Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education


Book Description

Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education is written from the unique perspective of teacher, researcher, and author Elizabeth Tisdell who has extensive experience dealing with culture, gender, and educational equity issues in secular adult and higher education classrooms, and formerly in pastoral and religious education settings on college campuses. This important book discusses how spiritual development is informed by culture and how this knowledge is relevant to teaching and learning. For educators, an understanding of how spirituality is informed by culture, and how spirituality assists in meaning-making, can aid in their efforts to help their students' educational experiences become more transformative and culturally relevant.







Transformative Learning and Adult Higher Education


Book Description

Presenting current trends in transformative learning and adult higher education, this volume paints a vivid picture of the Transformative Learning theory in action. The concepts that knit these articles together despite the variety of educational settings and populations are: relationships, community, and the body experience—often missing in higher education. This volume includes: the voices of marginalized populations often excluded from research studies such as community college students, emerging adults with learning differences, English language learners, native Alaskans, African-American health educators, doctoral students, and yoga practitioners; new paradigms for thinking about adult undergraduate education; new ways to deal with social conflict and advise doctoral students; and personal stories from Black women leaders, college teachers, student writers as well as pregnant women, and social service providers. This is the 147th volume of this Jossey-Bass higher education series. It offers a comprehensive range of ideas and techniques for improving college teaching based on the experience of seasoned instructors and the latest findings of educational and psychological researchers.




Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education


Book Description

This groundbreaking book provides a comprehensive resource that addresses the growing movement for incorporating spirituality as an important aspect of the meaning and purpose of higher education. Written by Arthur W. Chickering, Jon C. Dalton, and Leisa Stamm—experts in the field of educational leadership and policy—Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education shows how to encourage increased authenticity and spiritual growth among students and education professionals by offering alternative ways of knowing, being, and doing. Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education includes a rich array of examples to guide the integration of authenticity and spirituality in curriculum, student affairs, community partnerships, assessment, and policy issues. Many of these illustrative examples represent specific policies and programs that have successfully been put in place at diverse institutions across the country. In addition, the authors cover the theoretical, historical, and social perspectives on religion and higher education and examine the implications for practice. They include the results of recent court cases that deal with church-state issues and offer recommendations that pose no legal barrier to implementation.




Culturally Responsive Teaching


Book Description

The achievement of students of color continues to be disproportionately low at all levels of education. More than ever, Geneva Gay's foundational book on culturally responsive teaching is essential reading in addressing the needs of today's diverse student population. Combining insights from multicultural education theory and research with real-life classroom stories, Gay demonstrates that all students will perform better on multiple measures of achievement when teaching is filtered through their own cultural experiences. This bestselling text has been extensively revised to include expanded coverage of student ethnic groups: African and Latino Americans as well as Asian and Native Americans as well as new material on culturally diverse communication, addressing common myths about language diversity and the effects of "English Plus" instruction.




The Quest for Meaning and Wholeness: Spiritual and Religious Connections in the Lives of College Faculty


Book Description

“An insightful, scholarly resource for dialogue about the symbiotic relationship between the life of the mind and the life of the heart of faculty, and what faculty can do to provide students an education that focuses on meaning and purpose.” —Larry A. Braskamp, professor emeritus, Loyola University Chicago “Among the strengths of this book are Lindholm’s solid research design and data analysis, deft integration of quantitative and qualitative data in presentation of findings and interpretation, and clear writing. Dr. Lindholm makes an important contribution both to higher education literature on faculty, and to religious studies literature, on this dimension of religion and spirituality in colleges and universities.” —Michael D. Waggoner, professor, University of Northern Iowa; editor, Religion & Education “No one understands more thoroughly the roles that spirituality and religion play in higher education today than Jennifer Lindholm, who has spent more than a decade documenting their impact. The Quest for Meaning and Wholeness adds greatly to her earlier findings of how college can enhance the spiritual lives of students.” —Gary Luhr, executive director, Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities “Based on both quantitative and qualitative data, Lindholm’s thoughtful, well-written book opens new ground, addressing a largely ignored topic in the research on faculty lives and work—spirituality, religion, and meaning in academic life. Institutional leaders, faculty members, and students will benefit from the fresh perspectives, careful definitions, issues, and questions discussed in this book.” —Ann E. Austin, professor of higher, adult, and lifelong education, Michigan State University; coauthor of Rethinking Faculty Work: Higher Education’s Strategic Imperative “At last, a book for faculty about faculty on an important, but long-neglected, topic. Jennifer Lindholm provides a cogent, readable analysis of how faculty view spirituality and religion not only in their own lives, but also their role in higher education.” —Peter C. Hill, Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University




