Educating for Ecological Conversion: An Ecstatic Pedagogy for Christian Higher Education amid Climate Crisis

Abstract

Christian universities are obligated by their mission to confront the climate crisis as the pressing existential issue of our time. In his encyclical Laudato Si', Pope Francis calls for the ecological conversion of the church and all of humanity. Ecological conversion entails an existential shift from a relationship with the earth marked by possessive, wasteful consumption to one marked by delight in creation, concern for its suffering, and preservation of this divine gift. Following the work of Bernard Lonergan and Robert Doran on conversion, we propose pedagogical strategies of connectedness and encounter that emphasize the psychic dimension of ecological conversion.     

Understanding and Nourishing Christian Vocation to Higher Education in a Postcommunist Society

ABSTRACT

To understand the concept of Christian vocation within the context of higher education in a postcommunist society, reflection on its communist and postcommunist history is necessary. Thus, the authors first present an analysis of Eastern Europe's Marxist past, specifically focusing on the external and internal impact of that past on attitudes toward higher education of people living in a postcommunist society. Marxist statism, or the total dominance of the state over an individual, remains an external influence more than a quarter of a century since Eastern Europe's 1989 democratic revolution that reshaped much of the continent. In considering the topic of vocation within the context of Eastern Europe, the ethos that works inwardly on members of postcommunist societies must be noted: suspicion leading to self-doubt, passivity kept alive by bureaucratization, and strict compartmentalization of knowledge into science versus religion. In the second part of the article, the authors describe the concept of Christian vocation in a postcommunist society, as understood by contemporary younger and older generations based on data from two recent qualitative investigations. These studies allowed for comparison between the generational views and documented important attitudinal changes. The third section concludes by providing examples of good practices for nurturing an understanding of Christian vocation in higher education in a postcommunist context. Although the effectiveness of some of these practices has been documented over time, most are still in their infancy. Despite the new democratic political system, Christians need to reconsider the former dichotomies (i.e., state–church, public–private, scientific–religious) and become more actively involved in previously inaccessible and challenging areas of influential work such as teaching and managerial positions in higher education institutions. It should be noted that the term vocation, as used in languages of postcommunist European countries has several meanings such as invitation, calling, occupation, or profession; accordingly, the authors use the terms vocation and calling interchangeably in this article.     

Christian Higher Education: An Education that Liberates

In this wide-ranging review essay, the author engages Christian Higher Education: A Global Reconnaissance, a book edited by J. Carpenter, P. L. Glanzer, and N. S. Lantinga (2014). His remarks focus especially on the five chapters of the book that survey Christian higher education in nations where he has direct experience: Brazil, Kenya, India, South Korea, and the United States. An extended reflection, both philosophical and practical, is then offered on a common task of Christian higher education across many cultures: how to develop and sustain a holistic education that promotes Kingdom prospering, above and beyond national and commercial purposes. He makes the case for a liberating education that seeks to instill a dynamic combination of integrative thinking and character formation. The essay ends with practical advice as the author encourages fellow educators to focus their efforts on faculty development, general education, and cross-cultural partnerships as the keys to building and sustaining a liberating education.     

略论高等职业教育中的职业指导

随着社会主义市场经济的深入发展，职业指导已经越来越引起了社会各界的重视，并进行了有益的实践。职业指导已成为高等职业教育的重要组成部分。本主要就职业指导在高等职业教育中的重要地位和目前应该重视的问题进行了论述。     

克莱蒙特学院联合体:一种独特的联邦制高等院校模式

美国庞大而多元的高等教育体系中有一类独特的学院———博雅学院。这些学院沿袭英国剑桥牛津的传统 ,致力于本科生教学。文章以著名的克莱蒙特学院联合体为例 ,介绍了博雅教育的哲学理念、教学方式和实践 ,并讨论了其对我国高等教育发展的启示意义。     

对高职会计教育的思考

高职会计教育，作为高职的一种特定职业教育，怎样才能办出其特色，笔者通过近几年从事高职会计教育实践得出，认为可以从明晰本层次培养目标定位、合理确定教学组织过程、坚持走“产学研”相结合的人才培养途径等几方面去探索。     

“两并举”开放式高职教育研究——以湖南三一工业职业技术学院为例

"两并举"是指职前教育与职后培训、学历教育与非学历教育并举。"两并举"开放式高职教育可实现"四个对接",即高职专业建设与企业岗位需求对接、课程体系与培训模块对接、校园文化与企业文化对接、课程考核与技能鉴定对接。实施"两并举"开放式高职教育要注重共商共订课程体系、共建共享教育培训资源、互聘互培教师队伍三个关键。     

