Reflecting on the link between religion and religious tradition(s) on the one hand and school and education on the other, and reflecting on the reasoning strategy to make sense of this link, people seem to tend strongly to think, argue and reflect in a deductive mode (this point is elaborated in par. 3). This part of the argument is followed by considering the religious claims people make concerning the impact of religion on the day-to-day educational practice, it is, empirically speaking. It is apparently wrong to take this deductive reasoning serious as a road to undisputable and unambiguous links between claims and practices (this point is elaborated in par. 4). Having identified deductive reasoning as wishful thinking or as a supposed but inadequate religious legitimatization of educational practices, which is demonstrated by the empirical educational praxis itself, the final part of the article deals with the question that arises again and anew, viz. how educational practices could be understood in their connection to religious beliefs (see par. 5). Here a paradigm-shift is needed.
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Social workers nowadays are confronted with recurrent issues about religion and spirituality when in contact with diverse client groups. This was also the case in the beginning of the profession around 1900, in Europe as well as in the US. This study analyses the work of a Dutch pioneer in social work, Marie Muller-Lulofs (1854–1954) and presents the religious and worldview aspects of her reflections on social work. Her standard work Van mensch tot mensch (From person to person) of 1916 forms the basic text for theory-driven content analysis by applying the seven-dimension model of worldview of Ninian Smart: doctrine/philosophy, organisations, ethics, stories, experiences, rituals and materials. Results show that Muller-Lulofs makes a strong plea for a secular profession. Social-economic approaches are on the foreground. And yet, the methods, skills and professional attitudes she describes are substantially accounted for in religious and spiritual terms. This is mainly done by introducing narratives and metaphors derived from Christian and Buddhist traditions. It is concluded that Muller-Lulofs uses religion and spirituality in a non-dogmatic and non-prescriptive way, but as a source of inspiration to underpin the new profession. Her approach is relevant for current issues in social work in multicultural societies.
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In dit onderzoek in het kader van de kenniskring ‘Surfen naar Zin’ van het lectoraat Praktische Theologie van de Fontys Hogeschool Theologie Levensbeschouwing in samenwerking met de Fontys Pabo’s is een verkenning verricht naar doeloriëntaties van Pabo-studenten. De ‘jeugd van tegenwoordig’ waar Pabo-studenten nog recentelijk deel van uitmaakten heeft een andere oriëntatie op religie en levensbeschouwelijkheid dan zo’n dertig jaar geleden. Op basis van de theoretische concepten over religieus leren van Grimmitt is onderzocht welke doelen studenten voor zichzelf en het levensbeschouwelijke onderwijs hanteren. Immers oriëntaties van studenten zijn beïnvloedend voor de wijze waarop ze levensbeschouwing aan basisschoolkinderen onderwijzen. Inzicht in de voorkeursdoeloriëntatie zou kunnen leiden tot verhoging van de expertise en innovatie van het huidige Pabo curriculum op dit gebied. De volgende indeling van doeloriëntaties is gehanteerd: het monoreligieuze model - learning in religion - , het multireligieuze model - learning about religion - en het interreligieuze model - learning from religion -. Met behulp van een schriftelijke vragenlijst zijn 120 studenten bevraagd op hun oriëntaties. Het blijkt dat de onderzoeksgroep een voorkeur heeft voor het model van ‘learning about religion’ In hoeverre dit beïnvloed wordt door persoonskenmerken, culturele diversiteit, relaties tussen religies, vindplaatsen, perspectieven en alternatieven in religieus beleven is niet significant gebleken. Naar aanleiding van dit onderzoek wordt gepleit voor een aanpassing van het curriculum van de Pabo in de richting van het ‘learning about religion’ model en voor verder onderzoek naar de doeloriëntatie van leerkrachten, ouders en kinderen in de basisschool.
