Religion, Secularity, and Secularization in Europe

The first section of this chapter covers the conceptual understandings of secular, secularization, secularity and secularism, together with the rich sources of data available in Europe. It argues that secularization is neither linear nor predictable; it is a complex and contingent process that takes place differently in different places both within Europe and beyond. The second section recalls the long-term evolution of the secular in Europe as a whole. The core of the chapter, however, focuses on the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This period is considered both chronologically and thematically with the following question in mind: is Europe secular because it is modern, or is Europe secular because it is European? Given the growing conviction that Europe is unusually secular in global terms, it seems that the latter is more likely. Secularization is central to the self-understanding of modern Europe; it should not be assumed, however, that secularization is a necessary—thus universal—concomitant of modernization.

Strengthening the Relational Trust between a Professional Leader and the Team

<p>Relational trust is defined by Bryk and Schneider as the “connective tissue that binds individuals together to advance the education and welfare of students” (2003, p.44). It is the Professional Leader’s role to consciously look for ways to cultivate closeness within the team, as it is this trusting relationship with each other that provides the impetus for teachers to strive for optimal performance individually and collectively (Bloom, 2003). The aim of this research was to discover what leadership conceptual understandings and practices would help strengthen the relational trust between a Professional Leader and the team. This research took form of a case study within an interpretive paradigm. Data were collected from four different sources – two online surveys, professional conversations, four observations and anecdotes from a personal journal. Findings revealed five key attributes that were important for a Professional Leader to have in order to strengthen their relational trust with the team. These are: communication, active listening, availability/approachability, accountability and consistency. Several recommendations for three stakeholders arise from this study – for centre owners/managers, for the Ministry of Education and the Education Council, and finally, for researchers.</p>

Strengthening the Relational Trust between a Professional Leader and the Team

<p>Relational trust is defined by Bryk and Schneider as the “connective tissue that binds individuals together to advance the education and welfare of students” (2003, p.44). It is the Professional Leader’s role to consciously look for ways to cultivate closeness within the team, as it is this trusting relationship with each other that provides the impetus for teachers to strive for optimal performance individually and collectively (Bloom, 2003). The aim of this research was to discover what leadership conceptual understandings and practices would help strengthen the relational trust between a Professional Leader and the team. This research took form of a case study within an interpretive paradigm. Data were collected from four different sources – two online surveys, professional conversations, four observations and anecdotes from a personal journal. Findings revealed five key attributes that were important for a Professional Leader to have in order to strengthen their relational trust with the team. These are: communication, active listening, availability/approachability, accountability and consistency. Several recommendations for three stakeholders arise from this study – for centre owners/managers, for the Ministry of Education and the Education Council, and finally, for researchers.</p>

Using Learning Stories in Secondary Social Studies: Gathering, Analysing and Using Evidence to Support Learners' Conceptual Understandings.

<p>This research examined the use of learning stories as a way to gather, analyse and use evidence to support the development of social studies conceptual understandings. This is important because there is limited research in New Zealand related to social studies assessment in secondary school environments, or in the monitoring of conceptual changes in understanding. The limited research that can be drawn upon highlights the challenges social studies teachers face teaching and assessing conceptually. Sociocultural theory featured strongly throughout the research, through the decision to investigate learning stories as an assessment approach, as well as the lens with which to approach the methodology. In order to investigate the Learning Story Framework, as an intervention, a qualitative design-based methodology was utilised involving one in-depth case study. The research composed of three iterative phases, gathering evidence using semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documentation analysis, including reflective journals. The findings suggested that learning stories can be used to support the development of conceptual understandings in conjunction with a reflective class culture, strong community relationships, clarity of planning for and sharing conceptual understandings, and support for students to critically reflect.</p>

Using Learning Stories in Secondary Social Studies: Gathering, Analysing and Using Evidence to Support Learners' Conceptual Understandings.

<p>This research examined the use of learning stories as a way to gather, analyse and use evidence to support the development of social studies conceptual understandings. This is important because there is limited research in New Zealand related to social studies assessment in secondary school environments, or in the monitoring of conceptual changes in understanding. The limited research that can be drawn upon highlights the challenges social studies teachers face teaching and assessing conceptually. Sociocultural theory featured strongly throughout the research, through the decision to investigate learning stories as an assessment approach, as well as the lens with which to approach the methodology. In order to investigate the Learning Story Framework, as an intervention, a qualitative design-based methodology was utilised involving one in-depth case study. The research composed of three iterative phases, gathering evidence using semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documentation analysis, including reflective journals. The findings suggested that learning stories can be used to support the development of conceptual understandings in conjunction with a reflective class culture, strong community relationships, clarity of planning for and sharing conceptual understandings, and support for students to critically reflect.</p>

Third Worlds, Coolie and Coolitude: Unravelling the long arm of history

Sugar dictated the fortunes of many countries in the British Empire in the nineteenth century. With the abolition of slavery, thousands of indentured labour or coolies from the Indian subcontinent, filled the labour gap. The word coolie was derogatory, referring to a marginalized underclass, whereas the word coolitude evokes and acknowledges agency. Our article revolves around the question: How does a historical lens evoke understandings of ethnic minorities (EM) at work in contemporary organisations? We illuminate a historical lens (the eternal present and linear progression, historical determinism and structuralism, and evoking the past), to provoke reflections on how on-going marginalisation of ethnic minorities at work, may be tethered to a coolie template. We weave conceptual understandings of history, indentured labour and EM in an interdisciplinary manner to evoke reflection by policy framers and managers on how the long arm of history may be implicated and unravelled. We suggest that such insights are necessary to highlight perceptions of coolitude as an alternative epistemology pertaining to EM at work

The inevitable sociality of money: the primacy of practical affirmation over conceptual consensus in the construction of Bitcoin’s economic value

Bitcoin went from being an obscure online project to a globally exchanged money valued at tens of thousands of dollars (USD) per unit. It has achieved this in spite of fundamental irreconcilabilities between the economic theories which spurred its creation and its own material basis. This article investigates how this happened using a computationally grounded analysis of 100 000s of messages from the early years of Bitcoin’s two main online communities. It will show how the continuing divergence in participants’ understandings of why Bitcoin possessed value ultimately gave way to an emerging focus on the social problem of adoption. In demonstrating this shift and accompanying promotion of activities that affirmed Bitcoin had value in practice, this article with argue that shared meaning in the form of practical affirmations of worth, rather than conceptual understandings of it, are key to communities’ ability to ‘bootstrap’ a money’s initial economic value.