Nigel is Associate Professor of Education and Values. His research encompasses belief and values-based questions across education and research, including:
- Religions, beliefs and secularities
- Laws human rights and courts
- Education and professional ethics
- Educational research ethics
He teaches across several courses, particularly on beliefs & values, philosophies of education and research, and qualitative and mixed methodologies.
Current professional associations: Association of University Lecturers in Religion and Education; British Education Research Association; European Association of Research in Learning and Instruction; International Seminar for Religious Education and Values; Philosophy of Education (Great Britain) Society.
He is on the editorial board of Religionspädagogik in pluraler Gesellschaft, and regularly reviews for: British Journal of Religious Education, Journal of Beliefs and Values, Journal of Contemporary Religion, Oxford Review of Education, Religion, and Teachers and Teacher Education.
Advisory & consultancy: Nigel has been external advisor on research projects across Europe. He welcomes consultancy work with schools, educational organisations and governments, and has carried out projects around the world, notably in Bhutan, India and Lebanon.
Research
Books
Fancourt, N. (2024). Religions, beliefs and education in the European Court of Human Rights: investigating judicial pedagogies. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003393276
Book chapters
Fancourt, N. (2023). Schools and religions: the law and the courts – Costa Rica, England, France, Italy, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey. In J. Fraser-Pearce & J. Frazer (Eds.), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Schools and Religion (pp. 34-52). Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350297296.ch-3
Fancourt, N. (2020). Religious education, postsecularity and neoliberalism. In O. Franck & P. Thalén (Eds.), Religious Education in a Post-Secular Age: Case Studies from Europe (pp. 17-35). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47503-1
Fancourt, N. (2020). Religious Education, Post-secularity and Neoliberalism. In Religious Education in a Post-Secular Age: Case Studies from Europe (pp. 17-35). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47503-1_2
Childs, A., & Fancourt, N. (2017). Building research capacity and relationships in schools: the consequences of involvement in ’Closing the Gap’. In A. Childs & I. Menter (Eds.), Mobilising Teacher Researchers: Challenging Educational Inequality. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315160320
Fancourt, N. (2017). Research ethics in ’Closing the Gap’: equipoise in randomised controlled trials in education. In A. Childs & I. Menter (Eds.), Mobilising Teacher Researchers: Challenging Educational Inequality. Routledge. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f0c8d9b9-41cb-4025-99df-924fe356d0f3
Fancourt, N. (2017). Spatial and temporal explanations in researching religious education. In M. Rothgangel, K. Von Bromssen, H.-G. Heimbrock, & G. Skeie (Eds.), Location, Space and Place in Religious Education (pp. 39-45). Waxmann. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:bf935ea0-6886-4f60-a455-37c077f6496f
Fancourt, N. (2017). Crucifixes in classrooms: The pedagogical assumptions of the European Courts. In M. Rothgangel, K. Von Bromssen, H.-G. Heimbrock, & G. Skeie (Eds.), Location, space and place in religious education. Waxmann. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:dc413825-5281-4e50-a993-b91db25a66bf
Fancourt, N. (2017). Creating a system of distributed expertise: The oxford education deanery narrative. In Working Relationally in and across Practices: A Cultural-Historical Approach to Collaboration (pp. 172-190). https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316275184.010
Fancourt, N. (2017). Assessment in religious education. In Learning to Teach Religious Education in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience, Third edition (pp. 89-101). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315768519-6
Fancourt, N. (2017). Assessment in ethics education: neoliberalism, values and alignment. In Assessment in Ethics Education: A Case of National Tests in Religious Education. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50770-5_8
Fancourt, N. (2016). ’I’m less intolerant’: Reflexive self-assessment in religious education. In The Empirical Science of Religious Education (pp. 46-59).
Fancourt, N. (2014). Insiders and Outsiders: Task design in learning about religions. In I. Thompson (Ed.), Designing Tasks in Secondary Education Enhancing Subject Understanding and Student Engagement. Routledge.
Fancourt, N. (2013). Very sad, but it Works’: One pupil’s assessment career in religious education. In Religion in Education: Innovation in International Research (pp. 105-118). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203067246
Fancourt, N. (2013). Religious education across Europe: contexts in policy scholarship. In G. Skeie, J. Everington, I. Avest, & S. Miedema (Eds.), Exploring Context in Religious Education Research Empirical, Methodological and Theoretical Perspectives. Waxmann Verlag.
