Christianity Commons^™

Christian Higher Education And Students With Diverse Beliefs: Impacts And Challenges, Elize Celic, Beverly Christian, Andrew Matthes

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The ethos, mission, and values of Christian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are usually grounded in a biblical worldview. Increasingly, Christian HEIs are attracting students who do not share the faith espoused by the institutions they attend. This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of six final-year education students with different belief frameworks to those of the Christian HEI they attended. They were interviewed to determine their perceptions of the transparency of the ethos, mission, and values of the HEI, the impact of the HEI on their lives, and the challenges they faced as students. The data revealed some positive impacts …

Embodying And Modeling Healthy Self-Care In Teacher Education, Cathy E. Freytag

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

To care for others well, teachers must care for themselves in healthy and responsive ways. The “love mandate” in Scripture, says that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22: 37-39). Far too often, Christians (particularly those in serving professions) fail to properly understand and enact healthy, God-honoring care for themselves. When teacher educators fail to model responsive self-care, they unwittingly perpetuate unhealthy messages about what it means to care well for others, and communicate to teacher candidates that doing good supersedes being well. In …

A Faith-Based Context For Culturally-Relevant Instruction, Danny R. Swensen

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Preparing prospective teachers who are equipped to successfully educate students from culturally, racially, and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds is critical work conducted by universities. This paper investigates how culturally-relevant pedagogies with biblical underpinnings have the potential to create educational environments that promote excellence, reflect the culture of the students and their communities, and develop awareness of societal injustices which inspire and equip prospective teachers to become agents of change. This approach is then illustrated through the course design and instructional strategies used in an introductory education course at a Christian liberalarts university.

Book Review: Soul Care: Christian Faith And Academic Administration, Heather Hall Lewis

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Soul care: Christian faith and academic administration. Edited by Heie, H. and Sargent, M. (2012). Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press.

As the editors of this book state in the introduction, little has been written about how to provide effective academic leadership to a Christian institution of higher education. This collection of essays was written for an audience of academic administrators under the assumption that most individuals who find themselves in such a role have very little formal preparation for their responsibilities. Furthermore, academic leaders in Christian higher education in particular generally come into such positions with a great deal …

The Cry Of The Teacher's Soul, Cathy E. Freytag

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Matthias, L.R. (2015). The cry of the teacher’s soul. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock.

In the current educational landscape, particularly in the West, myriad factors contribute to the challenges and difficulties teachers encounter on a daily basis. In the face of bewildering student concerns, high-stakes testing, and rigid accountability structures that often de-personalize the teaching profession, educators – perhaps more than ever before – are facing the very real effects of burnout. In The Cry of the Teacher’s Soul, Laurie Matthias weaves scholarly insights from theology, psychology, and education together with powerful, personal stories to provide a spiritually and pedagogically-sound …

Ripples Of Gratitude: The Flow-On Effects Of Practicing Gratitude In The Classroom Environment, Jane Wilson, Paige Harris

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This research explores God’s call to gratitude, summarizes current research on the benefits of gratitude, identifies key gratitude disciplines/practices, and utilizes a conceptual framework to study gratitude in the context of educational settings. In contribution to the relatively recent discussion on gratitude, especially in the education field, the researchers explored the effects when pre-service teachers practice an inner attitude of gratitude and intentionally express gratitude in the classroom setting. This study expands the current educational research of gratitude by incorporating three primary gratitude practices – the State of Preparedness, gratitude language, and gratitude journaling – and examining both personal benefits …

Parting Editorial, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

As I settle in at my keyboard, my neighbour (who restores older vehicles), is cruising happily down our street with the windows down and the radio on high. Without restraint, in joyful volume, the Byrds are singing familiar words from the book of Ecclesiastes: “To everything, there is a season … turn, turn, turn; and a time to every purpose unto heaven.” How apt.