The Handbook of Transformative Learning


Book Description

The Handbook of Transformative Learning The leading resource for the field, this handbook provides a comprehensive and critical review of more than three decades of theory development, research, and practice in transformative learning. The starting place for understanding and fostering transformative learning, as well as diving deeper, the volume distinguishes transformative learning from other forms of learning, explores future perspectives, and is designed for scholars, students, and practitioners. PRAISE FOR THE HANDBOOK OF TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING "This book will be of inestimable value to students and scholars of learning irrespective of whether or not their emphasis is on transformative learning. It should find its way to the reference bookshelves of every academic library focusing on education, teaching, learning, or the care professions." —PETER JARVIS, professor of continuing education, University of Surrey "Can there be a coherent theory of transformative learning? Perhaps. This handbook goes a long way to answering this question by offering a kaleidoscope of perspectives, including non-Western, that consider the meaning and practice of transformative learning." —SHAUNA BUTTERWICK, associate professor, University of British Columbia "This handbook will be valuable and accessible to both scholars and practitioners who are new to the study of adult education and transformative learning and to more seasoned scholars who seek a sophisticated analysis of the state of transformative learning thirty years after Mezirow first shared his version of a then-fledgling theory of adult learning." —JOVITA ROSS-GORDON, professor and program coordinator, MA in Adult Education, Texas State University




Spirituality in College Students' Lives


Book Description

Spirituality in College Students' Lives draws on data from a large-scale national survey examining the spiritual development of undergraduates and how colleges and universities can be more effective in facilitating students' spiritual growth. In this book, contributors from the fields of education, psychology, sociology, social work, and religion present research-based studies that explore the importance of students' spirituality and the impact of the college experience on their spiritual development. Offering a wide range of theoretical perspectives and worldviews, this volume also includes reflections from distinguished researchers and practitioners which highlight implications for practice. This original edited collection explores: Emerging theoretical frames and analytical approaches; differences in spiritual expressions and experiences among sub-populations; the impact of campus contexts; and how college experiences shape spiritual outcomes. Spirituality in College Students' Lives is an important resource for higher education and student affairs faculty, administrators, and practitioners interested in nurturing the inner lives of college students.




Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education


Book Description

An authoritative overview of the current state of the field of adult and continuing education Drawing on the contributions of 75 leading authors in the field, this 2010 Edition of the respected Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education provides adult education scholars, program administrators, and teachers with a solid foundation for understanding the current guiding beliefs, practices, and tensions faced in the field, as well as a basis for developing and refining their own approaches to their work and scholarship. Offering expanded discussions in the areas of social justice, technology, and the global dimensions of adult and continuing education, the Handbook continues the tradition of previous volumes with discussions of contemporary theories, current forms and contexts of practice, and core processes and functions. Insightful chapters examine adult and continuing education as it relates to gender and sexuality, race, our aging society, class and place, and disability. Key Features Expanded coverage of social justice, the impact of technology, and the global dimensions of adult and continuing education provides a useful update on theories and practices in the field as they have evolved during the last decade. An invaluable introductory overview and synthesis of key aspects of the field of practice and scholarship acquaints new readers to the field The centrality of social justice in adult and continuing education is addressed in a new section. The broader global context of contemporary adult and continuing education is covered in a final section.




Spirituality in Social Work and Education


Book Description

Over the past ten years, the fields of social work and education have grappled separately with definitions of spirituality, ways to integrate spirituality into the classroom, and the rendering of spirituality as a meaningful concept for practitioners, students, and researchers. Social work and education have many commonalities in areas of engagement with children, families, and communities. For the first time, this book brings together these two professional disciplines for interdisciplinary discussions that advance our knowledge in the broad area of “spirituality.” The book’s three sections reflect broad topic areas created to facilitate dialogue between the contributors, all of whom have established expertise in exploring spirituality in education or social work. The first section of the book explores the historical and theoretical underpinnings of spirituality in education and social work. Examination of our respective heritages uncovers the religious roots within our professions and reveals a present understanding of spirituality that calls for active engagement in challenging oppression and working toward social justice. The second section shifts the focus to the pedagogical implications of incorporating spirituality into higher-education classrooms. The varied level of acceptance and the tensions that come from including spirituality, implicitly or explicitly, in the programs and coursework in our respective faculties are illuminated by authors in both professions. The final section explores issues related to practising and teaching in the field from a spiritually sensitive perspective.