In recognition of my significant contributions to academia and society, I was knighted as an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2012, Amsterdam, for my national and international academic achievements in Religious and Worldview Education, as well as my broader service to Dutch society, including politics and church. Additionally, a Liber Amicorum was published in my honor in 2012, titled “On the Edge: (Auto)biography and Pedagogical Theories on Religious Education,” featuring contributions from esteemed scholars and presented at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. From 2011 to 2015, I held various leadership positions in the Religious Education Association (REA), including President and Vice-President. I also served as a Visiting Professor in Philosophy of Religious Education at St. Petersburg State University, Russia, from 2007 to 2012. Other notable roles include Dean of the Faculty of Psychology and Education at VU University Amsterdam from 2003 to 2006 and as the Endowed Hendrik Pierson Professor for Christian schools at the same university from 1993 to 2006. Moreover, I have received recognition such as an award from the Social Scientific Board of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) in 1984 for a review article on critical pedagogy.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• International Society of the Study of Religion: Member from 2007 to 2008.
• Nederlands Godsdienstpedagogisch Genootschap (NGPG): Member since 2006.
• Religious Education Association/Association for Professors, Practitioners, and Researchers in Religious Education (REA/APPRRE): Member since 2005.
• Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education (APRRE): Member from 1999 to 2005.
• Religious Education Association (REA): Member from 1999 to 2005.
• Ethos and Education Network: Member from 1996 to 2005.
• Association for Moral Education (AME): Member from 1994 to 2004.
• Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain: Member since 1994.

Conference organisation:

Conference organizer of the Religious Education Association conference, “Coming out religiously! Religion, the Public Sphere, and Religious Identity Formation,” held in November 8-10, 2013, in Boston, US. Chair and organizer of the NGPG symposium “Godsdienstpedagogiek. Dimensies en spanningsvelden,” held in Amsterdam on October 9, 2009. Chair and co-organizer of the REDCo-conference in the Netherlands, held in Soesterberg, Kontakt der Kontinenten, from March 6-10, 2008. Co-convenor with main convenor Prof.dr. W.A.J. Meijer and co-convenor dr. A.M. Lanser-van der Velde of the bi-annual conference of the International Seminar for Religious Education and Values, held in Driebergen, the Netherlands, from July 31 to August 4, 2006. Organizer of the symposium “Levensbeschouwelijke vorming voor allen,” held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on June 9, 2006. Organizer of the international symposium “Religious Education as Encounter,” related to the honorary doctorate for Prof.dr. John Martin Hull from VU University Amsterdam, held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on October 21, 2005. Organizer of the conference “Religie in het onderwijs,” held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on February 11, 2005. Organizer of the conference “Geestelijke stromingen in het onderwijs,” held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on May 17, 2004. Co-organizer with Dr. A.B. Dijkstra of the conference “Bijzonder gemotiveerd. De ideale school volgens dragers en vragers van confessioneel basisonderwijs,” held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on February 14, 2003. Main organizer (with Prof.dr F.K. Kieviet and drs. J. Hoeksema) of the conference “Tussen nabijheid en distantie. De interactie tussen leerling en leraar,” held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on November 13, 1998. Co-organizer with Dr. D.J. de Ruyter of the conference “Tussen traditie en vernieuwing,” held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on April 25, 1997.

PUBLICATION:

1.The Challenges of Global Citizenship for Worldview Education. the Perspective of Social Sustainability