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Christian Students' Worldviewsand Propensity for Missionteaching

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Christian Students' Worldviewsand Propensity for Missionteaching CHRISTIAN STUDENTS’ WORLDVIEWS AND PROPENSITY FOR MISSION TEACHING by Richard Patrick Dolan Liberty University A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Liberty University December, 2010 ii Christian Students’ Worldviews and Propensity for Mission Teaching by Richard Patrick Dolan A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA December, 2010 APPROVED: COMMITTTEE CHAIR Samuel J. Smith, Ed.D. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Kenneth G. Cleaver, Ph.D. Jeffrey S. Savage, Ed.D. CHAIR, GRADUATE STUDIES Scott Watson, Ph.D. iii ABSTRACT Richard Patrick Dolan. CHRISTIAN STUDENTS’ WORLDVIEWS AND PROPENSITY FOR MISSION TEACHING. (Under the direction of Dr. Samuel J. Smith) School of Education, December, 2010. The research conducted sought to find evidence to answer the following questions: Do students in teacher preparation programs who feel called to enter the Christian mission field as general education teachers have a worldview that is more closely aligned with biblical principles than other teacher groups? Is there a correlation between the worldview of mission general education teachers and propensity to volunteer for the field? What do students consider as influence in their decisions to commit to the Christian mission service profession? The data gathered indicated that participants who intended to volunteer at mission schools had significantly higher scores in all the types of worldview than participants with no such intention. All of the worldview scores were highly and directly correlated with propensity to volunteer. The results of the qualitative supplement indicate that influential persons and life changing events are important to their decisions to work in a mission setting. Suggestions for further research are also included. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my wife Carol and children Patrick and Florence. I was not able to give you the attention you deserved while doing this work. Without your love and support this project would not have been possible. Thanks also to my committee chair, Dr. Smith, for his patience, encouragement, and kind spirit. I would also like to express my appreciation to Drs. Cleaver and Savage for their Spirit-filled guidance and for helping me to focus on task during this work. My humble gratitude goes to the faculty, staff, and students of Liberty, whom God graciously brought into my life and through whom I have been changed. v Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Contents .............................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................... 2 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 4 Purpose Statement ......................................................................................................... 5 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 6 Research Questions and Hypotheses ............................................................................ 7 Nature of the Study ....................................................................................................... 8 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................. 9 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................... 12 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Review of Literature ....................................................................................... 15 Considerations of Worldviews .................................................................................... 15 vi Historical Worldview .................................................................................................. 16 Philosophical Worldview ...................................................................................... 17 Biblical Worldview ............................................................................................... 20 Founders of Christian Worldview ............................................................................... 22 James Orr .............................................................................................................. 22 Abraham Kuyper ................................................................................................... 23 Herman Dooyeweerd ............................................................................................ 24 Francis Schaeffer .................................................................................................. 25 Worldview to People’s Actions .................................................................................. 25 Love ...................................................................................................................... 25 Transactional ......................................................................................................... 26 Spiritual ................................................................................................................. 27 Binary Rule ........................................................................................................... 29 Reality ................................................................................................................... 29 Worldview in Education ............................................................................................. 30 Education as a Mission ............................................................................................... 34 Measuring Worldview ................................................................................................ 40 PEERS Survey Instrument .................................................................................... 40 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 42 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................... 47 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 47 Research Design.......................................................................................................... 48 vii Assumptions .......................................................................................................... 49 Interview questions ..................................................................................................... 51 Qualitative Credibility and Dependability .................................................................. 52 Restatement of Research Questions and Hypotheses ................................................. 53 Data Collection ........................................................................................................... 54 Instrumentation ........................................................................................................... 55 Variables ..................................................................................................................... 56 Validity and Reliability ............................................................................................... 56 Data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 56 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................. 59 Conducting the Study .................................................................................................. 59 Quantitative Results .................................................................................................... 61 Description of the Sample and Study Variables ................................................... 61 Response to Research Questions .......................................................................... 62 Qualitative Results ...................................................................................................... 68 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 5: Implications, Recommendations and Conclusions ......................................... 81 Analysis of Research
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