Exploring dialogic space: a case study of a religious education classroom

Dialogic approaches to pedagogy have received increased attention in educational research in the past decades. Despite the substantial body of research on the quality of classroom talk, the secondary education context still remains less explored. The aim of the paper is to contribute to our understanding of dialogic practices in this context with a particular focus on: (a) the creation of dialogic space, and (b) the enactment of dialogic interactions in this space. The paper presents a case study on a Year 13 Religious Education classroom in the south of England, United Kingdom. Data are drawn from a videorecorded lesson and audiorecorded teacher interviews. A qualitative analysis of the data revealed the importance of certain factors in creating dialogic space, including teacher instructions, activity type, and teacher dialogic strategies. It is argued that being conducive to dialogue, the context of Religious Education can be studied further. With growing evidence coming from this context, pedagogical guidelines can be created for teachers who wish to develop a more dialogic pedagogy.