This reflective essay addresses the use of metaphors as a creative framework through which Christian academics can change the lens for viewing our practices. Academics strive to demonstrate creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and mental keenness, while aspiring to teach our students to do the same. Often, however, the stresses and strains…

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…

Educators throughout the ages have offered metaphors and analogies for teaching and teachers. Prominent among them are: gardener, midwife, facilitator, guide, sacrament. Each of these metaphors shed light, from a different angle, on the act of teaching. This article proposes the metaphor of tragedy as a way of shedding new light, from a totally…

This article proposes spiritual conversation as a religiously educative activity. Revelation as the relational activity of speaking-listening between the human and the divine in daily life, and education as an activity to show someone how to live and die, are key concepts for this study. This work includes a study of narrative at the heart of…

The Catholic Church in Slovenia is facing the challenge of the new evangelisation in the area of religious education which, at present, is mainly confined to the parish catechesis. She recognises the urgent need to pass from the religious education of children to adult catechesis. The latter is already being implemented in various forms by a…

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 response to contemporary concerns, and using neglected primary sources, this article explores the professionalisation of teachers of Religious Education (RI/RE) in non-denominational, state-maintained schools in England. It does so from the launch of "Religion in Education" (1934) and the Institute for Christian Education at Home and…

Although large international studies have defined Norway as one of the most secular countries in the world, Christian folk high schools in Norway have experienced record high attendance. This paper presents case studies of the religious education (RE) and practices of two Christian folk high schools in Norway. A survey shows that students at these…

This study aims at highlighting the role of Continuous Education Programs at the Saudi Universities in Religious, Social, and Health Literacy; King Saud University was taken as an example. To achieve the goals of the study two questionnaires were distributed among two samples from King Saud University; (101) of students, and (9) of continuous…

Ever since Jack Mezirow introduced the incipient, and then more developed idea, of transformative learning to the discussion on adult education more than thirty years ago, the parameters of its theory and practice have been pushed out further and further. The introduction of spirituality and learning to this discussion is not a new one, but this…

This volume brings together the work of a wide range of scholars to explore the long and complex history of the relationships between churches and education. Christianity has always been involved in education, from the very earliest teaching of those about to be baptised, to present-day churches' involvement in schools and higher education.…

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…

Both Jarvis and theories of Christian Religious Education (CRE) emphasise that learning develops the whole person, yet they differ in their understandings of how and why this is the case. Jarvis's experiential learning theory begins "from below" with experience, whereas many approaches of CRE begin with the end result: individuals…

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…

Narrative learning is strongly allied with transformational learning and adult development (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007), given that it creates context for adult meaning making. Through the use of narrative writing, adult students have the opportunity to engage multiple aspects of learning. Many colleges and universities allow…