1. 2011 NASPA Annual Conference  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  March 12–16, 2011 Purposeful Conversations About Spirituality & Religion March 15, 2011 – 3:15 pm Dr. Marcia Kennard Kiessling Dr. James Mantooth Rhonda Strouse

2. Intent of Session Provide brief overview of literature on spiritual development of college students Share relevant spirituality research regarding students and staff Prompt thought about your perspective and beliefs regarding spirituality and practice

3. Intent of Session Provide examples of best practices regarding engaging college students in conversations about spirituality and religion Provide resources including references of current and past research Evaluate strengths and challenges of your ability to engage college students in conversations about spirituality & religion Provide opportunity to develop discussion strategies

4. Introduction Spirituality Holism and Student Affairs Statement of Problem Review of Literature/Student Development Theories Review of Empirical Research Brief Overview of Selected Findings Current Practices Strategies – Examples – Resources for Participants

5. Spirituality Think about your definition of spirituality

6. Holism and Student Affairs “The concept of education is broadened to include attention to the students’ well rounded development – physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually, as well as intellectually.” American Council on Education. The Student Personnel Point of View (1949)

7. Statement of Problem While the profession of student affairs espouses the goal of holistic student development, little research has been conducted regarding the spirituality of student affairs professionals or their practice in terms of integrating spirituality as a component of holistic student development. Komives, Woodard & Associates, 1996; Love, 2001; Love & Talbot, 1999; Sandeen, 2004.

8. Statement of Problem IF… Student Affairs professionals do not include spirituality as a component of holistic student development in their work, THEN… The profession is not practicing that which it espouses as a foundational goal and students are not being provided opportunities for true holistic development.

9. Review of Literature Student Development Theories Minor Focus on Spirituality Maslow (1971) self actualization Chickering & Reisser (1993) Establishing identity, integrity, developing purpose Most Relevant Theories Fowler (1981) Parks (2000) Tisdell (2003)

10. Fowler’s Stages of Faith Provided initial theory that considers issues of faith development and meaning making Introduced concept of holism through inclusion of affect in theory Maintained that both intellect and affect are intertwined and cannot be separated when studying spirituality Fowler, 1981

11. Theoretical Framework Parks Extended Fowler’s stages of faith by adding young adult stage of development Focused on spiritual development of college students as meaning making and recognized as non-theistic for some Focused on importance of mentoring Parks, 2000

12. Theoretical Framework Tisdell Conceptualized spirituality as: – part of how adults make meaning – one way that people construct knowledge - through images and symbols – Unable to be separated from sociocultural context of learners Learners bring their own spirituality with them to learning environments Educators shape environments Culture and identity of learners important Tisdell, 2003

13. Research Most relevant empirical research HERI studies (2005, 2006) student and faculty Lindholm and Astin (2008) spirituality and pedagogy Dalton (2006) senior student affairs administrators perspectives of students Moran & Curtis (2004) role that spirituality plays in lives of student affairs professionals Seifert, Harmon, Goodman, & Watt (2009) student affairs professionals’ practice Kiessling (2010) student affairs professionals’ practice

14. Focus of Past Research Has been primarily on students and faculty Very little research on student affairs professionals Following describes selected findings from Kiessling study Data collection via National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) Advancing Research Program

15. Student Affairs Professionals’ Perceptions of Their Spirituality Overall optimistic and caring 66% self-report as spiritual beings 50% searching for meaning/purpose in life 49% seek opportunities to grow spiritually 34% discuss meaning of life with friends 11% discuss meaning of life with colleagues

16. Student Affairs Professionals’ Practices in Regard to Integration of Spirituality into Their Work Lower frequency of practice reported for items with terminology specific to spirituality and meaning/purpose in life Findings support notion that student affairs professionals do not integrate spiritual development practices to the same degree that they endorse integration of other practices

17. Modeling Authenticity 94% seek to understand the unique individuality of each student 93% communicate and interact with students in authentic ways 86% mentor students in their personal development 78% discuss balance with your students, in terms of self care, stress management, conflict management, etc. 29% discuss life purpose with students

18. Focus on Students’ Personal Development 94% help students develop personal values 94% enhance students’ self-understanding 90% develop moral character 90% provide for students’ emotional development 61% facilitate search for meaning/purpose in life 43% enhance spiritual development

19. Mentoring Experiences 79% believe mentoring roles that involve mentor supporting students’ searching for meaning and purpose in life are an appropriate role for student affairs professionals 16% discussed aspects of spirituality including searching for meaning and purpose in life with mentor

20. Mentoring Experiences 74% discussed career and future professional life with mentor 17% discussed life purpose with mentor

