Search

Religious tolerance has become one of the most important issues of the current century in view of the many atrocities perpetrated in the name of religion by extremist groups. Of great concern to teacher educators is whether current final year students display the degree of religious tolerance that would be required from them when they have to deal with religious differences among their future students and in the communities in which they will practise their profession. A questionnaire, of which a copy is attached to this article and which may be used by interested parties after having acquired permission to do so, was constructed, based on a conceptual and theoretical framework in which the issue of religious tolerance is examined in detail. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 300 teacher education students (drawn from a population of around 3000). The results show that while there are certain points of concern, such as that the respondents tend to withdraw from others with different belief systems and tend not to trust them, there are no great concerns about the state of religious tolerance in this particular group of students. Key concepts: Religion, Faith, Belief, Tolerance, Religious tolerance, Teacher education Abstrak: Godsdienstige verdraagsaamheid het een van die belangrikste vraagstukke van die huidige eeu geword, juis vanweë die gewelddadige optredes en dade wat ekstremiste in die naam van godsdiens pleeg. Die vraag by baie onderwysersopleiers is of huidige finalejaar onderwysstudente die nodige godsdienstige verdraagsaamheid aan die dag lê om die godsdienstige verskille in die skole en in die gemeenskappe waarin hulle hulle beroep gaan beoefen, te kan hanteer. ’n Vraelys (waarvan ’n afskrif as bylaag tot die artikel verskyn, en wat ander belangstellendes mag gebruik na verkryging van toestemming daartoe) is opgestel en gefundeer in ’n konseptuele en teoretiese raamwerk waarin die vraagstuk van religieuse verdraagsaamheid in besonderhede ondersoek is. Die vraelys is deur ’n steekproef van 300 studente (uit ’n populasie van nagenoeg 3000) ingevul. Dit blyk uit die resultate dat hoewel daar enkele kommerenswaardige aspekte is soos dat die respondente geneig is om hulle afsydig te hou van diegene met ander godsdienstige oortuigings as hulleself, en ook neig om andersdenkendes te wantrou, daar nie groot kommer oor die mate van religieuse verdraagsaamheid by hierdie groep studente hoef te wees nie. Kernbegrippe: Godsdiens, Religie, Verdraagsaamheid, Toleransie, Religieuse toleransie, Onderwysstudente https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.80.2.2224

Effectiveness and productivity in the Christian’s life, work and business in the light of Matthew 25:14-30 In the life of a modern Western Christian, effectiveness and productivity are frequently approached in terms of performativity, operativity and managerialism, which are the characteristic norms of high modernity. Notably New Agers and Postmodernists have questioned such norms in various circles. Should Christians align themselves with the norms of high modernity or with the norms of, for example, Postmodernists in their approach to effectiveness and productivity in their lives, their occupations and their business? This article offers an interpretation in looking for guidelines regarding a sound approach to this issue. For this purpose the parable of the rich man who entrusted his slaves with his possessions (Matthew 25 (and the parallel Luke 19) is utilised in order to indicate a sound approach to effectiveness and productivity.

A precipitous drop in rare antelope numbers specifically roan (Hippotragus equinis) sable (Hippotragus niger) and tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus) since 1986 has become one of the main concerns of management. The zebra (Equus burchelli) population in the preferred habitats of these species had increased with the development of artificial waterpoints especially in the areas occupied by roan and tsessebe, and these events are hypothesised to be the main cause of the decline. Closure of artificial waterpoints resulted in moving the high-density, water-dependent zebra from the northern basalt plains, the preferred roan habitat. However, the expected responding increase in the rare antelope populations did not materialise. This lack of response over six years necessitated a critical re-evaluation of the management of rare antelope in the Kruger National Park. Subsequently, a workshop was held at Skukuza during May 2000. The options for adaptive management of the declining rare antelope populations, which was discussed at the workshop, is the subject of this manuscript. The participants felt that the removal/closure of artificial waterpoints was the most unintrusive management tool available to move high density grazers from the habitats preferred by rare antelope. Waterpoints to be closed should be carefully evaluated, and time allowed for rare antelope to respond to habitat changes. Boosting populations of roan and tsessebe by supplementing animals was seriously considered, with the proviso that it should be done under favourable circumstances. Small patch fires that could provide green grazing over extended periods were recommended. Predator control was discussed but could not obtain general support as a viable option in the Kruger National Park.

