Knowledge, education and public theology: Reflections from the UK

Knowledge is the commodity education deals in. In the UK, just prior to the general election that he lost, Rishi Sunak, the then Conservative Prime Minister, told his Party conference that he would see that “proper knowledge” was taught in schools rather than “Labour ideology”. As I write, the new Labour government is launching its own Curriculum Review. This happens against a background where school inspectors look for a knowledge-rich curriculum. This article explores what public theologians might have to say about “proper knowledge” in education.