ERIC Number: EJ1169226
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1085-4568
EISSN: N/A
Faith Development While Abroad amongst African American Students
Dinani, Thandiwe
Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, v30 n1 p8-19 Win 2018
Spiritual development is an epistemological journey of seeking to make meaning of life's activities, order, and relationship between events (Love, 2002). This process occurs when students experience a degree of dissonance that pushes them to question what they know, how they know it, and expand their understanding based on new experiences and information learned (Bakari, 2000; Chaudhari & Pizzolato, 2008). Studying abroad provides opportunities for students to encounter disequilibrium as they interact with other cultures that cause them to consider alternative viewpoints, and enable other's practices and beliefs to influence the formation of their own views, beliefs and practices (Chaudhari & Pizzolato, 2008). This article utilizes Fowler's (1981) stages of faith development to understand the meaning-making and spiritual development of study abroad participants. Multiple semi-structured interviews (pre-, during, and post-study abroad) were conducted with 25 African-American students who participated in long-term, immersive, study-abroad programs in thirteen different countries on five different continents. Results show transitions, changes, and development of students' faith while abroad.
Descriptors: Spiritual Development, Study Abroad, African American Students, Constructivism (Learning), Semi Structured Interviews, Religious Factors, Christianity, Beliefs, Self Concept, Identification (Psychology), Epistemology
Frontiers Journal. Dickinson College P.O. Box 1773, Carlisle, PA 17013. Tel: 717-254-8858; Fax: 717-245-1677; Web site: http://www.frontiersjournal.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A