Education Commons^™

Submitting Plans With Open Hands, G. Allen, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

There’s a truth God has taught me throughout college and I’m sure will continue to teach me as I get older. Two passages of wisdom the Lord has used in service of continually reminding me of this lesson are Proverbs 16:9 – “The heart of a man plans his way but the Lord establishes his steps.” – and James 4:14-15, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’– yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your …

The Heart Of A Servant Leader, Lewis Shepherd

Press Releases

On Monday, January 15, people across America and in many places of the world will pause to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It is often when we reflect on the life of Martin King that we pay particular homage to his intellectual accomplishments. Yes, they are quite impressive when one considers he entered college at the age of 15 and completed a bachelor’s degree by 19, a master’s by 21, and a Ph.D. at 26, but Martin King was more than mere diplomas and academic regalia.

Surprise!, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

The Son's Easy Yoke And Light Burden: A Biblical Theology Study Of Matthew 11:25-30, Keegan Matheson

Biblical Studies Student Projects

Matthew 11:25-30 is a rich passage that reveals the nature of God's revelation to His people and the spiritual rest that He generously offers to them. This paper discusses both of these prominent themes and how they connect this passage with the rest of God's grand story. Furthermore, this paper addresses the implications of this passage on the life of a disciple.

Ezekiel 36:24-28: God Promises Salvation For The Sake Of His Name, Emerson Claire Jones

Biblical Studies Student Projects

Ezekiel 36:24-28 is an important passage both for the original audience and for modern day Christians. In this paper, the connections between this passage and the rest of the biblical narrative will be addressed. Why is God saying that He will give Israel a new heart? What is the motivation of God's action? How should we respond today? What led Israel to be in this position? These are all questions that will be addressed.

Peace In The Middle Of The Storm, Ronald Washignton Dr, Sandra L. Guzman-Foster Ph.D.

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

The march towards biblical Revelation and restoration began at Calvary and continues today. A comforter and Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE) are given to sustain believers in these times. As educators and more so as followers of Jesus the Christ, there are certain truths we hold. Among them is that we are just passing through this life. In our traversing of this life, we accept the command to spread the good news, utilize our gifts, and do all unto the glory of God. So as educators, the main question throughout the COVID pandemic, with political and social unrest in …

Incorporating Perspectival Elements In A Discrete Mathematics Course, Calvin Jongsma

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Discrete mathematics is a vast field that can be explored along many different paths. Opening with a unit on logic and proof and then taking up some additional core topics (induction, set theory, combinatorics, relations, Boolean algebra, graph theory) allows one to bring in a wealth of relevant material on history, philosophy, axiomatics, and abstraction in very natural ways. This talk looks at how my 2019 textbook on discrete mathematics, focused in this way, came to be, and it highlights the various perspectival elements the book includes.

Homegrown: Pastor Advocacy For Victims Of Sex Trafficking, Julie Heifner

Dissertations

Human trafficking consists of both sex trafficking (ST) and labor trafficking (LT) and is a growing problem for the United States. The Federal Human Trafficking Report (2019), states that Missouri is ranked ninth in the country for active criminal human trafficking cases. This issue is particularly prevalent in our churches because churches serve vulnerable populations and predators may be drawn to churches. Religious academic literature about pastor advocacy for victims of ST is lacking, while popular news sources reference case after case where pastors are the predators. This study consisted of nine Christian pastors who currently served in a pastoral …

Handbooks, Policies, And Power: Discursive Language And Lgbtqia+ Representation In Christian University Handbooks, Kaitlin Merlino

Honors Projects and Presentations: Undergraduate

For many years, tensions have existed between Christianity and the LGBTQ community, most apparent in contexts such as politics and education. One site of conflict is within the realm of Christian higher education, specifically in regards to campus-wide regulation of same-sex behaviors. This research examines the language in sexuality-based rules as communicated in four Christian universities' handbooks. Bakhtin & Holquist (1981) demonstrate the innate tension between dialogue and the social context within which it is understood. Therefore, since language is not neutral, the words creating these rules are in themselves a site of tension for the university, its contributors, its …

Book Review: Everything Sad Is Untrue, Sharon Kerestes

Education Insights: Journal of Research and Practice

A review of the book “Everything Sad is Untrue (A True Story)," by Daniel Nayeri, is presented.

