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Spiritual persistence of high school alumni: an evaluation model
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Running head: SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
1
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI:
AN EVALUATION MODEL
by
Zachary L. Gautier
_______________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2018
Copyright 2018 Zachary L. Gautier
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
When I began this process, I underestimated how much being in school would require of
my wife and our three boys. I cannot express how thankful I am to have had Jen by me
throughout all of this. She sacrificed so much so that I could pursue these studies. She was
patient, kind, helpful, generous, and loving throughout the early mornings and afternoons in the
library. I am so appreciative and could not have done it without you.
To my three boys, Micah, Caleb, and Jacob. My prayer is that I have and will continue to
set an example for you so that you grow up to be men that love and honor God with your lives. I
am sorry for the times when my studies meant less time together. I hope that this has not
fostered any level of bitterness but rather a model of hard work and dedication. I love you each
so much and am so thankful that God put you in our family.
The quality of this work has been vastly improved by the efforts of my classmates, co-
workers, and former students. The feedback provided was invaluable. Specifically, much thanks
is due to Dr. Diane Badzinski, Dr. Aaron Marshall, Mr. Jon Kozan, Mrs. Courtney McGinty, Mr.
Josh Catron, Mrs. Shandra Pankoski, and Ms. Annalisa Galgano. Each went above and beyond
to provide support and feedback that enriched the quality of the data collected and results
analyzed.
To my committee members, Dr. Darline Robles and Dr. Katherine Hanson, you gave an
incredible amount of time and have invested in me personally. To my chair, Dr. Monique Datta:
you are the most capable and gifted educator I have ever encountered. The amount of time and
investment you put in your students is remarkable and I am a better educator and leader because
of your efforts.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
3
Lastly, a thank you to my parents, grandparents, brothers, and Jen’s parents. I am
eternally grateful for the Christian foundation that others have set for me and I aim to reinforce
for my children and future generations. May this work honor God.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 2
List of Tables 6
List of Figures 8
Abstract 9
Chapter 1: Introduction 10
Introduction of the Problem of Practice 10
Organizational Context and Mission 11
Organizational Goal 12
Related Literature 13
Importance of the Evaluation 17
Description of Stakeholder Groups 18
Stakeholder Performance Goals 19
Stakeholder Group for the Study 20
Purpose of the Project and Questions 21
Methodological Framework 22
Definitions 22
Organization of the Dissertation 23
Chapter 2: Review of Literature 24
Determining Institutional Effectiveness Through Alumni Feedback 25
Risks and Limitations of Self-Reported Data 28
Spiritual Development for Students 29
Spiritual Persistence After High School 31
Gap Analysis Framework 35
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and 48
Motivation and the Organizational Context
Summary 51
Chapter 3: Methods 54
Purpose of the Project and Questions 54
Conceptual and Methodological Approach 54
Participating Stakeholders 55
Data Collection and Instrumentation 58
Data Analysis 60
Validity and Reliability 61
Credibility and Trustworthiness 62
Ethics 63
Limitations and Delimitations 64
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
5
Chapter 4: Results and Findings 67
Overview of Purpose and Questions 67
Validation of Assumed Influences 68
Participating Stakeholders 68
Survey Results 71
Interview Structure 91
Themes from the Interviews 94
Answering the Research Questions 119
Synthesis and Summary 131
Chapter 5: Recommendations 134
Purpose of the Project and Questions 134
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 135
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 147
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Gap Analysis Approach 161
Limitations and Delimitations 162
Future Research 163
Conclusion 166
References 167
Appendices 173
Appendix A: Survey Items 173
Appendix B: NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on 181
Graduation Year
Appendix C: NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on 182
Transfer Status
Appendix D: NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on 183
First-Year College Selection
Appendix E: NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on 184
Self-Identified Faith Category
Appendix F: NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on 185
Marital Status
Appendix G: NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on 186
Parental Status
Appendix H: NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on 187
Net Promoter Response
Appendix I: Interview Protocol 188
Appendix J: Immediately Post-Implementation Evaluation 191
Appendix K: Delayed Implementation Evaluation 192
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
6
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Organizational Mission, Global Goal, and Stakeholder Performance Goals 20
Table 2. Assumed Knowledge Influences 39
Table 3. Assumed Motivational Influences 44
Table 4. Assumed Organizational Influences 47
Table 5. Summary of Assumed Needs for Knowledge, Motivation, and 53
Organizational Issues
Table 6. Demographic Summary of Survey Respondents 70
Table 7. NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on Gender 73
Table 8. Multiple Regression Analysis of Northfield's Positive Influence on Alumni 87
Faith
Table 9. Phase Two Multiple Regression Analysis of Northfield's Positive Influence 88
on Alumni Faith
Table 10. Multiple Regression Analysis of Northfield's Alumni Net Promoter Score 90
Table 11. Phase Two Multiple Regression Analysis of Northfield's Alumni Net 91
Promoter Score
Table 12. Demographic Summary of Interview Respondents 94
Table 13. Summary of Survey Responses of Spiritual Persistence 121
Table 14. Summary of Survey Responses for Questions Related to Valuing Aspects 126
of Faith
Table 15. Summary of Survey Responses for How the Bible Influences Decisions 127
Table 16. Summary of Survey Responses for Parent Spiritual Habits 129
Table 17. Summary of Survey Responses for Programs that Influence Student Faith 130
Development
Table 18. Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 136
Table 19. Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 141
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
7
Table 20. Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 144
Table 21. Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 149
Table 22. Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing 151
Table 23. Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 152
Table 24. Components of Learning for the Program 156
Table 25. Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 157
Table 26. Summary of Faculty and Staff Feedback 160
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
8
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Gap analysis framework 36
Figure 2. Conceptual framework for alumni engagement 50
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
9
ABSTRACT
Nearly all Christian educational institutions have spiritual development as a core outcome of
their mission. The purpose of the study was to better understand what factors influenced
spiritual persistence and whether spiritual outcomes could be validated for one Christian high
school. Clark and Estes’ (2008) Gap Analysis model was utilized to identify the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences which positively or negatively contributed to the
students’ spiritual persistence. A mixed methods design was utilized where alumni students
were invited to participate in an online survey and then a series of follow-up interviews were
conducted. From the research, three broad groups of alumni were identified: students who had
rejected the Christian faith, students who identified as Christians but it was not a priority in their
life, and those who were thriving in their Christian faith. The results of the study helped to
validate that students need basic factual knowledge about Christianity and need to understand
how faith functions in a person’s life. However, the most important result was that the non-
parental adults like teachers, coaches, and staff members that students connect with through
mentorship and discipleship are vital to a student’s spiritual persistence.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
10
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Introduction of the Problem of Practice
Within various religious traditions, there exists concern related to the spiritual persistence
of young adults as they move out of high school, through college, and into independence
(Uecker, Regnerus, & Vaaler, 2007). Beginning in the 1960s and ‘70s, a trend was identified
that saw young adults falling away from the faith of their parents (Black, 2008). It has been
proposed that college exhibited a liberalizing and secularizing force on young adults (Long,
2014). In recent years however, additional research has contradicted the assumed causal
influence of college and advocated that there is need for further research (Black, 2008; Hall,
Edwards, & Wang, 2016; Mayrl & Uecker, 2011; Uecker et al., 2007).
For Christian secondary schools, spiritual development and growth are central tenets that
distinguish them from secular or public educational institutions (Marrah, 2009). As such, there
is a growing need for schools to build on this new wave of research and examine in a systematic
manner whether the instruction and tactics of the school serve to develop an authentic faith in
students and if those students persist in their faith once they leave the institution. Too frequently,
Christian secondary schools have relied on anecdotal evidence and have not engaged in rigorous,
systematic study of their alumni (Marrah, 2013). Over the past decade, researchers have begun
to examine what, if any, effect Christian education has on students’ spiritual persistence (Hall et
al., 2016; Long, 2014).
To begin filling the gap of needed research, Christian schools need to engage in two
levels of analysis. First, there is a need to validate if the efforts of Christian education are
supporting spiritual development in students while they attend the schools. Secondly, there is a
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
11
need to engage alumni to see if they persist in their faith after leaving the organization.
Resources have become available to help support Christian schools’ efforts to examine spiritual
development (Hall et al., 2016), but fewer supports exist to solicit alumni and understand if they
are persisting in their faith (Marrah, 2009). This study focused on the alumni of one Christian
secondary school in an attempt to understand what factors have influenced spiritual persistence.
Organizational Context and Mission
Northfield Christian School (NCS) is the pseudonym of a private, college-preparatory
Christian high school. The school is located in an affluent suburban community outside of a
major metropolitan city in the Western United States. The high school is co-educational and
serves nearly eleven hundred students in ninth through twelfth grade. The school is only a
decade old but was recently recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
(nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov). The school also has prominent athletic, arts, and faith-based
service programs.
Over the past decade, the emphasis at NCS has been on many of the fundamental aspects
of developing a school: curriculum, professional development, and establishing school culture.
As the foundation of the school has solidified, greater attention has been given to validating the
educational goals of the school. From the beginning, NCS has defined twelve core expected
student outcomes that are clustered in three domains: spiritual formation, college preparedness,
and cultural engagement. The purpose of this study was to utilize a survey and series of
interviews with alumni to generate data which focused primarily on the spiritual formation
outcomes.
NCS’s mission states: “We exist, in partnership with committed parents, to educate
students in a college preparatory program that is Christ-centered so that students may grow and
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
12
develop in all aspects of their God-given abilities.” The objectives and standards of the school
are lofty and are encapsulated in the motto “Influence through excellence.” This motto drives
students, faculty, staff, and coaches to strive for their best. The results of these pursuits can be
seen objectively in athletics, academics, and the arts. However, it is much more difficult to
observe whether the school has pursued excellence in the area of spiritual development of the
students.
In the guiding documents of NCS, the expected student outcomes are seen as a direct
extension of the mission and vision of the school. The outcomes related to spiritual formation
identify goals like “experience God’s love,” “make Him known to others,” “grow in character
and spiritual discernment,” “read the Bible,” and be “involved in a local Christian community.”
NCS, like most Christian secondary schools, had identified the importance of spiritual formation
but had not systematically assessed whether it was being fulfilled in the lives of students
(Marrah, 2013).
Organizational Goal
Beginning in 2015, NCS began attempting to evaluate various aspects of spiritual
formation on campus. During the 2015 school year, members of the chaplaincy team used a
spiritual inventory tool that was administered to current students. In 2016, the NCS Board of
Education conducted a school-wide spiritual audit to determine the status of the spiritual climate
on campus. The steps of the board were helpful to better understand how students, faculty, staff,
and parents experience spirituality on campus. The results of this audit revealed that NCS
stakeholders exist across a wide spiritual spectrum. Many Christian secondary schools require
all students to profess faith (Marrah, 2009). NCS does not and thus students and families range
from no formal faith background to strict, ardent believers.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
13
The result of the internal faith audit led NCS’s leadership to see a need to develop an
alumni survey that solicited feedback on whether the spiritual formation expected student
outcomes were fulfilled in students’ lives. The first step of this study was the development and
implementation of a survey for all NCS alumni and then a second phase of research to followed
up with ten in-depth interviews. This mixed methods research process produced needed data to
develop an understanding of whether NCS alumni persisted in their faith after they left the
institution. This feedback informed strategic revisions to the Bible curriculum and other
schoolwide programming.
