Date
4-7-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Richard Green
Keywords
moral, public education, family, Coptic, youth, Kolb, values
Disciplines
Counseling | Education
Recommended Citation
Endrawis, Peter S., "The Experience of Coptic Orthodox Youth Concerning Morals Taught in Public Education" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8047.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8047
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of Coptic Orthodox youth concerning moral education taught in public schools. There were four research questions this study answered: 1) How do Coptic youth describe their experience of navigating moral teachings in public schools? 2) What meaning do Coptic youth ascribe to church tradition based on their experience in public schools? 3) How do Coptic youth describe their worldview concerning faith based on their experience in public schools? 4) How do Coptic youth describe their worldview concerning spirituality based on their experience in public schools? The theory guiding this study is Kolb’s experiential learning theory proposed by David A. Kolb. This study also used the mind of the School of Alexandria under Origen whose purpose was to use the philosophy of the Greeks for Christian benefit. Kolb explains how to acquire knowledge while Origen explains how to use knowledge. The methodology of the research design is qualitative phenomenology. The sample size reached saturation of information at eight participant interviews ranging in ages of 18–25. All participants chose zoom call instead of in person meeting and were recorded with consent. All participants went to public schools in the northeast region of the U.S. and are ethnically Coptic. The data was analyzed from the interviews and patterns were found among participant answers using coding. I categorized codes from repeated phrases and ideas into three themes: certainty of faith, internal struggle, and results of exposure. The results revealed that when exposed to morality which opposed their faith, participant’s expressed confusion, conducted research, shifted their views on Christian principles, and doubted their faith. All the participants however cited that they later kept their faith because of their priest’s education, lectures in church, and their parents answering their faith-based questions.
