Institutionalization of curricular or pedagogical innovation or reform occurs at three different levels in an organization, the regulative institutionalization which occurs as compliance by expediency, normative institutionalization which occurs as compliance by moral or legal appropriateness and cognitive institutionalization which occurs as compliance by conceptual correctness. The cognitive level is most the desirable because at that level the values and norms of the organization are manifested in the beliefs and behaviors of individuals in the organization.This research study examined the patterns of institutionalization of integration of faith and learning as a curricular and pedagogical model among faculty members at a private Christian liberal arts university in Nigeria, West Africa. Five patterns of integration of faith and learning emerged from the study compared to eight patterns of institutionalization that emerged in a similar study of four religious research universities in the United States by the team of Ream, Beaty and Lyon (2004). The findings suggest that the level of institutionalization manifested and perceivable in the Nigerian study is at the regulative institutionalization level due to the fact that the beliefs and the behaviors of the faculty members are non-congruent to the expected beliefs and behaviors compatible with the institutionalization of the integration of faith and learning curricular and pedagogical model. Even though the 'fear of God' emerged as one of the dominant themes articulated by some of the faculty members in the study, four other emergent themes articulated the need to find a balance between religious integration and academic excellence. The findings suggest Seventh-day Adventists faculty members struggle between the need to subscribe to the fear of God as a measure for integration and the need to maintain a separation between faith and learning for objectivity in the academy. Being a Seventh-day Adventist male lecturer over the lecturer II rank was found to be a dominant factor in the institutionalization of the integration of faith and learning curricular model at a regulative level at the institution in the study.

Research suggests that students are more interested than faculty in addressing spirituality in the classroom. This study tested the extent to which professors could meet student demand for greater attention to spirituality in their classes without sacrificing rigor and student learning. Previous research done at Brigham Young University (BYU) identified three areas of focus that are important to implementing spirituality into the classroom: 1) Professor Self-Disclosure, 2) Intellectual Connections, and 3) Interpersonal Connections. Research on the integration of faith and learning also supports these focus areas. Two BYU professors from different colleges were recruited for participation in this study. After teaching as they normally would for 30-minutes (the control condition), the professors were prepared to incorporate these focus areas into four experimental conditions (one for each focus area and one that combined all focus areas). A sample of 203 student participants were recruited to attend the different teaching sessions, fill out a questionnaire about their perception of the teaching quality, and take a retention examination on the material taught by the professor. An Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Teacher Rating Questionnaire showed that a three-factor pattern would be best to use in data analysis as it explained 89% of the variance in student responses. Based on the items that grouped together, those factors were labeled as General Teaching Skills, Openness and Respect, and Spirituality. A 5 (condition) X 2 (professor) factorial MANOVA—using the three extracted factors as dependent variables—indicated that there were significant main effects and an interaction. ANOVA and post hoc follow-ups revealed that professor ratings on General Teaching Skills and Spirituality greatly improved after the preparation; however, ratings also depended on the professor. A factorial ANOVA also revealed that student retention scores did not significantly differ from the control condition to the experimental conditions, but insufficient power suggests this finding should be interpreted with caution. It is concluded that applying a pedagogical preparation such as used in this study can be a useful tool in educating willing faculty to successfully implement spirituality and improve their general teaching skills.

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to analyze and compare the integration of faith and learning occurring in Christian schools accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and classical Christian schools accredited by the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS). ACSI represents the larger Christian school movement while ACCS represents the larger classical Christian school movement. The biblical metanarrative of the Christian faith - creation, fall, redemption, and consummation - set the biblical and theological framework for the integration of faith and learning in this study. A precedent literature review pointed to a gap in the literature base regarding the integration of faith and learning occurring between ACSI and ACCS schools. Essentially, the study sought to describe the degree to which accredited K-12 ACSI and ACCS schools integrate faith and learning and then compare the level of integration of faith and learning between ACSI and ACCS accredited schools. The research design for the study was a one-phase quantitative study utilizing both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research instrument was originally developed and used by Raquel Bouvert de Korniejczuk and later modified by Mark Eckel to determine the level of integration of faith and learning teachers are practicing in ACSI and ACCS schools. Overall, the data indicated teachers were practicing a high level of integration of faith and learning in their pedagogy in both ACSI and ACCS accredited schools. The data indicated that as the years taught at Christian schools and classical Christian schools increased the level of integration of faith and learning increased. Gender was not a factor in the level of integration of faith and learning. Teachers that did not attend a Christian school growing up self-reported a higher level of integration of faith and learning than teachers who did attend a Christian school growing up. Teachers, both in Christian schools and classical Christian schools, receiving training in the area of the integration of faith and learning indicated a higher overall level of integration of faith and learning. KEYWORDS: Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS), biblical worldview, Christian education, Christian school, classical Christian school, integration of faith and learning, Trivium