Related Literature
The examination of the alumni of NCS first needs to be understood within the larger
theoretical framework of faith development. Anchoring an understanding of the current topic
within this larger landscape is important to ensure that these efforts built upon the quality
research that has already occurred. An approach, rooted in the research, also serves to temper
judgements and contextualize any conclusions that are made. Additionally, the research related
to the spirituality of college-aged students and young adults were examined as a means of
revealing trends in the target stakeholder group.
Fowler’s Stages of Faith
The most widely utilized theory of faith development was developed by James Fowler
(Marrah, 2009). Fowler was a professor at Harvard’s Divinity School and developed a
relationship with Lawrence Kohlberg who was also at Harvard. Kohlberg’s research on the
stages of psychological development was a catalyst for Fowler to seek to understand spiritual
growth and whether there was an ascertainable theory of the stages of spiritual development
(Fowler & Dell, 2006). Over a three-year period, Fowler led a team of researchers that engaged
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
14
in original research seeking to accomplish this aim of identifying a theory of spiritual
development.
In 1981, Fowler published the first edition of Stages of Faith. This book was
groundbreaking in that it proposed a schematic for how individuals typically mature through
their faith. There are seven stages that Fowler outlines. The first four (undifferentiated faith;
intuitive-projective; mythic-literal; synthetic-conventional) generally follow along phases of
intellectual development that occur from birth through upper adolescence (Fowler, 1981).
Fowler drew upon the understanding of developmental psychology and applied it to how a
person understands faith. Because of mental and emotional limitations, a young child is not able
to fully conceptualize issues of faith (Fowler & Dell, 2006). Once an individual reaches the late
teens, progression through the next three phases is very dependent on a particular individual and
does not necessarily follow any particular age pattern. Fowler asserts that the fifth phase,
individuative-reflective, is typically seen in the late twenties; the sixth phase, conjunective faith,
is typical in mid-life; and the final stage, universalizing faith, is extremely rare to see at all
(Fowler & Dell, 2006).
Fowler’s stages of faith are a helpful grid to understand the feedback provided by young
adults on issues of spiritual persistence. Fowler’s theory helps give context that 18–28 year olds
are most likely going to be engaging their faith in the synthetic-conventional stage or the
individuative-reflective stage (Holcomb & Nonneman, 2004). The distinction between these two
phases is extremely helpful in contextualizing the natural transition that NCS alumni will
typically proceed through as they leave high school and home to transition into college and
greater levels of independence. The synthetic-conventional stage is typically marked by high
levels of conformity and much of the strength of a person’s faith is anchored in the community
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
15
that they are a part of (Fowler, 1981). For NCS students, this can be seen in having significant
relationships with teachers and coaches who are encouraging them in their faith. Once they go to
college though, this support may be less consistent which can move a student to a period of
transition that marks the individuative-reflective stage (Holcomb & Nonneman, 2004). This
stage is marked by questioning and challenging one’s faith to get to a place of authentic
ownership of that faith (Fowler, 1981). While it is possible that an NCS student could reach this
phase while at NCS, given typical life circumstances, it is unlikely. This type of concerted
spiritual reflection comes with time, experience, and maturity that traditionally happens in the
twenties and thirties.
Faith and Spirituality of College Students
Over the past twenty years, the faith and spirituality of college students has garnered
increased attention from both secular and religious researchers. Spearheading this from the
secular realm, UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institution (HERI) has made the topic of
spirituality a subset of their research with the center for Spirituality in Higher Education (SHE).
The insights from SHE have produced a rich national data set that has started to shape the
understanding of researchers on this topic (Railsback, 2006). It also culminated in the publishing
of the book, Cultivating the Spirit (Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2011), which presents the findings
of the survey of over one hundred thousand college students.
In addition to the work at UCLA, this topic has also lead to the National Study of Youth
and Religion (NSYR) project which has been spearheaded by researchers at Notre Dame and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The NSYR has engaged in a national survey over a
fifteen-year period that is aimed at better understanding students as they transition from high
school into adulthood. The project has produced the book Souls in Transition: The Religious and
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
16
Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults by Smith and Snell (2009). The authors use their research to
explain the new developmental category of “emerging adulthood” that was first defined by
Arnett (2004). They go on to examine the unique spiritual trends of this new population (Smith
& Snell, 2009). The research of NSYR and SHE has created a robust national data set that has
helped a range of researchers to begin additional investigation into this topic (Black, 2008; Hall
et al., 2016; Long, 2014; Marrah, 2009).
Evangelical Christian researchers have taken a particular focus on this topic, because it
serves to validate the work of Christian educational institutions. Professor Hall at Biola has been
the leading evangelical researcher on this topic. He has built upon the work at UCLA and has
created the Spiritual Assessment Inventory (SAI) that is widely used at Christian colleges and
seminaries (Hall et al., 2016). Marrah has extended on Hall’s research to be able to begin
bringing the SAI to Christian high schools in an attempt to validate spiritual development efforts
of the schools (2013).
This topic has also gained mainstream attention through the surveys of the Barna Group
and the publishing of the book You Lost Me (Kinnaman & Hawkins, 2016). The work of
Kinnaman and the Barna Group has also significantly influenced the understanding of this topic.
This recent book has reintroduced the concerns about spiritual persistence of young adults and
the unique characteristics that this current generation depict. One topic that You Lost Me
addresses is that the current emerging adults are tending to compartmentalize their faith and are
becoming increasingly hesitant to make authoritative judgments (Kinnaman & Hawkins, 2016).
The scope of this attention from researchers helps to illustrate the perceived importance of this
transitional period for emerging adults. This study of NCS alumni targeted this group of students
and examined their results within this context.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
17
Importance of the Evaluation
It is important to evaluate the organization’s performance in relation to the performance
goal of nurturing spiritual formation in the lives of students. Even though NCS is a young
school, it has a significant influence among evangelical Christian schools. Part of this is due to
the fact that NCS worked with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) to
create a new category of accreditation that sought to improve the overall quality of Christian
education. ACSI has more than 20,000 member schools globally and NCS was the first in the
world to achieve ACSI Exemplary Accreditation and it has continued to pursue innovative
approaches to Christian schooling (Dill, 2015). This scope of influence highlighted the
importance for NCS to thoroughly examine whether the alumni were persisting in their faith after
leaving the institution. Specifically, the spiritual formation outcomes of NCS needed to be
examined because they are central to the overall mission of the school. Effectively evaluating
spiritual persistence of alumni could allow NCS to continue to pioneer areas of Christian
education.
NCS benefited directly from implementing the research process. The quantitative survey
and qualitative interviews provided a rich spectrum of data that was previously unavailable. The
mixed methods approach allowed most areas of the school to gain insight into whether the
programming and tactics have proven beneficial for alumni. Additionally, because NCS is a
large school with a spiritually diverse student population, the evaluation has the ability to have
broader applicability than previous studies that focused on small populations of Christian school
alumni and more homogenous faith communities (Long, 2014; Marrah, 2009).
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
18
Description of Stakeholder Groups
To achieve the outlined goals, NCS’s academic leadership team (ALT), campus
chaplains, and alumni were all essential stakeholders. NCS’s leadership structure is unique in
that the school does not have a principal. Rather, the school’s daily operations are supervised by
the head of school who serves as a CEO. The head of school has an executive cabinet with
representatives from each major division of the school: academics, arts, athletics, missions,
institutional advancement, and finance. The ALT is made up of the Director of Academics, who
serves on the head of school’s executive cabinet, the Academic Dean, Dean of Academic
Development, and the Director of Academic and College Counseling. This group of four
provides significant leadership for the academic decisions of NCS with ultimate approval coming
from the head of school.
A secondary group of stakeholders, the campus chaplains, were important for the
recommended revisions based on the alumni feedback. While the ALT oversees curricular
decisions for the Bible department at NCS and efforts to integrate a biblical worldview into other
disciples, the campus chaplains are responsible for additional spiritual development efforts. This
is a team that is made up of two full-time chaplains and four other staff members who advise on
spiritual development programming. The spiritual development programming of NCS includes
weekly chapel, faculty and senior student prayer partners, the athletic team chaplaincy program,
and various Bible study opportunities for students and faculty.
The primary stakeholders were the alumni themselves. The feedback they provided and
stressing the importance of their voice in this process was essential. Prior to the study, NCS had
not surveyed or engaged the alumni in any significant manner except for hosting a couple of
social functions. Members of NCS’s institutional advancement team had hosted a New Year’s
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
19
Eve event in previous years as a way of bringing alumni students together during the holiday
season. Additionally, NCS had recently piloted a career center that has begun to provide some
career services and job placement support for alumni students. Even with these efforts, the NCS
alumni had not been engaged or given a voice in any concerted manner.
Because NCS was ten years old, there were only alumni from the classes of 2010 through
2017. At that point, there were over 1300 alumni. The oldest alumni were in their mid-twenties.
The first few graduating classes of NCS were relatively small and increased in later years.
Because of this graduation pattern, the vast majority of the 1300 alumni were still college age.
Every NCS graduating class had at least 95% of the students declare that they were going to
attend college immediately after graduation with nearly all of those matriculations being to a
four-year institution. Academically, the average NCS alumni performed significantly above the
state and national averages on standardized testing. About 60% of NCS students left the state to
attend college and approximately one third attended a Christian college or university.
Stakeholder Performance Goals
The mission of NCS guided the school and also served to inform this research process.
The ALT sought to utilize the information gathered through the research process to
operationalize the needed revisions with the Bible curriculum or other aspects of the school’s
spiritual development programming. Table 1 summarizes the activities of the ALT, NCS alumni,
and the chaplaincy team. These stakeholders were all engaged through this process.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
20
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Global Goal, and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
We exist, in partnership with committed parents, to educate students in a college preparatory
program that is Christ-centered so that students may grow and develop in all aspects of their
God-given abilities.
Organizational Performance Goal
By August 2019, the ALT of NCS will implement recommendations developed from the
alumni feedback to the Bible curriculum and the overall tactics related to spiritual
development of current students.
NCS ALT
By March 2019, the ALT will
revise the Bible curriculum
and the overall tactics related
to the spiritual development of
current students. This plan
will be implemented during the
2019-2020 school year.
NCS Alumni
100% of NCS alumni
will continue to develop
and engage in their
spiritual development
and growth after high
school.
NCS Chaplaincy Team
The NCS Chaplaincy Team
will be responsible for
implementing the non-
curricular components of the
revised spiritual development
strategic plan through the
2019-2020 school year.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
The NCS alumni from 2010 to 2016 were most important to this process. The ALT
examined the data and themes presented through the feedback provided by NCS alumni students.
The alumni themselves were pivotal in providing the feedback and a substantial response rate for
the surveys. The group that was invited to participate in the interview phase of the research was
also critical in providing a level of clarification and depth to the survey data.