Scientific paradigms constantly play a role in scholarship, but researchers tend not to examine the roles of the belief and value systems associated with them. From time to time, however, a researcher may be confronted with a situation where such an analysis is unavoidable. This article takes the shape of a conversation between two researchers who have been working for several years in quite different research paradigms in the field of Religion Studies/Religion Education/Religion in Education. They investigate the possibility of collaboration as they were initially trained at the same university. After their graduate studies, their ways parted, and they developed quite different scholarly paradigms as well as belief and value systems. Their conversation not only highlights the differences in their respective current worldviews, belief systems, value systems, and academic approaches to Religious Studies, but also shows in practical terms how different scholarly paradigms (with their concomitant belief and value systems) can impact on researchers’ (views of) scholarship, science practice and research in Religion Education and Religion in Education.

This article reports on a case study regarding the development and educational transformation of a subgroup of the Lamba living in the Masaiti region of the Copper Belt Province of Zambia, where the Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education in Zambia (FCE) has been serving for the past thirteen years. It was concluded that the current life- and worldview of a community such as the one living in the Masaiti region can be transformed to a truly Christ-centred life- and worldview by firstly taking cognisance of how the community currently expresses itself in terms of each of the universals or components of a lifeand worldview, and secondly by subjecting each of those universals or components to a process of life- and worldview transformation. It was furthermore found that life- and worldview transformation should be seen as a prerequisite for the developmental transformation of such communities.

As colleague and co-worker of Professor Bennie van der Walt, the author has been in a position for several decades now to apply some of Bennie van der Walt’s philosophical and theological insights in the field of education. Professor Van der Walt’s recent discussion and critique of secularism and of religious tolerance enables the author to analyse the educational situation in South Africa and elsewhere with particular emphasis on policies about religion in/and education. These investigations lead him to conclude that most education systems seem to resort to secular public-private and worldly-sacral dualistic policies for addressing the problem of potential religious conflict in schools. After considering the Dutch policy of (increasing) pillarisation and the South African policy of banning confessional aspects of religious education to the private spheres of citizens’ lives, he proposes a solution based on the concept of institutional religious and life-conceptual identity. This approach can also lead to religious tolerance among learners in schools (as mooted by Bennie van der Walt and others) while circumventing the pitfalls of secularism.

The problem of religion in/and education is a worldwide one for education policy-makers – even in the most homogeneous populations. Several strategies have been developed for coping with this problem, but they tend to fall short in terms of finding equilibrium on the universal-particularity continuum. There is a way for attaining the desired equilibrium, namely to take account of the institutional identity of each individual school, and to allow each school community the freedom to choose the type of religion education that would be most suitable to its particular needs and circumstances.

Academe in South Africa: a fulfilling profession? South African academics possess a collective value system. However, other value systems impact not only on their value system but also on their academic work. They typically find themselves working in an institutional, a national and an international context, each with its own hierarchy of values. A theoretical discussion of (the role of) values in the academic workplace is followed by an overview of the professional values held by South African academics as measured by means of the Changing Academic Profession (CAP) Survey, which was carried out in 2008. The survey revealed, for instance, a rift between the institutional value hierarchy and that of the academic profession. It can therefore be concluded that many South African academics seem to lead relatively unfulfilled professional lives, among others, because they find themselves working in an environment (various contexts) with many contradictions. These problems should be addressed for the sake of the well-being of both the academic profession and of the higher education sector.

Teacher education in South Africa: noteworthy aspects from other systems Teacher education in South Africa, as part of the educational system, has been subjected to radical reform since 1994, as part of the reconstruction of society and of the education sys-tem. Deliberations about this aspect of the system have re-sulted in a number of significant policy documents and practical changes. The question arose whether South African theory and practice, with specific reference to teacher education, could learn in any way from the systems and practices of other countries. To find an answer to this question, a comparison of the teacher education systems of ten other countries and federal states including two developing countries and federal states, was made. The comparison, based on a particular philo-sophical-theoretical framework, revealed that the South African teacher education system compared well in theory and practice with the other systems. The study also revealed a few lacunae in both South African and foreign theory and practice.