Character education has been viewed by many educators as having significant historical, academic, and social value. Many stakeholders in education argue for character development as a curricular experience. While understanding the degree to which character education is of worth to stakeholders of institutions is important, understanding students, teachers, and administrators perspectives from their lived experiences is likewise significant. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of character education within a Biblical framework environment by examining the lived experiences of students, administrators, and teachers of a Seventh-day Adventist School. Phenomenology describes individuals’ daily experiences of phenomena, the manner in which these experiences are structured, and focuses analysis on the perspectives of the persons having the experience (Moustakas, 1994). ). This inquiry was undertaken to answer the question: What are the perceptions of students, teachers, and an administrator toward character education in a Seventh-day Adventist school setting? Ten participants (seven students and three adults) formed the homogeneous purposive sample, and the major data collection tool was semi-structured interviews (Patton, 1990; Seidman, 2006). Three 90-minute open-ended interviews were conducted with each of the participants. Data analysis included a three-phase process of description, reduction and interpretation. The findings from this study revealed that participants perceived that their involvement in the school’s character education program decreased the tendency to violence, improved their conduct and ethical sensibility, enhanced their ability to engage in decision-making concerning social relationships and their impact on others, brought to their attention the emerging global awareness of moral deficiency, and fostered incremental progress from practice and recognition of vices to their acquisition of virtues. The findings, therefore, provide a model for teaching character education from a Seventh-day Adventist perspective. The model is also relevant for non-Seventh day Adventists who aspire to teach character education as a means to improving social and moral conditions in schools.

This study investigated integrated learning at a Christian university, the Christian Bilingual University of the Congo (UCBC) with the view to improving higher education practice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which is tasked with addressing social problems. Higher education in the DRC is shaped by its colonial legacy and a teacher-centred approach focused on theory, typical of a banking-type learning and a lack of integration. These factors stifle critical thinking and initiative in students and prevent them from developing into service-oriented agents for change in their communities. The advent of Christian universities has heralded a quest for holistic training to foster character and produce civic-minded and service-oriented citizens. A qualitative study using a phenomenology as methodology investigated the lived experiences in integrated learning and service in the community of twelve purposefully selected UCBC alumni. Data was obtained through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Findings indicated that integrated learning is holistic education which engages mind, heart, soul and body; it combines practice and theory in training and prepares students to contribute to national welfare. It occurs in a multiple component and dimensional context and is characterized by learner-centeredness, active learning and constant interaction among the school community members. It is focused on the building of the inner person of the learner. Further, participants understood transformation as part of personal development, a lifelong process that moves a person to act differently in community after his personal assumptions have been deeply revised through his encounter with integrated learning. Its impact is character development as foundation for bold action in the community, the rediscovery of one’s identity, the development of servant leadership, team work and social networking and dependence on God. Findings revealed that transformed learners initiated a change of mentality and experienced culture conversion in their communities through confronting problems and modelling servanthood. It also established the enactment of integrated learning as a contributor to personal and community transformation as a result of students’ ‘echoed words’ and actions as learning-teachers. Based on the findings recommendations were made for the strengthening of integrated learning in Christian universities. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

This study investigated integrated learning at a Christian university, the Christian Bilingual University of the Congo (UCBC) with the view to improving higher education practice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which is tasked with addressing social problems. Higher education in the DRC is shaped by its colonial legacy and a teacher-centred approach focused on theory, typical of a banking-type learning and a lack of integration. These factors stifle critical thinking and initiative in students and prevent them from developing into service-oriented agents for change in their communities. The advent of Christian universities has heralded a quest for holistic training to foster character and produce civic-minded and service-oriented citizens. A qualitative study using a phenomenology as methodology investigated the lived experiences in integrated learning and service in the community of twelve purposefully selected UCBC alumni. Data was obtained through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Findings indicated that integrated learning is holistic education which engages mind, heart, soul and body; it combines practice and theory in training and prepares students to contribute to national welfare. It occurs in a multiple component and dimensional context and is characterized by learner-centeredness, active learning and constant interaction among the school community members. It is focused on the building of the inner person of the learner. Further, participants understood transformation as part of personal development, a lifelong process that moves a person to act differently in community after his personal assumptions have been deeply revised through his encounter with integrated learning. Its impact is character development as foundation for bold action in the community, the rediscovery of one’s identity, the development of servant leadership, team work and social networking and dependence on God. Findings revealed that transformed learners initiated a change of mentality and experienced culture conversion in their communities through confronting problems and modelling servanthood. It also established the enactment of integrated learning as a contributor to personal and community transformation as a result of students’ ‘echoed words’ and actions as learning-teachers. Based on the findings recommendations were made for the strengthening of integrated learning in Christian universities. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

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