student development – ABHE Knowledge Center

A Mosque Visit: A Vital Element of Teaching Muslim Studies in a Christian Institution

The aim of this article is to reflect on the practice of taking Christian students on a mosque visit as a vital part of teaching Muslim studies in a Christian university context. In order to do that I will share my teaching goals and the aims of our class prior to the experience and then briefly narrate the key elements of the visit. Further, I will discuss the students’ perspectives by focusing on a group of twenty-six students that I surveyed in the Spring of 2010 following their visit. Finally, I will evaluate this experience toward articulating some core values for teaching Muslim studies in a Christian university.

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Alcohol and Freshmen at Selected Christian Colleges: A Description of Alcohol in their Homes, their Beliefs, and Behaviors in the last Twenty Years

This study is a longitudinal description of freshmen in Christian colleges concerning the presence of alcohol in their homes of origin during high school, their views of consuming alcohol, and their alcohol consumption. The sample of over 3,330 surveys was collected annually for 20 years through selected freshmen courses primarily at two colleges, although surveys were originally collected from six Christian colleges. This research provides empirical data describing the presence of alcohol in the home environments of Christian college freshmen, their views on alcohol, and empirical data on alcohol use by Christian college freshmen. This research attempts to offer conversation starters for students, faculty, and administrators on the topic of alcohol.

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Developing Student Development

The role of student development in higher education as a practice has developed significantly since its beginnings at the close of the 19th century. The student development practitioner, particularly the chief student affairs officer of an institution, must work comfortably in several arenas. This article intends to present the various areas of responsibility for student development personnel detailed in applicable literature. It is further intended to serve as a primer for further research by citing authors who develop the topics highlighted in this article.

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Hospitable Teaching, Redemptive Formation, and Learning Mobility: A Spirituality of Teaching Based upon the Writings of Henri J.M. Nouwen

College professors should get to know not only their subjects, but also their students, inside-out. Otherwise, students may be lost to academic and social predation early in their academic careers. The late Henri Nouwen offers a rich spirituality of teaching in his emphasis upon hospitable teaching, redemptive formation, and learning mobility. Together, these form a caring educational matrix, one very well suited to contemporary students. As the teacher embraces this model, he or she will also need to move from the classroom to the “dining room,” from outcomes to “incomes,” and from core to “cluster” – all with the students. In this way, professors create a spacious opening for students to learn how to make good choices and follow their genuine calling without pressure or manipulation.

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Persistence of African Americans in Faith-Based Adult Programs

Christian colleges often struggle with diversity, but adult programs attract and retain high numbers of African American students. This study suggests ways traditional programs can apply the lessons learned by adult programs at Christian colleges. A team of researchers interviewed students, administrators, and faculty in adult programs with high African American student populations at three Christian colleges. Findings indicate that relationships play a big role in retention for African American students. They thrive when connected to other students in a cohort group or have a close connection to an advisor to guide them through the program.

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Preparing Bible College Students to Impact Culture

Every Christian college and seminary professor hopes and prays that his/ her students will help transform contemporary culture. But to transform means “to change markedly the appearance or form of” or “to change the nature, function, or condition of; to convert.” While willing to accept that definition (I doubt very much whether the denotation or connotation of transform has changed much in the last 25 years), I fear the word “transform” may not be an option for students in our classes. Although our Homiletics department might produce another “Billy Graham” for the 21st century, we must focus on the realities of what our graduates can and will do. This article attempts a biblical answer to the penetrating question we all face: How can we prepare our students to deal with the degenerating culture of this new millennium?

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The Impact of Dual Enrollment High School Students In Biblical Higher Education

Dual enrollment/Post Secondary Enrollment Options programs continue to grow to allow students to earn college credits while still in high school. Much research has been done to endorse the programs’ benefits for the students and families (Howley et al., 2013) but little research has explored the impact on the providing university, specifically in the area of traditional student persistence and retention in biblical higher education. Fine and Clark (2013) highlighted student satisfaction as a link to matriculation. This study examined traditional Bible college student satisfaction and persistence with having dual enrollment students in their English composition class.

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Transformational Mission-Based Experiential Learning: The Dublin Experience

Experiential, mission-focused learning provided undergraduate college students the opportunity to apply practical understanding and cultural intelligence to historical awareness. This was accomplished through text-based content, cross-cultural pedagogy, and missional engagement with native populations to consider modern sociocultural and faith perspectives. The Dublin Experience provided 12 undergraduate students from Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the opportunity to engage Irish culture and study its unique history, while participating with a local inner-city mission, bringing faith, culture, and a personal human element to course learning.

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Using Developmental Theories for More Effective Teaching

This article reviews six developmental theories and what they suggest to college teachers about various perspectives on student cognitive and moral/ethical development. First, the progression of understanding of human development from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day is summarized. The discussion of each theory includes reviews of some of the more recent discussion and critiques in the literature on those theories. The first theory discussed is Piaget’s cognitive development theory and includes his definition of stages and how individuals progress from one stage to the next. Perry’s scheme of intellectual and ethical development addresses how college students’ cognitive processing matures through dualism, multiplicity, relativism, and commitment.

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