15315-wolbert

CHAPTER 4 C HILD - REARING , RISK , AND STRIVING FORHUMAN FLOURISHING Abstract Parenthood can be characterised as a leap of faith, it is inevitably ‘risky’. This characterisation of parenthood seems opposed to the current use of the concept of ‘risk’ in contemporary educational theory and policy, which emphasises that risk is something that is best prevented or avoided. Otto Friedrich Bollnow distinguishes between avoidable risks on the one hand and existential risks ( Wagnis ) on the other. This paper argues that Bollnow’s description of education as a Wagnis (i) contributes to the understanding of child-rearing and striving for flourishing as inherently uncertain; (ii) contributes to a clarification of the ways in which the concept of risk is being used in educational theory and policymaking; and (iii) leads us to recognise trust as a key concept in discussing risk-taking and child-rearing. We will argue that parents start with an ‘a priori’ trusting belief in their children. Keywords Risk, Child-rearing, Education, Human flourishing, Trust, Wagnis This chapter is based on: Wolbert, L.S., De Ruyter, D.J., and Schinkel, A. (2018). Child rearing, risk, and striving for human flourishing. Educational Theory 68 (1).