The intrinsic relationship between education and spirituality After having researched the phenomenon of (especially young) people turning their backs on mainstream religions and finding refuge in “new” forms of spirituality, the authors concluded that, as always, the education of children cannot be done justice to unless attention is also devoted to the development of their spirituality. To defend this contention, they firstly analyse religion as a phenomenon. They find it to be multi-layered, with spirituality forming the innermost layer. They then discuss the emergence of “new” forms of spirituality and find them to be alien to the Biblical concept of spirituality. After discussing the intrinsic link between education and both the “new” and the Biblical forms of spirituality, the authors find their initial conclusion to have been vindicated.

Performativity and the modern school (principal) Based on observations in the field of education management science, including the results of a recent empirical survey, we concluded that schools and their principals have become inundated with the demands for performativity, i.e. the demand to achieve in measurable terms as well as submit to the cult of efficiency and effectiveness. After briefly considering recent developments and changes in schools and in the work of school principals, we refer to the findings of the empirical survey. This is followed by a discussion of three key objections to performativity in schools and in the work of principals, namely the reductionism that it presupposes, its non-pedagogical tendencies and its negative effects on the school as a societal relationship. The discussion is conducted within a Christian-reformational frame of reference.

In 1982, T.M. Moore claimed that positivism was in the process of being “unmasked”. Its shortcomings were being unmasked by its enemies as well as by its adherents. In describing the process of unmasking, Moore resorted to T.S. Kuhn’s sociological theory of normal science, paradigms, crises and revolutions. Moore then went on to challenge the Christian scholarly community to (inter alia) develop a new paradigm for science. Now, after just more than two decades have elapsed since this exhortation by Moore, a survey had to be done to see to what extent the secular as well as the Christian community has taken up the challenge and how both of them have progressed in the directions that Moore had predicted. It has also become time for the Christian community to assess its own progress towards developing a “new” scientific paradigm. In this article, the first part of a two-part article on this subject, the author concludes that modern science has not only surrendered the positivistic search for universal foundations and truth, but has become characterised by secularism, postmodern fragmentation and a preference for contingent foundations.

Values in education and teaching: a Babylonian confusion Although the debate on values and values-education has been going on for several years, it is evident from literature that there is, as yet, no unanimity on what is meant by the concept “values”. This article is an attempt to clarify the confusion between various value-education related concepts and to analyse the phenomenon from an ontological perspective and also to demonstrate that man’s choice of terminology depends on presuppositions. This article was written from a reformational perspective, based on the ground motif of the creation, fall, redemption and restoration. From this perspective it is clear that man was created as a value-driven being and that his/her values are guided by religious convictions and a concomitant world view. It is further argued that “principles” and “values” are neither synonymous nor the same. “Principles” are fixed, unchanged points of departure, whereas values emanate from principles and their application is determined by the demands of the contingent situation.

Religion as a possible factor in education systems and their planning Students of education systems distinguish a number of factors that can impact on education systems and their planning. Religion, however, is rarely if ever mentioned as a factor in education system planning. In this article, the authors reflect on various facets of the question as to why religion has not been acknowledged as a factor in education systems in modern societies. The following aspects of the problem are addressed: the nature of the education system; the influence of secularism on education systems and their planning; problems which would be encountered if religion were to be taken into account in education system planning; and the accommodation of religions and religious diversity in education systems. The conclusion is drawn that in the contemporary world, religion is recognised as a factor in education system planning only in the form of secularism (with a few exceptions, such as in mono-religious Islamic states). All other religions are relegated from public life to the private spheres of people’s lives. Because secularism embodies the notion of a public morality that can potentially be shared by (and should be promoted among) all citizens of a particular country or society, secular values tend to be incorporated in the constitutions and other laws of countries. As a result, this value system tends to be promoted by means of the public education system. The article ends with two scenarios of what can be expected to happen if the opposite were allowed to happen, and schools, for instance, were not expected to adhere to secular values, but rather to the “sectarian” religious values of their choice.

Six decades of philosophy of education since J. Chris Coetzee – where do we stand today? Approximately six decades have gone by since Professor J. Chris Coetzee first published his “Introduction to the philosophy of education” (the title of which can be translated as “Introduction to general theoretical education”). This article is aimed at explaining how the field of reformational philosophy of education in South Africa has developed during these six decades. The discussion does not follow the pattern of a mere historical review of events in the field. Use is made of recent developments in the fields of the history and sociology of science to explain the condition that philosophy of education in South Africa currently finds itself. Theories about the evolution of science developed by Kuhn, Neurath, Barrow and others are used to explain the nature of the crises experienced in this field of science.