A Life-Changing Experience, Kaitlyn Norris, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

Many Christians have a chance to go on a mission trip, whether it be local or somewhere no one would ever think about going. At Ouachita, students are given the opportunity to travel and share their gifts and talents with people around the world. This summer, I got to travel to Poland to work with Breakthrough, teaching English to university students as well as having the opportunity to share God’s word.

Before going to Poland, I was tasked with choosing a chapter of the Bible to read while I was there; I chose Mathew 28. Verse 19 states, “Therefore go …

How To Create An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem At A Christian University, Jeffrey E. Haymond, Diedrich Prigge, Jon R. Austin, Daniel R. Sterkenburg, Dick Blanc

Business Administration Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Religious Lexicon Embedded In Public American Curricula, Daniel R. Jones

Student Publications

What is the relationship between one's own religious beliefs and their everyday colloquial diction choices? Moreover, why is the subfield that encompasses the intersection of sociolinguistics, education, and religious studies one that has gained little scholarly interest in recent years, where one could argue the importance of religious belief, and other socio-political beliefs in education have come center stage in the heart of American political debate? This article will tackle this broad range of topics through a case study focusing on my primary research question: How does a teacher’s own religious identity affect the religious language utilized in their classroom …

Review Of Eighteenth-Century Women’S Writing And The Methodist Media Revolution, By Andrew O. Winckles, Rebecca Nesvet

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640-1830

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Prevailing Worldviews Of American Public Education: A Brief Analysis And History, Chester Walker

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis investigates whether the philosophies and worldviews underlying U.S. public education contradict or purposefully undermine Biblical Christianity. It provides readers with an understanding of the Biblical Christian worldview to enable them to analyze and contrast prominent worldviews of public education. Pragmatism and Marxism run rampant in public education today. Both strongly oppose fundamental tenets of the Biblical Christian worldview. To determine any purposeful anti-Christian agenda, the author examines the men behind the worldviews. Christianity maintains that ideas and practices in education originate from deeply-held, personal beliefs, which are passed on to students. Education is a means of discipleship to …

Melding Critical Literacy And Christianity: A Three-Layered Response To The Murder Of George Floyd, Elena M. Venegas

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this critical autoethnography, I share my three-layered response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department in May of 2020. This three-layered response stems from my situated identities (Gee, 1999) as a mother, Christian, and academic. I was not only appalled by the dehumanization of George Floyd by public servants but also by the responses of self-professed Christians to his murder as well as the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests. Such responses, I argue, are rooted in Christian nationalism (Davis & Perry, 2020) and the White supremacy that has long plagued the American …

Exploring Online Graduate Student Experiences In Doctor Of Education Programs At A Private Christian Institution: An Ecological Systems Theory Approach, Meagan K. Sanders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the experiences of online Doctoral of Education students at a private Christian university, primarily considering how they perceived their communication and interaction with instructors and peers. A qualitative research method was used for case analysis, and was built upon the theoretical framework of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory approach. The researcher implemented purposeful sampling to identify participants enrolled in the university’s fully online EdD program. Through virtual videoconference interviews at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, data were collected and analyzed to reflect emerging themes that encompassed two of the five levels of an individual’s ecological …

Contemporary Interpretations Of Christian Freedom And Christian Democracy In Hungary, Zsolt Szabo

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Little Girl In The Country: A Children's Book, Holly Mcginnis

Honors Theses

A Work of Children’s Literature to Address Realities of Childhood in the Southern United States

This thesis investigated the intersection of life’s realities and children’s literature. Representation is an oft-talked-about area of children’s literature. It is coming to light that many groups are underrepresented in writings for children, and recent works are attempting to broaden the types and backgrounds of characters to represent the diversity of readers and authors. This thesis is the author’s attempt to accurately represent the types of students she encountered in student teaching experiences in the Oxford-area. Using inspiration from her own childhood and knowledge of …

