What AboutLearningin Practical Theological Studies? Toward More Conceptual Clarity

Abstract

Because learning is an important concept in the reflection on young people in faith practices, practical theological studies on the theme of learning profit from a clarification of the concept of learning. Therefore, current (empirical) research projects conducted by the Dutch Research Centre for Youth, Church, and Culture and educational and religious education literature on learning have been analyzed. The results provide an overview of utilized descriptions of learning, (theological) interpretations of learning, normative positions regarding learning, and strategic considerations toward (the promotion of) learning. Implications for future practical theological research into (faith) learning in the context of faith practices of young people are discussed.

A rich palette of Bible use: A theoretical and empirical contribution from the context of Protestant Christian secondary schools in the Netherlands

“…It is also found in reflections on the particular role of religious educators in school classrooms, such as Pollefeyt (2005), who distinguishes between the religious educator roles of being a witness, being a specialist, and being a moderator. To give one more example, it can be seen in reflections on religious learning and learning environments, such as De Kock (2014, 2015), who distinguishes between behavioral, developmental, and apprenticeship approaches to religious learning and learning environments. In what follows, we present a condensed review of the main theoretical and empirical accounts in the academic literature regarding the use of the Bible in school contexts, as published at the end of the 20 th and beginning of the 21st centuries.…”

“…The way this potential turns out in concrete practices, however, depends on the particular aims strived for in students' learning processes and the particular orientations in the teaching–learning process in the school and classroom setting. Therefore, in the analysis of our empirical data based on interviews with teachers and school administrators, we focus on two key aspects of learning environments: goals (e.g., cognitive and affective goals and goals in terms of emotions and experiences) and role divisions among teachers and learners in the teaching–learning process (e.g., teachers as transmitters or facilitators and students as independent learners or participants in practices) (as elaborated by De Kock, 2014, 2015). This approach makes it possible to critically compare actual practices of Christian education in which the Bible functions with the more prescriptive conceptualizations of religious pedagogical models often used in the religious education literature (see Introduction).…”

A rich palette of Bible use: A theoretical and empirical contribution from the context of Protestant Christian primary schools in the Netherlands

“…The focus on the goals (e.g., cognitive and affective goals or goals in terms of skills) and roles of teacher and pupils in the teaching learning process (e.g., teachers being transmitters or facilitators and pupils being participants in practices), as elaborated on by De Kock (2014, pp. 264–286; 2015), are key factors of the learning environment.…”