Education Commons^™

Pusztai's "Religion And Higher Education In Central And Eastern Europe" - Book Review, David Fideler, Mária Farkas

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

A Review Of “Compromising Scholarship: Religious And Political Bias In American Higher Education", Ken Badley

Faculty Publications - College of Education

In Compromising Scholarship, Yancey argues that politically conservative persons, religiously conservative persons, and especially politically, religiously conservative persons face a disadvantage when seeking either employment or a fair hearing in the contemporary American academy, especially in the social sciences and humanities. Several times while reading this book, I recalled a job interview of my own at a university in Canada. One interviewer asked whether my religious convictions might undermine my ability to teach courses in a program that prepared teachers for service in Saskatchewan’s public schools. I noted that, while the question was illegal under Canada’s Charter of Rights and …

A Treatise On Diversity In A Dominant Culture University, Brenda Morton, L. Samek, A. Berardi, Debra S. Espinor, S. Song, W. White, S. Bearden

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The authors examine progress in strengthening the Diversity agenda in a school of education within a private Christian university. This agenda is informed by external academic accrediting organizations and principles of social justice congruent with the historical roots of the university. Special emphasis is placed on the unique challenges of confronting how privilege manifests itself in seemingly homogeneous environments. The ultimate goal of the authors is to promote moving beyond cosmetic compliance with accreditation obligations towards a metabolized second order change reflecting internal paradigm shifts in which social justice is a central motivating factor in one’s vocation.

Engaging The Culture, Changing The World: The Christian University In A Post-Christian World (Book Review), David M. Johnstone

Publications from Student Life & Spiritual Life

No abstract provided.

A Guidebook Of Promising Practices: Facilitating College Students' Spiritual Development (Book Review), David M. Johnstone

Publications from Student Life & Spiritual Life

No abstract provided.

Foster Youth And Post-Secondary Education: A Study Of The Barriers And Supports That Led To Academic Achievement, Brenda Morton

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the perceptions of former and current foster youth on the barriers, supports, helps and strategies they encountered during their K-12 education, and to learn how these contributed to their ability to enroll in post-secondary education. The study included in-depth interviews of 11 participants, all of whom were current or former foster youth who were enrolled or had plans to enroll in a community college or four-year university. These in-depth interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. The data was first coded by topics and then grouped into themes. The results of …

Toward An Agenda For Teacher Education In Christian Colleges And Universities, Daniel C. Elliott

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The first (United States of America) national symposium by major teacher educator organizations took place in December 1995. The Association of Teacher Educators, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and the US Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement sponsored and conducted a National Congress on Teacher Education. Leading national figures in teacher education presented their views to the almost 500 delegates. Focus groups examined the views and reported to a conference coordinator. The coordinator, in turn, synthesized the concerns, ideas and recommendations into a daily log of issues. I list some of the salient points …

Actualizing Faith Learning Integration: Exploring The Tensions Of Mindful Teaching, Susanna Steeg

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This reflective paper describes the experiences of a first-year faculty member negotiating the meaning and living out of faith learning integration within her particular institution. The triple tensions of mindful teaching (ethics/power, individual/collective, and contemplation/action) are framing constructs for this discussion of faith learning integration. Autobiographical narratives of three particular experiences in the author’s first year offer opportunities for readers to reflect on the tensions inherent in mindful teaching as it pertains to faith and learning. The author invites consideration of the institutional supports and constraints within these conversations while sharing vignettes revealing the personal nature of these decisions.

How A Christian Ethic Of Care Can Inform The Organization And Structure Of Schools Of Education, Paul Shotsberger

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

A natural outcome of a Christian ethic of care is the adoption of structures and organizations that facilitate or enhance this kind of caring. This article investigates these kinds of structures as they relate to schools of education. Discussion and recommendations focus on moving away from a hierarchical model toward a more organic structure where authority and decision-making are more distributed, communication is emphasized, and collaboration is the norm.

Religious Identity Formation Among Adolescents: The Role Of Religious Secondary Schools, Timothy J. Wang

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The purpose of this article is to examine the role religious secondary schools play in the religious identity formation of adolescents. Although several research studies have found a correlation between enrollment in private religious schools and adolescents’ religious identity formation, the researchers of these studies have only speculated about which specific characteristics of religious schools are responsible for this formation in the lives of adolescents. Through a review of the literature, the present article identifies several characteristics of religious secondary schools that may contribute to the process of religious identity formation: a community of religious peers, the presence of religious …

Iccte Spotlight: Dr. Laura Barwegen

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Dr. Laura Barwegen, Associate Professor of Education at Wheaton College, is an Associate Editor for the ICCTE journal. Laura assists the Editor in the process of manuscript reviews. Her careful diligence assures that your work is reviewed in a timely manner.

