Cok Bakker

Being ‘Spiritual’ and Being ‘Religious’ in Europe: Diverging Life Orientations

The present study shows that being ‘spiritual’ and being ‘religious’ are becoming different life orientations for a large part of the population. As far as we know, for the first time, a sample from an European country shows that these orientations are reflected in two coherent clusters of beliefs, experiences, and practices of what we call ‘new spirituality’ on the one hand and ‘traditional, church-related religion’ on the other hand. In addition, it appears that ‘only spiritual’ (and not ‘religious’) people and ‘only religious’ (and not ‘spiritual’) people have less ‘intensive’ spiritual/religious lives than people who describe themselves as ‘both spiritual and religious’. The ‘both’ category is not homogenous, probably as a result of the different associations which its members have of the conceptions of ‘spiritual’ and ‘religious’. The people in this category can be sub-divided in two sub-groups which show different profiles.

Developing a Framework for Research on Religious Identity Development of Highly Committed Adolescents

Abstract The aim of this article is to present a framework for studying the religious identity development of highly religious Christian and Muslim adolescents. Building on existing theories on identity development, the authors define highly religious Christian and Muslim adolescents as orthoprax adolescents and explore the consequences of this for reflection on the religious identity development of these groups of youngsters. This study is a first step toward gaining qualitative insights into the religious identity development of orthoprax adolescents and filling up a perceived gap in research on religious identity development.

Conceptions of Spirituality among the Dutch Population

This article explores the conceptions of spirituality in a large and representative sample (N=2313) of the general population in the Netherlands. Spirituality is described mostly in cognitive terms (54%), especially in the form of general references to a transcendent reality (e.g. ‘more between heaven and earth’). Experiential expressions are used in more than a quarter of the descriptions. Important patterns in the descriptions are: spirituality as the transcendent God, spirituality as inwardness, and spirituality as mental health. In the sample, 21% distance themselves from spirituality; among people with a secular outlook this percentage is 35%. We paid special attention to differences in conceptions of spirituality between people inside and outside institutional religious contexts and between people who self-identify as ‘spiritual’ and those who do not.

Team-Reflection: The Missing Link in Co-Teaching Teams.

Abstract In literature, co-teaching is mostly defined as an instrumental and pedagogical means delivered by collaborating special and regular teachers, from which students with and without special educational needs benefit in regular schools. The importance of a shared vision on the part of members of co-teaching teams as to what they consider as good education for students is not mentioned in definitions of co-teaching. The authors argue that sense-making by reflection about what can be considered as good education – good teaching and good learning – is essential when co-teachers want to understand or change their practice or relationship with their partner. We reviewed 17 articles about co-teaching teams’ professional development and identified that challenges to co-teachers’ professionalisation mostly were directed to interpersonal and normative aspects of development in co-teaching teams. We elaborate on five distinguished movements that can bring about change in teacher professionalism. These movements correspond to the challenges retrieved from the literature review and can be used to contribute to move toward a new perspective on professionalism of co-teachers. A contemporary definition of co-teaching is proposed because former definitions do not suffice to express the value of constructing a shared vision on good teaching and learning. We argue that team-reflection is the missing link in terms of enhancing normative professionalism of co-teaching teams and recommend that further research should be conducted to value team-reflection as a means to overcome challenges of co-teaching teams.

Research bias in judgement bias studies : a systematic review of valuation judgement literature

Abstract Valuation judgement bias has been a research topic for several years due to its proclaimed effect on valuation accuracy. However, little is known on the emphasis of literature on judgement bias, with regard to, for instance, research methodologies, research context and robustness of research evidence. A synthesis of available research will establish consistency in the current knowledge base on valuer judgement, identify future research opportunities and support decision-making policy by educational and regulatory stakeholders how to cope with judgement bias. This article therefore, provides a systematic review of empirical research on real estate valuer judgement over the last 30 years. Based on a number of inclusion and exclusion criteria, we have systematically analysed 32 relevant papers on valuation judgement bias. Although we find some consistency in evidence, we also find the underlying research to be biased; the methodology adopted is dominated by a quantitative approach; research context is skewed by timing and origination; and research evidence seems fragmented and needs replication. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of valuation judgement processes and thus extend the current knowledge base, we advocate more use of qualitative research methods and scholars to adopt an interpretative paradigm when studying judgement behaviour.

Professionalization and the quest how to deal with complexity

In this book we explore how teachers deal with complex situations in their teaching practices. We do this from a researcher’s perspective. Our main interest is what theories we know and what methodologies we can use, to try to get a better understanding of the thinking, decision-making and actions of professional teachers.

SCHOOL ETHOS AND ITS RELIGIOUS DIMENSION

In the Netherlands the debate on the identity of a school is influenced by the long and dominant history of a close linking between religious traditions (mainly the Christian tradition) and the design of the national school system. For almost 100 years, most schools, formally speaking, are so called Christian schools. This is not an accidental adverb used to indicate some of the Dutch schools, but it has a strong juridical basis. In recent education a certain discrepancy is experienced between the formal corporate identity of a school and the actual identity of the school population. This discrepancy is the central matter of this article. We present two research projects by which this discrepancy is explored. The key issue seems to be that in Dutch education there is a strong need for a paradigm shift from a more deductive to a more inductive reflection on school ethos.

Experiential continuity : How newly qualified teachers' past international teaching experiences influence their current personal interpretative framework

Abstract This two-year longitudinal study explores how an earlier international teaching experience influences the way six newly qualified teachers perceive their current teaching practice and professional self-understanding during personally significant experiences. The concept of an experiential continuum, a key concept in these findings, suggests that every experience reflects back on previous experiences and modifies later experiences. We identified 12 individual examples of personally significant experiences in which newly graduated teachers described how their previous international teaching experience informed their present teaching practice. Our study shows that experiential continuity identified during significant personal experiences in newly qualified teachers’ teaching practice influences them when interpreting: (1) professional beliefs regarding teaching knowledge; (2) moral questions regarding the teacher they want to be or become; and (3) their international teaching experience as a tool for placing new experiences in perspective. The study describes practical cases of how experiential continuity can help newly qualified teachers to understand why they make certain personal or moral interpretations in their teaching induction phase and what this means for the teacher they want to become.

Sources for Religious Identity Development of Orthoprax Muslim Adolescents in the Netherlands

This interview study examines sources for the religious exploration of orthoprax Muslim adolescents in the Netherlands. We use the term sources to emphasize that we are also interested in sources other than parents and other persons. By using our interview guidelines, we succeeded in discovering sources other than persons: for example, specific events and opinions of others in the societal context of the Netherlands. This study also gives insight into which sources stimulate religious identity development, and how they are of importance in the process of religious identity development. Lastly, we distinguish five actions perceived as being important to success.

Coming Out Religiously: Life Orientation in Public Schools

Abstract In the post-pillarized society of the Netherlands, formal religious education still is structured according to religious dividing lines. “Religion” in confessional schools is a compulsory subject; in public schools, taking a so-called neutral position with regard to religious traditions, “Religion” is an optional subject (Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Islamic religious education or Humanistic World View Education), taught to pupils on parents’ request. Nowadays, due to processes of modernization, globalization, and individualization, the position of religion in society has changed and subsequently the position of “Religion” as a subject in classes has changed. These days for principals and teachers in public schools it is urgent to reflect on their positionality regarding (religious and secular) worldview education. In this contribution we present our findings from document analysis and from (focus group) interviews with principals, and from observations in public schools, resulting in a plea for “Life Orientation for all” as a compulsory subject in all schools for all pupils.