Awaken the Awareness of Transcendence: New Strategies for Catholic Schools in the Netherlands to Deal with Secularization
Abstrakt
Secularization poses serious challenges for religiously affiliated schools. Catholic schools in the Netherlands find themselves embarrassed regarding their educational endeavor because they are unable or lack the inspiration to talk about this subject in religious terms. This article aims to explore new ways of overcoming this embarrassment. Firstly, an overview is presented of the current situation and of the embarrassment of Catholic schools, in terms of their problematic choice of actions. Based on a critical-dialogical convergence of theological and pedagogical considerations, a Catholic vision on the educational endeavor is subsequently developed that is understood in terms of interruption, the other, and transcendence. From this vision of the educational endeavor, new strategies are presented – at the community level of Catholic schools, and at the individual level of teachers, school leaders, and governors – to promote an openness to receiving new, unexpected insights and possibilities. The receipt of these insights and possibilities is closely related to an awareness of transcendence, in both a secular and a religious sense. The initial findings of recent empirical research on the impact of these strategies are presented.
Słowa kluczowe:
Catholic schools, religious erosion, awareness of transcendence, Catholic vision on education, strategiesBibliografia
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Radboud University, Nijmegen
Theo van der Zee - Professor by special appointment of Education, Ethics and Religion at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; an advisor at Verus, the Dutch association of Catholic and Christian schools; editor-in-chief of Handelingen: Tijdschrift voor Praktische Theologie en Religiewetenschap (Radboud University Press) and the co-editor of the book series Research on Religious and Spiritual Education (Waxmann Publishers). Prior to this, he was a secondary school teacher and teacher educator. His practice-oriented academic research focuses on Catholic schools, leadership in education, good education and practical wisdom.
Recent publications:
- Zee, Theo van der. 2022a. “Open towards the future. A reinvigoration of practical wisdom in teaching with a view to subjectification”. Teachers and Teaching. Theory and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2022.2098273
- Zee, Theo van der. 2022b. “Leading the school wisely and purposefully: design of a practical, wise leadership practice to fulfil the mission of Catholic education”. Religions 13: 1151. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13121151
- Zee, Theo van der. 2023. “Reading the signs of the times. Design of a communal discernment practice in Catholic schools”. International Studies in Catholic Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/19422539.2023.2215653
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3748-0912
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