Some methodological observations during a process of measuring the “experienced” life-conceptual identity of an educational institution A project was launched by means of which it was hoped to establish to what extent the academic staff of a Faculty of Education at a South African university succeeded in actually living and experiencing the beliefs contained in their shared reformational view of life. This article is, however, neither a systematic report on the project itself nor of its findings. It rather focuses on some of the methodological problems that were encountered in the researchers’ efforts to apply quantitative research procedures to measuring a life-concept as a theoretical construct. It is concluded that such procedures should be augmented with qualitative research methods. Several other methodological measures are recommended for increasing the chances of success in a project of this nature.

The challenges of HIV/AIDS education for the 'ordinary' class and subject teacher: A principial reflection HIV/AIDS has become a wide-spread epidemic. It has already claimed thousands of lives and many others are infected daily. HIV/AIDS education forms an important facet in the struggle against the disease, also in schools where ‘ordinary’ teachers (i.e. not professional AIDS practitioners) find themselves having to deal with classes of students in which learners infected by HIV or suffering from full-blown AIDS might be present. HIV/AIDS education confronts these teachers with several challenges. Feedback from an empirical survey in a province of South Africa where HIV/AIDS has assumed rampant proportions revealed that, while these ‘ordinary’ teachers were quite prepared to become involved in the struggle against HIV/AIDS, they did not see themselves as adequately equipped and prepared for the task. A number of recommendations are made to deal with this shortcoming in their training.

As a result of the era of civil disobedience associated with the struggle for freedom and democracy discipline in many schools has deteriorated. The persistent lack of discipline in all South African schools can only be countered by means of a wise application of discipline. Application of “discipline” according to the standard dictionary meanings of the word will, however, not be appropriate since it implies a clamp-down on disruptive behaviour, including punishment, chastisement and retribution. Discipline associated with the paideia ideal of well-educatedness and of the educator as the servant of his learners (paidagogos), though within the context of a reformational perspective of discipline on the other hand, will be more suitable.

The process of values clarification in South African education from a reformational perspective Values clarification has been playing a key role in education in South African schools since 1996. In this article a discussion of this approach in education leads to a search for answers to questions such as “Whose values are clarified?” and “When/Where does the process of clarification end?” Answers to questions such as these and an outline of guidelines sprouting from a reformational foundational framework lead the author to conclude that values-clarification education has only limited value: it merely clarifies the public moral code endorsed by the (education) authorities. Other value systems, including a reformational one, should also be involved in the process for it to become more educationally relevant.

A principial foundation for authority, freedom, order and discipline in the educational context of the early 21st century This volume of Koers contains a number of articles dealing with various aspects of authority, freedom, order and discipline in the educational context. The discussion in this, the introductory article, is based on the question whether postmodern conditions have brought about any changes to our views and ideas about these phenomena, especially since these conditions seem to favour relativism and to be averse to generalising “grand narrative”-views. In the discussion of each of these phenomena, the ramifications of extremely static and rigorous as well as of extremely fluid and dynamic approaches are considered. It is concluded that although cognisance has indeed to be taken of the needs and demands of postmodern man (in the shape of learners, for instance), persons in authority in educational context should strive to apply principles based on a Biblically-based/reformational view of man, society, authority, freedom, responsibility, accountability, order and discipline.

Education/training and economic demand Education systems and their output appear to be out of step with the demands of the economy in many countries, including South Africa. Massive education investment and expansion seem to have resulted, especially in developing countries, in schooled unemployment rather than economic development, modernisation and full employment. A historicalcomparative overview reveals how economically successful countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany, and (until recently) the new economic giants of South-East Asia and the Far East, succeeded in aligning education and training with the economy. In conclusion the implications of their strategies for South Africa are explored. A combination of the British and Singaporean models is recommended for South Africa. A warning is, however, sounded throughout that economic systems that do not adhere to the principles of human stewardship and responsible management should not be supported by education and training in their present forms. Those involved in education and training should rather call for reform of the systems that they are expected to support.

