The Place of Spirituality and Its Manifestation in Higher Education Literacy Classroom

Authors

  • Marivel Flandez-Paycana Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Philippines

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47540/ijqr.v4i1.921

Keywords:

Beliefs, Higher Education, Literacy, Pedagogical Practices, Spirituality

Abstract

So much variation in the meaning of spirituality has contributed to the difficulty in pinpointing how spiritual beliefs and values manifest themselves in the classroom. Thus, this study aimed to bridge the gap by exploring the views of faculty members on spirituality and how it manifests in the classroom using the qualitative phenomenological research tradition. In-depth interview data from twelve (12) educators and their selected students were analyzed using the conventional content analysis approach. The key findings of this study were that spirituality is something deep, personal, and relational. It serves as their guiding principle—a value system that is practical in life. It influences the values that teachers emphasize in class, the choice of materials to be used, topics and issues to be discussed, and the level of care and support they give to the students. While spirituality is covert and implemented in subtle and indirect ways in the classroom, both teachers and students agree that spirituality must not be ignored; rather, it must have a place in academia, serving as a powerful source of motivation for both teachers and students. This is an area that should be further explored in the academic context.

References

Astin, A. W. (2003). Does spirituality have a place in higher education? Liberal Education, 90(2), 34-41.

Brown, S. (2006). The construction of teacher identity in an alternative education context. Teaching and Teacher Education, (76), 50-57.

Canete, J. J. O. & Pandey, D.. (2020). The Social Dynamics of Spirituality and Youthfulness: A Social Interplay Between Disposition and Process. Indonesian Journal of Social and Environmental Issues (IJSEI), 1(2), 122-131.

Charmaz, K. (2014). Grounded theory: Objectivist and constructivist methods. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage.

Crenshaw, C. Y. (2013). Teaching for transformation: Engaging a Christian worldview in teacher education courses to address K-12 social issues [Doctoral dissertation, Baylor University].

Fenyi, D. A., & Morrison, R. (2022). An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Ghanaian Trainee Teachers’ Motivation to Major in the English Language: Implications for Classroom Pedagogy. International Journal of Qualitative Research, 1 (3), 233-242.

Gillespie, A. (2021). Spirituality in Education: Professional Accounts of the Impact of Spirituality on Education. EBSCO Publishing: eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost).

Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Aldine.

Groen J., Coholic D; & Graham J. (2012) Spirituality in Social Work and Education: Theory, Practice, and Pedagogies. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost).

Grootenbroer, K. H. (2004). Spirituality among the Professoriate at a private university in Lima, Peru. Revista Digital de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria, 9 (2), 9-32.

Kessler, R. (2000). The soul of education. ASCD. Counseling and Values, 7, 326-333.

Korthagen L. (2004). Spirituality and the physician executive: Reconciling the inner self and the business of health care. The Physician Executive 26(2), March.

Mata J. (2014). Sharing my journey and opening spaces: Spirituality in the classroom. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 19(2), 112-122.

Mayes (2001). An Inquiry at the Millennial Youth Spiritual Identity: Experiences of DLSU Students. EBSCOHOST.

Nelson-Brown, J.E. (2006). The keys of the kingdom. How teacher religious identity impacts their experience of teaching. Published Dissertation. University of Washington.

Palmer, P. J. (2003). Teaching with heart and soul: Reflections on spirituality in Teacher Education. Journal of Teacher Education, 54 (5), 376–385.

Pirner, M. L. (2013). Religiosität und lehrerprofessionalität: Ein literaturbericht zueinem vernachlässigten forschungsfeld. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 59 (2), 201-218

Sikkink, D. (2010). Do religious school teachers take their faith to work? Research evidence from the United States. Academic Journal of Religious Education, 9 (1), 160-179.

Stonehouse, C. (2009). Joining children on the spiritual journey: Nurturing a life of faith. Baker Publishing Group.

Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Spirituality, cultural identity, and epistemology in culturally responsive teaching in higher education. Multicultural Perspectives.

Varghese, L. (2007). Religion and education. The story of a conflicted Canadian partnership. Springer.

Vokey, J. (2005a). Addressing the spiritual dimensions of adult learning: What educators can do. Jossey-Bass.

Wartenweiler, T. (2020). Spirituality of teachers in Swiss secondary education [Published Doctoral Dissertation, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University].

White, K. R. (2014). Asking sacred questions: Understanding religion's impact on teacher belief and action. Religion & Education, 37 (1), 40-59.

Wong, M. S. (2018). Spirituality and English language teaching: Religious exploration of teacher identity, pedagogy, and context. Blue Ridge Summit.

Zembylas, M. (2005). Interrogating teacher identity: Emotion, resistance, and self-formation. Educational Theory.

Published

2024-07-30

How to Cite

Flandez-Paycana, M. . (2024). The Place of Spirituality and Its Manifestation in Higher Education Literacy Classroom . International Journal of Qualitative Research, 4(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.47540/ijqr.v4i1.921

Issue

Section

Articles