Page 73 - TWO OF A KIND • Erik Renkema

KEY VALUES OF DUTCH COOPERATION SCHOOL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
provides instructions. Hence, the teacher is the central figure. Except for once, no dialogue between students is encouraged.
A third finding of our analysis is the concentration on biblical stories. This is 3 an important fact concerning the substantive perspective. Ten times, a biblical
story is read by the teacher. Twice, a poem is read instead. On one occasion,
there is no story (or other narrative) present at all. We see that teachers appeal
to cognitive abilities of the students related to biblical content (knowledge of the Ten Commandments and the story of the previous moment of contemplation: the moment of contemplation recorded in group 6 on 15 May 2014 is an illustration). Here, we must add that on these specific dates Trefwoord also suggests these biblical stories, which seems to limit the options for the teachers. This limitation is stressed by the respondents in the reliability test. In this test, the respondents emphasised that the moments of contemplation do not contain biblical stories every day.
A final important finding regarding the substantive perspective is the focus on student experiences and values. In ten videos, these experiences are discussed. These themes are all suggested by Trefwoord. One example is the theme of trust and second chances related to the story of the Golden Calf (video recording 15- 5-14, group 6). The teacher asks the students about their view on second chances: ‘Sometimes mistakes are made, but is all lost then?’
We can summarise the analysis of the video data by stating that the moments of contemplation are characterised by a didactical emphasis on narratives (especially biblical narratives) and a question-and-answer exchange between teacher and a student. This implies an emphasis on a verbal presentation of religious content. These discussions are held between the teacher and one student at the time. Although the set-up of the classroom during a majority of the moments offers possibilities for dialogue, there is, in a majority of the videos, no dialogue between students.
4.3. Analysis of the Interviews
In the interviews, respondents indicate that the moment of contemplation is organised almost every day and at various times. Most respondents do not mention any social or religious motives for organising the moment at a specific time.
One respondent indicates that she thinks it is ‘a nice way to start the day together’
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