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SPIRITUAL FATHERING: DOES IT REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Get PDFThe importance and impact of having a father in the home is undisputable. Statistics dictate that the effect of fatherlessness on children is devastating. Could it be that having a spiritual father or mother involved in a believer’s life makes a verifiable difference as well? This dissertation will investigate the effects of spiritual fathering as evidenced by the spiritual disciplines of those who identify as having a strong spiritual father or mother. The Apostle Paul said, “Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel” (I Cor 5:14, NLT). Mal 4:5-6 says, “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse” (NLT). There is a call in the Body of Christ today for spiritual fathers to rise and take their place. This dissertation will apply qualitative and quantitative studies to demonstrate the important roles that spiritual fathers play in the spiritual lives of those who look to them. It will also provide some best practices for spiritual fathers as observed in the lives of those who are currently serving in this role. Lastly, it will confirm that spiritual fathers provide connection, validation, direction, provision, and commission to their sons and daughters, which greatly enhances their lives and ministries
EFFECTS OF GLOBAL EXPERIENCES FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
Get PDFThe purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to determine the effect global experiences have on undergraduate students’ self-confidence, cultural awareness, and career choice. The research took place at a single research site, a private, faith-based university in the Southeastern United States. Students who had participated in a global experience, such as a mission trip or a study abroad experience, were invited to complete the researcher-created survey, the Global Experience Exit Survey. The data from 59 undergraduate students was analyzed using SPSS, specifically one sample t-tests. The results indicated statistically significant findings for all three subconstructs. The findings show that GEs positively affect students’ perceptions of self-confidence, cultural awareness, and career choice. Further research is required to determine how to structure GEs to ensure the greatest benefits for undergraduate students
DYSLEXIA: TEACHERS’ SELF-EFFICACY IN DIFFERENTIATING LITERACY INSTRUCTION
Get PDFDyslexia is the most common learning disability, impacting approximately 20% of school-age children. Students with dyslexia need specialized instruction from an educator who can confidently differentiate literacy instruction to accommodate the learning needs of the dyslexic student. The purpose of this study is to measure general education teachers\u27 self-efficacy in differentiating literacy instruction for students with dyslexia in public elementary schools in Florida. Moreover, the study evaluates whether educators are confident in using explicit, systematic, and multisensory methods based on the science of reading to differentiate for students with dyslexia. A survey was completed anonymously by 111 teachers, of which 84 were elementary kindergarten through fifth-grade general education teachers providing literacy instruction in Florida. The results indicated a statistically significant number of educators have a high self-efficacy in differentiating literacy instruction, specifically for students with dyslexia, and a statistically significant number of educators have a high self-efficacy using explicit, systematic, and multisensory differentiation strategies based on the science of reading to differentiate for students with dyslexia. Despite a reported high self-efficacy in differentiating instruction for students with dyslexia among all teachers, the data offered interesting differences in reported self-efficacy between teachers based on years of experience
BEYOND THE SCREEN: UNPACKING GENDER’S INFLUENCE ON THE GAMING WORLD
Get PDFGender is a concept that touches each and every person across the world. It is also something that affects many facets of human life. The gaming world is not separate from it as a concept, and there are areas in which the two clearly intersect. Women have long been effectively outcast from the industry, and this stems from more than just simple biases—women are distanced from technology, struggle to enter male-dominated workplaces, and are not considered real gamers because of the culture. Much of the literature touches on the experiences of women in the industry, the gendered experiences of audiences, and how masculinity affects it all. With a foundation in the gender disparity that exists within this industry, this thesis seeks to answer the question “How does gender affect the content and perception of a video game?” through research on the literature, surveys, and interviews
LEADING CHANGE DURING CRISIS: NONPROFIT LEADERS’ EXPERIENCES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Get PDFThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover which experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic led to leadership and organizational changes within nonprofit organizations located in southern Florida. Data for the study were collected by interviewing leaders of five nonprofit organizations that provided human and social services to individuals and families before, during, and after the pandemic. The participants discussed some of the challenges they experienced with social distancing protocols, service delivery continuity to service users, and the concerns among staff and volunteers. Four themes were common among the participants of the study: operational restrictions, technological adaptations, staff morale and retention, and operational efficiency. Future research could focus on the permanency of the organizational changes leaders made during the pandemic, and whether the changes are still in effect after the pandemic. Additionally, research could focus on how organizational leaders managed personal challenges while attending to the needs of their organization and community
I TOILED. I TRANSLATED. I WAS TRANSFORMED: HOW THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DEAD LANGUAGE OF THE AENEID ENLIGHTENS AND ENLIVENS
Get PDFThe purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate that the study of the Aeneid by rhetorical Latin students pursuing a classical Christian education (CCE) both enlightens and enlivens the student. It begins by asserting that Latin has been a particularly important conduit of culture and education since classical antiquity. In the modern era, its study has been largely neglected in preference for the study of modern spoken languages and labeled “dead.” To fulfill the purpose of Latin study within a CCE an appropriate teleios must be identified for Latin students that aligns with the purpose of CCE, namely fluency.
This paper relies on a review of the literature about the use and study of the Latin language in education from ancient to modern times, highlighting the critical knowledge and skills that are gained by the student in the study of Latin. The Aeneid has been used since it was written by Vergil in the first century before Christ in education. This paper shows that the ancient epic can continue to be influential and meaningful because of the history and complex beauty of its Latin poetry. A serious examination of the work requires that it be read in the original Latin, which the rhetorical CCE student can be trained to do. A significant portion of the poem’s beauty (e.g., meter, rhythm, connotation) is often lost in translation. The CCE student is trained to search out and appreciate beauty, and so is best served by reading the original.
