32 Introduction Dronkers (2012) used the Dutch context as a case study for research on civic allegiance in a society that, as he termed it, underwent drastic changes through the processes of globalisation and secularisation. In line with his approach, this study uses Christian teacher training in the Netherlands as a test case for teacher training in relation to Christian citizenship education in such a context. In his final analysis, Dronkers opted for public engagement as the best conception of civic allegiance because it ‘leaves people the freedom to live in accordance to their own traditions and worldviews, while stimulating them to participate in politics at every level possible to negotiate and rethink the preconditions of coexistence’ (2012, p. 231). For religious people, Dronkers assumed in this model the possibility of acting as faithful citizens, recognising others as ‘equal members of the same community of fate, to contribute to its survival, and to engage with the public debate on its future’ (2012, p. 231). This conception, if applied both theoretically and practically to teacher training with regard to Christian citizenship education in the Netherlands, could result in an approach that is also helpful in other contexts characterised by high diversity and complexity. In terms of the training of (future) teachers, the Dutch context also presents a number of clear challenges. Research into the pedagogical and political dimensions of citizenship education led van Waveren (2020) to conclude that teachers in the Netherlands are prepared to teach citizenship education at a practical level, but they lack the professionalism to do so in a more conceptual manner—that is, on a deeper level attached to their personal ideals concerning citizenship. Research into how mono-religious schools deal with religious diversity caused De Jong-Markus (2022) to conclude that Christian teacher training should invest more in trainee teachers’ ability to cope with external religious diversity and to move beyond a superficial form of right-or-wrong thinking. Exalto and Bertram-Troost (2019) stated, regarding the position of orthodox Reformed schools in modern liberal and secular Dutch society, that ‘it is now the best of times for orthodox Reformed schools not only to defend the freedom of those who do not wish to (fully) confirm with the values of the secular mainstream, but also to contribute to broader social cohesion by stimulating their pupils’ dialogical competences’ (p. 10). The purpose of this study, however, extends beyond a focus on dialogical competence or the competence to cope with religious diversity from a mono-religious perspective, although it includes them both. Rather, it aims at more than an enhancement of skills—for example, the broadly proposed 21st century skills. It holistically seeks core components for the citizenship formation of trainee teachers who are interconnected and guided by a more
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