21. Graduate School Curricula 14% studied student development theory that focused on spirituality as a graduate student 9% were assigned reading on spirituality in a graduate course 8% attended a graduate school course, workshop, or retreat on matters related to spirituality 5% took courses that dealt with religious pluralism

22. Religious Interest and Curriculum 35% reported having an interest in different religious traditions as a very or extremely accurate descriptor of self 05% took graduate courses that dealt with religious pluralism

23. Connections to Related Literature Student affairs professionals on a spiritual quest more likely to have a focus on students spiritual development Graduate students not being prepared for their role of enhancing student spiritual development Questioning of appropriateness of role Not clear if student affairs professionals distinguish religion from spirituality

24. Changing Environments Religious pluralism in higher education with increasingly diverse students Students consider selves to be spiritual, though not religious Need to better understand values different from one’s own due to increasing internationalization of colleges Research indicates students want to talk about these issues

25. Implications for Practice Co-curricular opportunities Expansion of mission of religious life offices Spirituality as a component of diversity Service learning Outdoor education Mentoring inclusive of purpose in life Graduate preparation inclusive of education about religious systems

26. Importance for our Work Providing opportunities for holistic student development through integration of spirituality into the practice of student affairs professionals Acknowledge spirituality as a critical component of student development no matter where we serve institutionally; Identifying ways to create a safe environment for students to discuss spirituality; Authentic in our approach

27. Action So what…what do we do with this information? How does this information help us intentionally craft our conversations? What have you seen/experienced that has been successful?

28. Resources & References American Council on Education. (1949). The Student Personnel Point of View. Series VI, Student Personnel Work; Volume XIII, September, Number 13, Washington, D.C. Astin, A. W., Astin, H. S., Lindholm, J. A., & Bryant, A. N., Szelényi, K., & Calderone, S. (2005). The spiritual life of college students: A national study of college students’ search for meaning and purpose. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. Astin, A. W., Astin, H., Lindholm, J. A., Bryant, A. N., Calderone, S., & Szelényi, K. (2006). Spirituality and the professoriate: A national study of faculty beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Spirituality in Higher Education, University of California, Los Angeles. Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.

29. Resources & References Astin, A. W., Astin, H.S., & Lindholm (2010). Cultivating the Spirit: How College Can Enhance Students' Inner Lives. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Dalton, J. (2006). Chapter 4, The place of spirituality in the mission and work of college student affairs. In Chickering, Dalton, & Stamm’s Encouraging authenticity and spirituality in higher education. 145 – 164. Fowler, J. W. (1981). Stages of faith: The psychology of human development and the quest for meaning. San Francisco: Harper Collins.

30. Resources & References Higher Education Research Institute. (2003). Spirituality in higher education: A national study of college students’ search for meaning and purpose. Retrieved May 26, 2009, from http://spirituality.ucla.edu/about/index.html http://spirituality.ucla.edu/about/index.html Higher Education Research Institute. (2005). Spirituality and the Professoriate: A National Study of Faculty Beliefs, Attitudes, and Behaviors. Retrieved Nov. 10, 2006, from (http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/results/spirit_professoriate.pdf).http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/results/spirit_professoriate.pdf Komives, S. R., Woodard, D. B., and Associates. (1996). Student services: A handbook for the profession. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Lindholm, J. A., & Astin, H. S. (2008). Spirituality and pedagogy: Faculty's spirituality and use of student-centered approaches to undergraduate teaching. Review of Higher Education, 31(2), 185-207.

31. Resources & References Love, P. G. (2001). Spirituality and student development: Theoretical connections. In M. A. Jablonski (Ed.), The implications of student spirituality for student affairs practice: New Directions for Student Services, 95, 7-16. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Love, P. G., & Talbot, D. (1999). Defining spiritual development: A missing consideration for student affairs, NASPA Journal, 37(1), 361-376. Maslow, A.H. (1971). Toward a psychology of being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Moran, C. D. & Curtis, G. D. (2004). Blending two worlds: Religio-spirituality in the professional lives of student affairs administrators. NASPA Journal, 41(3), 631-646.

32. Resources & References Parks, S. D. (2000). Big questions, worthy dreams: Mentoring young adults in their search for meaning, purpose, and faith. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Sandeen, A. (2004). Educating the whole student: The growing academic importance of student affairs. Change, 36(3), 28-33. Seifert, T., Harmon, N., Goodman, K., & Watt, S. (2009). The relationship between life purpose, spiritual well-being, and student affairs practice: Report of research findings for the Educational Leadership Foundation of ACPA college student educators international, February, 1-25. Tisdell, E.J. (2003). Exploring spirituality and culture in adult and higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.