Epistemological convictions with regard to teaching and learning It is often assumed by teaching-learning specialists that teaching and learning are proportionally related technical activities, and can be accurately measured in examinations or experiments. The fact that teaching and learning are respectively, as well as in combination with each other, embedded in a multitude of pre-scientific and scientific presuppositions is frequently overlooked. This discussion is aimed at revealing that views and standpoints regarding teaching and learning can hardly be substantial or plausible without cognisance and evaluation of the epistemological convictions in which they are grounded. Such convictions also determine the nature of their application in actual class-room practice.

Teacher security as a pre-condition for adding pedagogical value to teaching in schools Since 1994 the new political dispensation in South Africa has led to several disruptions in the education system. Teachers have not escaped the effects of this disruption, and many teachers manifest symptoms of insecure behaviour. Because of their insecurity, many teachers are unable to add pedagogical value to their teaching efforts. The disruption they are currently experiencing is, however, by no means more radical or acute than in other periods in South African history. A number of guidelines are offered by means of which (teachers’ perceptions of) teacher security can be improved. This is done on the premise that strengthening teacher security and safety will not only enable teachers to understand their divine calling as well as the nature of pedagogical involvement with learners, but will indeed motivate them to also apply pedagogical principles and insight in actual classroom practice.

School effectiveness research has been blossoming for the last three decades: people do things on purpose, and wish to establish from time to time whether they have reached their objectives. The history of school effectiveness research, however, reveals that it has often been hampered by shortcomings, such as striving to understand effectiveness in terms of inadequate criteria, and approaching education narrowly in the sense of teaching or instruction, in the process overlooking the complexities of the human being and of education. Such shortcomings can, however, be eradicated by taking into consideration some of the philosophical foundations of school effectiveness. Doing so leads, inter alia, to the methodological insight that school effectiveness should be assessed by means of a research strategy commensurate with the complexity of the problem.

The dilemma in vocational guidance in the new democratic South Africa is clear. The rapidly changing social, demographic and economic features of life in South Africa require the immediate provision of culturally relevant vocational services to historically disadvantaged individuals and groups - services which have been as yet non-existent because of the previous systematic and structural exclusion of persons of colour from the development of relevant vocational guidance tests and procedures. In this article the authors suggest the implementation of self-help vocational guidance instruments (SHI’s) as a possible solution to the dilemma. An example of a self-constructed SHI is given as an illustration of how teachers can construct self-help instruments for their schools.

Education in the early 21 st century: A Christian-educational perspective The transition from one century to another calls educators and educationists to scrutinize trends from the past and the present, and to realistically project them into the future. They need to do this because of the future-directedness of education and educational science: people have to be educated in order to be empowered for meaningful future existence. The research underlying this article was inspired by the transition from the 1900s to the 2000s, as well as by President Mbeki's injunction that South African educators should be prepared to face the next century. With reference to the “Tirisano” project, a probable religious-cultural-social scenario for the first decades of the next century is described and evaluated from a Biblical-educational point of view. The discussion is concluded by expressions of concern about the secular and humanistic nature of both the "Tirisano" programme and the broader global trends with which educators will have to grapple in the next few decades.

The in loco parentis position of the teacher implies that he/she is regarded as acting in the place of the parent. This principle is embedded in South African common law and in many respects confirmed by statutory law. In the South African legal context, it implies that the teacher is obliged to take care of the physical and mental safety of the pupil and has the right to maintain discipline. It is a legal instrument for bringing about order in the educative duties of teachers. A more philosophical line of reasoning, centring on sphere sovereignty, reveals why jurists tend to compare the duties of teachers with those of parents, but do not equate them with each other or regard these duties as synonymous.

The possibility of Christian education in South Africa after 1994 Conditions in South Africa have become decidedly unfavourable for the continued practice of Christian education in schools. A culture of fundamental human rights has become firmly established, which, among others, has resulted in the arrival of a secular-humanist educational dispensation. The issue facing the Christian community is how to exploit the prevailing conditions for the survival of Christian education in the system. The research reported in this article has revealed that the new system hinges on four principles, and that an understanding of these principles can afford scope and latitude for Christian education. The four principles are analysed in some detail with reference to a Constitutional Court decision and recent legislation.

