Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1952. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-93). Also available via the Internet.

Recently, teachers and administrators have found it difficult to address issues concerned with religious beliefs and practices for fear of offending either students or the community. As a result, whatever is deemed religious in nature is rarely discussed or practiced in school classrooms. In earlier decades, teachers generally had little difficulty relating to students on a religious level because the majority, both teachers and students in this city were from a predominantly Christian orientation. As the demographics of the population of Saskatchewan changed because of immigration and the waning of religious beliefs, public schools also had to change to reflect the beliefs of the population and become more inclusive. This research, employing narratives, is based on Grounded Theory and explored students’ experiences with religious content and issues as they attended public high schools. Students were asked what their experiences were and if their experiences and beliefs about religion affected their subsequent education, and lives. The findings of this study suggest that more sensitivity needs to be given to students’ religious identities in the classroom. Negative comments about religion and religious beliefs made by teachers or students can greatly affect an individual’s school experience. These negative experiences can be addressed by discussing religions and religious beliefs in the classrooms of public high schools. This would lead to a greater understanding of others and then in turn, students of all backgrounds will have an increased feeling of acceptance and a sense of belonging to the schools they attend.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 25, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Charles G. Nauert. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

<p> The Catholic Diocese of South Carolina engaged in an extensive preparation program to ready the Catholic community for desegregation several years before the process occurred in 1963. After the <i>Brown v. Board of Education </i> decision, the diocese took steps to work for racial justice even though Catholics made up a small minority of the state&rsquo;s population. In 1961, Bishop Paul J. Hallinan issued a Pastoral Letter that outlined the preparation process towards desegregation. The diocesan actions included integrating the first elementary school in South Carolina, challenging local politicians who were hostile to racial equality, and the development of a <i>Syllabus on Racial Justice.</i> While it took the diocese nine years to desegregate, the planning process allowed for an orderly transition. This work places the South Carolina Catholic desegregation story within the context of the struggle for and resistance to what C. Vann Woodward referred to as the Second Reconstruction.</p>

<p> This dissertation analyzes and compares the curricula within and across the eight Eastern Orthodox Christian seminaries in the United States of America through the lens of Theological or Pastoral orientation of the seminaries. This dissertation aims to address this deficiency in the literature on religious higher education in the United States of America.</p><p> This comparison of Orthodox seminary curricula is guided by three questions: What are the curricula in use at the eight Orthodox Christian seminaries in the United States of America? What distinctions arise from an analysis of these seminaries&rsquo; course descriptions and curricula? How do these curricula achieve the Assembly of Bishops&rsquo; goals for unity?</p><p> I employed an emergent design methodology to code, analyze, and compare over 400 course descriptions obtained from bulletins and course catalogs of the eight Orthodox Christian seminaries. The course descriptions were compared with other courses of the same institution, other courses offered by comparable institutions, and other courses I designated as similar based upon coding outcomes.</p><p> I found that the seminaries exhibited one of two innate foci: Theological orientation or Pastoral orientation. I compared the seeming orientations with the schools&rsquo; mission statements. I then solicited course syllabi to explore the courses in more depth to determine whether the course descriptions were accurate reflections of what was taught in the courses.</p><p> I surveyed seminary administrators and professors about the Theological or Pastoral orientation of their schools, and the preparedness of their seminary&rsquo;s graduates to fulfill priestly duties. This allowed triangulation of data with the syllabi and course descriptions.</p><p> This dissertation engages the field of comparative and international education, providing a comparative analysis of internationally and ethnically affiliated schools. It aims to explore in more detail the variations in how future religious leaders are educated within one faith group. This dissertation also explores the international and historic diversity of Orthodox Christian groups in the United States of America. These analyses will enrich the field of religious higher education studies by revealing the inner workings of an entire religious community in the United States; a religious community little studied and little understood.</p>

<p>Individuals and societies have traditionally sought answers to important questions in life through religion. In the 21st century, physical churches with clergy are no longer the sole source of spiritual answers or knowledge. Since the late 1960s, church attendance has been declining. Church leaders have begun to implement new methods such as using the Internet as a resource to support the needs of church members. While digital natives&mdash;persons who are conversant with the Internet&mdash;view electronic communication as a means to express ideas and feelings, digital immigrants&mdash;for whom the Internet is new&mdash;lag behind in utilizing the Internet. The purpose of the qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of digital immigrants who used a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning church website to understand how the Internet affects their perceptions of religious identity. The findings revealed that the participants were unfamiliar with sharing knowledge through computer supported collaborative learning. The findings also showed that the benefits of CSCL were recognized by digital immigrants, but Church leaders may need to learn how to provide training and support for digital immigrants by blending face-to-face sermons and reflective CSCL engagement. </p>

