Big Questions in Classrooms
Encouraging critical thinking among students and teachers about how different types of knowledge relate.
Young people are curious about the world around them and their place within it. No single subject alone can answer the universe’s biggest questions, particularly those that bear on the human search for meaning, purpose, and truth. The Big Questions in Classrooms (BQiC) initiative set out to help students learn about the value of different kinds of knowledge and explanatory frameworks from different disciplines, and how they connect to give us a fuller and deeper understanding of our world and of ourselves. This initiative focused on the United Kingdom because schools’ basic curricula include both compulsory religious education and science education, however the outputs influenced areas of exploration in other countries as well.
Templeton World Charity Foundation awarded 20 grants from 2018 to 2025, totalling an investment of $7.8 million.
Projects developed teachers’ and their students’ understanding and insight about “how knowledge works,” particularly in the domains of science education and religious education (RE) in England. Our projects aimed to develop educators’ appreciation of knowledge from different subjects and disciplines can be brought together to enrich young people’s questioning, reasoning, and learning.
All BQIC projects contributed to building a robust research and evidence base of best practices in teaching about how knowledge works in science education and in religious education. Templeton World Charity Foundation provided funding for the development and execution of high-quality and innovative training, implementation strategies, and resources for science and RE teachers on understanding how knowledge works and effective interdisciplinary engagement. As a result, the BQIC grantees made valuable contributions to national conversations in the United Kingdom about education enhancement in science, religious education, and beyond.
Achieving impact in education innovation:
Lessons from Big Questions in Classrooms from independent evaluators New Philanthropy
Capital (NPC)
Explore project insights and findings from our grantees.
Find open access materials from BQIC grantees’ publications, tools, datasets and multimedia resources.
Transforming Science Education & Religious Education in the UK
TWCF's Big Questions in Classrooms (BQiC) takes a multi-disciplinary, inquiry-led approach to learning and teaching. Watch the video to learn how the program empowered students to think critically as they explore diverse religious and non-religious worldviews, and science.