Fancourt, N. (2011). Differentiation (pp. 213-222). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203813805-28
Fancourt, N. (2009). The “safe forum”: difference, dialogue and conflict. In J. Ipgrave, R. Jackson, & K. O’Grady (Eds.), Religious Education Research Through a Community of Practice Action Research and the Interpretive Approach. Waxmann.
Fancourt, N. (2009). Reflexive Assessment: The Interpretive Approach and Classroom Assessment. In J. Ipgrave, R. Jackson, & K. O’Grady (Eds.), Religious Education Research Through a Community of Practice Action Research and the Interpretive Approach. Waxmann.
Fancourt, N. (2007). The dialogical teacher: pupils’ perceptions of good teaching in religious education. In C. Bakker & G. Heimbrock (Eds.), Researching RE Teachers. RE Teachers as Researchers. Waxmann Verlag.
Kelley, M., & Fancourt, N. (n.d.). Recognition, mutual respect, and support: A relational approach to training and supervision in community health work. In A. Geniets, N. Winters, & J. O’donovan (Eds.), Community Health Workers: A Pedagogical Perspective. Oxford University Press.
Journal articles
Fancourt, N. (2022). Book review: The Bloomsbury handbook of religious education in the Global South. Journal of Beliefs and Values. https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2022.2160606
Fancourt, N. (2022). Religion and Belief Literacy: Reconnecting a Chain of Learning. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 37(3), 578-579. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2022.2066277
Fancourt, N., & Hendek, A. (2022). National, international and supranational perspectives on religious education, law and the judiciary: past, present and future. British Journal of Religious Education, 44(4), 411-419. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2022.2080357
Fancourt, N. (2022). Religious freedom in English schools: neoliberal legality and the reconfiguration of choice. Religions, 13(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070639
Fancourt, N., Foreman-Peck, L., & Oancea, A. (2022). Addressing ethical quandaries in practitioner research: a philosophical and exploratory study of responsible improvisation through hermeneutical conversation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103760
Fancourt, N., & Guilfoyle, L. (2021). Interdisciplinary perspective-taking within argumentation: students’ strategies across science and religious education. Journal of Religious Education, 70(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40839-021-00143-9
Fancourt, N. (2021). The meaning of religious education in English legislation from 1800 to 2020. British Journal of Religious Education, 44(4), 497-511. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2021.1968793
Hendek, A., & Fancourt, N. (2021). The effects of judgements by the European Court of Human Rights on religious education in England and Turkey. Religion and Education, 48(4), 436-457. https://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2021.1961658
Guilfoyle, L., Hillier, J., & Fancourt, N. (2021). Students’ argumentation in the contexts of science, religious education, and interdisciplinary science-religious education scenarios. Research in Science and Technological Education, 41(2), 759-776. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2021.1947223
Fancourt, N. (2021). The educational competence of the European Court of Human Rights: judicial pedagogies of religious symbols in classrooms. Oxford Review of Education, 48(2), 131-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2021.1933406
Oldac, Y., & Fancourt, N. (2021). “New Wave Turks”: Turkish graduates of German universities and the Turkish diaspora in Germany. British Journal of Educational Studies, 69(5), 621-640. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2021.1935708
Oancea, A., Fancourt, N., Robson, J., Thompson, I., Childs, A., & Nuseibeh, N. (2021). Research capacity-building in teacher education. Oxford Review of Education, 47(1), 98-119. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1842184
Chan, J., Guilfoyle, L., & Fancourt, N. (2020). Argumentation in religious education in England: an analysis of locally agreed syllabuses. British Journal of Religious Education, 43(4), 458-471. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2020.1734916
Erduran, S., Guilfoyle, L., Park, W., Chan, J., & Fancourt, N. (2019). Argumentation and interdisciplinarity: Reflections from the Oxford Argumentation in Religion and Science Project. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-019-0006-9
Fancourt, N. (2019). Religious education as a dialogue with difference: fostering democratic citizenship through the study of religions in schools. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 40(4), 493-494. https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2019.1646607
Fancourt, N. (2019). Looked after children: embedding attachment awareness in schools. Education and Self-Development, 14(1), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.26907/esd14.1.03