The author notes that through the acquisition of Latin fluency to read and understand the original poetic language in the Aeneid and through dialectic discussion of its ideas within the context of a biblical worldview, the student can grow in character and wisdom. The growth in character that reading the Aeneid in the original Latin provides comes from two sources. First, the diligence of struggling with a complex task over many years to the point of mastery will enliven a student and prepare him well for many domains of learning. Second, the student’s character is honed through seeking answers to normative questions about the poem, its meaning, and its historical context. Through the dialectic tension between the pagan poem and the Christian worldview much mental and spiritual growth can be gained by the student.
Though Latin has fallen into disuse as the language of education, those who seek to become fluent in it to read and enjoy Vergil’s Aeneid will be rewarded not just with beautiful ideas that a decent translation can capture, but a deep experience with the beauty and complexity of those ideas. The CCE student who nurtures Latin fluency is rewarded with intellectual ability, a strong understanding of history, and a respect for human nature distilled through one of the world’s most enduring and beautiful poems.
Key Words: Latin, Vergil, Aeneid, fluency, classical Christian education, characte
CLASSICAL GROWTH GRID: A PROPOSAL FOR CLASSICAL FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Get PDFThis research endeavor seeks to explore how to assess a classically educated student. A classical Christian education differs from modern education, and the evaluation of the student must differ. This research focuses on determining how a classical student could best be assessed using strategies already proven by educational research. Overall, there needs to be more tools to equip a classical educator to evaluate students, and the existing tools need to be supported by research. This research seeks to give sound evidence to develop a potential method of classical assessment to measure a student’s academic growth that could be utilized by a classical homeschool educator, small community, or class setting.
Research for this effort was conducted in three general areas: the aims of classical and modern education, the historicity of assessment and its current status, and an analysis of alternative assessments supported by peer-reviewed academic research that aligned with classical education\u27s aims. Theological considerations are included to expand the use of the assessment tool to include classical Christian education in addition to classical education. While there are anecdotal samples of the proposed classical assessment tool and how it could be used, they have yet to be formally tested.
Research determined that a classical assessment tool that utilizes best practices in modern assessment methods and classical pedagogy could be developed. The resulting tool addresses cognitive growth through the progression of the classical trivium, educating all aspects of human nature, and developing virtue.
This proposed tool could be of great value for classical educators in developing assessment criteria for students for the purpose of evaluation. The proposed tool could substantiate a learner’s growth and be transitioned to a grade for a transcript without relying on multiple-choice tests. Further research would need to be conducted to test for congruency of its use when translated to grades on transcripts. Do the resulting grades correlate with the performance of traditionally taught peers? Additionally, opportunities exist to train classical educators in developing and writing criteria using this model
Naturalist Thomas Hardy\u27s Inadvertent Support of the Gospel Narrative When Portraying Sexual Abuse and Shame in Tess of the D\u27Urbervilles
Get PDFIn his novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the naturalist author Thomas Hardy attempts to critique the 19th-century Christian perspective on sexual abuse. Instead, he inadvertently critiques legalism, exposing it as the antithesis of true Christianity. Secular scholars believe that Hardy’s novel is blaming the Victorian era’s sexual ignorance for the stigma and shame surrounding sexual abuse. Christian scholars believe that Hardy’s naturalistic worldview simply lacks a moral standard. However, I believe that Hardy’s novel exposes an issue far deeper than sexual ignorance and lacks something far more substantive than a moral standard; his novel addresses the devastating consequences of legalism and mankind’s desperate need for a Savior. Because sexual abuse is one of the greatest distortions of God’s unconditional love, the assault that Tess experiences forces her to wrestle intensely with the existence and character of God. Far from exposing Christianity as a farce, Thomas Hardy’s critique of the shame-inducing Victorian era unintentionally affirms the venerable gospel of grace
Storytelling Heals the Wounded Mind
Get PDFHumans are storytelling creatures. We use stories to communicate ideas in a memorable and engaging way, inspire people to believe in the best version of themselves, find truth in our legal system, empathize with experiences different than our own, and entertain ourselves for hours on end. Recent neuroscience proposes that the human mind thinks through stories. Narrative is the technical and broad term for story, defined as a series of actions and events that unfold over time according to proper cause and effect. Narrative practice is an emerging field comprising of storytelling treatments in therapy and medicine, usually focusing on having the individual create their autobiography and continually retell it to derive themes and purpose from it. It is based on the even more radical idea that the human mind heals through narratives. Acquired Brain Injury, abbreviated as ABI, includes any brain injury after birth, the most common of which is a concussion. ABIs cause impairments, permanent disability, and death in multiple millions of people in the United States alone, affecting more than breast cancer and HIV/AIDs. Despite its prevalence, current ABI treatments have fallen short because brain injuries are experienced differently by every individual and often cause severe problems that are not physically apparent. These four main “invisible problems” include: 1) a dysfunction in time perception, memory, and executive functions, 2) a loss of self-identity, 3) emotional and mental health issues, and 4) social isolation. This thesis argues that narrative practices are the answer for treating these issues because narratives by their nature are time-organizers, meaning-makers, emotion-stimulators, and community-connectors. Each point is proven on the foundation of neurology, by connecting areas of the brain an ABI damages to brain areas that narratives activate and potentially heal. Then, this thesis shows that the research studying narrative practices and these issues proves it is an effective treatment option and suggests that future research will confirm they remain effective
3 for many ABI patients experiencing these same problems. Narrative practices may not be the answer for every individual because brain injuries are such a personal issue, but for their adaptable nature makes them effective for that very reason. This effectiveness would likely increase when combined with currently used neurological and therapeutic treatments. Millions of people are suffering silently from the ramifications of an ABI. Narrative practices have the power to write them a happy ending