Possibilities and Impact of Religious Education on Values and Behaviors of Students in Sarajevo Elementary Schools

Abstract

The paper deals with the issues of the possibilities of religious education in the contemporary educational system, first through a short theoretical elaboration and then through empirical research on the possibilities of religious education to develop values and positive behaviors of pupils. In the empirical part of the article the research results on the possibilities and influence of religious upbringing through the confessional Islamic religious education subject on the values and behaviour of pupils in Sarajevo elementary schools are presented. The results are obtained from the most significant stakeholders of the schools: the teachers of confessional Islamic Religious Education, parents, students and school pedagogues. The research included 2.247 participants. Data was gathered through survey questionnaires for all subsamples except for the pedagogues with whom interviews were conducted. The general conclusion reached in this research shows that all the participants highly evaluate a positive influence of religious education through Islamic Religious Education on the development of universal values and positive behavior of pupils.