Co-founder John Hull explains how ISREV began.

"In the 1960's, the University of Birmingham was one of the leading centres for the study of the educational significance of the work of Jean Piaget. This work was led by E. A. Peel, then Professor of Educational Psychology. A number of researchers began to study the implications of Piaget for Religious Education. The most prominent of these were Ronald Goldman and Kenneth Hyde.

Among the many international visitors attracted by this work was John H. Peatling* of the Character Research Project in Union College, Schenectady, New York. During his several visits to Birmingham, John Peatling and I had many discussions about trends in religious education in Britain and in the United States.   * John Peatling - obituary and tributes   (Word document, opens new window)
		John Hull and John Peatling meet to plan for 1980, from Character Research Project Newsletter No.19, 1979-80

It was decided that it would be beneficial to bring together a group of religious educators from the two countries. These plans became more concrete when I visited Schenectady in 1977. It was decided to launch an international seminar which would meet for the first time the following year in Birmingham. Participation in the Seminar would be by invitation only, in order to maintain a proportionate representation from the USA, the UK, Canada, Scandinavia and other parts of the World."

The first ISREV Sessions

The first Session of the Seminar took place in University Hall, one of the residential halls of the University of Birmingham, from July 3rd to 6th 1978.  The meeting was welcomed by Professor Philip Taylor, Head of the Curriculum Studies Department and Dean of the Faculty of Education, and John Hull was in the chair.   The second Session took place in Union College, Schenectady, USA, from July 7th to 11th 1980, with co-founder John Peatling in the chair.

List of all past Sessions and Convenors

Naming the Organisation

The original name was "International Standing Seminar on Religious Education and Value Potential". This title brought together the Birmingham interest in Religious Education and John Peatling's participation in the Character Research Project in Union College, together with its Journal Character Potential. However, it was agreed during the Session that the title should be simplified, and in discussion with John Hull, Brian Gates suggested that the Seminar should simply be called ISREV. This is why when issue No.18 of the CRP was published in Autumn 1978, the Seminar was already described as the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values.

Original Documents

Here are images of the first pages of the original programme, and of the list of participants. Below that, there are images of reports which appeared in Newsletters of the Character Research Project from 1978 and 1980.

ISREV Potential Founding Meeting - 1978   List of Participants - Page 1 of 4 Click for other pages and transcript	ISREV Potential Founding Meeting - 1978   Programme - Page 1 of 3 Click for other pages and transcript
Character Research Project Newsletter No.18, 1978 (Click image twice to enlarge it, or read transcript below)	Character Research Project Newsletter No.19, 1979-1980 (Click image twice to enlarge it, or read transcript below)

Character Research Project Newsletter No.18, 1978 The Character Research Project will host the second International Seminar on Religious Education and Values on the Union College campus, July 7-11, 1980. Over twenty-five colleagues from around the World have already indicated their intent to participate. Participation in the Seminar is by invitation only, in order to maintain a proportionate representation from the US, the UK, Canada, Scandinavia and other parts of the World. CRP’s role as host to ISREV II in 1980 provides many diverse opportunities to be of service, to build new and wider relationships, and to join with colleagues in the educational mission of building humane and healthy humans.

Character Research Project Newsletter No.19, 1979-1980 The development of religious education, values education, and attitude education is similar in most English-speaking Western countries. However, educators concerned for these educational emphases have had no means to bridge the Atlantic, to get to know one another, to share personally their experiences, compare their perspective, or learn from one another. Now, an International Seminar – the first of its kind – has been held, July 206, 1978, in Birmingham, England. Co-conveners were Dr. John M. Hull of the Faculty, School of Education, University of Birmingham (U.K.) and Dr. John H. Peatling of the Union College Character Research Project (U. S. A.). Advance registrations indicated 42 persons from 11 countries would attend. Those participating, including 12 from the U.S.A., included: Dr. William E. Chapman, McMurry College, Abilene, Texas; Dr. Maria Harris, Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, Mass.; Drs. Anna and David V. Tiederman, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill.; Dr. Gabriel Moran, The Alternative, Boston, Mass.; Dr. Delbert Schultz, American Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minn.; Drs. Lois and Norman Sprinthall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn,; and Drs. Lucie Barber and John Peatling of CRP.