The purpose of this project is to develop a holistic parent education program that establishes the parent's faith identity and empowers their spiritual practice that will lead to the child's spiritual formation. In the twelve-week program, parent-participants establish their own identity in faith to check and strengthen their competencies in their…

Within the past ten to fifteen years, there has been a trend among churches to downsize staff and eliminate the role of "Minister of Education." With these changes in staff structure, a need has emerged for assistance in evaluating adult educational programming within the church. For this project, a process was developed called the Adult…

The aim of this study was to taxonomically analyze the Spring and Summer 2022 Lifeway Bible Studies for Life curriculum for adults. The focus of the study was to determine whether the curriculum successfully engages learners across various learning dimensions, fostering a more holistic and impactful experience, the inquiry is significant not only…

The problem to be addressed through this study is the low enrollment and completion rates for the professional development of pastors within the North American Division of the Adventist Learning Community. The study addresses the issue of low enrollment and completion rates in self-paced online professional development courses for pastors within…

Despite extensive research regarding the application of Transformative Learning Theory in adult education, there is very little literature promoting applying these principles and practices within Christian Worship Studies. Transformative Learning Theory is an educational theory that researches and promotes perspective-changing teaching and…

The participant-centered, discipleship-focused train-the-trainer prototype identifies the changes discipleship requires of us and correlates those with various techniques and approaches used in effective participant-centered andragogy. The result is a train-the-trainer curriculum that teaches Christian leaders more effective training skills while…

Biblical illiteracy seems an increasingly significant problem in the Church today, and the problems which arise as a result of the issue have an impact on both the theology of the Church and the way the people of God live out that theology. In a culture which pushes against the biblical narrative, it is as important as ever to instill within the…

This dissertation seeks to understand how a work-based learning project develops the skills, attitudes, behaviors, and Jewish sense of self for three Jewish Federation professionals participating in a larger, 18-month professional development initiative focused on experiential Jewish education. Using case study methodology, this research also…

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to assess the effects of adult learning principles (ALP) in sermons on parishioners' spiritual growth. Sermons have been central to the spread of Christianity. Given the significant role sermons play in parishioners' spiritual formation and growth, examining sermons' effectiveness is…

This qualitative case study focused on career commitment in two types of professional adult educators, extension agents and missionaries. Past research studying extension agents and missionaries had documented decades of early career attrition. Research documented the issues, explored causes, and proposed solutions. Yet, the problem persists. Much…

All recent catechetical documents of the Catholic Church have in some way stressed the need to focus on the formation of adults. Lay adults certainly can be trained to be excellent catechists of other adults, but the available training usually groups together catechists for all age groups and provides little specific help to those preparing for…

Research suggests that participation in long term adult education programs strengthens both ties among participants and the social capital of the broader community. This study investigates the presence and indicators of social capital relating to participation in the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning hosted by the Kansas City Jewish…

Contemporary literature on vocational stewardship offers suggestions for pastors and ministry leaders wanting to engage Christians in vocational discipleship. These suggestions seem to represent current "best practices" in vocational discipleship. Analyzing these "best practices" using Brueggemann's canonical framework for…

In this dissertation, I present a strategy to develop indigenous teams of leaders at the International Bible Institute (IBI) in Cambodia. The study was prompted by the need for learners at IBI Cambodia to work as a team. In part I, I recount the history of educational development in Cambodia and research instructional design (ID) models to create…

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the lived experiences of adult learners at 4 Christian colleges in Indiana who desired to pursue bachelor and associate degrees in accelerated programs. The growing trend of accelerated programming exists to meet the needs of a growing number of adults who believe that earning an academic…