W.L. Wardekker

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.

On becoming an authentic learner: Semiotic activity in the early grades

A Vygotskian perspective assumes that authentic learning must be conceived of as a process of meaning construction having both personal and cultural relevance. From this point of view authentic learning is a psychological capacity formed during a students school career. This development involves becoming a legitimate participant in the cultural activity called learning. This paper explores some developmental roots of this learning activity in 4- to 7-year-old childrens play. From our theoretical perspective we contend that the activity of dealing reflectively with interrelationships between signs and meanings (i.e. semiotic activity) might be one psychological precursor of constructive learning activity. We ask: Can young children perform the required semiotic activity during play? Is the activity meaningful for them? What are the implications of our findings for curriculum and for curriculum theory? We analysed different video-recordings of young children engaged in play in small groups in classroom se...

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.

Schools and Moral Education: Conformism or Autonomy?

In pluralistic Western societies, schools have a specific task in moral education. This task is to be understood neither as the transmission of specific values, nor as the development of moral reasoning skills or universal values, but as teaching pupils to handle plurality in an autonomous way. The concept of autonomy is interpreted from a Vygotskian and Deweyan position, where learning in school means learning to participate in cultural activities in a reflective and critical way. Participation has both intellectual and moral aspects, and thus moral education can never be separated from cognitive education.

Critical Pedagogy: An Evaluation and a Direction for Reformulation

Critical pedagogy, once the prominent new paradigm in educational discourse, is practically absent from it now. Many writers attribute this to its lack of practical consequences. In this article, however, the authors investigate its underlying model of personal identity as an aim of education. This model, with its emphasis on consistency and rationality as a source of human agency, is a typical product of the “modern” way of thinking. In the light of the discussion of postmodernity, it can no longer be taken for granted. It is suggested that another model, based on a discursive theory of identity along Vygotskian lines, may present more adequate possibilities for specifying the aims of education. One aspect of critical pedagogy should not be lost, however, that is, its emphasis on the political nature of education and the necessity of an ethical discourse about its aims.

Teacher research and the aims of education

We report on the development of a course for experienced teachers in the Netherlands, intended to enhance their professionalism by engaging them in doing research based on reflection on the aims of their educational efforts. The course was accompanied by design-based research. The research question was whether and how the course stimulated teachers to connect doing research and taking a reflective stance; the results were used to improve the course, thus creating a cyclical design. Although the course was positively evaluated by the participants, reflection on its results made clear to us that our approach in the combination of learning to do research and reflecting on aims is not enough to make teachers into critical research-minded professionals. A more context-aware view of their learning process is necessary: the institution school limits their possibilities. The implication is that both our course and our research effort have to be critically revised. Instead of looking for causal effects, one should be aware of traces of development that may or may not be caused by the intervention.

Moral education and the construction of meaning

In this article, I develop the idea that the starting point of moral education is formed by the affective commitments individuals make in the course of growing up. The task of education is to enable children to critically consider and revise these commitments, as part of the development of a reflective personal identity. Ethical concepts like justice as well as other culturally developed ‘instruments’ may be taught in order to structure the discursive development of identity. This points to a view of moral education that differs from the two approaches that are now most popular.

Researching how and what teachers learn from innovating their own educational practices: the ins and outs of a high-quality design

This article describes experiences with a qualitative research project into teachers’ learning from innovating their own educational practices. Decades of New Public Management (NPM) in the Netherlands, with its top-down and businesslike approach to areas of public interest, obscured the learning and innovating capacity of teachers, teams, and schools. Merely studying the learning processes which take place at a teacher level would present insufficient insight into the deeper mechanisms which hinder or stimulate learning from innovation in a bottom-up manner. We, therefore, focused on the relations between different layers (individual, systemic) within schools. A high-quality design was required for answering the research question: How and what do teachers learn from innovating their own educational practices? This article elaborates upon this design and discusses the methodological findings and complications of this type of research.

Redesigning Vocational Education: The Possibilities of Design-Based Research.

This article describes and reflects our experiences as researchers in a design‐based research project on a curriculum innovation focused on meaningful, co‐operative learning in vocational education in the Netherlands. The project was successful in gaining insights in possible practices for workplace learning but did only partly realize the individuation aims formulated for the participating students. Among the reasons for this are the complexity of the project (having different types of schools participating) and the desired outcomes formulated by the financing authorities (somewhat contradicting the original goals of the originators). Mainly, however, this study reflects on the authors’ contribution as researchers: it succeeded only partially in helping the project keep focus on the individuation aims. This study inquires into the causes and suggests that at the start of design‐based research projects a profound analysis of the project structure and power relations and negotiations aimed at realizing conditions for real partnership are necessary. Also, one should not under‐estimate the amount of time and involvement required of researchers.

The contested professionalism of teachers meeting radicalising youth in their classrooms

In a diverse and unjust world, teachers experience difficulties to achieve inclusive education. In parts of the western world, including the Netherlands, the very possibility of a combination of ethnic and cultural diversity and common citizenship has come into question. Meanwhile some youngsters are in the process of radicalisation. We illustrate the problem definitions of teachers and teacher trainers with a case study of a professional learning activity in Amsterdam. This is followed by a critical discussion based on a pedagogical view on education.