300 Chapter 10 This dissertation’s central topic has been the formation of Christian trainee teachers concerning citizenship and citizenship education in the context of a modern, fragmented society. The layered problem of fragmentation, as described in Chapter 1, demands an approach that can be characterised as broad, connecting and aiming at a sense of belonging. Therefore, the central research question asked how a holistic approach to education could reinforce Christian citizenship formation. With citizenship defined as ‘the art of living together respecting fundamental differences in culture, ethnicity and basic life conceptions’ (based on Prideaux, 1940) and citizenship education as ‘the art of creating social cohesion by inviting students to connect; to each other, the community, society and the world; and to flourish within these connections’ (as I did in the introduction), the central quest was for core components for citizenship formation that, within teacher training, would fit holistically together in a practice-theory. This final chapter presents that practice-theory, as based on the findings of both the theoretical chapters (1–3) and the empirical research conducted at DCU as a case study (chapters 4–9). Both parts belong together, were simultaneously elaborated and are the fruit of a constant back-and-forth movement between theory and practice, between vision, intentions, design and practice—as the lemniscate presented in the introduction phrased it. They led to the identification of three core components that fit together holistically and provide an educational answer to the problem of fragmentation (Section 1, based directly on the theology of disclosure presented in Chapter 9). They also led to a number of practical applications that proved to be effective in DCU’s curriculum (Section 2). Together these sections form the conclusion, which leads to a discussion that also consists of two parts—namely, a discussion of the methodology used (Section 3) and of directions for future research (Section 4).
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