Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / CD has title: Appendix B, the song self. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-138).

This diploma thesis deals with the study of selected principles of the spirituality of North American Indians, which it see as inspiration for the education and personal development. The theoretical part examines the basic aspects of Native American spirituality and lifestyle as part of the phenomenon called Indianism. It also takes into account the issue of the origin and development of the popularity of Indianism in our territory and its practical forms in the Euro- Indian movements. Particular attention is paid to the woodcraft movement and its educational dimension. The practical part contains research on the spiritual and educational practice of Indianism in woodcraft. The research is based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews with selected woodcrafters who have undergone this education or apply it to the education of new generations. The results of the research confirmed the living practice of Native American spiritual and educational ideas in wodcraft. This reveals the practice of Indianism in our territory, which is devoted by individuals living in the otherwise normal cultural conditions of our world.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the narratives of 10 students who began an academic course with strong negative attitudes but finished the course with strong positive attitudes. In the beginning of the course, each student exhibited one of these three tendencies: apathetic, compliant, or disillusioned; however, by the end of the course, they exhibited a transformed disposition. This study attempts to answer the question of what the turning points were for their transformation and how they made the change. The findings of this study were that regardless of individual tendencies, the ability to exercise agency was the principal turning point for these students, followed by seeing that relevance in their own lives, and taking the initiative to approach the teacher with problems. An unexpected finding was how students with a transforming tendency tend to see learning as a spiritual activity and that through faith, acknowledging others, reverence, and humility, they can change their strong negative attitudes toward a course.

This master’s thesis is a qualitative research project that explored the transformation of multiple individuals who initially learned for self-interested purposes, but later had a shift in their desire to learn so as to benefit others. The author collected rich narratives that described this phenomenon and provided insight into the following question: what is the experience of a learner who transitions from learning out of self-interest to learning out of altruistic purposes? The author found the following five major themes across six participants as they transitioned to more altruistic learning: humility, self-efficacy, resources, success and agency. These themes give insight into the shift of an altruistic learner’s perspective as they shifted from self-interested desires to altruistic desires. In doing so, these learners find the most significant meaning in learning by helping influence the recipient in a meaningful way and not just accomplishing the task. The implications of this research can better help educators understand principles of altruistic learning and thereby create opportunities for others to become altruistic learners.

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Thesis advisor: Lillie R. Albert / This study builds on a small, under-acknowledged body of educational works that speak to the problem of an overly technical focus on teaching, which negates a more authentic consideration of what it means to teach, including an exploration of the spiritual and moral dimensions. A need for educational change and the teacher's authentic way of being are presented as the basis for the primary research question: "What does it mean to be an authentic teacher?" The study consists of two equally intensive parts, i.e., a theoretical and empirical investigation. The theoretical developed a framework on authenticity, drawing from the Buddhist and Christian theological traditions; the Twentieth Century philosophical writings of Buber and Heidegger; and the in-depth review of conceptual and empirical educational literature. This framework supported the empirical design, which was a phenomenological study of six teachers in a small Catholic urban K-8 school. An empirical framework on authenticity evolved through the data analysis. Ultimately, the theoretical and empirical parts were integrated into a comprehensive framework on teacher authenticity, defined as follows: Teacher authenticity is a trust that, through the desire and intention to care, the teacher can awaken through teaching a profound life-giving potential for the well-being of oneself, others, and the world. This trust is the teacher's faith perspective, and is lived, dynamic, and iterative, which makes authenticity an ongoing process. A sub-question was also presented in the study: "What does it mean for the researcher to engage as an authentic learner in the research process?" The focus on the researcher as an authentic learner presented an expanded view of reflexivity, probing deeply into the philosophical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of the researcher's learning process throughout the study. The implications of the study are presented, focusing on the professions of teaching and research, and also showing the relevance for education and society. The most impending implication pertains equally to teachers and to researchers, and emphasizes the need for professional development programs of self-learning and self-formation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