Teachers’ Understanding Of Imago Dei, Beverley Norsworthy, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Often education is viewed pragmatically as that of preparing students for life as employees. Another view is that education is about enabling human beings to flourish. The pragmatic and flourishing paradox has consequences for national citizenship. For Christian teachers, critical to such an approach would be the manner in which their teaching practice is informed and shaped by a Christian worldview. Such shaping involves an applied knowledge with reference to understanding people, and particularly students as “Imago Dei.” This research presents a pilot study in which 120 teachers in Christian schools in New Zealand and Canada were invited, via an …

Educating In The Spirit: An Examination Of The Person And Role Of The Holy Spirit In Christian School Education (Part Two), Thyra Cameron, James Swezey

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This study is the second of a two-part article that examines the Person and role of the Holy Spirit in Christian school education. Part One (ICCTE Journal, 10(1)) was an extensive literature review of the Person and role of the Holy Spirit from the two perspectives. Part Two is a cross-case study of two principals who led schools representing each perspective. The rationale for this study is that since Christian schools submit to the authority of the Bible, and Scripture recognizes the preeminence of the Holy Spirit, these schools would seek to comply with these biblical prescriptions. The …

Truth, Goodness And Beauty: Revisiting The Classic Common Core Standards, Gary Gramenz

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

As the educational community works to simultaneously understand and implement the Common Core standards and its emphasis on the development of various intellectual traits and capacities, it is worth pausing to consider this most recent educational reform in light of the classical understanding of the educational task. This article highlights three elements from the “classic” common core educational standards as understood by classical educational theorists: truth, goodness, and beauty and the role each plays in developing an educated person. These classic standards place the development and elevation of the human spirit as the foundation of all learning. Although truth, goodness, …

Book Review: Bible Shaped Teaching, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Lately, I have been contemplating the act of remembering. Not just as this regards to memory, but as it applies to metaphorically putting the members or attributes of our physical, mental and spiritual holistic self into the act of teaching and learning; re-assembling the “members” of being human into a coherent and flourishing wholeness. In many ways, this aligns well with the essence of John Shortt’s small but powerful text. It needs to be read more than once. It returns the mind and heart to the entire landscape of teaching.

The Troubled Sense Of Otherness Among Christian And Non-Christian Esl Freshmen At A Christian College In The Midwest, Yin Lam Lee-Johnson

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This study was derived from an ethnographic study conducted with five ESL learners and their peers in a Christian college in the Midwest. The theoretical framework of this article was built upon Freire’s (2000) and Kumashiro’s (2001) anti-oppressive education. The study employed various data sources to find out how Christian and non-Christian ESL freshmen experienced a sense of otherness in the local college community. The findings reveal the hidden norms in the faith-based college, which marginalized the non-Christian ESL freshmen from being legitimate participants (Lave & Wenger, 1991). The researcher provides recommendations to educators and administrators in higher education for …

Book Review - Index, Ken Badley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This index includes book reviews that appeared between 2011 and 2014 in four different journals that focus on Christian views of education at all levels, the place of religion—especially Christian faith—in education, and the roles of Christian educators in elementary, secondary and higher education, both public and church-related. The journals are these:

Educating In The Spirit: An Examination Of The Person And Role Of The Holy Spirit In Christian School Education (Part One), Thyra Cameron, James Swezey

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This essay is the first of a two-part article that examines the Person and role of the Holy Spirit within the context of Evangelical Christian school education. Both parts form the foundation of a study that compared and attempted to contrast two perspectives on the Holy Spirit: Reformed and Charismatic-Pentecostal. Part One is an extensive literature review of the Person and role of the Holy Spirit from the two perspectives. Part Two will be a cross case study of two principals who led schools representing each perspective. The rationale was that, since Christian schools submit to the authority of the …

The Good Shepherd: Lessons For Teacher Education, Scott Key

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Across the continent, the demand for increased student achievement dominates conversation. Teacher education programs are under pressure to ensure that pre-service teachers are able to step into classrooms and improve student achievement. This pressure can invite programs to focus on subject-specific and pedagogical competencies while minimizing ethical and relational aspects of teacher preparation. Yet caring relationships are central to more positive learning experiences. What should these relationships look like? For Christian teachers and teacher educators, the answer to this question lays, in part, in an examination of Jesus. This paper focuses on Jesus the Good Shepherd as seen in the …