Fancourt, N., & Ipgrave, J. (2019). Schools and their local religious contexts: building a framework of negotiations through qualitative meta-synthesis. Research Papers in Education, 35(3), 287-309. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1568530
Fancourt, N. (2016). Teaching about Christianity: a configurative review of research in English schools. Journal of Beliefs and Values: Studies in Religion and Education, 38(1), 121-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2016.1229469
Fancourt, N. (2016). Teaching about Christianity: a configurative review of research in English schools. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 38(1), 121-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2016.1229469
Fancourt, N. (2016). The classification and framing of religious dialogues in two English schools. British Journal of Religious Education, 38(3), 325-340. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2015.1113932
Fancourt, N. (2016). Assessment and examinations in religious education: sixty years of research and analysis. British Journal of Religious Education. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0a6c1007-7e92-4a93-8fcc-285d993125b5
Fancourt, N., Edwards, A., & Menter, I. (2015). Reimagining a school – university partnership: the development of the Oxford Education Deanery narrative. Education Inquiry, 6(3), 353-373. https://doi.org/10.3402/edui.v6.27724
Fancourt, N. (2015). Re-defining ‘learning about religion’ and ‘learning from religion’: a study of policy change. British Journal of Religious Education, 37(2), 122-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2014.923377
Fancourt, N. (2015). Re-defining learning about religion and learning from religion: A study of policy change. British Journal of Religious Education, 37(2), 122-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2014.923377
Fancourt, N. (2013). Law, religious freedoms and education in Europe. BRITISH JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, 35(2), 218-220. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2012.760912
Fancourt, N. (2013). "Very sad, but it works": One pupil’s assessment career in religious education. Religion and Education, 40(1), 78-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2013.745360
Brooks, V., & Fancourt, N. (2011). Is self-assessment in religious education unique?. British Journal of Religious Education, 34(2), 123-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2011.614747
Fancourt, N. (2010). ’I’m less intolerant’: reflexive self-assessment in religious education. BRITISH JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, 32(3), 291-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2010.498616
Fancourt, N. (2008). Teaching religious education. BRITISH JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, 30(1), 83-85.
Fancourt, N. (2007). Quelle formation pour l’éducation à la religion? (British Journal of Religious Education (2005) 29, 2 (197-99)). British Journal of Religious Education, 29(3), 303. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200701479927
Fancourt, N. (2005). Challenges for self-assessment in religious education. British Journal of Religious Education, 27(2), 115-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141620042000336611
Fancourt, N. (2003). Whole-class strategies in Religious Education. Support for Learning, 18(3), 112-116. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.00292
Fancourt, N. (n.d.). Assessment, failure and motivation in religious education. Religious Education Journal of Australia, 28(2), 29-35.
Fancourt, N., & Ipgrave, J. (n.d.). Schools and their local religious contexts: building a framework of negotiations through qualitative meta-synthesis. Research Papers in Education.
Internet publication
Fancourt, N. (2012). It’s time to rethink the way Christianity is taught in schools. Guardian Online. http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2012/nov/29/christianity-teach-more-rigorously
Reports
Fancourt, N., Oancea, A., Thompson, I., Robson, J., & Childs, A. (2017). Evaluation of wiserdeducation: a report to HEFCW. In HEFCW External Report. HEFCW. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4377edfa-2672-4f3b-9b91-1db3371e59c0
Alexander, P., Edwards, A., Fancourt, N., & Menter, I. (2014). Raising and sustaining aspiration in City Schools. Department of Education. http://www.education.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Citifoundation-Project-Report-June-5-PA-FINAL.pdf
Fancourt, N. (2012). Teaching Christianity in religious education: a review of research. Nigel Fancourt.
Jackson, R., Ipgrave, J., Hayward, M., Hopkins, P., Fancourt, N., Robbins, M., Francis, L., & McKenna, U. (2010). Materials used to Teach about World Religions in Schools in England. DCSF.
Other
Fancourt, N. (2016). Philosophical perspectives on teacher education. In JOURNAL OF BELIEFS & VALUES-STUDIES IN RELIGION & EDUCATION (Vols. 37, Issue 1, pp. 123-124). https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2015.1107369
