Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education

by Arthur W. Chickering, Jon C. Dalton, Liesa Stamm

This groundbreaking book provides a comprehensive resource that addresses the growing movement for incorporating spirituality as an important aspect of the meaning and purpose of higher education. Written by Arthur W. Chickering, Jon C. Dalton, and Leisa Stamm―experts in the field of educational leadership and policy― Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education shows how to encourage increased authenticity and spiritual growth among students and education professionals by offering alternative ways of knowing, being, and doing. Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education includes a rich array of examples to guide the integration of authenticity and spirituality in curriculum, student affairs, community partnerships, assessment, and policy issues. Many of these illustrative examples represent specific policies and programs that have successfully been put in place at diverse institutions across the country. In addition, the authors cover the theoretical, historical, and social perspectives on religion and higher education and examine the implications for practice. They include the results of recent court cases that deal with church-state issues and offer recommendations that pose no legal barrier to implementation.  

Genres: Spirituality, Education, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Mary Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find I have a lot to say about this book and I'm concerned I'm not going to hit it all. That said, I think I approached this book thinking that the message would be different. It seems entirely fitting, then, to start by saying I'm a little sad at the idea that I won't be carrying the book with me to coffee shops and the like. People get very curious and rather defensive when they see the title of this book. I think the main reason for this is just what the book addresses: people consider the word spirituality, link it to religion, link that to organized religion, and then shut down. Organized religion seems restrictive, archaic, and we have separation of church and state, gosh darn it.

Here's what the authors address. I'm really impressed that they took the time to trace the beginning and purpose of higher education. Somewhere along the way, we've lost the purpose. Higher education is more like a business. It's amazing for me to consider how much I didn't think about this in my own classes, how much I've appealed to this business aspect (though to be fair, that's what it sometimes takes to get them to learn). Higher education is about learning, and knowledge, and learning more about the world in which you are already participating. It's about being whole people and teaching students that their personal and professional lives aren't separate and shouldn't be considered as such. We're so scared of talking about religion and being yelled at for trying to impose our specific religion on them (especially important in my public institution) that we don't address religion or spirituality at all. Instead, these authors suggest embracing diversity of spirituality and authenticity. Give students a chance, a place, and a space to figure out their spirituality while they are also trying to figure out everything else. Isn't that what college is about? Teach students what it means to be a moral member of society.

The audience for this book is pretty clear about halfway through the book: this book is for educators, for administrators, for staff, and for student affairs departments. I like the overall approach and recognition of each of these roles. While I occasionally felt a bit left out (administrative stuff probably went well for my PhD friend, but it doesn't interest me as much), I got plenty of this book, and these perspectives also taught me to respect the work that everyone else does. Engaging authenticity and spirituality in higher education is a village task.

And I'm going to carry the book around with me anyway. People won't care what I have to say (unless they're involved in higher education, in which case, they still might not care) but it's interesting to hear them react so strongly to what they think the book is about.

[Reid Mccormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

As of late, spirituality has been the hot topic in higher education. In the past decade, researchers have found that college students are hungry for a spiritual aspect in their college experience and student affairs professionals have worked tirelessly to provide a sense of authenticity and meaning on their campuses. Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality is one the first comprehensive resources created to address this growing desiring for spirituality in high education.

"The majority of Americans today consider their own religious narratives as evolving, open-ended and revisable. Religious authority lies in the individual believer."

If you know the history of higher education in this country then you know the history of spirituality. The first colleges founded in America were specifically created by the church for the church and this remained the status quo for generations. Once the industrial revolution erupted, things changed quickly. The world quickly became smaller. Technological advancements moved at lightning speeds. Society was forever changed and colleges adapted.

The focus on faith and religion quickly faded. The common narrative implies that colleges abandoned religion in pursuit of science, however the separation was quite neutral. Churches had a unique and particular focus while colleges explored all avenues of arts and science. But as we saw over the past few decades, religion has become somewhat unwelcomed or ostracized on college campuses.

In Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality, the authors set out to find the common the ground, to discover how the whole human works. "Learning is a whole person, whole brain activity. Intellect and emotion are inseparable."

Each chapter is written by a well-respected expert in the field of higher education. Each chapter offers a special piece to the puzzle of spirituality in higher education: dynamics, policy concerns, history, integration, assessment, leadership, etc.
It is a very good resource for the higher education professional. I really hope colleges and universities across the country begin to take spiritual development more seriously. Working in Christian higher education, I take spiritual development for granted instead of asking tougher questions. We need to explore spiritual development as a community of learners, and then we can finally discover what is true.

[Molly McKeogh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned some and good to see it all in one book. Some was common sense but I grew up with this kind of material so maybe it would be more ground taking for grad students or people new to discussing religion and spirituality.