Letter From The Editor, Scot Headley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Ten years ago this autumn, I sat in an office on the campus of George Fox University with a small group of colleagues who had accepted the responsibility for beginning a scholarly journal that would provide a forum for teacher educators at CCCU and like institutions. We were responding to a call to support the efforts of scholars and practitioners who had been exploring the influence and implications of their Christian faith and worldview on their professional work as educators. We did this by providing a forum for scholars to share their ideas and served practitioners by making ideas, programs, …

Letter From The Editor, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

It seems like the years just fly by, but I begin every year with this reflection on the poem by Minnie Haskins, “God Knows”, incorporated into the Christmas Day speech of King George VI in 1939:

“And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, give me a light that I may travel safely into the unknown.

And he replied: Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.” So I went forth, and finding the …

Exploring Perceptions Of Care In Christian Teacher Education Communities: Toward A Faith-Informed Framework Of Care, Cathy Freytag

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

During a recent sabbatical (spring 2013), the author investigated perceptions of care in a variety of teacher education programs at Christian colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. My purpose for engaging in this study was to ascertain whether there might be elements of care unique to teacher education programs at Christian institutions that reach beyond prevailing conceptions of care found in the feminist philosophical literature. In this article, I discuss prevalent views of care across sacred and secular lines, detail the research methodology employed in the current study, elaborate upon emergent themes and trends, propose a model …

Chasing The ‘Hounds Of Hell’: Howard Thurman’S Jesus And The Disinherited As A Curriculum For Racial Justice And Reconciliation, Sandra Richards Mayo

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This essay explores the implications of the Trayvon Martin case for educators who must contend with the complexities of race in the context of schooling. With the assumption that race continues to function as an important category in social arrangements, this essay addresses the following questions: What is the role of race and racial stereotyping in educational disparities? How can educators work purposely toward a curriculum of racial justice and reconciliation? Drawing on the work of African American theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman, this essay argues that new approaches to social justice education should address both the extrapersonal …

Letter From The Editor, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

With the approach of the 2014 ICCTE conference at Redeemer University College in Hamilton, ON, Canada, (we are still accepting proposals and registration), excitement tends to be a prelude to this issue. As manuscripts arrived, and were reviewed a common theme emerged for this issue. The theme probed faithful practice from a secure spiritual identity while navigating post and post-postmodern landscapes in the realm of education. Our final founding paper from reprints of the first published works following an ICCTE conference, explores this within the scope of 14 years prior. Our newer submissions build upon aspects of that discussion.

The Postmodern Paradox: How The Christian Scholar Has Both Declined And Thrived As A Result Of Postmodernism’S Influence In Higher Education, Patrick Otto, Lani M. Malcolm

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The Christian scholar faces an interesting paradox concerning postmodernism’s influence in higher education (Edlin, 2009). One of the key components of the modernism paradigm was the ability for humans to reason (Pells, 2007). Universities were based largely on a model in which young adults were expected to first acquire knowledge, principles, and skills, and then later apply that which was learned to their career ambitions, citizenship, or professional development (Willis, 1995). But in the 1960s and 1970s, higher education began to face increasing social pressure as the ideas of modernism associated with knowledge acquisition, power, and authority came under scrutiny …

Book Review: Heart Deep Teaching, Heekap Lee

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Teaching has been and continues to be “the most universal and appreciated role of the Christian ministry through the ages” (Nouwen, 1971, p. 10). However, the teaching in churches has not made a positive impact on the young. According to Ham and Hillard (2009, p. 31), over 60% of children who grow up in the church will leave it as young adults. Christian churches need to understand the Gospel’s call to develop human potential to the fullest through what Newton terms heart-deep teaching.