The postmodernist educational approach: a philosophical discussion Several Christian philosophers and educationists have in recent years sounded warnings about the dangers inherent in postmodernist thinking about education. This investigation was launched to investigate whether postmodernists not only succeeded in attacking the modern pedagogical project of Enlightenment thinking but also the pedagogical project per se. It was found that Postmodernism succeeded in unmasking the tendency of Rationalism to absolutise the ontic structure of education as well as in deconstructing the rationalistic tendency to construct grand narratives and value systems, but that it failed to destroy the pedagogical project as such. Several postmodernist tenets are critiqued and discussed.

The maintaining of identity in the Netherlands and the relevance for South Africa This article focuses on two questions: The way in which the issue of identity has been handled in the Netherlands since the 16th century and which perspectives the history of Dutch education provides for the issue of identity in South African education in a post-apartheid dispensation. It is indicated that the process/history of maintaining the identity of the Christian school in the Netherlands was one of continuous conflict between the Christian and the neutral (secular) school. In 1920 the first phase of the conflict was resolved fairly satisfactorily with the "De Visserwet" (act), which granted parents the right to organise own schools. Since then all schools have been funded on an equal base by the state. As South Africa is currently trying to find solutions to certain educational problems, solutions resulting from the Dutch situation could possibly be applied partially to the South African situation. The main advantage would be that a variety of groups with different life views would be able to exist in harmony and to organise and support own schools receiving equal state support.

The philosophical foundations of multicultural education. In this article an attempt is made to penetrate the philosophical foundations of multicultural education. Research reveals that some efforts at formulating such philosophical points of view cannot pass the equilibrium test: in these cases some or other aspect of created reality is frequently overemphasized or absolutized. Other formulations are, however, able to pass this test and thus conform to the demands of an integrated view of reality, man, knowledge and society. It has also become evident that multicultural education cannot be regarded as a purely didactic undertaking; it also presupposes a clear philosophical basis.

Some historically black schools manage to do quite well despite their circumstances, such as dire poverty. We aim at explicating some of the causal factors regarding the effectiveness of three schools in deep rural Mpumalanga, South Africa by tapping the perceptions of their learners. Data were collected from learner samples (four girls and four boys from each school, all of them black) by means of semi-structured focus group interviews. The results lead to the conclusion that the perceptions of disadvantaged black learners in this area, with respect to what contributes to their educational effectiveness, may also be understood in terms of hierarchical insights and awarenesses, the ontological basis of which seems to be successful pedagogical dialogue, with mutual acceptance as its fountainhead.

Historically the school has been subject to a de-/vitalizing power-play fulfilled through the manipulative power of holders of power under the primacy of a specific religious ground motif The result has been that the school is seemingly experiencing an identity crisis because of the incomplete definition of its task of educative teaching, because man/power-holders have historically been wont to regard himself/themselves as the justified determiner of meaning of his/their structures. Subsequently the school's foundational function, its destinational function and its sphere of competence have been defined by way of apostatic ground motifs and secular points of departure. Thus the school has been subjected to a never-ending, self-denying bipolar play of power which can be self-undermining. While no power-play can be driven to its fullest consequences, 1school reforms* have been self-abortive in nature. There is therefore the demand to provide the school with a stable value system which for the Christian is situated in the creation-fall-redemption religious ground motif which places man in a radical Creator-creature relationship.

It is widely recognized among scientists that quantitative research methods are applicable in cases where the field of inquiry and the problem to be solved require such research. History proves however that such strict quantitative research methods have in the past also found their way into the humanities, mainly because of the efforts of positivists, instrumentalists and pragmatists. In many cases, though, it can be proved that the one sided application of these methods in the humanities has not been suitable, since there are too many anthropological variables to be controlled and too many (including statistical) suppositions to be formulated at the outset. Although the value of these methods in the humanities in cases where their application is justifiable cannot be denied, there has lately been a strong thrust for the advancement of qualitative research in the human sciences, including education. Qualitative re­ search methods have in fact through the centuries consistently featured prominently in the philosophical disciplines like philosophy of education, although there are traces of efforts to apply quantitative methods in these disciplines too. Through the ages, from the maieutic method of Socrates to the contemporary method of conceptual analysis, philosophers have always endeavoured to outline their methods of research, methods which have always been mostly qualitative by nature.