Thesis (D. Min.)--Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions, Columbia, S.C., 1994. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-246).

Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1980. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Special Religious Education). Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-83).

No description available.

This thesis explores the nature and dynamics of the relationship between Judaic holiness and Jewish teaching and learning practices. One way of examining this relationship is by focusing on sacred content. The contribution of this thesis is to go beyond sacred content to also focus on teaching as a sacred act - in other words, approaching teaching as sacred, rather than teaching the sacred. Findings build upon and reinforce existing literature on Judaic holiness, but make an original contribution by placing these perspectives in a specifically educative context. I investigated this relationship from an ethnographic perspective, attending three Orthodox Jewish learning communities (yeshivot) in Jerusalem over a period of six months. Acting as participant observer, I attended classes, studied with students, collected artifacts, took daily field notes and conducted in-depth qualitative interviews. As I analyzed fieldwork data together with relevant academic literature and sacred Jewish texts, a number of key themes emerged. These themes are described in three findings chapters. They outline methodological, experiential, teleological, relational, environmental, structural and theological dimensions of the sacred in Jewish educative practice. From the perspective of study participants, teaching and learning are not only related to the sacred, but themselves constitute a sacred act. While academic literature tends to focus on the human elements of sanctity, and confessional religious literatures on its theistic dimensions, this thesis illustrates a dynamic way of dovetailing these two approaches. Considered from the Judaic perspectives of study participants, the sanctity of teaching and learning is seen to be both contingent upon human, volitional action as well as a connection to God. Such actualized sanctification is believed to affect and even qualitatively alter the nature of educative methods, environments, encounters and, ultimately, the ontology and capacity of both teachers and learners. This has implications for educative practice more broadly conceived, including insights on the role of a teacher in the student-teacher relationship, an alternative perspective on learning outcomes, a remembrance-oriented epistemology, a teleological connection between teaching and learning and the value of struggle in the learning process.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University

<p> The author presents the problem of a lack of emotional and spiritual well-being in pastors and Christian leaders who minister in the Metropolitan District and The Christian and Missionary Alliance. In this study, he evaluated the intervention: Leader Life (SDI) Training, first recruiting 100 participants who completed the training, then using the Leader Life Evaluation Survey to measure whether Leader Life increased the self-understanding, strengthened the soul identity, and improved the relational management of participants. He interviewed nine participants and searched for indicators of emotional and spiritual development. The author discovered Leader Life (SDI) Training is an effective tool to develop Christian leaders, and offered ministry recommendations. </p><p>

<p> Christian school education is unique in nature. Integrating faith into academics led many families to choose an environment for their students that aligned with the faith, morals, and doctrinal beliefs they held as essential pieces in raising their children. The partnership with the school in instilling a strong foundation of faith for students set Christian schools apart from public and non-religious private schools. </p><p> Because families purposely choose Christian schools based upon like-minded values and beliefs, it was essential that the school seeks to fulfill its mission in practice and vision. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the congruency of mission and practice in one Midwestern, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade Christian school, as evidenced by program evaluation. The researcher utilized surveys and interviews to collect data from three stakeholder groups (then-current staff members, then-current senior class students, and alumni) to investigate how, if at all, Mission Driven Academy (pseudonym) fulfilled its mission. Data was analyzed and organized by emerging themes into the school&rsquo;s five foundational components, referred to as the Pillars of Excellence. The qualitative data revealed that Mission Driven Academy was successfully fulfilling its mission to equip students with a Christ-centered education, empowering them to impact the world for the glory of God.</p><p>

This thesis, inter-disciplinary in nature and orientation, seeks to assess the extent to which the spiritual/interior experiences arising from specific examples of human physical activity can be interpreted/clarified through the use of the concept of embodiment (informed and enriched by insights arising from religious studies) as an interpretive key. Diversity of attitudes to the body, evident in theoretical and practical variations, necessitates a clear definition of the particular understanding of embodiment which underpins this study, an indication of how embodiment when used as a 'key' might assist in the interpretation of the experiences to be investigated, and an explanation of the process by which the critical question was identified and developed. In order to provide the methodological framework, Chapter 1 clarifies the synthesis of personal experience, practical knowledge and theoretical understandings which underpin and authenticate a research method characterised by a process of journeying 'back and forth' between key 'pieces' of evidence. In the second chapter of the study the experience arising from human physical activity is discussed and possible modes of interpretation considered. Embodiment as a key for this experience is examined in relation to sport (Chapter 3). Chapter 4 is a survey of understandings of embodiment, drawn largely from religious sources. Thereafter, in Chapter 5, sacred dance will be considered. In Chapter 6, I refer to circumstances, situations and experiences which may impede and distort the recognition and celebration of the fact of our embodiment as experienced in and through our bodies. Findings support the use of embodiment as a viable 'key' for experiences arising from certain types of human physical activity. Fully celebrated and assessed anew for different contexts, embodiment may prove to be a predominant motif of our time, redeeming and enriching our sense of what it means to be in our bodies.

<p> The purpose of this study is to look at the school choices of Muslim parents in New Jersey and the social and academic experiences of Muslim students and young adults. The participants included 90 Muslim parents, 126 Muslim young adults, and 52 Muslim students currently attending a public, private, or Islamic school. Participants completed surveys, and a few were administered interviews that included questions pertaining to the purpose of this study. Findings showed that Muslim parents who choose Islamic schools do so to teach their child (children) about Islam and to surround them with other Muslims; whereas, Muslim parents who chose public schools do so for the quality of education. Overall, this study demonstrated that most Muslim students in either Islamic or public schools didn&rsquo;t encounter social challenges any different than other students; in addition, an overload of schoolwork was reported as an academic challenge.</p><p>

<p> Every summer, hundreds of college athletes attend The Ultimate Training Camp (UTC), at which Athletes in Action offers a curriculum entitled, <i> The Principles of Competition</i> (aka <i>Five Principles</i>). The intent is to teach a Christian perspective of sports so that athletes would learn both the philosophy and the skill of competing <i>Christianly. </i> Both the <i>Principles</i> and the camp pedagogy have been refined over several decades to become what seems to be an effective methodology, but refinement has been based on informal evaluation without access to more empirical data. The purpose of this study is to observe, measure, and evaluate the level of learning acquired by camp participants&mdash; including consideration and application of Dallas Willard&rsquo;s learning framework of <i>vision, intention,</i> and <i>means</i> (VIM)&mdash;in order to better understand how the <i>Principles</i> are perceived, and to establish a model for future studies. An evaluative survey was developed, administered online, and responded to by over forty UTC alumni. Results revealed that certain Principles were remembered to a much greater degree than others, but overall response to the VIM model was favorable, and factored into the students&rsquo; continued Christian growth. Further evaluation led to some suggestions for possible changes in UTC methodology, and more complete data collection. Further studies in this vein are recommended.</p><p>