How should Christians in vocations respond to this situation? As the author of this review and …

Book Review: The Shaping Of An Effective Leader, Glen Green

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The Shaping of an Effective Leader has been fundamentally encouraging to me in the area of leadership because I have been fortunate enough to be a recipient of the leadership of the author. Serving on my dissertation committee, Gayle Beebe encouraged me to development a Christian theology of suffering. He recommended reading the works of Diogenes Allen, Lawrence Bowker, Herbert Lockyear, Henri Nouwen, as well as others. In our meetings to discuss these works, it did not take long for me to discover that I was in the presence of one of the most Christlike individuals I had ever encountered. …

Academic College Readiness Indicators Of Seniors Enrolled In University-Model Schools® And Traditional, Comprehensive Christian Schools, Sharon Brobst

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This correlational study examined the relationship between type of high school a senior attends (University-Model School® [UMS®] or traditional, comprehensive Christian) and academic college readiness, when controlling for prior academic achievement and gender. The study compared archival data of Christian school students from six Texas schools. The Stanford-10 controlled for prior academic achievement. SAT and ACT scores measured academic college readiness. Results of three sequential multiple regressions, controlling for confounding, found school type to be a statistically significant predictor for the SAT Composite score, but not for the SAT Writing score or the ACT Composite score. Although the UMS® seniors …

Addressing Cultural Pluralism From An Evangelical Christian Perspective, Jeanette L. Hsieh, Louis B. Gallien Jr., Jillian N. Lederhouse

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The complex issues surrounding cultural pluralism are rapidly turning the public square into a battlefield that divides our country. As Charles Haynes summarized, “At issue for this nation, as for much of the world, is the simple but profound question that runs through modern experience: How will we live with our deepest differences?” (Haynes, 1994). At a time when many citizens of our diverse nation have become disillusioned with the motto e pluribus unum, the Christian higher education community deals with issues involving race, ethnicity, and gender through a variety of responses ranging from isolationism to unqualified inclusion.

Evangelical …

Iccte Spotlight: Hee Kap Lee

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

HeeKap Lee, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Azusa Pacific University. HeeKap is the book review editor in our ICCTE team. Guidelines for book review submissions are on our ICCTE.journal page.

A Visit To The Kilns: A Formative Experience For Two Christian Teacher Educators, Karen S. Buchanan, Thomas D. Buchanan

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The C.S. Lewis Study Centre at the Kilns is located near Oxford, England in the previous home of C.S. Lewis, the highly influential 20th century Christian intellectual and apologist. Two professors, who coupled a brief stay at the Kilns with an inquiry into the life of Lewis and his writings, present insights into their work as teacher educators. Three main areas are explored. The first area is the nature of our work, including a discussion of the distinct roles associated with Christian teacher educators and the importance of professional community. Next is a discussion on the quality of our work, …

Exploring Spirituality In Teaching Within A Christian School Context Through Collaborative Action Research, Alaster Gibson

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This article reports on a collaborative action research project conducted in New Zealand, during 2012, exploring spirituality in teaching within a Christian school context. The experienced primary school teacher participant chose to take action around the issue of personal fear and insecurity which were believed to be hindering professional growth and relationships. Through self-directed inquiry, critical reflective journaling, Bible study, fellowship and prayer with trusted friends, the teacher experienced a renewed sense of peace and freedom in Christ. This personal transformation was believed to be influential on subsequent professional practice, assisting the teacher to become more relational, responsive and compassionate. …

Researching The Teaching Context: Faithful Practice, Geoff Beech

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Christian teachers are called to a teaching practice that is biblically grounded or based on a biblical world and life view, but can the same imperative be applied to those wishing to conduct research in Christian education contexts? This paper considers one approach to qualitative methodologies that considers the ultimate goal of truth-seeking in research in the sciences to be a deeply religious activity. The ultimate goal of biblically grounded research is proposed as being greatest-commandment driven, and to accomplish this, an epistemological base that is holistic and relational is proposed. This epistemology moves from a biblically oriented sense of …

Letter From The Editor, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Col. 1:17 – He [Christ] is before all things, and in him all things hold together (NIV).

At the time of virtually penning this letter, I am eagerly anticipating being able to meet many of you at the ICCTE conference this May 28-31 at Redeemer University College in Hamilton, Ontario. The theme of this conference is Faithful Presence and Practice,which flows from the verse cited above. Our pre-conference session with Dr. Ken Badley on writing for publication is wonderful, and I highly recommend it to you as well as the full conference session.