Leadership toward excellence is vital in shaping human and ecological life, but who defines and benefits from excellence? In religious and educational communities, visions of excellence can serve to support the flourishing of life, and also to critique perspectives that reinforce individualism and hierarchical systems. This paper explores…

This article describes the Future Creating Workshop (FCW) and explores how it can create learning forums for participatory leadership. We investigate how FCW can be an effective form of professional development for educational leaders and explore what leaders learn from implementing FCWs in their settings. The FCW, a three-phase participatory…

Research on Jewish day schools has long focused on the challenges they face in managing the tension between the "Jewish" and "general" components of their "dual curriculum." Interviews with 34 graduating seniors of a private, community Jewish high school found that students experienced another dual curriculum within…

This ethnographic case study utilizes intersectionality and sense of belonging to understand students' experiences in a Latino Bible study and how it contributes to their overall college experience. The findings suggest that the Bible study offers a unique space for students to explore faith, ethnic identity, and politics in a culturally…

This paper intends to demonstrate how within the current contentious environment for teacher education in the U.S., two small teacher preparation programs conducted a voluntary coordinated long-term self-evaluation study, that partially responded to external accountability pressures by the Federal administration, state agencies and various private…

When upper-level theology courses are taught within a general education program at colleges and universities, instructors are often challenged to invite students, some of whom are committed neither to the discipline of theology nor to Christian faith, into a style of critical reflection that largely depends on both of these commitments. In a…

A commitment to empathetic understanding shaped the field of religious studies; although subject to critique, it remains an important teaching practice where students are charged with the task of recognizing, and perhaps even appreciating, a worldview that appears significantly different from their own. However, when the focus of the course is…

This article explores the historical development of Catholic schools for Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, California. It provides a brief overview of events spanning the 1700s to the 1970s, with particular attention placed on examining the administration of Cardinal James Francis Aloysius McIntyre from 1948-1969. While his predecessor, Archbishop…

This study investigated the voices of students interpreting Hebrew Bible texts in one fourth-grade classroom. Through think-alouds on the Biblical text with each student, exit interviews, teacher interviews, and classroom observations, this study found that those students whose interpretive stances were more aligned with the teacher's were given…

Drawing from ethnography of communication and language socialization approaches, this paper examines classes on bullying held for Sikh middle school students at a Sikh religious institution in California. Sikh educational programs play an important role in socializing youth into Sikh teachings, practices, and community perspectives. Due to one…

Students whose religious/spiritual views are incongruent with the theological mission advanced by a university face numerous challenges. A sample of 977 undergraduate students at an evangelical institution was categorized as congruent or incongruent with the theological mission. Both groups were compared to 120 students enrolled at an institution…

This article explores civic development and its roles in the lives of emerging adults, and the ways in which college contexts--particularly Christian colleges and universities--may foster adaptive civic development. First, the article presents an argument for the importance of fostering civic development as rooted in historic truths of the…

A major discovery, or rediscovery, of this time is that an education that matters--an education that enhances capacities and expands outlooks--is one that engages the whole student. Research in learning has shown that making sense of the world and learning to use knowledge and skills in responsible and engaged ways--long the developmental goals of…

This research explores the impact of a year studying in Israel on Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) rabbinical students' emotional connection toward and knowledge about the State of Israel and the Jewish People. We want to better understand the students' beliefs, ideas, and behaviors that emerge from their experience…

A family survey, ethnographic study, and quasi-experimental study investigated "Shalom Sesame's" potential to enhance understanding of Jewish culture and identity among preschool families. Preschoolers demonstrated significant learning, recognizing that people who looked different could be Jewish, and in knowledge about Hebrew words,…