The NCS alumni from 2010-2016 total over 1100 students. The alumni reflect the
overall demographics of the school. The vast majority of NCS students come from the affluent
surrounding communities and economically are middle or upper class families. In general, NCS
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
21
has traditionally had between 80% and 85% of students who are white. Hispanic students have
tended to make up between 6% and 8% of the student population. Academically, the NCS
alumni have improved on standardized testing over the past ten years. The first graduating class
of NCS in 2010 had an average ACT of 23.5. The average ACT has increased consistently each
year to an average of 26.9 for the class of 2016. NCS alumni have matriculated to a wide range
of colleges locally, nationally, and some international institutions. Because of the college
preparatory nature of NCS, most students have multiple options for their college decision.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the knowledge and motivation of NCS alumni
to persist in their faith after graduation, and what organizational factors, if any, influenced the
alumni students’ spiritual development. The analysis began by generating a list of possible
needs and then moved to examining these systematically to focus on actual or validated needs.
While a complete needs analysis would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes the
stakeholders to be focused on in this analysis are NCS alumni from the class of 2010 to 2016.
As such, the questions that guided this study were the following:
1. To what extent is NCS meeting the goal of having alumni students persist in their
faith past graduation?
2. What are the knowledge and motivational influences that contribute to spiritual
persistence in alumni students of NCS?
3. What are the organizational factors of NCS that have contributed to the spiritual
development and persistence of alumni students?
4. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
22
Methodological Framework
Clark and Estes (2008) have developed a framework for gap analysis that serves to move
institutional change forward. The process first defines the performance goal contrasted by the
current demonstrated performance. This is the performance gap that is analyzed. Next, the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influencers (KMO) that act upon stakeholders are
acknowledged in an attempt to focus effort upon minimizing the gap. In this instance, the NCS
alumni need the foundational knowledge and motivation to persist in their faith once they
graduate. The alumni engagement survey and follow-up interviews served to gain an
understanding of this knowledge and motivation and any organizational influences that
supported spiritual development in the lives of students while they were at NCS. Chapter 3 will
expand on this initial understanding of the KMO influences to fully evaluate the factors currently
preventing achievement of the goal.
Definitions
Spiritual Development: “progressive changes toward more complex, complete, or
otherwise more mature spiritual expressions” (Gallagher & Newton, 2009, p. 233). Because of
the complexity of the spiritual development process, Love and Talbot (2009) present a five-part
conception of spiritual development that is not easily crystalized in a few sentences. Love and
Talbot’s fuller explanation of spiritual development is also helpful in framing the process that
alumni students will work through in their life.
Spiritual Persistence: “the extent to which a person is repeatedly motivated and drawn to
focus attention on spiritual avenues and qualities” (Atchley, 2010).
Alumni: “men and women who have completed their studies, especially at a college or
university” (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2013).
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
23
Christian: “Pertaining to Jesus Christ or the religion founded by him; signifies one who
accepts and professes to live by the doctrines and principles of the Christian religion” (Garner,
2016).
Organization of the Dissertation
This dissertation consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the problem of practice
and establishes the need to understand the spiritual persistence of NCS alumni. For NCS, the
alumni feedback instruments will provide the needed data to examine whether students persist in
their faith after graduating from NCS. Chapter 2 examines the available literature on the topic of
alumni feedback instruments, the patterns of emerging adults, and information about spiritual
development and persistence. Most of the alumni engagement research base comes from college
and graduate school alumni but still provides best practices for how to operationalize this
information with secondary school alumni. The limitations of alumni self-reported data are also
examined as a means of understanding how to avoid potential pitfalls. Chapter 3 outlines the
methodology of the study undertaken and includes an explanation of the population,
instrumentation, data collection, data analysis, and the methodolocial framework used. Chapter
4 presents the qualitative and quantitative data from the NCS alumni survey and interviews. The
information presented will serve to address the research questions and to establish the validity of
the data. Chapter 5 synthesizes the data collected so as to present solutions and
recommendations for future action undertaken by NCS and will include suggestions for areas of
the expected student outcomes that could be addressed with greater detail and any necessary
programmatic changes that would improve the school.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
24
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A tension exists between the objectives of Christian educational institutions and the
accepted developmental phases that young people process through as they work to a place of
independence (Long, 2014). Christian schools have spiritual and faith development as central
objectives for their institutions. However, as students move into adulthood, a natural process of
seeking independence and autonomy exists (Black, 2008). During this time, students engage in a
process of questioning and challenging the inherited beliefs of their parents and authority figures
(Hall et al., 2016). As Christian schools work to facilitate spiritual development in students,
spiritual persistence becomes the measure of long-term success (Marrah, 2013).
For NCS, the school benefits from clarity of mission and stated expected student
outcomes. Like other Christian schools, spiritual development is a core focus of these outcomes.
However, the school has yet to validate if these outcomes are realized in the lives of alumni
students. The purpose of this study was to solicit feedback from alumni students to begin to
gather data on what knowledge and motivational influences support spiritual persistence and
what organizational factors of NCS may have contributed to students’ spiritual development.
This literature review examined the benefit of evaluating student outcomes and with a
specific focus on the spiritual persistence of alumni. First, the review surveyed the benefits of
soliciting alumni feedback generally. Secondly, the limitations of self-reported data were
reviewed. Then, the focus shifts to an examination of the research which guides an
understanding of spiritual development influences for students. Next, the literature that defines
emerging adulthood and spiritual persistence was outlined to create a context for the alumni
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
25
survey that was utilized. Finally, all of the literature was evaluated through the lens of Clark and
Estes’s (2008) Gap Analysis Framework.
Determining Institutional Effectiveness Through Alumni Feedback
The method of evaluating schools has moved from focusing on the institutional resources
to focusing on the product or output of the school. Much of this has been driven by accrediting
agencies and an emphasis on governmental accountability (Terenzini, 2010). While the desire of
policy makers to assess the learning of students, monitor the outputs of school systems, and
create merit pay for teachers is not inherently negative, these goals have created an over-reliance
on testing (Eskelsen-Garcia & Thornton, 2015). Educational institutions have attempted to move
beyond the blunt instrument of testing to evaluate other factors like retention, attrition,
graduation rates, time to graduation, job placement, leadership within careers, salary, socio-
emotional health and more (Volkwein, 2010a). These more holistic data points begin to give a
fuller picture of student attainment of desired outcomes. Much like spiritual outcomes for NCS
alumni, many of these items are more difficult to quantify. Research indicates that alumni
feedback via surveys are a regular and central means of attempting to understand these non-
cognitive outcomes (Liu & Yin, 2010).
The shift to a broader set of data points to evaluate an educational institution has created
the need to focus on alumni and gather their feedback (Laguilles, 2016). However, educational
institutions across all levels have traditionally neglected alumni stakeholder groups (Saunders-
Smits & de Graaff, 2012). Historically, schools have emphasized feedback from current
students, parents, and employers more than a concerted focus on alumni. Part of this is caused
by the challenge of maintaining effective alumni contact databases and being able to easily
gather their information (Pike, 2011).
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
26
While alumni are typically the stakeholder group that schools engage with the least, this
is even more true at the secondary level (Kunkel, 2016). High schools tend to focus on college
placement data and graduation rates but tend to neglect soliciting feedback from alumni in a
systematic manner. Once students leave a high school, it can be very difficult to maintain
contact with them. Also, unlike colleges, most high schools do not have a department of
institutional research and so there are fewer resources allocated to engaging alumni (Tammaro,
2012).
Alumni are Traditionally Cultivated for Financial Contributions
For most educational institutions, the main way they have allocated their limited attention
to alumni has been to foster financial contributions (Langley, 2010). For those schools that have
focused on alumni the relationship has almost entirely been rooted in encouraging alumni to give
back to the institution (Tammaro, 2012). Many colleges and universities have seen this approach
backfire for them with younger alums because of increased tuition costs. The rate of giving for
recent graduates has declined significantly and most attribute this to the rising costs of tuition
(Langley, 2010). For younger graduates, many are still paying off student loan debt and so they
do not feel compelled to give back to the school financially even if they have a sense of
allegiance to the school. For institutions, shifting how they engage younger alumni can provide
important feedback but it can also serve to change the value proposition and help cultivate long-
term giving (Volkwein, 2010b).
Alumni Outcomes Can Illuminate Institutional Effectiveness
As research on the value of alumni feedback has increased, various areas of benefit have
arisen. Because alumni are uniquely positioned to provide feedback that cuts across departments
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
27
and validates the desired outcomes of the institution, this form of data can illuminate curricular
effectiveness, educational success, and career and leadership attainment (Volkwein, 2010a).
Curricular effectiveness. While employer feedback can be helpful, no one is able to
give as intimate of feedback on the curriculum as recent alumni. Students who are in the
workforce or at the next level of their education speak to the strengths and weaknesses of the
curriculum from their firsthand experience (Saunders-Smits & de Graaff, 2012). Institutions are
wise to solicit alumni and gather this type of insight into whether the objectives of the curriculum
have been helpful and prepared students for the next phase of their life or not (Volkwein, 2010b).
Educational success. Alumni can provide insight on the quality and value of the
curriculum but they can also give feedback on whether they have been successful at the next
phase of their education (Terenzini, 2010). Systematic engagement with alumni allows
institutions to track their educational attainment at the next level of degree advancement
(Volkwein, 2010b). The tendency of schools is to evaluate the objective educational data that is
readily available but the benefit of alumni feedback is that it gives a more complete picture of
what students did once they left the institution (Laguilles, 2016).
Career and leadership attainment. Over time, alumni feedback provides insight into
how students fare after leaving an institution. When alumni are surveyed, they reveal
information about what type of employment they have, if they have achieved levels of leadership
in the workplace, and conclusions about overall effectiveness can be drawn from this (Saunders-
Smits & de Graaff, 2012). In general, the long-term success of alumni helps establish and
maintain the reputation of the institution and so it is important for schools to focus on tracking
and understanding this outcome (Langley, 2010). This information about career success is
extremely difficult to measure in an objective fashion and so self-reported feedback is essential
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
28
because it allows the alumni to speak to their expectations and experiences (Ouimet & Pike,
2008).
Alumni are the Best Group to Speak to Institutional Outcomes
Although there can be challenges in surveying or engaging alumni, institutions see value
in the process (Langley, 2010). No one is better able to speak to all facets of an education than
alumni. They are uniquely positioned to reflect on the academic and non-academic factors of an
institution (Liu & Yin, 2010). Alumni surveys are a powerful tool to assess the institutional
effectiveness because alumni are the best group to speak to the quality of the education they
received (Tammaro, 2012).
Risks and Limitations of Self-Reported Data
In the research base affiliated with alumni data, there is debate about the value of self-
reported data. Bowman (2014) indicates that self-reported data should not be used alone in
proving academic growth occurred because often students do not appropriately represent their
own progress. Rather, self-reported data can be used effectively to represent overall satisfaction
with an academic program, level of preparation for the next level of academic challenge, and to
represent other affective outcomes (Liu & Yin, 2010).
Value and Parameters for Self-Reported Data
To effectively use self-reported data, a researcher needs to set appropriate boundaries on
how the information is employed. As stated above, the goal or objective of the research must
first be clearly defined (Kunkel, 2016). The need for clarity in the survey construction is
particularly true when attempting to evaluate abstract concepts like faith and spirituality
(Holcomb & Nonneman, 2004).
