Education Commons^™

Letter From The Editor, Susanna Steeg

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

It is a pleasure to compose a letter to you at the outset of the 2016-2017 academic year. In composing this, my first letter as Managing Editor of ICCTE-J, I envision each of you sitting in front of a screen, scrolling through the latest journal offerings in search of new information or insight. I wonder what brief words I might offer to encourage you in the face of all we undertake to launch a new academic year and deal profitably with life’s many challenges. And I think it is this: we serve a marvelous and sovereign God who loves each …

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 …

Towards More Inclusive Schools: An Application Of Hospitality In Parental Involvement, Yvette Latunde

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Parental involvement is a key factor in student success, yet schools struggle with effectively engaging diverse families in the education of school-age students. This article proposes a model of hospitality as a flexible framework for parental engagement. In this model, schools build safe and trusting environments by attending to physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual spaces for parent involvement, integrating inclusion and embrace of differences. The author examines literature on the historical and theological concepts of Christian hospitality—primarily Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Volf’s theory of exclusion and embrace, and Pohl’s reminder of hospitality as a Christian tradition—and explains how practicing hospitality …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Book Review: The Ethics Of Attention In An Age Of Distraction: Why You Need To Get Out Of Your Own Head, Brian Dijkema

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction by Matthew Crawford. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, April 2015.

Most of us think of distraction as a mere annoyance— a mild humming in the background while you work, a fly landing on your book while you read. We do not usually think of it carrying the weight of a serious moral problem. In his new book, The World Beyond Your Head, Matthew Crawford argues that our inability to pay attention does carry such moral weight, and he argues this precisely because it dissolves our individuality and …

Using Library Events And Programs To Reach Out To Patrons, Robert Lee Burgess

The Christian Librarian

"In the 2014-2015 academic year, Southwestern Libraries had significant changes in faculty and staff. We decided that our librarians would take the initiative to reach out to the students in order for the library to be more welcoming. Our ultimate goal was try to get students to see the library as a place of learning and community, and not just a place to pick up books."

Emden's "For White Folks Who Teach In The Hood ... And The Rest Of Ya’Ll Too: Reality Pedagogy And Urban Education" (Book Review), Rebecca A. Givens

The Christian Librarian

A review of Emdin, C. (2016). For white folks who teach in the hood ... and the rest of ya’ll too: Reality pedagogy and urban education. Boston: Beacon Press. 248 pp. $24.99. ISBN 9780807006405

Bradley And Muller's " Church History: An Introduction To Research Methods And Resources, Second Edition" (Book Review), Rebecca A. Givens

The Christian Librarian

A review of Bradley, J. A., & Muller, R.A. (2016). Church history: An introduction to research methods and resources, second edition. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. 214 pp. $30.00. ISBN 9780802874054

Struggling Libraries Survey, The Tcl Editorial Team

The Christian Librarian

In January of 2016, the editorial team of The Christian Librarian (TCL)asked ACL members to participate in a survey entitled, “Survey on Struggling Libraries.” The intention of this survey was twofold: first, to provide an opportunity for members to share wisdom and insight with their colleagues regarding how they have made it through the challenges, and secondly, to know how we can pray for our colleagues.

Why The Acrl Framework For Information Literacy For Higher Education Enhances Information Literacy Instruction, Kathy Kempa

The Christian Librarian

This article attempts to clarify what the ACRL Framework is designed to do for teaching librarians. The article looks briefly at the need for change from the Competency Standards based on librarian concerns about their own teaching effectiveness. The short description of two of the foundational books, on which the Framework was based, are introduced so that instruction librarians can do their own research into the foundational concepts of the Framework for a deeper understanding of the value of this new approach to library teaching. Links to teaching resources are included.

Using Your Library’S Objectives As The Organizational Framework For Library Documentation In Planning, Assessment, And Accreditation, Jennifer S. Ewing, Ruth E. Martin

The Christian Librarian

The San Diego Christian/Southern California Seminary Library1 uses its objectives as the organizational framework for its strategic plan, annual report, assessment plan, and policies and procedures manual. This article describes how the library’s objectives compare to the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Standards (to ensure best practices), relate to the areas covered in the library strategic plan, annual report, and operations manual, and correspond to the standards and criteria from their respective accrediting agencies, showing how easy it is to identify supporting evidence for a program review or self-study when using this organizing method.

Jeffrey And Evans' "The Bible And The University" (Book Review), Armand T. Ternak

The Christian Librarian

A review of Jeffrey, D. L., & Evans, C. S. (Eds.) (2007). The Bible and the university. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 328 pp. ISBN 9780310234180

Mitchell And Seiden's "Reviewing The Academic Library: A Guide To Selfstudy And External Review" (Book Review), Donald E. Day

The Christian Librarian

A review of Mitchell, E., & Seiden, P. (Eds.) (2015). Reviewing the academic library: A guide to selfstudy and external review. Chicago: ACRL. 334 pp. $65.00. ISBN 9780838987834