Page 70 - TWO OF A KIND • Erik Renkema

CHAPTER 3
teachers” (school guide 2012, 8). It is characteristic for Christian education at this school that the Bible is seen as the source of inspiration for co-existing with other people and the surrounding world. To this Christian value is added the note that “everyone’s input is respected” (school guide 2012, 8).
Another important aspect for our research is the formal attention paid to religious traditions. The sources on which school activities are based are Christianity as well as “other religious and societal convictions” (school guide 2012, 8). Except for the emphasisontheBibleas“mostimportantsourceofinspirationforChristianeducation” (school guide 2012, 8), there is no mentioning of a specific religious tradition. The school guide refers to one major objective of education related to our main point of interest, religious diversity: “In the curriculum, different backgrounds in terms of religion and life view will be taken into account. The school teaches students to appreciate these differences” (school guide 2012, 11).
When analysing this document from the social perspective, we see the appreciation of differences and of working and living together as explicit objectives of education. On the other hand, the school guide does not describe how these objectives can be realised. With regard to the substantive perspective, only the Christian tradition and the Bible are specifically mentioned in the document. However, it states that the different religious backgrounds are to be taken into account, and the equality of these backgrounds is stressed. Therefore, the substantive underlining of the Christian tradition and Christian education is remarkable.
4.2. Analysis of the Moment of Contemplation
We examined the Trefwoord guide before analysing the video data. Studying this guide in advance would also clarify whether it provides the teachers with content for the dates of our video recordings that are important for both our perspectives.
4.2.1. The Lesson Guide 1
Trefwoord is a method that is mostly used at Protestant and ecumenical schools for primary education. On its website, its objective is described: ‘To accompany and to support children in exploring, raising awareness and enriching their world’. The concept of ‘life orientation’ is mentioned. Three types of content mentioned in Trefwoord are important for our research,
1 This information about Trefwoord is drawn from the website of this lesson guide: www. trefwoord.nl/verantwoording (accessed on 17 February 2015).
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