Date
5-16-2024
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Constance Pearson
Keywords
Christian paideia, classical Christian education, online education, transformational learning theory, curriculum theory, critical realism, globalization
Disciplines
Curriculum and Instruction | Education
Recommended Citation
King, Binnie J., "The Essence of Christian Paideia for Career Classical Christian Educators: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5568.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5568
Abstract
The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology was to discover the essence of Christian paideia for career classical Christian educators who make daily curricular decisions at a classical Christian online academy that serves a 2nd-12th grade international student body. A qualitative research design was used to gather data on the experiences of classical Christian educational practitioners when making curricular decisions. The theory that guided this study was Mezirow’s transformational learning theory (TLT), as all manner of teaching and learning attempts transformation to a higher ideal. A hermeneutic phenomenology was employed through the interpretive framework of critical realism to discover the essence of Christian paideia. The participants included thirteen current career CC educators with a minimum of three years teaching in an online global CC academy in the 6th through 12th grades known as the logic and rhetoric/dialectic stages of CCE. The semi-structured interview, archive observation, and focus group were the data collection methods chosen to answer the central research question: What is the essence of Christian paideia for career CC educators within their lived experiences of online global curricular decisions? Data collection, analysis, and synthesis followed van Manen’s (2016) hermeneutic phenomenological reflection and Saldaña’s (2021) analytic memoing, in vivo, process, and value coding, and theming the data. Results included the following themes: understanding the nature and character of God, building holistic connections, forming Christian character, and leading Christian culture. A point of structure (van Manen, 2016) was also revealed: everything God intended anchored in history.
