S. Miedema

Instruction or pedagogy? The need for a transformative conception of education

Abstract Greater governmental control over the curriculum and an increasing emphasis on education as instruction towards pre-determined outcomes have generated new interest in the question whether schools should only instruct or also have a pedagogical task. In this paper, it is argued that schools do have a pedagogical task but that this task should not be understood as the teaching of norms and values. A transformative conception of education is presented in order to argue that the pedagogical task, conceived as a concern for the whole person of the student, is the proper and all-encompassing task of education.

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.

Identity, Cultural Change, and Religious Education

How should we deal with the process of secularisation, the plurality of cultures, and the dominance of thinking about education in terms of transmission, when religious education has to foster the development of personal identity formation of pupils? In answering this question the authors present a transactional epistemology and transformative view on (religious) education and learning which both have far‐reaching consequences for our views on socialisation and individuation. In religious education the gaining of religious experiences and the cultivation of a religious attitude are seen as part of everyday life instead of only being connected to certain religious practices. The approach suggested here can stimulate the growth of the pupils’ capacity to integrate different and differing perspectives ‐ ideals, norms, values, knowledge, narratives ‐ into their own personality.

“Worldview”: the Meaning of the Concept and the Impact on Religious Education

Abstract The article analyzes the concept of “worldview” in religious education. A distinction is introduced between organized worldviews, more or less established systems with a group of believers, and personal worldviews, individuals’ views on life and humanity. The focus of the first section is on presenting a more precise description of these concepts by analyzing whether four elements are conceptually necessary: existential questions, moral values, influence in peoples acting and thinking, and providing meaning in life. The aim of the second section is to investigate the role “worldview” plays in education and to clarify questions that need reflection when schools want to pay attention to both organized and personal worldviews.

Attachment, Working Models of Self and Others, and God Concept in Kindergarten

An attachment theoretical model of individual differences in God concepts among kindergarteners was tested. Subjects were 72 kindergarteners (mean age 63 months) from two elementary schools. Children’s concepts of self, other, and God were measured using structured questionnaires. A questionnaire and an incomplete doll story procedure were used to tap the quality of the teacher-child and mother-child relationship. The model was partly supported. Contrary to our expectations, a punishing concept of God was not related to any of the independent variables. However, in line with the model, harmony and closeness in the teacher-child relationship predicted a loving God concept and this association was explained by children’s working models of self. Working models of others predicted a loving God concept. Although the child’s representation of the mother-child attachment relationship was significantly connected to the teacher-child relationship, it was not predictive of the concept of God.

Denominational school identity and the formation of personal identity

Three important factors determine the institutional identity of denominational (Christian) schools: their interpretation of the religious truth claim, their conception of the nature of education, and their view of cultural differences as content of education. We investigate conceptually which of these interpretations of identity are consonant with a view of education as a place where the personal identity of students is constructed. We interpret personal identity in a narrative way, as a permanent process of reflexive construction where consistency over time is not seen as an ideal, given the plurality of postmodern culture.Three important factors determine the institutional identity of denominational (Christian) schools: their interpretation of the religious truth claim, their conception of the nature of education, and their view of cultural differences as content of education. We investigate conceptually which of these interpretations of identity are consonant with a view of education as a place where the personal identity of students is constructed. We interpret personal identity in a narrative way, as a permanent process of reflexive construction where consistency over time is not seen as an ideal, given the plurality of postmodern culture.

Dewey in Europe: A Case Study on the International Dimensions of the Turn-of-the-Century Educational Reform

This article concerns the turn-of-the-century educational reform in North America and Europe. It documents the influence of European educational thought and practice on the work of John Dewey and the influence of Deweys ideas on European education in three different countries: Turkey, Russia, and the Netherlands. Deweys case suggests that resemblances between educational reform in Europe and North America can partly be explained by the existence of a common theoretical background. Deweys case further makes clear that no general statements about the influence of Progressivism can be made but that a context-specific approach is needed.

In the Flow to Maximal Interreligious Citizenship Education

Abstract In the secular age religious education and citizenship education could and should be fruitfully combined. That is the present authors’ view on current developments in schools aiming at the strengthening and the flourishing of students’ personal religious identity. Presupposition is that religious identity needs to be interpreted as an integral part of the concept “personal identity development.” A full conception of citizenship education may imply that religious education and development is part and parcel of citizenship education, and that it should form a structural and necessary element of citizenship education in all schools. This is combinable with a plea for a maximal interpretation of citizenship education. That view is fully compatible with interreligious education, too, with the aim of enabling students to develop their own point of view on matters of religion/worldview in the context of plurality via encounter and dialogue. An example of a good practice of the co-operation of schools with a different religious and/or worldview profile in the Netherlands might also be inspirational for forms of maximal interreligious citizenship education elsewhere in the world.

JACQUES DERRIDA'S RELIGION WITH/OUT RELIGION AND THE IM/POSSIBILITY OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Abstract This article aims at rethinking religious education from an engagement with Derridas forms of reasoning and analyzing. In the first section Gert Biesta presents deconstruction and shows how we can find deconstruction in education. In the second section Siebren Miedema explores the religious horizon of deconstruction. In the final section the authors outline possible implications for religious education.

Educating for Religious Citizenship. Religious Education as Identity Formation

In this chapter I will give arguments to underpin the conclusion that the stringent splitting up of the educational system into religiously neutral State schools, on one hand, and religious or denominational affiliated schools, on the other hand, is pedagogically speaking non-defensible and, speaking from a societal perspective, undesirable. From a pedagogical point of view all children in all schools should have the full possibility to develop in a substantial way (that is not only cognitively but also experientially and practically) their religious identity as part of their broader identity. From a societal perspective, it is desirable that children already in the embryonic society of the school experience, or are confronted by and become acquainted with, other children’s religious backgrounds, ideas and practices. Seeing the impact of the religious domain on political, cultural and economic areas they can also benefit from such experiences and insights when they encounter religious ‘others’ in society at large. So, from a societal point of view, all schools should be obliged to foster a religious dimension to citizenship, and thereby bring about mutual respect and understanding.