Cultural Humility: A Framework For Local And Global Engagement, Eloise Hockett, Linda Samek, Scot Headley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Many institutions of higher education have implemented local and global engagement opportunities as a way to expose both students and faculty to different cultures and further their knowledge of those cultures. One of the primary goals of these cultural experiences is for students and faculty to become more culturally competent. However, it is possible that our current way of thinking and promoting cultural competency within education specifically may not go deep enough and could be considered limiting in the ways we partner, collaborate, and interact with people groups different than ourselves. Cultural humility, a construct currently accepted in some professional …

Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions Of The Integration Of Faith And Learning As Christian Vocation, Laurie R. Matthias, Karen Wrobbel

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The overriding purpose of Christian liberal arts colleges in the United States is to offer a comprehensive education to their students. Inherent in this goal is the deliberate integration of Christian faith with academic content; it is, after all, what differentiates Christian institutions of higher education from their secular counterparts (Muntz & Crabtree, 2006). The mission statement of Trinity International University (TIU) in Deerfield, Illinois is to “educate men and women for faithful participation in God’s redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian fidelity and lifelong learning.” The Division of Education that prepares candidates for certification to …

Leadership In Private Christian Schools: Perceptions Of Administrators, Suzanne Harrison

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to discover the perceptions of private Christian school administrators about leadership characteristics, roles, and teacher professional development. The co-researchers first conducted a demographic survey and focus group interviews with six administrators from K-12 or secondary private Christian schools in Oregon and Washington. Themes that surfaced from the data were who we are as leaders, success and celebration, and what we do as leaders. Results showed that administrators of private Christian schools tended to focus on the importance of the vision and mission of their schools, keeping in mind their influence as spiritual …

Making Disciples: The Effects Of Technology Integration Coaching, Dawn Wilson, Linda Brupbacher, Cynthia Simpson, Rachel Merren, Ranelle Woolrich

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This paper describes a pilot study of collegial coaching for technology integration at two private Christian schools. Two students nearing completion of a Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a Specialization in Instructional Technology each coached three fellow teachers, self-described as digital immigrants, to integrate technology into their teaching. The coaches spent an average of 15 hours per teacher brainstorming, teaching, and facilitating technology integration. Information obtained from a variety of data sources (interviews, a post-coaching questionnaire, a focus group, and analyses of journals kept by both coaches and coached teachers) revealed the positive effects of their collegial …

Book Review: Metaphors We Teach By: How Metaphors Shape What We Do In Classrooms, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

As I sit to write this review, I find myself musing over the sub-title to this text, How Metaphors Shape What we do in Classrooms. Worthy of a place in educational texts, this context of shaping targets a consideration for everyone working educationally with students. In this context, this book provides readers with much to think about. In my perspective, it is this consideration toward what I will call the heart and dispositional sensibility of education, a Christian sense of place, so to speak, that makes this book valuable.

Iccte Spotlight: Dr. Susanna Steeg

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Dr. Susanna Steeg, Associate Editor, is the newest member of the ICCTE editorial team. She serves as both a reviewer for the journal, and editorial assistant for manuscripts prior to the final copy edit process.

Training And Development Of Financial Education Program Staff, Sonya L. Britt, Ryan Halley, D. B. Durband

Faculty Publications - College of Business

No abstract provided.

Staffing And Recruiting Considerations For Financial Education Programs (Chapter Three Of Student Financial Literacy), Ryan E. Halley, Dorothy B. Durband, Sonya L. Britt

Faculty Publications - College of Business

A financial education program is only as good as the people who staff it. In order to get the right people on staff, careful attention must be paid to the strategy and execution of recruiting and hiring. Underlying the strategy is the determination of which staff positions are needed and how the roles will be defined. Various questions need to be addressed, such as: What financial resources are available? What types of services is the program planning to offer? What is the level of counselor content expertise? What is the type and size of facility where counseling will take place? …

Book Review: To Change The World: The Irony, Tragedy & Possibility Of Christianity In The Late Modern World, E. Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In reflecting on James Davison Hunter’s thesis To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World, I must admit experiencing rising tension as to whether this book is to be a harbinger of hope, or another postmodern harbinger of doubt regarding the possibility of Christianity in our current environment.

