Literature Review

A CASE STUDY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1

A Case Study of Professional Development Activities that Foster a Biblical Worldview in K-8 Christian School Teachers

by

Student Name

EDUC 850

Liberty University

Overview

A thorough review of the research was conducted to identify studies that explore professional development activities that foster a biblical worldview in K-8 Christian school teachers. This chapter will provide an overview on the existing literature pertaining to the study. The first section will discuss the theories selected as a framework and how they relate to the central phenomenon. The second section will synthesize the recent literature pertaining to professional development activities followed by studies on K-8 Christian schools. Finally, the review will consider studies regarding biblical worldview development, with a focus on K-8 Christian school teachers. After reviewing the literature, a gap in the literature will emerge and provide a focused area of need for this study.

Theoretical Framework

Faith Development Theory

(Parker, 2010; Streib, 2001)

Adult Learning Theory

(Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015)

Related Literature

Professional Development Activities

(Capps, Crawford, & Constas, 2012)

Characteristics of effectiveness.

(Etherington, 2011)

Professional learning communities.

(Kelly & Cherkowski, 2015)

Online.

(Vu, Cao, Vu, & Cepero, 2014)

Instructional coaching.

(Thomas, Bell, Spelman, & Briody, 2015)

Professionalism.

(Swezey & Finn, 2014)

K-8 Christian Schools

(van Crombrugge & Debusschere, 2017)

School leadership.

(Harrison & Allen, 2013)

Need for academic rigor.

(Stutz, 2016)

Parent’s choice of Christian schools.

(Pritchard & Swezey, 2016)

Biblical Worldview Development

(Kim, McDalman, & Fisher, 2012)

Leader’s worldview development.

(Barbara, 2014)

Impact of teacher’s worldview on students.

(Moore, 2014)

Expected student outcomes.

(Sadykova, Yergazina, Yeshpanov, Korvyakov, & Aitzhanova, 2016)

Relationships.

(Spilt, Koomen, & Thijs, 2011)

Teacher prep programs.

(Schwarz, 2014)

Concepts and practices related to biblical worldview.

(Etherington, 2011)

Spiritual formation.

(1 Peter 3:15)

Faith and learning integration.

(Sites, 2008)

Summary

Professional development activities are a focus of both public and private schools. With increased accountability demanded from agencies and parents, providing effective programs with quality teachers is a top priority of school leaders. Professional development is used in schools to help build instructional pedagogy, learn best practices, and keep up with the growing demands of education. Christian schools feel the same challenges as public and charter schools in offering quality PD. Historically, Christian schools have received negative perceptions as being low in academic rigor, and parents may no longer place the spiritual formation of their child as a reason to select a Christian school. Today, parents desire quality academic programming with a BW in order that their child compete as a 21st-century learner. Therefore, Christian schools must seek PD activities which keep up with best practices and push their teachers towards academic rigor and provide opportunities that foster a biblical worldview in their teachers.

A gap in the literature exists. Little to no study has been conducted to explore professional development activities that foster a biblical worldview in K-8 Christian school teachers. Thus, this study is necessary to provide Christian education stakeholders with relevant information. This study aims to discover valuable information in efforts for K-8 Christian schools to better foster a biblical worldview in their teachers and staff. With little to no studies focused on K-8 Christian schools, this study will be a much-needed addition to the empirical research currently available.

References

Barbara, S. R. (2014). The development of faith leadership in novice principals. Journal of Catholic Education, 17(2), 25-56.

Capps, D. K., Crawford, B. A., & Constas, M. A. (2012). A review of empirical literature on inquiry professional development: Alignment with best practices and a critique of the findings. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 23(3), 291-318. doi:10.1007/s10972-012-9275-2

Etherington, M. B. (2011). A study of the perceptions and worldviews of mature-age pre-service teachers aged between 31 and 53. Journal of Adult Development, 18(1), 37-49.

Harrison, S., & Allen, J. (2013). Leadership in private Christian schools: Perceptions of administrators. International Christian Community for Teacher Education, 8(1), 20-39.

Kelly, J., & Cherkowski, S. (2015). Collaboration, collegiality, and collective reflection: A case study of professional development for teachers. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy. Advance online publication. Retrieved from https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjeap/index

Kim, D., McCalman, D., & Fisher, D. (2012). The sacred/secular divide and the Christian worldview. Journal of Business Ethics, 109, 203-208. doi:10.1007/s10551-011-1119-z

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Publishing.

Moore, D. (2014). Most common teacher characteristics related to intentionality in student spiritual formation. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 23(3), 255-270. doi:10.1080/10656219.2014.963269

Parker, S. (2010). Research in Fowler's faith development theory: A review article. Review of Religious Research, 51(3), 233-252.

Pritchard, T. G., & Swezey, J. A. (2016). Factors affecting Christian parents' school choice decision processes: A grounded theory study. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 25(1), 3-24. doi:10.1080/10656219.2016.1105712

Sadykova, S. A., Yergazina, A. A., Yeshpanov, V. S., Korvyakov, V. A., & Aitzhanova, A. B. (2016). Possibilities of extracurricular activities in the student's spiritual and moral formation. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(17), 9857-9871.

Schwarz, G. (2014). Christian teacher education in a culture of techne: Current developments in teacher accreditation. Journal of Education & Christian Belief, 18(2), 171-189.

Sites, E. C. (2008). Separate threads or a single woven piece? A phenomenology of the integration of faith and learning (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/100. (Order No. 100)

Spilt, J. L., Koomen, H. M. Y., & Thijs, J. T. (2011). Teacher wellbeing: The importance of teacher-student relationships. Educational Psychology Review, 23(4), 457-477. doi: 10.1007/s10648-011-9170-y

Streib, H. (2001). Faith development theory revisited: The religious styles perspective. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 11(3), 143-158.

Stutz, C. P. (2016). Wislawa Szymborska, Adolf Hitler, and boredom in the classroom; or, how yawning leads to genocide. Christian Scholar's Review, 46(2), 127-144.

Swezey, J. A., & Finn, D. E. (2014). Faculty perceptions of teacher professionalism in Christian schools. A Journal of the International Christian Community for Teacher Education, 8(1). Retrieved from https://icctejournal.org/issues/v8i1/v8i1-swezey-finn/

Thomas, E. E., Bell, D. L., Spelman, M., & Briody, J. (2015). The growth of instructional coaching partner conversations in a prek-3rd grade teacher professional development experience. Journal of Adult Education, 44(2), 1-6.

van Crombrugge, H., & Debusschere, R. (2017). Vocation-oriented professional education: Between cultivating a talent and hearing the call. Christian Higher Education, 16(1/2), 33-46. doi: 10.1080/15363759.2017.1250524

Vu, P., Cao, V., Vu, L., & Cepero, J. (2014). Factors driving learner success in online professional development. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15(3), 121-139.