Education Commons^™

For Such A Time And Place As This: Christian Higher Education For The Common Good, Cynthia Wells

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

One might argue that this is not a wise time to raise queries of the common good for Christian higher education. Our in-boxes and newsfeeds provide persistent reminders of the crises facing higher education today, many of which uniquely impact Christian colleges and universities. A crisis of the humanities, as students turn away from areas of study traditionally associated with the liberal arts. A crisis of cost, as independent colleges wrestle with an unsustainable financial model and an increasingly skeptical constituency. An enrollment crisis amid declines in the number of high school graduates, especially in the northeast and midwest. Colleges …

Addressing Minority Student Achievement Through Service Learning In A Culturally Relevant Context, Dottie Weigel, Julian D. Owens

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

Research on recreational media use among youth indicates young people of color who spend more time with media may also be at higher risk for school disengagement and low personal contentment compared to their white peers. This puts these students in a position to be even more influenced by the themes and messages that abound in pop culture, particularly music and social media. ME: MIM is a multisensory, interdisciplinary, integrated approach to teaching and learning that uses music multimedia to engage students in individual and group activities and lessons that reinforces competencies aligned with positive youth development. Song lyrics, sound …

Constructing A Prototype: Realizing A Scholarship Of Practice In General Education, Cynthia Wells

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

Why a scholarship of practice? Toward what end do we assess the merits of such a concept? John Braxton (2003) recommends a scholarship of practice as a means to enhance the utility of empirical research by developing and refining knowledge that improves institutional policy and practice in higher education. In essence, a scholarship of practice turns the scholarly assets of the academy on the work of the academy itself.

A Distinctive Vision For The Liberal Arts: General Education And The Flourishing Of Christian Higher Education, Cynthia Wells

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

This article argues that a coherent and inspired general education program, infused with a deliberate vision of the liberal arts, is crucial to the flourishing of Christian higher education. This article begins by describing the context and status of general education, emphasizing how this element of the educational program falls short in embodying a distinctive mission of Christian higher education. This article then contends that a vibrant vision of general education will be grounded in particular aspects of a liberal arts education that fulfill crucial outcomes of the Christian university, specifically cultivating the formal virtues and fostering meaning and purpose. …

Realizing General Education: Reconsidering Conceptions And Renewing Practice, Cynthia Wells

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

General Education is widely touted as an enduring distinctive of higher education in the United States (Association of American Colleges and Universities, [11]; Boyer, [37]; Gaston, [86]; Zakaria, [202]). The notion that undergraduate education demands wide‐ranging knowledge is a hallmark of U.S. college graduates that international educators emulate (Blumenstyk, [25]; Rhodes, [158]; Tsui, [181]). The veracity of this distinct educational vision is supported by the fact that approximately one third of the typically 120 credits required for the bachelor's degree in the United States consist of general education courses (Lattuca & Stark, [120]). Realizing a general education has been understood …

Renewing Our Shared Purpose: Considering Ernest L. Boyer’S General Education Vision For Christian Colleges And Universities, Cynthia Wells

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

This article considers the significance of Boyer's work on general education for Christian colleges and universities. After beginning with a synthesis and analysis of Boyer's vast body of work on general education, this article then identifies the challenges facing those concerned with renewing the general education program in Christian colleges and universities. This piece concludes by illustrating how Boyer's ideals for general education relate to the educational aims of Christian colleges and universities and also provides concrete examples of how Boyer's ideals are evident in Christian higher education today. This article argues that Boyer's vision for general education is fully …

Third-Culture Students: An Exploratory Study Of Transition In The First Year Of College, Dottie Weigel

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of third-culture students who repatriated to the United States for their first year of college. In the context of this research, third-culture students are American children who lived overseasas a result of their parents’ professions for two or more years immediately prior to returning to the United States to attend a university. Useem (1993) defines “third-culture” as the new style of life that is created, learned, and shared from blending first-culture experiences and customs from a country of origin (i.e., “home” country) with second-culture knowledge acquired from living in …

Designing Educational Programs That Promote Cognitive Development And Success In The First College Year, Dottie Weigel, Tracy Skipper

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

A presentation on supporting First Year students

• Theory Overview–Perry, King & Kitchener
• Assessment
• Case Studies
• General Discussion

Outcomes For Students Of Student Affairs-Academic Affairs Partnership Programs, Cynthia Wells

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

Although academic and student affairs partnership programs have been cited as potential means to create seamless learning environments for undergraduate students, little research exists on the outcomes of such programs for students. The Boyer Partnership Assessment Project examined the outcomes for students participating in academic and student affairs partnership programs at 18 institutions. Four categories of student outcomes were identified: acclimation to the institution, engagement, student learning, and academic and career decisions. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

At the beginning of the 21st century, higher education in the United States faces many challenges, including changing student demographics, …

“Principles Of Good Practice” For Academic And Student Affairs Partnership Programs, Cynthia Wells, Elizabeth Whitt, Angela Kellogg, Becki Nesheim, William Mcdonald, Melanie Guentzel

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

While academic and student affairs partnership programs have been championed as a means to enhance undergraduate education, research documenting the characteristics of effective part-nership programs is sparse. The Boyer Partnership Assessment Project is a qualitative examination of academic and student affairs partnership programs at 18, diverse institutions. This article identifies seven principles of good practice for creating and sustaining effective partnerships, and discusses the implications of these principles for higher education research and practice.

Epiphanies Of Faith Within The Academy: A Narrative Study Of The Dynamics Of Faith With Undergraduate Students Involved In Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Cynthia Wells

Higher Education Faculty Scholarship

This narrative study describes the faith dynamics of undergraduate students involved in the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) at a secular university. Nine students were interviewed using the Faith Development Interview—interview protocol developed by Moseley, Jarvis, and Fowler in 1993—and a Faith Experience Interview designed by the researcher of the current study. Analysis within the overlapping experiences of the IVCF and the university identified nine phenomena that influence epiphanies of faith. Three are evident within the IVCF context—affiliations of faith, mentors of faith, and choosing into faith. Inductive study, retreats, peer relationships, and staff advisers challenge and support students toward authenticity, …