Vacare: from Lectio Divina to Contemplative Reading. Making space for the personal formation of secondary school students

Abstract

The personal formation of students is an important goal in Religious Education in secondary schools in the Netherlands. This article, which is based on the design research of my PhD dissertation, examines how a contemplative approach to reading stories can, according to Religious Education teachers, contribute to the personal formation of students. Thus, a teacher’s manual, based on the monastic tradition of Lectio Divina, was designed and tested for the Contemplative Reading of Biblical parables. What possibilities does this teacher’s manual for Contemplative Reading offer for creating space for the personal formation of students in daily teaching practice? How do the results of this intervention contribute to the theory of personal formation and the theory of contemplative practices in education? Cultivating a space for freedom—vacare—appears to be essential. Contemplative Reading can open this space of attention and listening in the classroom.