WaardenBurger
WaardenBurger consists of three educational tools aimed at strengthening teachers (religious education), educational therapists, and museum educators in facilitating value‑laden critical dialogue with young people about sensitive social issues. Topics such as identity, faith, or justice are increasingly causing tensions in the classroom and during extracurricular activities such as museum visits.
WaardenBurger is a hands‑on dialogue tool designed to critically examine value frameworks that generate tension together with young people, within a safe dialogical space. In addition to learning opportunities, this offers young people the chance to encounter and understand other contexts and perspectives. The tool consists of philosophical dialogue exercises for young people and dialogical guidelines for professionals, developed in collaboration with project partners across several research cycles.
In cooperation with the partners, the final methodology is being implemented within museums, schools, teacher education programmes, and the educational therapy training programme at Odisee and its partners.
WaardenBurger for religious education teachers
This educational tool focuses on strengthening secondary school teachers of religious education in engaging in value‑laden critical dialogues with students about socially sensitive topics.
With this tool, we aim to address teachers’ feelings of uncertainty in taking action, strengthen their dialogical skills, and enhance students’ (inter‑)religious and worldview competencies.
The tool consists of a professional development methodology and a classroom methodology, developed over several research cycles in consultation with the Commission for Religious Education Subjects (CLBV). Two hundred religious education teachers received training, and the final version was piloted by approximately 100 teachers.
WaardenBurger for museum educators
This educational tool focuses on strengthening museum educators in facilitating value‑laden critical dialogues with young people about socially sensitive topics such as colonisation or sexual identity during school visits.
The tool consists of a manual containing dialogue tips, sample questions, key points of attention, and recommendations. It was developed and tested in collaboration with a learning community of museum educators from Bozar, KMSKB, M KHA, SMAK, Kazerne Dossin, MMRK, MAS, Flanders Fields Museum, and STAM.
WaardenBurger for educational therapists (orthopedagogen)
This educational tool focuses on strengthening educational therapists in facilitating value‑laden critical dialogues with young people about socially sensitive topics such as war and conflict or sexual identity.
The tool consists of a manual with dialogue tips, sample questions, points of attention, and recommendations, as well as a series of philosophical dialogue exercises to work hands‑on with young people.
Through this link (Dutch) you can find additional information such as academic articles, blog posts, and videos on conducting critical dialogues with young people about sensitive societal issues.
The link also includes other educational tools developed by ExploRatio to engage students in critical dialogue about sensitive themes related to citizenship, sustainability, science, and the tension between science and faith.
