G.D. Bertram-Troost

Democratic citizenship and religious education: challenges and perspectives for schools in the Netherlands†

This article deals with the question what pedagogical and religious educational contributions have to offer to the debate on citizenship. Some historical background and theoretical conceptualisations of nowadays political focus on citizenship are described particularly focusing on the Dutch case. Explicit attention is given to the role of religion in the public domain. It is stressed that religion is more and more perceived as a source of power which could be positively used within the public domain. This development raises questions in relation to religious education at school, as schools are located in the intermediate domain between the public and the private domain. It is stated that both state schools and religious‐affiliated schools have to take the impact of the process of globalisation seriously by preparing students for their encounter with cultural and religious ‘others’. From a societal as well as pedagogical point of view, it is argued that all schools should be obliged to foster a religious dimension to citizenship. † An earlier version of this article was presented by Siebren Miedema as invited keynote address at the conference ‘Europe, Democratic Citizenship and Education: Potential Contributions of Church and School’ of the Inter‐European Commission on Church and School (ICCS), Otepää, Estonia, 8 July 2006.

Religious identity development of adolescents in religious affiliated schools. A theoretical foundation for empirical research

The question, how religious affiliated schools for secondary education shape religious education and what effects this education has on the religious identity development of pupils, is relevant in a time when the position of religious affiliated schools is highly disputable. In earlier empirical research on religious identity development of adolescence, hardly any attention was paid to the theoretical framework of this question. Therefore, connections are sought with the identity theory of Erikson and with operationalizations of his theory by Marcia and others. The key concepts are ‘exploration’ and ‘commitment’. Religious identity development is seen from a pragmatic perspective in which the transactional relation of individuals and environment is stressed.

The relationship between religious education and religious commitments and explorations of adolescents: on religious identity development in Dutch Christian secondary schools

The question how (denominational) schools for secondary education influence the religious identity development of adolescents is central in this article. Quantitative empirical research focusing on the religious commitments and explorations (as indicators of religious identity development) of adolescents and on the relationship between these indicators and several contextual variables was carried out. The results show that many factors have an effect on pupils’ religious identity and that this effect is different with regard to exploration and commitment. All in all there seems to be only a small relationship between the way the field of religious education is shaped in secondary education and the (actual) religious explorations and commitments of pupils. There is a much more direct relationship between pupils’ religious explorations and commitments and their religious background, world view orientations and value orientations. However, pupils’ perceptions of religious education at school also play a role.

Reconciling the Civic, the Sacred, and the Just in Critical-Pragmatic Education.

Abstract In this article the authors outline a core concern regarding the importance of intertwining the three forms of education: citizenship education, worldview education, and human rights education. Secondly, they take a transformative view within a critical-pragmatic pedagogy with the aim of strengthening the potential for social engagement, solidarity, encounter, and dialogue within their pedagogical and political initiatives, and to tackle the dangers of religions and worldviews within the setting of the schools. Finally, they reflect on the impact of this for the state and for schools when the just, the civic, and the sacred are to be reconciled in citizenship education, worldview education, and human rights education.

Investigating the impact of religious diversity in schools for secondary education: a challenging but necessary exercise

Both in academic and public discussions, there is an ongoing debate about the pros and cons of religious diversity in education. Until recently, many arguments used in this debate have not had a strong theoretical basis and often lack empirical underpinning as well. In this paper I go further into the reasons why researching the impact of religious diversity in education is so complicated. Reflections on the findings with regard to religious diversity in education from a European research project on religion, education, dialogue and conflict are taken as a starting point to explore further, both from a conceptual and an empirical perspective, why it is so difficult to answer the question about the impact of religious diversity in education. Among the aspects discussed are the fact that a single definition of ‘religious diversity’ cannot be given. This problematises empirical studies on the impact of religious diversity, since the less clear research concepts are, the higher the risk is of making misinterpretations. A further complication is that the influence of school cannot be strictly separated from other factors of influence. The paper concludes with practical implications for empirical research on religious diversity as possibilities to overcome the difficulties described. Special attention is paid to making use of the perspective of students themselves.

