Page 19 - TWO OF A KIND • Erik Renkema

of working can only be addressed in dialogue with others. To reach “a shared 1 understanding by a collective” (Faber 2012, 41), dialogue is an important factor.
We interpret the relational aspect of school identity as self-understanding in the
context of the environment of the school (Faber 2012). Reflecting on the identity
of an organization takes place in the context of society (Mulder 2012). The context of schools in the Netherlands is the plural society and its implications for religious education (Jackson 2006; Ipgrave 2004).
All three aspects (Faber 2012) determine the identity of a school. In our research, we see them reflected in the search for values that respondents find characteristic of their schools (self-referential), in the search for commonalities between the teachers and school documents (shared), and in the context of the typical plurality of the cooperation schools (relational).
4.2 Values concerning diversity in classroom
Western societies are more and more religiously plural “in the spheres of religions, values and culture” (Jackson 2006, 21). Even within the same religious tradition, there is a diversity of views (Milot 2006; Bakker 2001). Every school is characterized by a plurality of worldviews and religious convictions: there is no such thing as a religiously homogenous group of students (Milot 2006). Plurality is interpreted as a challenge for schools and teachers (Ipgrave 2004). We see that pluralization in Western societies not only in the existence of multiple religious traditions, but also in the presence of non-religious or non-affiliated people in society and classrooms (Vermeer 2004; Rautionmaa and Kallioniemi 2017). In our societal context, it is important for professionals who work with people to reflect on their professional values and the religious dimension of their job (Mulder 2012).
We focus on two values concerning the approach to plurality in education: encounter and equality. We do so because we recognize an emphasis on both values in the first phase of our research: principals of cooperation schools mention encounter and equality as core values of their schools. In our study of religious education in a plural context, there is a special focus on the perspective of John Dewey. Although Dewey passed away more than half a century ago, his views on education in democratic societies are still referred to in academic discourse (e.g. Webster 2009; Sutinen, Kallioniemi and Pihlström 2015; Ghiloni 2011; Berding
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
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