What is the extent to which a locally agreed syllabus can meet the moral development needs of white British working-class boys in an area with a high prevalence of far-right wing extremism?

Lowe, Fay Lucille (2026) What is the extent to which a locally agreed syllabus can meet the moral development needs of white British working-class boys in an area with a high prevalence of far-right wing extremism? PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Far-right extremism is a growing threat in England, and teachers of RE are encountering the impact of this in the classroom, with pupils bringing up related topics in RE lessons. This research set out to consider how a locally agreed syllabus can meet the moral development needs of white British working-class boys living in an area where there is a high prevalence of far-right extremism. Considering the policy basis and role of RE, it suggests a unique role for RE in countering extremist narratives and the building of resilience to radical extremism.

In agreement with the theory of moral development proposed by Michael Hand (2014), and using a framing of policy analysis based on Basil Bernstein’s recontextualization (Singh et al.,2013) this research used focus groups with secondary school pupils in a Rochdale school and RE professionals to build a picture of what is needed and what is possible in RE classrooms in England. It focussed on how to support the moral development of white British working-class boys. Within the pupil focus groups, nominal group technique was adopted to give a structured approach to the research. The RE Professionals engaged in a ‘hot topic discussion’ at a national conference.

The research findings show that pupils want support in understanding what they encounter outside of school, including online. This is important as they feel what they engage with online adds to their sense of identity. They are not naïve to the risks of misinformation and disinformation, but do not know what to trust. They feel that RE teachers have a role in helping with this, and this thesis suggests that directive moral inquiry has a key place. This links to the ability of RE teachers to create a safe space for discussion and having the expertise to engage pupils in critical RE and debate. The subject content of RE also directly connects to countering the religious narratives that far-right extremism adopts. RE has a place for teaching about far-right extremism, teachers just need to use it. This will then help address the vulnerabilities white British working-class boys have to radicalisation from far-right extremism and build their moral development.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Supported by funding from the Culham St Gabriel’s Trust.
• Subjects: L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2361 Curriculum
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
• Funder's Name: Culham St Gabriel’s Trust
• Supervisor's Name: Lundie, Professor David and Franks, Dr. Benjamin
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-86207
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 07 Sep 2026 12:14
• Last Modified: 07 Sep 2026 12:58
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.86207
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/86207

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