Provocative Pedagogy, Or Youngsters Need The Brain To Challenge Worldview Formation

Abstract Brains and gender, separately and in their interrelatedness, are hot items today in popular journals and academic literature. It is in particular the complexity of the interdependence of physical-, psychological-, and contextual-related developments of feminization in education that we focus on these contributions. We argue that a combination of recent findings of brain research and Marcias psychological model of identity development in a “provocative pedagogy”—combining youngsters’ (boys and girls) need for exploration, console, and support—is a promising “stepped care” strategy for religious development of youngsters in a multicultural and multireligious context.

''If it Feels Good ... '': Research on School Selection Process Motives Among Parents of Young Children

From (inter)national research we know about parents’ priorities in the school selection process. In this research the authors focus on parents’ motivations underpinning these priorities. The question is: “What motivates parents to send their child to a Christian primary school?” In the Dutch plural and secularized society this question is of high importance. According to interviewed parents children should be provided with knowledge about Christianity and the school should have an open mind towards other religions. The final school selection—a selection that materializes rather intuitively (“it feels good”)—is about attention for the child.

The Challenges of Global Citizenship for Worldview Education. The Perspective of Social Sustainability

Abstract In this paper the authors briefly present what their theoretical reflections and empirical research has yielded in respect to citizenship education and religious education. The theoretical as well as political and practical questions of the relationship of global citizenship and worldview education are scrutinized. The main focus is on the issue whether there is or could be a connection between the concepts of ‘worldview education’ and global citizenship ‘education’ from the point of view of inclusivity in respect to both concepts. Habermas’s distinction between the concepts of democratic state citizenship and global or cosmopolitan citizenship is conceptually helpful. The authors also take into account the question of whether there is a certain educational, political or religious necessity on a national as well as global level to deal with this possible relationship as viewed through the lens of social sustainability.

How Cohesion Matters: Teachers and their Choice to Work at an Orthodox Protestant School

ABSTRACT Teachers’ opinions are barely examined or involved in debates about school choice, although they are significant. In-depth interviews with 16 teachers revealed three interests for choosing to work at orthodox Protestant primary schools: experiencing education as inseparable from Christian socialization, feeling comfortable in the school’s religious climate, and valuing cohesion in children’s educational environments. Cohesion is a core theme, which corresponds with parents’ motives for choosing orthodox Protestant schools for their children. Teachers prefer cohesion for their pupils, but also for themselves. The significance of cohesion is influenced by several religious, pedagogical, and formational factors.

Fostering Religious Tolerance in Education: The Dutch Perspective

Most western societies have become religiously diverse, and these differences are quite often an important aspect of tensions and conflicts regarding religious tolerance as well as intolerance (Schweitzer 2007, p. 89). How can we learn to live together in peace with people who hold opinions and beliefs which we personally and sometimes also collectively (strongly) disagree with? And how can we teach our youngsters to do so and develop a modus of behaviour that is compatible with this? Especially after the terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015, the urgency of these questions needs to be emphasized again. As in many cases when negative things happen in society, people are inclined to underline the importance of education in general and the role of schools in particular as places where solutions can or even should be found for such societal problems. In the Netherlands the terrorist attacks in Paris were a strong trigger for the Minister of Education (Jet Bussemaker) to stress the important societal role of schools. In her view, teachers need to take their responsibility when they come across signs of radicalization among pupils in their schools. Teachers should not look away when pupils develop radical views, but they need to respond actively and take their societal role very seriously (Abels 2015). But is it realistic to think that schools can prevent pupils from radicalization? Or, to state it more positively, can schools stimulate (religious) tolerance amongst youngsters and provide an important counterweight to the possible dangers of radicalization?