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Theological Education in a Multicultural Environment: Identifying and Evaluating Best Practices for Empowerment. Part I - Research and Planning
Proposal abstract :
The Joint Faculty Multiethnic Concerns Committee of Fuller Theological Seminary proposes a four-stage evaluation of student perceptions of classroom practices. The proposal is conceived as the first part of a larger planning initiative to further policymaking and pedagogy which will support the culturally diverse ministries of our student body. Stage 1 uses focus group methods to elicit from ethnically representative student groups their perceptions of how well current classroom practices empower them to minister in their intended cultural settings. Stage 2 utilizes this data to construct a quantitative survey instrument to be distributed to the entire student body. In Stage 3, an initial report of the foregoing results will be submitted to outside consultants for their feedback and response. In the final stage, the report and the consultants’ responses will be distributed to faculty, staff, and students campus-wide, as an empirical base for planning and evaluation discussions.
Learning Abstract :
An empirical study of full-time students at Fuller Seminary was begun in 2005 to address issues of pedagogy and climate related to empowering a culturally diverse body of students. Initial qualitative data were used to construct a questionnaire that was completed by 298 students. A preliminary report of the findings was then circulated to external consultants and student focus groups for comment. Survey results indicated that pedagogical concerns were secondary to those of campus climate. Student focus groups responses raised significant concerns with implicit and explicit racism in the classroom. Overall, the study suggests that the empowerment of an increasingly diverse population of seminary students requires specific attention to the ways in which the classroom and campus environment may be experienced as unsafe and disempowering.
The Joint Faculty Multiethnic Concerns Committee of Fuller Theological Seminary proposes a four-stage evaluation of student perceptions of classroom practices. The proposal is conceived as the first part of a larger planning initiative to further policymaking and pedagogy which will support the culturally diverse ministries of our student body. Stage 1 uses focus group methods to elicit from ethnically representative student groups their perceptions of how well current classroom practices empower them to minister in their intended cultural settings. Stage 2 utilizes this data to construct a quantitative survey instrument to be distributed to the entire student body. In Stage 3, an initial report of the foregoing results will be submitted to outside consultants for their feedback and response. In the final stage, the report and the consultants’ responses will be distributed to faculty, staff, and students campus-wide, as an empirical base for planning and evaluation discussions.
Learning Abstract :
An empirical study of full-time students at Fuller Seminary was begun in 2005 to address issues of pedagogy and climate related to empowering a culturally diverse body of students. Initial qualitative data were used to construct a questionnaire that was completed by 298 students. A preliminary report of the findings was then circulated to external consultants and student focus groups for comment. Survey results indicated that pedagogical concerns were secondary to those of campus climate. Student focus groups responses raised significant concerns with implicit and explicit racism in the classroom. Overall, the study suggests that the empowerment of an increasingly diverse population of seminary students requires specific attention to the ways in which the classroom and campus environment may be experienced as unsafe and disempowering.