Both/And: Self-Authoring A Feminist Christian Identity, Molly M. Williams

The Vermont Connection

This article is my attempt to make sense of the conflicting, confusing, tumultuous journey of making peace with my religion and my commitment to social justice, particularly feminism. I frame my journey using Baxter Magolda’s (2001) model of self-authorship, connecting the development of my religious and gender identities to the learning, questioning, and eventual personalization of external messages. I weave Baxter Magolda’s model, my narrative, and existing scholarship together to present a framework by which self-authorship can be applied to understand the needs of a young woman experiencing spiritual struggle within Christianity. I then consider the limitations of such a …

The Y-Factor: What Others Do Not Do, Jeffery S. Gates

Library Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Consumer Capitalist Christmas: How Participation In Christmas Frames Us As Religious Subjects, Shelby Burroughs

Celebration of Learning

Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier every year. It starts with the music that plays on the radio, then retail stores begin to drape their shelves with red and green streamers, followed by Christmas movies running on every other channel. Every December, Christmas feels almost inescapable. The holiday manages to find its way into every facet of public life in the United States. Christians and non-Christians alike find themselves exchanging gifts with friends and loved ones on the 25th of December every year. Christmas is able to be so pervasive because of how unassuming it is. You participate in …

African-American Christian Female Missionaries In Nyasaland, Congo, And Liberia: Perpetuation And Resistance At The Intersections Of Blackness, Gender, Disability, And Christianity, Karen Yvette Dace

Doctoral Dissertations

Events are taking place in the United States today regarding blackness, gender, disability, and Christianity, and the perceived place of those with black and brown bodies. Current efforts have focused on blackness and gender, blackness and disability, gender and disability, and disability and Christianity; but there has not been concerted efforts focusing on the historical intersections of blackness, gender, disability, and Christianity and how these intersections help in understanding the contemporary black social movement and the climate in which we now live.

The purpose of this qualitative study sought to understand the narratives of Christian mission agencies and how African-American …

One Nation Under God: Navigating Tensions Between American Culture, Christianity, And Education, Cassie Engvall

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

A multi-genre exploration of factors that shape contemporary Christian religious practice in the United States, particularly in the university setting. Specific topics include the Dittman v. Western Washington University case of 1978-1982, meditations on conflicting values, and personal experiences.

The Y-Factor: Christian Librarians Or Librarian Christians?, Jeffery S. Gates

Library Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

On The (Male) Fringes: How Early Religious Women Remain “Subordinate” In World History Textbooks, Erica M. Southworth

Faculty Creative and Scholarly Works

Second Wave feminist researchers identified male-dominated curriculum formats in late twentieth century curriculum materials. This study builds off their work and advances the conversation of women’s inclusion by current United States secondary world history textbook content via a feminist lens to determine the extent of women’s agency in the accounts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The purpose was to determine if textbooks portrayed these patriarchal religions as exclusively male, thereby presenting inaccurate portrayals of the religions and the agents involved, which directly violates NCSS Standards. This study used critical discourse analysis to identify patterns of female marginalization and omission, indicating …

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 …

All It Contains: Biblical Perspectives On Environmental Care, Gavin Willis

Summit to Salish Sea: Inquiries and Essays

TBD

From Liberation To Salvation: Revolutionary Critical Pedagogy Meets Liberation Theology, Peter Mclaren, Petar Jandrić

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This conversation between Peter McLaren and Petar Jandric´ brings about some of the most recent and deepest of McLaren’s insights into the relationship between revolutionary critical pedagogy and liberation theology, and outlines the main directions of development of McLaren’s thought during and after Pedagogy of Insurrection. In the conversation, McLaren reveals his personal and theoretical path to liberation theology. He argues for the relevance of liberation theology for contemporary social struggles, links it with social sciences, and addresses some recent critiques of Pedagogy of Insurrection. McLaren identifies the idolatry of money as the central point of convergence between liberation …

Politics Of Feminist Revision In Di Prima's Loba, Polina Mackay

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Politics of Feminist Revision in di Prima's Loba" Polina Mackay explores Diane di Prima's two-volume epic Loba (1998) and, through a comparison of di Prima to the work of Adrienne Rich, argues that Loba practices a politics of feminist revision. Further, Mackay examines the ways in which di Prima starts to move away from the recovery project of female voices in patriarchal culture, associated with late twentieth-century Feminism, towards a women's literature which need not be defined entirely through its resistance to patriarchal narratives of gender in men's literature. Here it focuses on di Prima's revisionist …