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
29
Do not overgeneralize the results. One particular caution when utilizing self-reported
data is to not overgeneralize the data (Pike, 2011). Because the objective of the research is
clearly defined on the front end, it is important not to be too broad in its application. Protecting
against overgeneralization will serve to preserve the integrity of the research (Seifert & Asel,
2011; Tammaro, 2012). Additionally, the nature of the self-reported data will illuminate if a
relationship exists between specific variables. Avoiding the temptation to try to extend this
relationship outside of the specific parameters or the context of the research question is important
(Ouimet & Pike, 2008).
Utilize external verification if possible. Another safeguard for self-reported feedback is
to try to incorporate as many pieces of data that provide external verification (Terenzini, 2010).
Triangulating information allows for the researcher to gather the information as provided by
alumni and then test validity and reliability through other means (Bowman, 2014). The
researcher can also utilize both quantitative and qualitative research methods as a means of
gathering the feedback (Strange, 2004).
Spiritual Development for Students
As Christian schools work to fulfill their mission of cultivating spiritual development in
students’ lives, this must be properly anchored in an understanding of the core influences of
spiritual development. The school does not work independently with students but rather
supplements the crucial developmental work of parents and the church (Long, 2014). In the
closing remarks of Souls in Transition, Smith and Snell (2009) clearly state this point:
If nothing else, what the findings of this book clearly show is that for better or worse,
these [home and church] are the two crucial contexts of youth religious formation in the
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
30
United States. If formation in faith does not happen there, it will — with rare exceptions
— not happen anywhere. (p. 286)
It is important then that Christian schools understand their important, but secondary, role in the
spiritual development of students.
The Role of Parents and the Church
Essentially all of the research on the topic of spiritual development of youth points to the
critical and primary role of parents (Black, 2008; Fowler, 1981; Long, 2014; Marrah, 2009;
Smith & Snell, 2009; Uecker et al., 2007). Parents serve as the central socializing force for
youth because they demonstrate on a daily basis their view of faith and spirituality (Smith &
Snell, 2009). The faith modelling of parents can be positive, negative, or neutral and students
will typically reflect a similar spiritual fervor. The spiritual depth that a parent experiences and
actualizes in their life is the most important factor in how a student will develop in his or her
own faith (Black, 2008).
The work that is started in the home is supported by the local church (Long, 2014). If a
student is raised by parents who prioritize their faith, this will typically lead the child to also be
influenced by participation in a local church (Hall et al., 2016; Kinnaman & Hawkins, 2016). If
a family regularly participates in church, then the church serves as the primary spiritual
educational institution for youth (Black, 2008). For Christians, the original intent is that the
home and church work together to support a child’s spiritual development throughout the
formative years (Acts 2:42; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Ephesians 4:11-17; Proverbs 22:6; New
American Standard Version).
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
31
Role of Non-Parental Adults
The research around Christian schools’ role in faith development is relatively limited
(Marrah, 2009). While some of the value of Christian schools is tied to programmatic activities,
much of the spiritual value is attributed to the influence of non-parental adults (Smith & Snell,
2009). When Christian school teachers, coaches, club sponsors, and chaplains come alongside
students and invest in their lives this has a positive impact (Long, 2014). For a student who was
raised in a Christian home with parents that effectively model their faith, these additional adults
serve to reinforce similar messages. If a student was raised in a home without direct spiritual
guidance or raised with a different worldview, then the adults in a Christian school can serve as
mentors in a parent-like role (Long, 2014). Like other aspects of development in a person’s life,
spirituality is both an individual process and one that mirrors the examples they are exposed to
(Black, 2008; Fowler, 1981).
Spiritual Persistence After High School
In the United States, the spiritual development of a child is typically guided by parents
while he or she lives at home. When a student moves on to college or moves out to live on their
own, the focus shifts to questions of persistence. Concern about the factors that support or
hinder spiritual persistence as a young person transitions into independence have been raised
since the 1970s (Black, 2008). For this current generation of 18 to 29 year olds, the forces
influencing their maturation and spiritual persistence are unique compared to previous
generations (Bird, 2016). Recent research has begun to identify this age range under the new
title of emerging adults (Arnett, 2004; Smith & Snell, 2009). Emerging adults experience a
uniquely 21st century phenomenon of increasing independence without the corresponding
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
32
responsibility and it seems to change how young people transition into full adulthood (Black,
2008).
Emerging Adults
In 2000, psychologist Jeffrey Arnett first introduced the concept of emerging adulthood.
Arnett advocated that the years 18 to 25 ought to be viewed as a distinct life phase after
adolescence and before independent adulthood (2004). Others have contended that this new
phase extends all the way to 29 in many instances (Smith & Snell, 2009). Some of Arnett’s
argument is justified because of shifting demographic and social characteristics of modern
generations. This population is increasingly characterized by prolonged education, delayed
marriage, and financial uncertainty (Hall et al., 2016). These social factors create a dynamic
where emerging adults are relatively independent and autonomous but lack clarity about their
roles and do not yet have significant responsibility (Smith & Snell, 2009). This combination of
independence without responsibility is challenging for many emerging adults because it can
cause them to flounder and feel a sense of hopelessness or lack of direction during this time
(Black, 2008). These social and developmental factors serve to compound the natural transition
that occurs when students attempt to understand their faith for themselves as they separate from
parents (Kinnaman & Hawkins, 2016).
Mixed data on rates of losing faith. Particular attention has been given to the spiritual
habits of students during their college years. National surveys out of UCLA, Notre Dame, and
UNC Chapel Hill have created significant data sets about spiritual habits for students (Astin et
al., 2011; Hall et al., 2016; Smith & Snell, 2009). Overall, these studies have not been
conclusive or created a singular theory about the spiritual lives of students during college.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
33
There exists a general stereotype that students fall away from their faith during the
college years. This perception exists for protestants, Catholics, and Mormons (Uecker et al.,
2007). One particular study though takes issue with this observation and argues that the spiritual
change is actually much smaller than assumed. Rather than a perception that students move
away from faith, others have argued that it is more accurate to think of college age students at
remaining neutral on their view of God and spirituality (Mayrl & Uecker, 2011). While church
attendance may decrease, students’ statements about how they value religion changes at a
significantly lower rate. One explanation for this data is that faith does not lack importance for
students but rather they are focused on other things during the college years (Smith & Snell,
2009).
Factors Influencing Spiritual Persistence
As stated above, essentially all of the research on the topic indicates that no factor is
more predictive of spiritual development and persistence than the faith of one’s parents (Black,
2008; Fowler & Dell, 2006; Leblanc & Slaughter, 2012; Long, 2014; Marrah, 2009; Smith &
Snell, 2009; Uecker et al., 2007). If students have been raised in a home where faith is modeled
authentically and parents regularly demonstrate the genuine importance of faith in their life, then
students are more likely to follow after this behavior as they transition into adulthood. In
contrast, if a student observes that the only value of religious institutions is to learn the morality
of right and wrong, then they will often fall away once that information has been learned (Smith
& Snell, 2009).
Beyond the role of parents, there are a wide range of factors that begin to influence how a
student persists in their faith. Once a student is at college, whether they engage in religious
activities is significantly impacted by their peer group. If they get into a group of friends that
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
34
does not value church or religious participation then they tend to disengage (Black, 2008).
Additionally, the college major that is studied also tends to impact persistence. Students who
engage in pre-professional studies in college like business, medicine, or engineering are less
likely to alter their views on faith whereas those students who study in the humanities and
philosophy are more likely to change their belief structure (Mayrl & Uecker, 2011; Uecker et al.,
2007).
The rates at which students participate in Bible reading, prayer, devotion, and Bible
studies outside of just attending religious services is a critical difference that delineates those
students who persist in their faith (Black, 2008; Marrah, 2009). These results do not seem
surprising, in that students who take active steps in their faith are showing greater levels of
internalization compared with those students who just participate in large group religious
activities. Taking these individual steps would indicate that the faith is more tangible and
evident in a student’s life and thus more likely to be sustained through the various phases and
challenges of life.
A Need for Continued Study
A review of the literature indicates although there is knowledge about general trends of
spirituality with emerging adults, the scope of the literature related to alumni of Christian
secondary schools is relatively limited (Leblanc & Slaughter, 2012; Long, 2014; Marrah, 2009,
2013). Additionally, most of this research base is focused on Christian secondary schools where
the students come from highly religious families (Long, 2014; Marrah, 2009). However, due to
the size of NCS and the perceived quality of the academic offerings, many of the students do not
come from a religious family. Due to the unique student population of NCS, this study has the
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
35
opportunity to add to the research base by having emerging adults from non-religious and
religious families speak to the value of a Christian secondary education.
Gap Analysis Framework
Clark and Estes (2008) have developed a framework for gap analysis that serves to move
institutional change forward. The process first defines the performance goal contrasted by the
current demonstrated performance. The performance gap then is the deficiency between goal
and reality. Analyzing how to close the gap was the focus of the study. Next, the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational (KMO) influencers that act upon stakeholders are acknowledged
in an attempt to focus effort upon minimizing the gap. In this instance, the NCS alumni need
layers of foundational knowledge and the proper motivation to understand the Christian faith and
choose to persist in said faith once they leave NCS. Targeted emphasis on addressing the current
short-comings of the knowledge and motivational influences of NCS alumni was a pivotal first
step in moving toward the stated goal. After the knowledge and motivational influences were
examined, the various organizational influences at NCS were analyzed. Chapter 3 expanded on
this initial understanding of the KMO influences to fully evaluate the factors currently
preventing achievement of the goal.
The gap analysis framework is visually represented in Figure 1.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
36
Figure 1. Gap analysis framework. Adapted from Clark and Estes (2008)
Knowledge and Skills
This section serves to examine the knowledge influences that may be causing or
contributing to the performance gap at NCS. The Clark and Estes (2008) model highlights both
knowledge and skills as important but given that the topic is spiritual persistence, the majority of
the focus is on the spiritual knowledge of alumni rather than specific skills. Areas of essential
knowledge serve as a preliminary first step for understanding the performance gap. If alumni do
not understand the essentials of the Christian faith, then expecting them to persist in the faith
Organizational
Performance
Goals
Current
Performance
Performance
Gap
Causes
•Knowledge
•Motivation
•Organizationa
l Influences
Root Causes
Solutions
Implementation
Evaluate
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
37
would be unreasonable. This category of influences will help to expose whether the Bible
curriculum and other spiritual development programming at NCS is serving its purpose.
Knowledge influences. Krathwohl (2002) summarizes four types or categories of
knowledge: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. These four categories are
helpful for understanding the types of knowledge influences that can contribute to a performance
gap. The following examines each of these categories in relation to alumni students and their
spiritual persistence.
Factual knowledge influence. To be able to persist, alumni students need to possess the
basic factual knowledge about Christianity. Alumni need to understand the basics of Christianity
which would include the people in the Bible, central Bible stories, and the overall narrative. This
factual information allows for a framework to then understand the conceptual aspects of doctrine
(Grudem & Purswell, 1999). If a student does not possess the introductory factual information,
then the larger conceptual themes will lack context and overall meaning.