澳大利亚TAFE体系及我国高职教育现状

世界正朝着以信息为基础的新经济转变,以新经济为基础的生产体系具有更高的生产效率和灵活性,这就要求各国的劳动力训练有素,机动灵活,拥有多种技能,而且需终身不断提高。这给职业教育提出了新的挑战。一些发达国家在这方面已有很大的发展,其中澳大利亚的TAFE体系就可供我们借鉴。     

试论高校基础生态教育

人类生存、生活、生产的方方面面，都与生态学有着密切的关系。生态教育是培养当代大学生树立生态世界观的重要途径；是提高全民族素质的需要；是实现可持续发展的必然选择．高职院校必须适应21世纪人类发展和进步的形势，适应中国的现实和发展的需要，开展生态学基础教育．     

高职院校学生就业能力发展的影响因素

在高等职业教育规模日趋庞大、就业日趋严峻的态势下,就业能力成为高职生发展的重要议题。基于对东中部18所高职院校和35家用人单位的实证调查,考察影响高职院校学生就业能力的结构要素及其作用机制,结果发现:中国高职生就业能力的发展受到了个体认知与校企支持的双重制约。从个体认知的角度看,理工科比人文社科更能认识到就业能力的重要性,他们在解决问题的能力、自我营销的能力、自我管理能力、专业能力、专项技能、通用能力和管理能力7项技能方面存在着显著的认知差异,说明理工科和人文社科是两类具有明显认知差异的群体。当控制了校企支持的影响后,人文社科高职生就业能力显著低于理工科,表明个体认知可能是阻碍高职生就业能力发展的重要因素。从校企支持的角度看,总体上实训类型、顶岗实习发挥着重要作用,而校企支持能够在多大程度上促进高职生就业能力发展取决于国家制度架构的目标追求及其特征属性。中国校企支持制度缺位的"破屋顶效应"制约高职生就业能力的发展空间,引发高职生整体就业能力偏低且过于频繁地职业流动的尴尬境遇。因此校企协同培养人才的制度缺位不啻为高职生就业能力发展的桎梏。     

强化高职实训教学指要

针对高职学生的教育特点,立足于实践教学,以强化实践--实训教学、提高职业能力、实现培养目标为宗旨;探索实训教学模式;有针对性地阐述了强化实训教学的重要性;以求培养的学生能适应我国科技发展和社会用人的需要.     

Conceptualizing Service-Learning in Christian Higher Education

Christian higher education is charged with the distinct mission of integrating faith and learning, and course-based service-learning has been identified as a supportive platform for this undertaking. Christian service-learning represents "a teaching and learning strategy that integrates academic instruction, community service, and guided reflection from a Christ-centered, faith-based perspective in order to enhance student learning, to foster civic responsibility, and to develop servant leaders” (Mullen, 2010 Mullen, S. (2010). Integrating a service and learning paradigm in a Christian education environment. Christian Education Journal, 7(1), 162–171.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], p. 164). A large volume of literature pertaining to the theoretical and practical aspects of service-learning courses exists; however, the current literature and corresponding perceptions of best practice may not fully support the distinct nature of service-learning in Christian higher education. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine a predominant service-learning typology that dichotomizes traditional and critical service-learning (Mitchell, 2008 Mitchell, T. D. (2008). Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 14(2), 50–65. [Google Scholar]) through the contextualization of faith-based higher education. Then, in an attempt to further elaborate upon Mullen’s (2010 Mullen, S. (2010). Integrating a service and learning paradigm in a Christian education environment. Christian Education Journal, 7(1), 162–171.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) definition, Morton’s (1995 Morton, K. (1995). The irony of service: Charity, project, and social change in service learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 2(1), 19–32. [Google Scholar]) typology is recommended to frame Christian service-learning as it acknowledges the validity of multiple paradigms of service-learning (charity, project, and social change) and emphasizes the manner of their implementation (thick versus thin). Micro- and macro-level strategies, based on Morton’s (1995 Morton, K. (1995). The irony of service: Charity, project, and social change in service learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 2(1), 19–32. [Google Scholar]) typology and subsequent recommendations, are provided to support faculty members and administrators attempting to implement and sustain service-learning at faith-based institutions. Specifically, Christian institutions should prioritize faith-based organizations as core partners, and faculty members should intentionally utilize reflection to integrate faith and learning.     

Spiritual Formation Within Christian Higher Education

The Christian university has a distinct responsibility to provide an environment devoted to the spiritual formation of students. Spiritual formation is not to be viewed as the only important goal of the university, thereby sacrificing intellectual or relational development, but rather spiritual formation is the aggregate “product” of the Christian college. It is a culminating attribute produced holistically from the collection of experiences gained while attending the Christian college. Christian higher education has distinct advantages in its history of spiritual formation while also facing significant challenges. Yet as the Christian colleges are true to their calling, there are few institutions better positioned to examine the spiritual formation of their students. This article reviews various aspects of this spiritual formation.