169 The Methodology of Theological Action Research 4 In this way, the minutes were specifically a source of the voice of espoused theology taking into account through observation the voice of operant theology. The voice of formal theology, as applied in a broad sense including insights from (Christian) anthropology and pedagogy, was brought to the conversational table by written documents, mainly by the project leadership, to be discussed from the perspective of practice. From the fourth meeting onwards, every meeting began with a reading of Scripture, a short meditation and prayer. This was led by the different participants in turn, choosing each time a passage from Scripture that they connected to the central theme of broad citizenship formation for a modern, fragmented society. These contributions were reported in the minutes as well, ensuring that the voice of normative theology would also be part of the deliberations and of the corresponding data. 2. Other data sources Operant theology was to be found via the conversations in the practice at both primary schools (school 1, school 2 and later school 3) and the teacher training institute (DCU). While the conversational community chose to limit its research to the formation of DCU students as trainee teachers, the practice at DCU as operant theology became increasingly important. At the start of the project, a questionnaire was designed in collaboration with DCU’s research centre and the overarching NIVOZ Foundation-led WCD project team for thirdyear and older DCU students and DCU’s teacher trainers. The results of a baseline survey, which will be presented in the next chapter, were brought to the table to be discussed. Particularly at the start, this strengthened the voices of operant and espoused theology, especially from the side of DCU students.
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