Conceptual knowledge influence. The conceptual knowledge influences focus on
doctrine of Christianity. Doctrine moves from just discrete pieces of information to unifying
themes that shape the faith. Most essentially, this includes an understanding of the nature of
salvation and why it matters within the Christian tradition (Migliore, 2014). Without a
conceptual understanding of essential doctrines of Christianity, an individual lacks the ability to
operationalize the faith in a tangible manner.
Procedural knowledge influence. The procedural knowledge of the Christian faith is
where alumni move from a mental awareness of the faith to putting it into practice in an attempt
to be in relationship with God. This would include actions like prayer, meditation, devotion,
service, and fellowship (Willard, 2009). Acts of the Christian faith are discussed in the Bible so
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
38
it is possible to have a factual knowledge of these areas but when a person understands how to
engage in the action, it becomes procedural knowledge. For many alumni, it is possible that they
would gain a factual and conceptual knowledge of the Christian faith through the curriculum at
NCS but if they do not operationalize this knowledge in a procedural manner, then it would be
unlikely they would persist in their faith.
Metacognitive knowledge influence. In Krathwohl’s explanation of the structure of
knowledge (2002), he is responding to and attempting to expand on Bloom’s original taxonomy
of thinking. He outlines that in the original taxonomy, knowledge had just three dimensions.
Krathwohl then advocates that this fourth category, metacognition, should be added (2002).
Metacognition is “knowledge about cognition in general as well as awareness of and knowledge
about one’s own cognition” (Krathwohl, 2002, p. 214).
Because faith and spirituality move beyond just discrete knowledge, the metacognitive
functions of knowledge are complicated. In some ways, this metacognition necessitates alumni
to be able to reflect critically on their own knowledge of the Christian faith and also regulate the
manner in which they process through spiritual issues. This spiritual reflection may involve
making decisions about how and where they engage in spiritual matters (Willard, 2009).
Metacognition in spiritual matters may also mean that students are reflecting on their beliefs and
processing what doctrines they hold in their own life.
Table 2 outlines the summary of the assumed knowledge influences that are impacting
the NCS alumni students. This information is also contextualized with the mission of NCS and
the organization’s global goal. The specific stakeholder goal for the alumni students is also
outlined. Together, the information below serves to frame how to understand the way that
knowledge factors influence alumni and their ability to persist in their faith.
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
39
Table 2
Assumed Knowledge Influences
Organizational Mission
We exist, in partnership with committed parents, to educate students in a college preparatory
program that is Christ-centered so that students may grow and develop in all aspects of their
God-given abilities.
Organizational Global Goal
By August 2019, the ALT of NCS will implement recommendations developed from the
alumni feedback to the Bible curriculum and the overall tactics related to spiritual
development of current students.
Stakeholder Goal
100% of NCS alumni will continue to develop and engage in their spiritual development and
growth after high school.
Assumed Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence Assessment
The NCS alumni need to
possess the basic factual
knowledge about Christianity.
Declarative
(Factual)
Written Survey — “Northfield taught
me the central doctrines of
Christianity.” (Likert Response)
The NCS alumni need to know
about how the Christian faith
functions in a person’s life.
Declarative
(Conceptual)
Written Survey — “When I was
young, my parent modeled a
consistent, mature Christian faith for
me.” (Likert Response)
The NCS alumni need to know
how to operationalize their
faith through various spiritual
disciplines.
Procedural Written Survey — “In the last three
months, how frequently have you
engaged in a period of spiritual
reflection or devotion for more than
10 minutes?” (Frequency Response)
The NCS alumni need the
ability to critically reflect on
their beliefs and determine
what they hold true in their
own life.
Metacognitive Written Survey — “In what ways have
you changed your view on any
spiritual doctrines or beliefs since
attending Northfield?” (Short answer)
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
40
Motivation
Clark and Estes (2008) outline that motivation is made up of active choice, persistence,
and mental effort. When they speak to this, they are applying this information to work goals.
However, their thinking on motivation seems very well aligned with an understanding of what is
required for a person to persist in his or her own faith. Even though faith can be much more
intangible compared to work goals, an individual still needs to make the same type of intentional
choices to grow in his or her faith (Willard, 2009). These aspects of motivation are the important
distinction between spiritual knowledge and a faith that is actualized and internalized in a
person’s life. To persist spiritually necessitates all three aspects of motivation and an
examination of the motivational factors for NCS alumni will draw upon this view.
It is difficult to apply the various psychological explanations of motivation without
casting spiritual persistence in a cynical light. One reason this is a challenge is that most of the
motivational theory literature is developed to explain behavior and goal achievement in the
workplace (Eccles, 2006). Many of the ways that motivation theory is discussed seem
reductionistic when applied to faith and spirituality. Faith is typically more emotive and
experiential and so applying a motivational theory that speaks to goals and outputs feels counter
intuitive (Strange, 2004). However, it is still valuable to understand the broader literature on
motivation because many of these factors are still at work in the lives of alumni and can help
explain why some students persist in their faith and why others do not.
Expectancy value theory. Expectancy value theory (EVT) focuses on the process of
effort, performance, and reward (Ball, Huang, Cotten, Rikard, & Coleman, 2016). While this
view does simplify the faith process significantly, it does speak to one aspect of the active choice
in spiritual persistence. An individual has to believe that the choice to dedicate effort to faith,
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
41
whatever that looks like in their life, produces a level of positive results to make it all worth it. If
a person does not see faith as having value compared to other competing activities, interests, and
worldviews, then they will likely not persist. The EVT helps to explain why a college age
student would allocate a portion of their finite time and effort toward maintaining or developing
their faith (Wigfield, 1994).
The limitation of applying this theory is that it focuses significantly on performance.
Faith in many ways is not about performance in the way that it is understood in a work context.
To this end, many facets of evangelical Christianity see a New Testament understanding of grace
as undermining the need for good works and deeds (Grudem & Purswell, 1999). One’s efforts
are not the catalyst for salvation. Rather, salvation is accomplished through Christ’s death on the
cross and resurrection. A Christian conception of grace is that a person has been saved through
the reconciliation provided by Christ (Erickson & Hustad, 2015). If a person’s good works are
irrelevant for salvation, then, from a Christian perspective, a focus on works and effort should
not be the focus of spiritual development. Love and Talbot (2009) rightly point out that spiritual
development cannot be forced by sheer will but rather it is a process that continues to be worked
out in a person’s life.
Expectancy value theory and alumni students. For alumni, EVT creates two factors
that influence motivation. Scholars of EVT explain that “individuals’ expectancies for success
and the value they have for succeeding are important determinants of their motivation to perform
different achievement tasks” (Wigfield, 1994, p. 50). Expectancies for success and the value
placed on that expectancy serve to drive the motivation for an individual. Foundationally,
alumni need to believe that their investment in spiritual matters will be fruitful and they need to
place value on the resulting spiritual development. The EVT helps to explain spiritual
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
42
persistence in alumni because if either of those two propositions are missing, then it would
follow that a student would not continue in his or her faith.
ERG theory. Alderfer’s Existence, Relatedness, and Growth (ERG) theory is a needs
based motivational theory. It was developed as an extension and a reaction to Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs (Alderfer, 1989). Behaviorism focuses greatly on reinforcement and the
resulting behavior but in contrast, the ERG needs based approach is focused on intrinsic desire
and satisfaction (Standifer, 2013). Intrinsic desires are a better lens through which to understand
faith persistence rather than behaviorism.
ERG was first proposed by Clayton Alderfer in 1969. Alderfer believed that Maslow’s
approach did not appropriately address the complexity of human desire and so he sought to
construct an approach that reflected the interplay between desire and satisfaction (Standifer,
2013). To accomplish this, he proposed three categories of human needs: existence, relatedness,
and growth (Alderfer, 1989). These categories are not significantly different from how Maslow
sees human need except that Alderfer believes they relate differently. Instead of human needs
being a hierarchy that one processes through linearly, Alderfer believes that these three
categories of need exist on a continuum of concreteness (Standifer, 2013). The ERG theory
posits that an individual will attempt to satisfy the various needs that arise in these three
categories. Because it is not viewed as a linear hierarchy, it allows Alderfer to propose that a
person can sense these needs beyond the point of satisfaction (Arnolds & Boshoff, 2002). The
continued satisfaction of the relatedness and growth needs provide a lens to understand why a
young adult would persist in their faith.
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ERG theory and alumni students. For an individual’s spiritual development and
persistence, ERG is valuable because it explains two key propositions: growth is a core need that
motivates how one would behave and it is understandable to pursue a need beyond the point of
satisfaction. The ERG theory posits that individuals have innate desires which include areas of
belief (McLaughlin, 2005). If a student has an innate need for relatedness and growth, then the
ERG theory serves as a lens to understand why a student would continue to persist in his or her
faith into adulthood.
Table 3 outlines the assumed motivational influences for NCS alumni students. These
assumed motivational influences are first contextualized by the NCS mission and organizational
goal. The goal is for all NCS alumni to persist in their faith after graduation and the EVT and
ERG theory serve as helpful theoretical approaches to understand the factors that influence
students to engage in spiritual development.
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Table 3
Assumed Motivational Influences
Organizational Mission
We exist, in partnership with committed parents, to educate students in a college preparatory
program that is Christ-centered so that students may grow and develop in all aspects of their
God-given abilities.
Organizational Global Goal
By August 2019, the ALT of NCS will implement recommendations developed from the
alumni feedback to the Bible curriculum and the overall tactics related to spiritual
development of current students.
Stakeholder Goal
100% of NCS alumni will continue to develop and engage in their spiritual development and
growth after high school.
Assumed Motivation Influence Motivation Influence Assessment
Expectancy Value — NCS alumni students
need to believe that the time and effort
invested in continued spiritual development
has value to the exclusion of other activities
they could engage in.
Written Survey — “In the last three months,
how frequently have you read the Bible for
spiritual edification?” (Frequency
Response)
ERG Theory — The NCS alumni need to
satisfy the desires for relatedness and growth
through continued spiritual development.
Written Survey — “I believe there is value
in being involved in a local Christian
community.” (Likert Response)
Organization
The gap analysis framework that Clark and Estes (2008) have developed maps out the
role of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences. The organizational factors address
the systems, resources, and culture necessary to support improvement in the organizational
performance. For NCS, the lack of definition to the role that alumni will play as stakeholders of
the institution and the lack of specificity on how to evaluate the expected student outcomes has
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left a significant gap in whether these outcomes are being fulfilled in the lives of students. This
gap is magnified in the more challenging areas of spiritual development and persistence which
are traditionally difficult to evaluate (Liu & Yin, 2010).
Clarification of the organizational goal. NCS has clearly defined the expected student
outcomes for the past ten years. However, the organization has lacked an effective mechanism
to assess these goals and has failed to clearly define the role that alumni will play as long-term
stakeholders of the institution. Additionally, NCS’s leadership has recognized the need to
evaluate the spiritual development activities on campus and to figure out if students are
persisting in their faith once they leave NCS.
