Page 151 - TWO OF A KIND • Erik Renkema
P. 151

1. Relevance
In our introduction section we described the actuality of cooperation schools in mostly rural areas in the Netherlands. The number of students in some of these areas is decreasing and schools in villages consider merging or merge because of this development.
In the years of our research we observed not only the rise in the number of
cooperation schools but we also noticed a growing attention for this phenomenon
and for our research in particular. As main researcher I have spoken with
teachers, principals and directors of cooperation schools and school boards. These
discussions took place for research objectives but also for reasons of valorization.
Many of my discussion partners wanted to know about the results of my research in 7 order to establish what they could mean for their own situation. That the attention
for cooperation schools is increasing, can also be deduced from the discussions with representatives of the government and societal interest groups and interviews with media and platforms. Results of our research have been shared with a variety of groups and persons that have shown interest in the subject of identity and religious education of cooperation schools. The attention for cooperation schools in general and our research in particular is ongoing. We receive invitations for lecturers, workshops and counselling from a number of schools throughout the country.
Next to the growing number of cooperation schools we can explain this attention for and valorization of our research by pointing out another strength that we mentioned in our introduction section: we consequently investigated the relation between school values and the practice of (in our case) religious education. Consistencies or discrepancies in this relation are of interest for principals and teachers of cooperation schools that in most cases are rather new and are still faced with the challenge to develop their education. However, also cooperation schools that have merged several years ago feel the need for a continuing reflection on this relation. Our research has been able to shed (empirical and theoretical) light upon the challenges that come with this reflection and the development of good practices in line with the school values.
CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION
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