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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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

Library Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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.

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 …

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 …

Leadership (Chattanooga, Tn), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

This is the text of a speech Pollard delivered via video to the 10 Project Video Conference at Covenant College (Chattanooga, TN). In it he addresses the topic of leadership, focusing especially on the need for servant leaders.

Out Of The Public Eye And Changing The World, James R. Phipps

Communication Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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. …

The Truth Of God's Way, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech at John Brown University's 2015 commencement exercises, Pollard encourages graduating students to build their future vocational endeavors upon God's truth as well as a commitment to servant leadership.

The Global Marketplace, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

This document serves as an outline for a speech Pollard gave at Fuller Theological Seminary's De Free Leadership Center (Pasadena, CA). It indicates that the speech centered around three themes: globalization, vocation, and leadership.

Love, Creation, Virtue As Models For Environmental Education, Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

A look at how love, creation, and virtue should shape our conversations about the environment and environmental education.

Christian Music Experiences In The Faith Development Of Adolescents: A Phenomenological Study, Winnie White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenology study was to discover how Christian music experiences affect the faith development of adolescents. The lived experiences are the on-going process in which adolescents develop through the stages of faith and how Christian music fits into that process. The participants were adolescents who participated in a youth group with an active music experience on a weekly basis. I used the transcendental phenomenology model which included the epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis of texture and structure to collect, gather, and analyze the data. Data were collected from 11 adolescents utilizing observations, Fowler's Life …

Business As A Calling Of God (Dallas), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Speaking at Dallas Theological Seminary's Table Conference 2014, Pollard considers the integration of faith and work, noting in particular the need for both a transformation of leadership and new approach to educating future business leaders. For Pollard, what it means to lead cannot be divorced from questions of faith and God.

Faith In The Humanities, Karen Swallow Prior

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

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 …

Faith In The Humanities, Karen Prior

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Awesome Responsibility Of Leadership (Chicago), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this address at the University of Chicago's Booth Graduate School of Business, Pollard reflects on the need for servant leadership among corporate managers. Such leadership, he contends, will be rooted in faith and oriented to the holistic development of those the organization employs.

The Awesome Responsibility Of Leadership (Romania), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In remarks delivered at Romania's Emanuel University in October 2013, Pollard considers the need for servant leadership, which he argues can never be divorced from faith and must be oriented to the production of spiritual as well as monetary capital.

Principles Of Governance, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Speaking at Romania's Emanuel University, Pollard reflects on what it takes to be a successful board of trustees. In particular, he notes that in order to effectively set the moral tone of the organization the board must understand itself as a steward of what is in fact God's property.

Awesome Responsibility Of Leadership (Newport, Va), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Speaking at Christopher Newport University (Newport, VA), Pollard outlines his vision of leadership, arguing that the exercise of true leadership can never be divorced from questions of faith. This is because leadership is fundamentally about character development. When exercised in a servant-like manner it has the ability to create an organization that is as much a moral community as it is a profit-oriented institution.