The ambiguity of how to evaluate the spiritual development expected student outcomes
and the role of alumni has acted as an organizational barrier that has impeded the overall
performance goal. This study serves to develop an alumni feedback instrument and to generate
data that begins to reveal information about the performance gap. NCS will bring clarity around
both the organizational goal and the role of alumni through this process. Alumni are uniquely
positioned to be able to provide this reflective feedback and also highlight what needs to be
improved for the future (Kunkel, 2016; Saunders-Smits & de Graaff, 2012). By engaging in this
data collection, NCS can leverage the insight of alumni and determine if the students persist in
their faith as they transition into independence.
Organizational culture. Clark and Estes (2008) identify organizational culture as one of
the most important influencers of any performance goal. Generally, NCS is an institution that
values feedback and desires to refine the education that is provided. However, there is a risk that
the feedback from alumni could identify areas or departments within the school as having failed
in some way (Volkwein, 2010b). The culture surrounding this process must possess a level of
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
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humility and transparency to be willing to fully benefit from the feedback that the alumni can
provide.
Cultural model influence 1. Since the founding of Northfield, it has been clearly
articulated that parents are the primary educators of students. This has fostered a rich culture of
parent partnership but it has also created an absence of directly defining the role of alumni for
the organization. Part of the study serves to gather feedback from alumni which will allow
NCS’s ALT to begin framing the long-term vision for alumni engagement. Secondly, even
though parents are seen as critical partners in the educational process, NCS lacks a
comprehensive sense of the faith background for all families. The survey design attempted to
gather students’ self-reported data on the faith background of their families which helps to better
understand the culture of the organization.
Cultural model influence 2. Since NCS seeks to pursue excellence in all aspects of the
educational process, there are times that this can be perceived to be in conflict with the spiritual
development goals of the school. Alumni are uniquely positioned to speak to whether they felt
the programmatic goals of athletics, arts, and academics ran in opposition to the mission of the
organization (Saunders-Smits & de Graaff, 2012; Volkwein, 2010b). The rate of response from
alumni can help create a referendum for change if the data demonstrates that revision is needed
(Laguilles, 2016).
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Table 4
Assumed Organizational Influences
Organizational Mission
We exist, in partnership with committed parents, to educate students in a college preparatory
program that is Christ-centered so that students may grow and develop in all aspects of their
God-given abilities.
Organizational Global Goal
By August 2019, the ALT of NCS will implement recommendations developed from the
alumni feedback to the Bible curriculum and the overall tactics related to spiritual
development of current students.
Stakeholder Goal
100% of NCS alumni will continue to develop and engage in their spiritual development and
growth after high school.
Assumed Organizational Influences Organizational Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence 1:
Parents are defined as the primary partners in
the education of students which has left a
vacuum in how NCS sees students after they
graduate.
Survey questions 34-37 & 46 examine
parent’s role in faith development.
Interview questions about faith experience
since graduating from NCS.
Cultural Model Influence 2:
Spiritual development is a stated priority of
NCS but can be seen as a being in conflict with
excellence in other areas.
Survey questions 22-30 compare student
perceptions of faith to academic
preparation.
Interview questions about what aspects of
the school were counterproductive.
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
NCS has purposefully integrated opportunities
for faith development into the curricular and
extra-curricular fabric of the school but has not
evaluated the long-term effectiveness.
Survey questions 50-56 sought feedback
on specific programs.
Interview questions related to the student’s
extracurricular involvement and reflection
on their academic programming.
Cultural Setting Influence 2:
NCS has clearly defined spiritual development
outcomes for students but lacks verification of
effectiveness.
Survey questions 23-30 target the expected
student outcomes.
The interview process gathers a holistic
picture of a student’s faith since NCS.
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Cultural setting influence 1. NCS has stated that the faculty and staff are the most
important resource of the school. As such, efforts have been made to purposefully create time in
the daily schedule for informal and formal interactions of students with NCS adults. However,
these various programs like chapel, small groups, international service trips, and the academic
curricula have not been examined to determine their long-term influence on the spiritual
development of students. The study serves to fill that gap and highlight potential areas of
improvement.
Cultural setting influence 2. The expected student outcomes for NCS are clear and
target spiritual development as a tangible goal of the educational product. However, these have
not been systematically evaluated. Again, alumni are the best avenue to gather this data and
understand whether they have felt the outcomes have been fulfilled in their life over time
(Tammaro, 2012).
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation
and the Organizational Context
Maxwell (2013) states that the value and function of a conceptual framework is to explain
“either graphically or in narrative form, the main things to be studied” (p. 33). The graphical
nature of the conceptual framework serves to visualize the variables that will influence the
research to be conducted. For the purposes of this study, the conceptual framework illustrates
the need for establishing an emphasis on alumni stakeholders. As a young institution, NCS has
not effectively engaged the alumni community. The school now has students that have gone on
to graduate from college and are entering their careers. Additionally, with larger graduating
classes, NCS now has over 1300 graduates.
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This increasing pool of constituents needs to be solicited to provide feedback on the
nature and quality of the lasting education they have received. Since the beginning, NCS has
been exceptionally intentional in creating avenues for parents to provide deep, valuable feedback
on the educational product while their student is attending the school. However, much can be
learned once the student departs. In many respects, this time in college and then in career serves
as the most authentic test of the educational offering that NCS provides.
To this point, because the alumni have not been systematically surveyed or engaged, little
is known about the groups’ knowledge and motivation. Conclusions have been drawn relative to
their degree of preparation for college based on information about what types of schools
graduates have gained admission to and where they have matriculated. Additionally, anecdotal
evidence has been gathered when students come back to visit teachers or administrators and they
report their experiences in college. This information has given a sense of accomplishment for
NCS and the belief that the school is on the right track. However, the systematic study of the
alumni provided for a much greater depth of understanding of the knowledge and motivation of
students along with their perspective on the school once they are removed from it on a day-to-
day basis.
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Figure 2. Conceptual framework for alumni engagement
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The conceptual framework of this study is anchored in the approach that has been laid out
in NCS’s mission. Organizationally, the school has identified parents as the primary educator of
students. Some of the first words of the school’s mission statement are “in partnership with
committed parents.” The goal of partnership with parents has established the foundation of this
relationship and it has guided the manner in which the school has engaged stakeholders to this
point. The vision statement of the school speaks to “preparing tomorrow’s leaders to transform
the world for Christ.” There is a latent conflict between the mission and vision statements in that
parents are the primary stakeholders but the students are the recipients of the preparation the
school provides. This serves as the catalyst for and importance of the research. Alumni
engagement is an important expansion of the school’s stakeholders. It also serves to validate the
desired vision and outcomes of the school.
The feedback gathered from alumni is essential in examining the effectiveness of the
institution (Liu & Yin, 2010; Saunders-Smits & de Graaff, 2012; Tammaro, 2012; Volkwein,
2010a). The engagement of alumni reflects an organizational shift in that it expands the base of
stakeholders and also opens the organization up to a level of positive and negative feedback that
has not been solicited to this point. The value in this shift is important to identify whether the
NCS expected student outcomes are being materialized in students’ lives and if they are
persisting in their faith.
Summary
The purpose of this project was to examine the feedback from NCS’s alumni to determine
to what degree the expected student outcomes were met and students persisted in their faith. To
this end, Chapter 2 presented literature on the role of alumni feedback and potential limitations
of self-reported data. Chapter 2 also presented an overview on the research around spiritual
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
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development generally and the spiritual persistence of emerging adults. Part of this research was
focused on the role of Christian educational institutions and other research that has been focused
on the role they play in students’ faith development. Finally, a gap analysis framework was
evaluated against stakeholder knowledge, motivation, and influences. Chapter 3 will begin with
an explanation of the methods by which the gap analysis framework will be applied to the alumni
stakeholders to determine the fulfillment of the expected student outcomes and spiritual
persistence.
Table 5 serves to summarize the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational
needs that influence the NCS alumni. The first section outlines the assumed needs that are
rooted in the learning and motivational theory. The second section summaries the assumed
needs that came out of the relevant literature. The research process will attempt to validate
through quantitative and qualitative means the assumed needs.
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Table 5
Summary of Assumed Needs for Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Issues
Sources Knowledge
Assumed Needs
Motivation Organization
Learning
and
Motivation
Theory
• Need knowledge of the
basic factual
information about
Christianity
• Need knowledge of
how the Christian faith
functions in a person’s
life
• Need knowledge of
how to operationalize
their faith through
spiritual disciplines
• Need the ability to
critically reflect on
their beliefs and
determine what they
hold true in their own
life
• Need to believe that
the time and effort
invested in
continued spiritual
development has
value
• Need the desire for
relatedness and
growth through
continued spiritual
development
• Need to see the fruit
of spirituality
benefiting their life
• Need clearly
defined expected
student outcomes
for spiritual
development
• Need resources and
staffing allocated
toward spiritual
development of
NCS students
• Need an
environment that
supports and values
the insight that
alumni provide
Related
Literature
• Need knowledge of
foundational Biblical
doctrine
• Need knowledge of the
research project
• Need a clear
understanding of how
to provide feedback
• Need to have a
desire for spiritual
growth
• Need the desire to
provide feedback to
NCS
• Need to be a
learning
organization
• Need a willingness
to be transparent
with the results to
the broader school
community as a
means of advancing
accountability
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
54
CHAPTER 3
METHODS
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this research was to evaluate the degree to which the expected student
outcomes are being fulfilled in and for students of NCS with a specific emphasis on the students’
spiritual persistence. The alumni feedback instrument was developed as a means of soliciting the
experiences of former students and to gain self-reported data about areas that the educational
product of NCS produced the desired goals.
To accomplish this purpose, the research project utilized the gap analysis model as
proposed by Clark and Estes (2008) to examine the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influencers that impact this topic. The core research question was: What are the knowledge and
motivational influences that contribute to spiritual persistence in alumni students of NCS and
what are the organizational factors of NCS that have contributed to the spiritual development and
persistence of alumni students?
Conceptual and Methodological Approach
Clark and Estes’s (2008) framework for gap analysis serves to move institutional change
forward. The process first defines the performance goal contrasted by the current demonstrated
performance. The space between the goal and reality is the performance gap that is analyzed.
Next, the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influencers that act upon stakeholders are
acknowledged in an attempt to focus effort upon minimizing the gap. The gap analysis
framework will be utilized as a means of understanding the knowledge and motivational
influences of alumni spiritual persistence and what organizational factors of NCS have
contributed to the spiritual development of students.
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Participating Stakeholders
The study focused on alumni students of NCS from the classes of 2010 to 2016. This
group of students provided a total population of over 1100 students. The core research questions
focused on students’ spiritual persistence. The desire of the researcher was to gather feedback
from the recent high school graduates. The seven-year span of students provided a volume of
alumni voices that served to increase the reliability of the data collected. The information gained
from the survey and interview gave a sense of the challenges they faced in the period of
transition after high school, throughout college, and into career.
Survey Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. The first core criterion is that students have graduated from NCS. The
criterion will not limit a student who may have transferred into NCS but will require that they
graduated from the school.
Criterion 2. Secondly, there is a need that the student graduated in the class of 2010 to
2016. Because of how young NCS is, this makes up nearly the entire alumni population and the
feeling is that by requesting feedback from all alumni no voices will be intentionally restricted in
the process.
Criterion 3. There will be a functional limitation on those students who NCS has active
contact information for. NCS has recognized that more needs to be done to maintain the alumni
student database and so a department at NCS worked to compile alumni contact information. It
was expected that a full and complete data set of contact information would not be available at
the time of the survey.
