Date
5-2018
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Chair
Gail L Collins
Keywords
Children, Christian Education, Faith Development Theory, Faith Formation, Spiritual Formation, Spirituality
Recommended Citation
Blount, Angie, "Intentional Practices of Christian Schools for Spiritual Formation of Third-and Fourth-Grade Students: A Multiple Case Study" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 1742.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/1742
Abstract
The purpose of this multiple-case study was to explore and describe intentional spiritual formation practices used with third and fourth grade students enrolled in Association for Christian Schools International (ACSI) member schools. The study took place in four elementary school settings in two different states, using a replication design with each school as or for a unit of analysis. Participants in each case were teachers, administrators, and staff familiar with the teaching practices with third- and fourth-grade students. The central research question guiding the research was “What are the intentional practices of Christian schools for spiritual formation of third- and fourth-grade students?” Fowler’s (1981) faith development theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. Data were collected at each site through observations, focus group interviews, individual interviews, and document reviews. Within-case and cross-case analysis involved open coding, forming categories, and looking for patterns from the data (Yin, 2014), and three major themes emerged, discipleship, boldness, and unity, with prayer underlying each of these themes across all sites.
