Stimulating Inquisitiveness 5 93 The social-pedagogical ideals could be described as pupils feeling themselves safe and valued and teachers hoping to create a good atmosphere in the classroom. As Adam mentioned, “My second ideal, which is somehow related to the first [religious ideal, see previous paragraph], is that children care for others enormously and will be there for anybody.” Academic ideals were mentioned less often. What was mentioned had generally to do with developing the talents of pupils; to ensure that everyone is at his/ her own level. Some teachers made explicit connections between the ideals in the religious domain and ideals in other domains, as you can see in Adam’s statement above about his “second ideal.” Besides these connections, ideals in the social-pedagogical and academic domains were regularly described in more or less religious terms; for example, when Adam spoke about “[making] use of the [God-given] talents.” Role perceptions: School next to family and church Our next focus was on how teachers conceived of their own role in Christian upbringing, compared to parents, Sunday school teachers, or others. They perceived that all pedagogical agents strive for the same purpose and that together they provide children with a “good foundation” (Daniël). However, teachers also talked about differences and we could distinguish these in five categories: other responsibilities, different tasks, different pedagogical opportunities, other relationships, and different settings. We will elaborate on these categories. First, most teachers highlighted that parents have the highest responsibility for transmitting the Christian faith. Floris, for example, explained, “If God at a given time will call someone to account, then He will start with the father or the mother of that child, and not with me.” Nevertheless, teachers felt themselves highly responsible. Lieke expressed it this way: “As a teacher, you aren’t the one who is ultimately responsible. But, I find it difficult that you sometimes have an enormous task in this.” Second, with regard to different tasks, the school was seen as an environment which is primarily about the academic outcomes and qualification of children, which means that it provides knowledge, skills, and understanding. Parents’ focus is primarily on upbringing (or socialization), and the church is related to liturgical and pastoral activities and doctrinal stances. In relation to religious socialization, stress on academic development was recognizable in the highlighting of explanation and understanding, rather than only appropriation of shared beliefs in the community. Emma, for example, stated, “It is
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