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Survey Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
The study utilized a two-tiered sampling approach (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). First, the
study utilized convenience sampling to focus on NCS as a research site and then convenience
sampling within the seven graduating classes of NCS. The goal was for a full census survey of
the seven graduating classes. However, due to voluntary responses by the alumni students and
the possible limitation of active contact information, it is in reality convenience sampling
(Maxwell, 2013) and not truly randomized. There was a reasonable assumption that the students
that chose to respond have a disposition toward a more favorable response.
The alumni survey occurred in September 2017 via an online survey hosted by Qualtrics.
Students were sent an introductory email that outlined the purpose of the study and ensured them
of the confidentiality and voluntary nature of the study. One week into the window of response
times, a reminder email was sent out. After the two-week window closed, the link to the survey
was made inactive and students were unable to provide a response.
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. The interviewees were selected to represent a range of perspectives between
three faith types: flourishing Christians, nominal Christians, and those who have actively rejected
their faith. This variety of perspectives was essential in providing context on how various faith
experiences were influenced by the KMO factors at NCS. Examining the range of opinions also
preserved potentially under-represented voices. The other option would have been to select a
representative distribution based on the opinions of the survey, however this may not have
produced the richest cross section of opinions. Even if one opinion is in the minority this voice
may help preserve deeper context of student experiences.
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Criterion 2. The researcher attempted to balance interviewees between male and female
students based on the invitations that were sent out. It is reasonable to expect that the students’
faith experiences may vary based on gender. The goal was to get a balanced view from students.
Criterion 3. Graduation year was used as the third key factor in determining which
students to interview. The researcher sought students who would have graduated college and
have made some transition into either the working world or graduate school. Additionally,
because the class of 2010 only attended NCS for three years, the classes of 2011 and 2012 were
targeted for the interviews.
Interview Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
The interview sampling used a purposeful sampling approach (Maxwell, 2013). It
followed an explanatory sequential process (Creswell, 2014), because the quantitative survey
preceded the interview and the interview attempted to enrich and explain the data that was
provided.
It was a convenience sample in that the researcher could have only interviewed those that
were available and willing (Johnson & Christensen, 2012). Fourteen total invitations were
extended to students who met the interview criteria. The goal was to interview nine total
students with at least two having rejected their faith in some way. This number should be a
viable size to interview but also provided a diversity of faith contexts to enrich the perspective.
The interviews took place during November 2017. The timing was helpful so that some
of the students were home visiting family for the holidays. This also gave a reasonable amount
of time to process the data from the September surveys and extend invitations to the selected
students.
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Data Collection and Instrumentation
In an attempt to gather feedback from alumni student experiences, it was necessary to
survey, interview, and analyze information provided by students. The data collection process
began with a survey of the classes of 2010 to 2016 from NCS. The survey was designed to
gather student feedback on the expected student outcomes and whether students believe these
have been manifest in their lives. After analyzing the information gleaned from the survey, ten
alumni students were interviewed to provide a greater depth of feedback.
Surveys
As a young school, NCS has yet to fully develop an alumni network. The impetus of this
research caused the school to ensure that they have active contact information for alumni
students. This updating of the alumni database allowed for the means to contact these students.
Members of the NCS staff are working to get as close as possible to 100% of the students’
contact information, but the actual result was closer to 80% and limited the total number of
students eligible to participate. Assuming a full contact list, there were approximately 1100
possible participants between the seven graduating years. The online survey tool was distributed
electronically to the available participants via the contact list. The survey was available for two
weeks in September 2017. An introductory email was sent when the survey portal became
available and then one week in a reminder email was sent.
The survey took approximately 20 to 25 minutes to complete and was comprised of
nearly 70 survey items. Most of the items used Likert type responses but there was also a
handful of short answer, free response items in the survey. Internally, the survey questions were
coded to the NCS expected student outcomes and the research questions. To ensure clarity of the
questions, the survey was previewed by a group of NCS alumni from 2017 to see if there was
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
59
confusion or misunderstanding on any of the survey items. The survey was also reviewed by the
senior administration of NCS to ensure that they understood what the survey was soliciting. The
survey items were also coded for question type and evaluated against frequent survey question
pitfalls (Creswell, 2014).
An item analysis of the survey responses was conducted soon after the survey period
closed (Maxwell, 2013). For the free response questions, a coding system was utilized to
identify various themes that arose from the alumni responses (Maxwell, 2013). An initial
summary of the data was compiled and used to influence the revision of the interview questions.
The quantitative survey instrument that was made available to all NCS alumni had 61
questions. Of those 61, three were short answer and the balance were multiple choice. The first
section of the survey collected demographic information and was 21 questions long. The section
section of the survey asked questions that target the expected student outcomes. This section had
nine questions. Section three asked questions directed at understanding students’ faith and
spirituality. This section had 17 questions. The last section asked students to reflect on their
experience at NCS. Various questions asked students about their involvement in the school and
which programs influenced them spiritually. This section had 14 questions. The full survey can
be referenced in Appendix A.
Interviews
Once the survey was conducted and analyzed, the researched engaged in ten semi-
structured interviews with a purposeful sample of alumni students (Johnson & Christensen,
2012). The semi-structured approach allowed for a consistent scope of information to be
addressed but it provided the flexibility to allow respondents to give more authentic answers
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). These interviews happened in November 2017 around the
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
60
Thanksgiving holiday when students were more likely to be back home. The interview questions
were informed by the trends and themes that developed from the survey. Additionally, the
interview was scheduled for 30 to 60 minutes to provide adequate time to fully discuss the
topics. Those alumni students invited to participate were informed that the interview would be
recorded and that their answers would be anonymized.
Most of the questions focused on the spiritual life of students since they were at college
or in their career. These questions allowed students to discuss the formal and informal religious
institutions they were a part of and whether spiritual matters were important to them during this
period of emerging adulthood (Smith & Snell, 2009). Detailed demographic information was
also collected to gather insight into how different types of spiritual atmospheres on college
campuses influenced the spiritual persistence of students. Some of the questions allowed the
respondents to discuss any continued mentoring relationships they have either at NCS or through
other avenues. An expanded explanation of the interview protocols is found in Appendix B.
Documents and Artifacts
The main artifact that was analyzed was the expected student outcomes from the NCS
website. This list of outcomes has been published publicly online and in other marketing
materials from NCS. This is a central artifact for the research because it clarifies the goals of the
organization for students. These outcomes are also helpful in determining if students had an
understanding of these outcomes and whether they were aware of them while at NCS.
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted for the information gathered through the
survey. The results of the survey were segmented by various demographic categories: gender,
graduation year, transfer student status, faith identity, marital status, parental status, and Net
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
61
Promoter Score. Responses to frequency-based and Likert scale questions were transposed to
numeric data for simplified analysis. The higher the number, the more favorable the response or
behavior. The averages of these results are presented in Chapter 4.
Additionally, given the size of the response population, a multivariable regression
analysis was conducted. Various independent and dependent variables were analyzed to
examine statically significant relationships. The results of this analysis are found below in
Tables 15 and 17. A second round of analysis was conducted on those variables that were most
statistically significant. The results of the second round of analysis is found in Tables 16 and 18.
The transcripts from the interviews were examined using open and axial coding methods.
Trends and themes from the alumni were identified and then grouped to identify patterns. The
coding software NVivo was utilized to assist in this process. Three patterns of faith identity
were identified in the interviewees. However, similar themes were represented by members in
all three categories. As such, the results of the interview were presented chronologically and
topically as opposed to by faith category.
Validity and Reliability
For the survey of alumni students, the validity of the individual survey items was
important. Beyond that, there was a need to ensure the proper validity and reliability of the
entire quantitative data collection and analysis process. One of the best ways to ensure validity
was by collecting multiple sources of evidence (Johnson & Christensen, 2012). The mixed
methods approach as outlined above helped to provide a confidence in the overall conclusions
(Creswell, 2014).
One major pitfall with a mixed methods approach is the risk that the core concepts
addressed may be different in the qualitative versus the quantitative methods. For this study, the
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
62
use of an explanatory sequential mixed methods design allowed for a better integration of the
data from the quantitative survey to inform the data collection during the qualitative interviews
(Creswell, 2014).
A perceived limitation of the quantitative surveying was a compromised sample.
Members of the NCS staff worked to gather the contact information for the alumni students.
While this group worked diligently, this posed a clear threat to the validity of the overall survey.
The overall population available in surveying the NCS classes of 2010 to 2016 was
approximately 1100. Based on this overall population, it was recommended that a survey sample
of approximately 300 be sought (Johnson & Christensen, 2012). One caveat to that was the
argument that relatively homogenous populations can allow for smaller sample sizes and still
maintain the overall confidence level (Johnson & Christensen, 2012).
While there were 1100 total students in the alumni survey group, email addresses were
available for just over 1000. Through the email distribution system that was used, data showed
that 520 of the emails sent were viewed by recipients, which indicated that the total number of
active email addresses was probably lower than the 1000. As available, there was some word of
mouth communication about the project. However, the desire was to limit this so as to prevent a
sense of manipulation in the overall response rate. It was noted that those who choose to respond
may represent a segment of the population that was more favorable toward the overall topic thus
skewing the results (Johnson & Christensen, 2012).
Credibility and Trustworthiness
As stated above, the use of an explanatory sequential mixed methods design allowed for
the quantitative data analysis to inform the qualitative interview process. This means the
interview participants were purposefully selected to allow for targeted follow up to the
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63
information gathered through the quantitative phase (Creswell, 2014). Given that the researcher
was a member of the NCS administration during the time that the alumni students were enrolled
in the high school, attempts were made to increase the openness and transparency of the
interview environment by having a third party interviewer. The researcher utilized a pilot-test
approach to the questions with current students and staff members to ensure the credibility of the
questions that were presented to the interviewees (Maxwell, 2013).
One additional tool that was utilized in the interview process is participant feedback.
After the interview, the researcher followed up with the interviewee to review the transcripts and
interpretations of the interview. An opportunity for clarification was provided to the interviewee
and this helped to ensure that the the researcher properly understood the content of the interview
(Johnson & Christensen, 2012). This participant feedback, along with clearly documented
protocols (Creswell, 2014), allowed for a greater degree of credibility in the qualitative phase of
the research.
Ethics
In keeping with ethical expectations related to human subjects research, the researcher
conformed to the Institutional Review Board guidelines of the University of Southern California.
The alumni students who provided feedback through the online survey platform were not
coerced and voluntarily participated. There was a clear disclaimer at the beginning of the online
survey stating that participation was optional and without recourse.
The online survey was hosted through a subscription with Qualtrics and was password
protected. Demographic information was collected from the students so as to compare it with
existing academic and college matriculation data that the school has on file. However, the data is
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64
reported in aggregate and does not identify specific students. The raw data was securely
maintained within the Qualtrics system and on a cloud server that was password protected.
In the invitation to participate, the nature of the study was clearly explained to the alumni
students. Because the students have graduated from the high school, it was articulated that there
is no direct or implied consequence if students chose to participate or not. The researcher’s role
on the ALT was stated so that students understood the nature of the research and how it is being
utilized within the organization. Many of the alumni students may know the researcher from
their time at the school but the researcher would have only taught a small portion of the students.
