Education Commons^™

Guest Editorial: One Size Does Not Fit All, One Critique Does Not Fit All Schools Of Education, David Hand, Patrick Otto

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Many years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King reminded us that skin tone should never be a factor to judge an individual, but rather the content of the individual’s character is the issue to be considered. Just a few years ago the sociologists Lawrence Harrington and Samuel Huntington (2000) completed a study which addresses Max Weber’s premise that culture does matter when looking at the differing levels of societal effectiveness. As we read Dr. Arthur Levine’s Educating School Leaders, we question if Dr. Levine has operated from the understanding that the differences in schools of education are numerous and that each …

Addressing Challenges Encountered By Leadership Teams In Five Mentoring Programs, Gary M. Kilburg, Eloise Hockett

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This study is the third stage in a continuation of research by Kilburg and Hancock (2006) that investigated 149 mentoring teams in four school districts over a two year period. The current study is differentiated from the published study in that it identifies challenges encountered by mentoring program planning committees, coordinators, and administrators from five school districts over a six-year period. In the last two years of this present study, Critical Friends Group Coaches were added to one school district’s leadership team.

Developing Comprehensive Induction Programs At Christian Schools, Joann Looney

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The 1980s were classified as a time of “national awakening” (Goodlad, 1990, p. 1) to the complexities of restructuring our schools. Educational problems ranging from high drop out rates to low test scores could not be adequately and professionally addressed until the nation’s leaders acknowledged that “the renewal of schools, teachers and the programs that educate teachers must proceed simultaneously” (Goodlad, 1990. p. 4).

Perceptions Of Doctoral Graduates On The Usefulness Of Written Reflections As An Instructional Strategy, Esther Swink

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

One of the goals of the Ed.D. in Leadership and Professional Practice at Trevecca Nazarene University is for candidates to be reflective practitioners. Since the inception of the program in 1999, written reflections as an instructional strategy has been encouraged by the administration and used by several professors. This focus is supported by the conceptual framework that informs all courses and programs in the School of Education and includes the national standards adopted by INTASC (Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium) which calls for teacher education candidates to be reflective practitioners who plan, implement, and evaluate effectively. This standard …

Volume 4, Number 1: Letter From The Editor

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

I am glad that this issue of the Journal has finally arrived. We have gone through some significant changes this winter. We have taken the Journal down from one host and relocated it. We have also changed the content management engine from Plone to WordPress. Both of these changes were needed as cost savings measures, and also as means to alleviate some of the need for continued upgrading of the software by Sean, McKay, our technical editor. As you can imagine, publishing takes time, even in the online environment. We are trying to learn this new software system. If you …

A Letter From Our New Associate Editor, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Christina Belcher is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada and an adjunct of the Education Department at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC. She is passionate about children’s literature and is interested in how narratives provoke hope, reveal cultural dispositions, and shape the soul. Her broad interests and areas of writing include literacy, worldview, and interdisciplinary study. She has previously served in teacher education in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Christina is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

Fostering Resilient Characteristics In Individuals With Learning Disabilities, V. Shelly Dugle, Peggy Grigorenko

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Educational resilience is an important term for teacher candidates in Christian institutions to understand. Resilience can be nurtured and instilled in the lives of individuals with learning disabilities, and teacher candidates can play a vital role in that process. To assist in this course of action, a look at the definition and common characteristics of resilience are discussed. In addition, a closer look at four resilient individuals with learning disabilities is provided. Concrete suggestions on ways to incorporate resilient characteristics into students with learning disabilities are shared.

Best They Forget: Challenging Notions Of Remembering And Forgetting, Chris Baird

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In Jeremiah 31:34 the LORD declares, “No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest… For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (The NIV Study Bible, 1995, p.1170). It is not the intention of this paper to enter into a theological discussion as to whether or not God is capable of forgetting; however, at very least He chooses the metaphor of forgetting to display his forgiveness for his people. This seems to …

Volume 3, Number 2: Letter From The Editor, Scot Headley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This current issue is one that brings with it anticipation. We look forward with anticipation to our biennial conference at the end of May, this year hosted by our colleagues at Gordon College, near Boston. If you have not yet registered it is not too late, and we would love to see you there. I hope that you have been looking forward to the release of this Winter, 2008 issue of the ICCTE Journal. While we generally release the Winter issue in the winter (end of January), your editor has been tardy and for that I wish to extend my …

Christian Education And Worldview, Richard Edlin

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

What we believe as Christian educators is conveyed in many different ways to our students. The concept of worldview has been used in recent years to describe the comprehensive approach to reality that provides the foundation for how we understand the world and how we teach our students. Christians assert that worldview is a deeply religious concept, and that, particularly in education, we need to understand and critique our own worldviews to ensure that we are offering education that is faithful to our calling to celebrate the lordship of Christ over all of creation rather than an education that is …

Book Review: Roy D. Zuck. Teaching As Paul Taught, David W. Robinson

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The church of our Lord Jesus Christ has recognized from its foundation a vital connection between spirituality and the ministry of teaching. In his Great Commission to His disciples, now being transformed into His apostles, the Lord commanded them, saying, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20a, NIV; emphasis mine) Likewise, Paul explicitly noted the spiritual gift and role of the teacher or the pastor-teacher several times in the scriptures …

Integrity And Integration: An Exploration Of The Personal, Professional, And Pedagogical In The Professoriate, Laurie R. Matthias Ed.D., Ruth-Anne Wideman Ed.D.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This paper seeks to explore the connections between the concepts of integrity and integration within the professoriate in Christian higher education. Specifically, it examines commonalities and intersections in the definitions of terms, the gaps between rhetoric and reality, and the reasons for those gaps. Implications for a professor’s inner life, scholarship, and teaching are also discussed, and suggestions for closing the gaps are offered.

Neuroscience And Education: The Importance Of A Christian Understanding Of Human Persons, Laura A. Barwegen Ed.D.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The increased research in the neurosciences has affected the discipline of education in numerous ways, with publications translating this research into classroom practices. A caution is given to Christian educators to carefully reflect upon how this research influences our view of human persons and what difference this view makes in the teaching and learning process. The purpose of this paper is (1) to examine some of the ways that neuroscience is speaking into the discipline of education, particularly in understanding the capabilities and processes of the learner; (2) to develop an awareness of how this affects our understanding of persons; …

Book Review: Robert W. Pazmiño. Foundational Issues In Christian Education, David W. Robinson

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

I remember quite well my earliest exemplar in Christian education, Dr. John Blanchard, commenting that the primary challenge facing the Christian teacher was to help our students develop critical thinking without creating a corrosively cynical or skeptical mindset. “All truth is God’s truth,” he would say, quoting Frank Gaebelein, so that we could be boldly confident in our teaching, while still remaining faithful shepherds of our students and of the Lord’s word. But how does one go …