In unpacking such deliberations, I begin by outlining the form, content, and intent of Hunter as to his purpose, his theology for faithful presence and shalom, and my final musings. As with any review, the hope is to have the reader read the …

Faculty Perceptions Of Teacher Professionalism In Christian Schools, James A. Swezey, Donald E. Finn

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Able school administrators understand that teachers are their most valuable asset. If Christian schools are to effectively serve the families who entrust their children to their care, teachers must demonstrate both professional competency and godly character. This study was an investigation of faculty perceptions of teacher professionalism at ten Christian schools in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. An online survey of 24 items was completed by 230 teachers (males=30; females=200). The survey instrument was a modified version of Tichenor and Tichenor’s (2009) four dimensions of teacher professionalism. Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis-of-variance (MANOVA) …

Changing Approaches To Moral And Character Education, Lisa M. Kelly

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study investigated the changing definitions of moral education that have been implemented in public schools form the colonial times to the present, eventually leading to the development of character education. For almost a century, education has slowly deemphasized traditional approaches that teach morality, ethics, and character.

Teaching of morals in the colonial and early national period of American history was characterized by a command morality rooted in Protestant and Puritan values. Later, industrial urbanization led to the need for universal schooling. The common school era encouraged more specific, duty-related ethical guidelines. Morals were still heavily grounded in religion, yet …

Education Reform In Rwanda: Impacts Of Genocide And Reconstruction On School Systems, Jay Mathisen

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study is an historical dissertation on the topic of education reform in the East African nation of Rwanda. Determining the impact of the Rwandan genocide of 1994 on three reform initiatives that followed is the central aim of the study. The framework of the study is assembled as a three-­‐part timeline upon which three initiatives of education reform are overlaid for analysis, 1) student-­‐centered instruction, 2) language and 3) enrollment developments. Focusing on those three initiatives in the context of a timeline that details each in the decades prior to the genocide, and in the years that followed it, …

Google+ Hangouts, Pinterest And Twitter @ The Library, Robin Ashford

Faculty Publications - George Fox University Libraries

No abstract provided.

Teaching Our Education Students To Teach Christianly, John Van Dyke

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

What does it mean to teach Christianly? We may not always agree on what it means. There can be no doubt, however, that the calling of teacher education departments in Christian post-secondary institutions is to prepare students to teach Christianly, whether in public or Christian schools. But how do we do this? I shall address this question by considering four themes:

• current conceptions of what it means to teach Christianly,
• an alternative model,
• the context of teaching Christianly, and
• some implications for our teacher education programs.

Letter From The Editor, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

I am sitting in my study with a cup of coffee … (this only happens in summer). Prior to crafting this letter to you I paused to chuckle – as a miner of words – on this quote from C. S. Lewis:

Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. (Lewis, C.S. (1995) Letters to children. New York, NY: Touchstone)

I have learned a lot from C. S. Lewis. I may not yet write an editorial letter that …

Using Storytelling To Integrate Faith And Learning: The Lived Experience Of Christian Esl Teachers, Monir Nazir Atta-Alla

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

English as a second language (ESL) settings lend themselves more easily and naturally than others to storytelling-based discussions and activities that integrate faith and learning. Stories and storytelling offer students from diverse backgrounds a compelling mechanism for understanding their world and creating shalom learning community conducive to the restoration of wholeness of the learners. This qualitative study explores the perceptions and lived teaching experience of Christian teachers regarding the integration of faith and learning in ESL settings through using storytelling. Findings indicated that storytelling is an effective tool for the integration of faith and learning in ESL settings. Using storytelling …

Letter From The Editor, E. Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In the act of pondering the majesty of God’s Creation, I never tire of observing the slide of Autumn as it nestles into Winter and the beauty of the snow that follows. It is good to reflect on the comforting flow of God’s grace, beauty and consistency.

The ICCTE journal, in its rhythm of bi-annual publication, has seasons as well. As I end this year and prepare to enter the next one, I have the task not only of introducing what is in this issue, but what you can look forward to in the coming months.

Book Review: The Heart Of Higher Education: A Call To Renewal, Jamie Johnson

Publications from Student Life & Spiritual Life

A Review of “The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal” By Parker J. Palmer and Arthur Zajonc San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010, 237 pp., $24.95, ISBN: 978-0-470-48790-7

Developing A Peace And Conflict Resolution Curriculum For Quaker Secondary Schools In Kenya, Eloise Hockett

Faculty Publications - College of Education

In 2008–2009, a team of educators from George Fox University, in collaboration with a committee of teachers and administrators from selected Quaker secondary schools in western Kenya, developed the first draft of a peace and conflict resolution curriculum for Kenyan form one (ninth grade) students. This case study offers a model for developing a peace curriculum relevant to the identified needs of form one students in Kenya, supported by adult learning strategies for teacher training. In addition, the development of this curriculum project serves as an example of effective collaborative cross-cultural partnerships. The outcomes of this project offer specific insights …