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Purpose To analyze differences between Western and Eastern cultures in the way they conceptualize knowledge and discuss the implications of these differences for a global intellectual capital (IC) theory and practice. Design/methodology/approach A systematic metaphor analysis of the concept of knowledge and IC is used to identify common Western conceptualizations of knowledge in IC literature. A review of philosophical and religious literature was done to identify knowledge conceptualizations in the main streams of Asian philosophy. Findings Fundamental differences were found in the way knowledge is conceptualized. In Western IC literature common metaphors for knowledge include knowledge as a thing and knowledge as capital. In Asian thought, knowledge is seen as unfolding truth based upon a unity of universe and human self and of knowledge and action. Research limitations/implications The research was performed on a limited sample of literature. More research is needed to identify how knowledge is conceptualized in the practice of doing business in Asia and to test the effects of introducing IC theories to Asian businessmen and managers. Practical implications Western conceptualizations of knowledge, embedded in terms like intellectual capital and knowledge management, can not be transferred to Asian business without considering the local view on knowledge. Asian conceptualizations of knowledge should play an important role in the further development of a knowledge-based theory and practice of the firm. Originality/value The paper is the first to explore differences in knowledge conceptualizations by analyzing the underlying metaphors that are used in Western IC literature and Asian philosophy.
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Sometimes religion and science are mentioned in one breath; both provide an explanatory framework for phenomena like uncertainty, chance or fate. In the meantime, science, or rather technology, has become a world religion. It’s a world religion, because technology connects: religion comes from the Latin “ Relegere” (literally re-assemble, connect).
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This chapter focuses on the interconnection between religion and young people's view on Europe.The results of this empirical inquiry are less than optimistic: if anything religion seems to be more of a stumbling block than an incentive for the partaking in the building of a unified Europe.
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As migrant populations age, the care system is confronted with the question how to respond to care needs of an increasingly diverse population of older adults. We used qualitative intersectional analysis to examine differential preferences and experiences with care at the end of life of twenty-five patients and their relatives from Suriname, Morocco and Turkey living in The Netherlands. Our analysis focused on the question how–in light of impairment–ethnicity, religion and gender intersect to create differences in social position that shape preferences and experiences related to three main themes: place of care at the end of life; discussing prognosis, advance care, and end-of-life care; and, end-of-life decision-making. Our findings show that belonging to an ethnic or religious minority brings forth concerns about responsive care. In the nursing home, patients’ minority position and the interplay thereof with gender make it difficult for female patients to request and receive responsive care. Patients with a strong religious affiliation prefer to discuss diagnosis but not prognosis. These preferences are at interplay with factors related to socioeconomic status. The oversight of this variance hampers responsive care for patients and relatives. Preferences for discussion of medical aspects of care are subject to functional impairment and faith. Personal values and goals often remain unexpressed. Lastly, preferences regarding medical end-of-life decisions are foremost subject to religious affiliation and associated moral values. Respondents’ impairment and limited Dutch language proficiency requires their children to be involved in decision-making. Intersecting gendered care roles determine that mostly daughters are involved. Considering the interplay of aspects of social identity and their effect on social positioning, and pro-active enquiry into values, goals and preferences for end-of-life care of patients and their relatives are paramount to achieve person centred and family-oriented care responsive to the needs of diverse communities.
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This paper will query whether a dedicated news platform can attune to young people’s civic needs? That is to ask: can this be a space that follows a social media logic of conversation and ‘give and take’ – with producers and consumers changing roles or even losing the distinction? How could and would such a news source be of interest to urban young, arguably the group that feels most removed from citizen status and social acceptance for who they happen to be? ‘Urban youth’ for us refers to a very specific group of young people. They are Marokko.nl’s community members. As the name suggests a fair number of them will consider themselves to be Moroccan-Dutch. From our perspective it is important to understand this group as identifying with ethnic minority groups in the Netherlands, although most of them will have been born in the Netherlands and hold Dutch citizenship. More than other young people they will recognize Islam as the religion they feel closest to. They also share a sense, as will become clear below, that they are caught ‘between two worlds’ (Elias and Lemish, 2008; Singla, 2004; Gezduci and D’Haenens, 2010). Mainstream Dutch media cast preciously few actors, anchors, audience members and experts from ethnic minority groups. Not surprisingly, this is often given as a reason to distrust hegemonic media and as underlining a sense of distance and alienation from Dutch society (see also Awad and Roth, 2011: 401).
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