training in Primary and Early Childhood, Social Education, Social Work and Pedagogy degree of all Catalan Public Universities. The conclusions highlight a) the favorable attitude towards cultural and religious diversity and interreligious dialogue and b) the relevance to the education given by the students, as a key role in the management of religious and cultural diversity. [This paper was presented at the Education, Society, and Reform Research Conference (EDUSREF 2018) (Ankara, Turkey, 6-7 Apr 2018).]