<p> The purpose of this project is to argue that in order for social and emotional learning (SEL) goals to achieve their intended outcomes for students and society, religious pluralism must be reflected in student instruction. SEL involves the use of evidence-based practices to provide opportunities to develop competencies related to self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making which are intended to enable students to demonstrate morally appropriate actions and ethical decisions, which I am calling "right behavior." </p><p> It is my argument that one's understanding of right behavior embodies both implicit and explicit moral beliefs based on one's worldview which reflects a certain conception of the good life and the good society. In many cultures this concept is shaped by the dominant, organized religion of the group. However, the religious diversity in the United States since its inception led to an American tendency to privatize religion and avoid meaningful public deliberation of competing views of the good life and the good society. However, I contend that this paradigm is no longer adequate for equipping twenty-first century students with the background knowledge, critical thinking, problem-solving, and ethical judgment skills required for full participation in the social, political, and economic spheres of society. Instead, I am proposing a SEL-religious studies model that values religious freedom, equality, and neighborly affection, and recognizes the presence of moral and religious pluralism in American society. </p>

<p>This final project report set out to design a peer-led learning model that would assist pastors in building competencies and strengthening peer relationships among Presbyterian pastors in northern New Jersey. The project addressed a national trend that reveals an increasing number of pastors are leaving Christian ministry today because of inadequate support and their lack of varied and specialized skills to serve congregations. However, some of the most recent research by the U. S. Congregational Life Survey (US CLS Wave Two), the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence (SPE) project, and the Faith Communities Today (FACT) survey confirmed pastors and their congregations benefit by pastors participating in peer learning. </p><p> Grounded in the theology that Christian ministry is nurtured by communities that embody and practice what they believe, and by theories that enduring learning takes place in association with others, this project drew from Presbyterian ecclesiology, the company of pastors (Calvin), a community of practice (Wenger), self-directed learning (Knowles), group theory (Johnsons), and the areas of learning pastors volunteered to lead. There were no attending costs and the monthly format was simple: pastors shared a meal and fellowship followed by worship and relevant teaching led by the pastors themselves. </p><p> Twenty-five pastors, representing one-fifth of the congregations in three regional bodies, attended one or more of the nine gatherings. A large part of the report concentrated on the more active twelve mature, highly stressed, and highly motivated pastors who represented different urban and suburban communities, genders, races, and sexual orientations. The report evaluated what facilitated and hindered this project's objectives. Its conclusion provided seven insights for pastors and seminarians, denominational agencies and regional body leaders, seminaries and foundations concerned about pastoral preparation for the rigors and challenges of congregational ministry. </p>

This study has an argument that the level of problems of religious education in secondary schools depend on the localization of the school (village and town schools). 30 religious teachers took participation in anonymous survey, who are taking lections at Šiauliai district schools. The main problems are the lack of training materials, methodical and organizational equipment. The educationists working in town have highly appraised the help of school administration and school-board. The lowest evaluation had the help of colleagues and co-workers. The educationists working in village schools have highly appraised school-board and the help of colleagues. The lowest evaluation had the help of religious community. According to the teachers, the help of the parents comes through the interest in child’s grades and problems. The least direct help was expected for a teacher and financial support. The approach was formulated for the development of religious education.

The modern system of education is less than two centuries old. It is premised on secularism. It is the outcome of theological and philosophical debates as much as of the politics and power interests of the 16th and 17th centuries. The past two decades have witnessed the emergence of Islamic schools in Europe, the United States and South Africa. The initial aim of these schools was to provide an Islamic environment to the learners. During the 80s their focus contoured to the process of Islamization. This project was initiated in the US by Muslim academics including Isma'il al-Faruqi, Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Fazlur Rahman as a response to the secularization of Muslim society, including its educational institutions. Since then seven international conferences have been held in various parts of the Muslim World. The International Institute of Islamic Thought and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists have joined hands in the effort to Islamize education. The first five conferences laid the theoretical and philosophical foundation of education. The sixth conference was held in South Africa and took the form of workshops to drive the Islamization project at school level. The outcome of the sixth conference was a concrete set of Islamized syllabi, which could be implemented in Muslim schools. The South African schools were chosen to do the field-testing; this provided me with the impetus for this research. The aim is to determine the extent to which Muslim independent schools in South Africa can be viewed as challenging the secular model of education through the process ofIslamization. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.