12 Preface afterwards, I wrote and edited a Reformed Christian missiology (2), which was the starting point for my entry into Christian education in 2017. The longing to have an impact on society from the Christian perspective had never faded. Based on my theological, missiological and political science interests, I went back to the famous Dutch statesman and historiographer Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, who is considered in the Netherlands to be the father of Christian education as it took shape from the 19th century onwards. I discovered that his life’s motto—‘In our isolation lies our strength’ (1876, p. 52)—did not in any way refer to physical or social isolation on the part of Reformed Christians; rather, it related to the fundamental consistency of principle necessary to prepare for meaningful sociocultural and educational engagement (Kamphuis, 1976, pp. 10, 14, 15). How would Groen van Prinsterer, drawing on this reasoning, react to today’s challenges regarding education, almost two centuries after uttering his famous motto? How should we, if we want to be ‘gospel confessors’ like him, prepare Christian teachers for modern, non-Christian, plural society? I was fortunate enough to have the chance to investigate this issue. I believe the opportunity was given to me. Therefore, I first and foremost thank the Lord, humbly confessing that this research would not have been possible without His guidance. After Him, I thank Annelies Kraaiveld, to whom I dedicate this dissertation. As my manager at Driestar Christian University, she heard my wish and enabled me to join an inter-institutional research project on a topic she and I believed to be helpful and applicable to citizenship education. The topic was whole child development, which includes whole teacher development as an important component. How this topic relates to Christian citizenship formation will become clear in the introduction and chapters to follow. I also dedicate this study to Anneloes Bout. She is the individual who stands for the many—the many students I have worked with during the past few years. The research resulted in action research for these students’ curriculum. It was all done to enable them to become Christian teachers who are fully engaged in today’s world and society. In Annelies Kraaiveld, I thank Driestar Christian University; in Anneloes Bout, its students, especially those who took part in this research—though not without mentioning how Anneloes showed a special interest in shalom-seeking citizenship, which made her a richer teacher. I would also like to address words of thanks to the loyal and constructively critical members of my project and research team who, as a conversational community, dedicated themselves to action research concerning the aforementioned curriculum. Without them, I would not have collected the 2 Kooijman, J. H. C., & van Olst, P. C. (2017). Onverhinderd. De voortgang van het Evangelie in de wereld [Unhindered. The progress of the Gospel in the world]. ZGG.
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