The research reported here addressed the questions 'what is spirituality?' and 'how should spiritual development be provided in education?'. The literature reviewed indicated confusion and uncertainty over the meaning of the concept spirituality, and the only guidance as to how spiritual development should be facilitated, was mainly from a religious perspective. This however, proved to be problematic for adoption into state-run educational institutions, where religious education is not provided for. As spiritual development is an aspect of the overall educative development of individuals, attention was given to what is meant by both 'education' and the 'educated person'. This initial research provided the context by which spiritual development could be understood and grounded in accepted and well argued notions of what interventions into the development of the individual are to count as educational. This also clarified the context for which the formulated framework of spirituality was to have implications. The major approach of this research was philosophical, in that an existential perspective was sought to develop a framework of spirituality that was able to embrace both religious and secular contexts of education. The major works examined were those written by Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, because these were argued to have most relevance for spirituality and spiritual development of the educated person. While these works were analysed one philosopher at a time, the existential perspective that was relevant for spirituality was developed using common themes found in their writings. Consequently this approach produced a rather eclectic view of Existentialism that down-plays the many differences that exist between these philosophers. An existential framework of spirituality was then formulated using the philosophy of these contributors as the foundation. This framework is argued to be more effective than the other frameworks of spirituality that were identified in the literature reviewed. Its implications for education practice were developed and argued. The evaluative applicability of the framework was then illustrated and tested through a critique of an educational project in Queensland. It was beyond the scope of this thesis to test the framework any further than this particular case. However, further research is recognised as being required to test other aspects of the framework.

Contributing to the literature on the Muslim experience post-9/11, the purpose of this study was to engage with a group that is often talked about, but not with: Muslim youth. Using an integrative anti-racist and anti-colonial approach with an emphasis on a spiritual way of knowing, this study gives voice to young Muslim activists in Toronto who have made the choice to “do something”. The study aims to understand what motivates these young activists, particularly in the context of post-9/11 Islamophobia, with the goal being to challenge stereotypical perceptions of Muslims, while contributing to the body of knowledge that aims to disrupt dominant notions of what “Canadian” identity is. The following analysis helps answer this question, which includes the role of spirituality, the attachment to Canadian identity and the desire to educate. Key challenges and what these youth prescribe for Canada’s future are also discussed.

Contributing to the literature on the Muslim experience post-9/11, the purpose of this study was to engage with a group that is often talked about, but not with: Muslim youth. Using an integrative anti-racist and anti-colonial approach with an emphasis on a spiritual way of knowing, this study gives voice to young Muslim activists in Toronto who have made the choice to “do something”. The study aims to understand what motivates these young activists, particularly in the context of post-9/11 Islamophobia, with the goal being to challenge stereotypical perceptions of Muslims, while contributing to the body of knowledge that aims to disrupt dominant notions of what “Canadian” identity is. The following analysis helps answer this question, which includes the role of spirituality, the attachment to Canadian identity and the desire to educate. Key challenges and what these youth prescribe for Canada’s future are also discussed.

This thesis examines the relationship between professional practice and professional training of Christian ministers in post-Communist Central Asia. It responds to the call for study of the phenomenon of Protestant theological education in the post-Soviet bloc. Theological education in Central Asia has been developed without any research-led evaluation and is often found unsatisfactory by the emerging church, which calls for a more relevant, field-driven and contextualised training of its leaders. This study also responds to the gap in the literature on attitude development of ministerial students. This is a qualitative inquiry. Its primary emphasis is on in-depth semi-structured interviews of forty graduates of four major theological colleges in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, who had spent several years in pastoral ministry after graduation. This research seeks to identify the most common problems they face in professional practice; to identify the attitudes and capabilities underlying their problem-solving processes; and to analyse how their training enabled or failed to enable them to develop those qualities. This thesis argues that theological education can be viewed as a special case of professional training, with a unique cluster of spiritual qualities that are of paramount importance for the success of ministers. It also argues that, despite the graduates’ generally positive appraisal of their training, there was little connection between the training and the capabilities that the graduates needed to succeed in their current practice. It therefore argues that the institutions in Central Asia have inherited the flaws of the "schooling" paradigm of theological education. A more integrated, context-specific and missional model is needed. By developing a model for investigating the practical knowledge of ministers, this study attempts to provide the training institutions in question with a framework of capabilities and attitudes. This will allow those institutions to have a useful starting point in the reformulation of their curricula.