This should limit an implied bias or expectation that they participate.
In an attempt to minimize bias, the survey questions and prompts were carefully reviewed
by others. The objective was to get feedback from the alumni in a way that helps the
organization understand what level of spiritual persistence students have demonstrated. The
main bias was an implicit expectation that students have persisted in their faith. Even if the
questions are worded carefully, it was possible that students felt a need to respond favorably and
in a way that did not accurately reflect their experience. Students may have felt that there is a
“right” answer to describe a continued faith experience that was not really present in their lives
(Russell, 2004). Students were reminded that the information provided would only be reported
in aggregate and that the desire was to get a true snapshot of where they are now even if it has
changed over the past couple of years.
Limitations and Delimitations
Alumni Self-Reported Data
While efforts were made to ensure the successful implementation of the research project,
certain limitations need to be outlined. First, alumni self-reported data has some clear limitations
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65
in the type of feedback it can provide (Bowman, 2014). Additionally, the nature of the self-
reported data calls for additional, external validation where possible (Ouimet & Pike, 2008). To
this end, efforts were made to draw on the available academic data to cross reference the
responses of the alumni. Also, the interview process was structured to provide an opportunity to
gain greater depth in the themes that were brought forth through the survey phase of the research.
Skewed Population Sample
Another significant limitation of the research was the nature of the population. NCS is a
private, college prep institution that generally serves a middle- to upper-middle class population.
Also, being faith-based, the population of alumni have already self-selected into NCS through
the admissions process. These limitations mean that the results of the study ought not be
generalized to other populations (Pike, 2011). NCS’s population is also distinct from many
ACSI schools in that not all students and families regularly engage in a local church or profess a
faith. This may create limitations for comparing the NCS data with other research that examined
highly traditional Christian communities (Long, 2014; Marrah, 2009). The results of the NCS
data may be more readily comparable to a general student population.
Socially Acceptable Responses
Additionally, because the school is faith-based, there is an assumed bias toward a socially
acceptable response that likely skewed the results to be overly positive (Pike, 2011; Russell,
2004). This was evident in the survey responses but it seemed it could be more present in the
one-on-one interview phase of the study (Liu & Yin, 2010). It was less likely in that context that
the alumni students would present a contrarian view from the mission of the organization
(Kunkel, 2016).
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Researcher Bias
Finally, there is inevitably a level of researcher bias. The researcher has been a teacher
and administrator at NCS for nearly ten years. This provides a unique insight into the
organizational context but it also presents the risk of skewing an understanding of the data.
Additionally, because the researcher is a current employee, there could be the risk to minimize
negative responses. One effort to safeguard against this bias was to utilize a third party
interviewer for the second phase of the research. Additional safeguards were employed to ensure
the credibility of the conclusions reached (Chapman, 2014).
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CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND FINDINGS
Overview of Purpose and Questions
The purpose of this research was to evaluate the degree to which the expected student
outcomes were being fulfilled in and for students of NCS with a specific emphasis on the
students’ spiritual persistence. The alumni feedback instrument was developed as a means of
soliciting the experiences of former students and to gain self-reported data about whether the
educational product of NCS produced the desired goals.
To accomplish this purpose, the research project utilized the gap analysis model as
proposed by Clark and Estes (2008) to examine the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influencers that impact this topic. The gap analysis model identifies an organizational goal, the
current performance of the organization related to that goal, and then the resulting gap. To
properly examine the gap for Northfield, four research questions were used to evaluate the topic:
1. To what extent is NCS meeting the goal of having alumni students persist in their
faith past graduation?
2. What are the knowledge and motivational influences that contribute to spiritual
persistence in alumni students of NCS?
3. What are the organizational factors of NCS that have contributed to the spiritual
development and persistence of alumni students?
4. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
The mixed methods research process provided robust data to begin to properly
understand the factors that influence student spiritual persistence. This chapter presents the
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quantitative and qualitative data generated through the research and then the following chapter
will make recommendations for NCS to implement in an attempt to close the gap that currently
exists with spiritual persistence.
Validation of Assumed Influences
Chapter 2 presented assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
were predicted to influence the persistence of alumni students. Through the data collected in the
survey and through the interviews, all of these influences were either validated or deemed highly
probable. The evidence indicates that the declarative and procedural knowledge influences are
essential for a student to have the foundational knowledge necessary to understand what the
Christian faith is. Then, understanding the doctrines of Christianity allows a student to act upon
their faith. The motivational influence of the Expectancy Value Theory (EVT) was validated as
an important lens to understand how a student examines the purpose of spiritual development
and makes it a priority in their life. Last, the organizational and cultural factors of NCS were
validated. The research process served to establish the importance of alumni students as
stakeholders. Specifically, the research provides the organization with needed data about the
way students understand the various spiritual development programming employed like chapel
and small groups. An expanded explanation of the findings is found below.
Participating Stakeholders
The research study evaluated the alumni student population of NCS from 2010 to 2016.
The total available sample was just over 1100 individuals. One limitation to the effective
sampling was the available contact information. Members of NCS’s institutional advancement
department believed that active contact information was available for approximately 900 of the
alumni students. The survey was sent out to all available students and 388 surveys were initiated
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with 349 of those surveys completed. The second phase of research targeted alumni from 2010,
2011, and 2012. Ten students were interviewed for the study.
Survey Respondents
The survey responses were distributed across the classes of 2010 to 2016. The class of
2010 was Northfield’s smallest at only 67 students, compared to its largest graduating class of
220 in 2015. The results were roughly distributed by gender with females being 56% of the
responses. Additional demographic categories are listed below in Table 6.
Net Promoter scores. One category that proved insightful when evaluating the survey
results was the Net Promoterâ question.
1
For the past ten years, NCS has used a Net Promoter
question on the parent survey. Because of its use within the organization, a similar question was
added to the alumni survey for comparison. The question for alumni students was “How likely is
it that you would recommend Northfield to potential students?” Students responded on a scale
from zero to ten with ten being “extremely likely.” In the theory of Net Promoter System,
responses of nine and ten are considered active promoters, seven and eight are viewed as neutral,
and zero to six are considered active detractors (Bendle & Bagga, 2016). This metric has
become widely used throughout industry and can provide a single number that gauges overall
satisfaction with an organization or service. For Northfield alumni, this was a unique metric that
segmented students’ overall view of the organization and ended up creating an additional
category to understand students’ perceptions of the school and their categories of spiritual
persistence.
1
Note: Net Promoter, Net Promoter System, Net Promoter Score, NPS and the NPS-related emoticons are registered
trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems, Inc.
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Table 6
Demographic Summary of Survey Respondents
Question Total Number Percentage
Male 153 44%
Female 196 56%
2010 22 6%
2011 32 9%
2012 52 15%
2013 56 16%
2014 59 17%
2015 58 17%
2016 70 20%
Attended NCS for 4 Years 271 78%
Attended NCS for less than 4 Years 78 22%
Attended a religious college or university 106 30%
Attended a public college or university 165 47%
Attended a private non-religious college or university 46 13%
Other 32 9%
Christian — Protestant 244 70%
Christian — Catholic 29 8%
Agnostic 22 6%
Atheist 12 3%
Other 34 10%
None 8 2%
Single 304 87%
Married 33 10%
Other 12 3%
Non-Parent 338 97%
Parent 11 3%
Active Promoter 180 52%
Neutral 103 30%
Active Detractor 63 18%
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Survey Results
Responses by Demographic Factors
The following section outlines the responses to the survey based on various demographic
categories. Specifically, results are broken out by gender, graduation year, transfer student
status, college option immediately following graduation, self-identified faith category, marital
status, parental status, and the student’s Net Promoter response. Segmenting the results based on
these various categories revealed a variety of important trends that help better understand the
alumni students of NCS.
In the tables below and in the appendices, the averages for each demographic category
are presented. The survey questions were clustered into four groups: student outcomes, spiritual
background and behaviors, belief trends, and response to organizational influences. An
abbreviated form of each question is represented in the table. The full survey questions can be
found in Appendix A. The majority of questions in the survey prompted students to provide a
response on a five point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. These questions
were then converted to a one through five response to conduct data analysis, with five being the
most favorable response. The section on spiritual background and behaviors were frequency
based questions and were also converted to numeric data to provide analysis. Higher numbers
indicate greater levels of frequency. The belief trends questions provided yes, no, and uncertain
as response options. The uncertain responses were removed for data calculation purposes in the
tables below. For this category of questions, a no response was coded with a zero and a yes
response was coded with a one. The section for response to organizational influences was also
on a five point Likert scale with the option of not applicable for those students that did not
participate in that NCS program. The not applicable responses were eliminated for the data
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calculation. Finally, the questions about a trusted adult on campus and willingness to participate
in the interview phase of the research were also yes and no responses and coded like the belief
trend section. Four free response questions were found in the survey and the responses to these
questions are not represented in the tables below.
Gender. The first category examined was based on respondent’s gender. In general, this
revealed that female alumni tended to report more favorable responses and spiritually persist at a
greater rate than male alumni. There were 196 female respondents and 153 male respondents
represented from the population. The full comparison of average responses is found in Table 7.
The data presented above is striking when comparing male and female alumni. On nearly
every survey item related to spiritual persistence, males respond more negatively than females.
The average responses of male alumni indicate that they are less likely to experience God’s love,
value the teachings of the Bible, and view the Bible as important in daily decision making.
Additionally, male alumni view a local Christian community as less important than female
alumni and show God’s love to others with less frequency. While some of these responses are
nominally less than the responses of the female alumni, it still represents a trend of lower
persistence against the metrics outlined in the survey. The most notable exception to this trend is
how male students speak about their parents’ faith background. Male alumni, on average, report
a higher rate of church attendance for both mom and dad when they were young and also a
greater frequency of parental involvement in activities like prayer and Bible study.
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Table 7
NCS Alumni Survey Itemized Average Responses Based on Gender
Question Overall Females Males
Net Promoter Score 8.07 8.22 7.87
NCS prepared me with skills for college & career 4.51 4.54 4.48
Faith is important to me 4.20 4.40 3.95
God has a purpose for my life 4.37 4.57 4.12
I regularly experience God’s love 4.28 4.49 4.01
NCS taught me the central doctrines of Christianity 4.24 4.29 4.18
I value the teachings of the Bible 4.45 4.56 4.31
The teachings of the Bible impact my decisions 4.12 4.25 3.95
I value a local Christian community 3.83 4.07 3.53
I regularly show God’s love to others 3.28 3.47 3.04
I verbally share my faith with others 2.39 2.61 2.13
Frequency with which I talk with an NCS adult since graduation 2.67 2.68 2.67
When I was young, mom regularly attended church 3.49 3.43 3.58
When I was young, dad regularly attended church 3.29 3.23 3.39
When I was young, mom participated in prayer and Bible study 3.02 2.87 3.21
When I was young, dad participated in prayer and Bible study 2.69 2.60 2.80
How frequently I read the Bible for spiritual edification 2.82 2.95 2.67
How frequently I have spiritual reflection or devotion 2.97 3.08 2.82
How frequently I attend a religious service 4.22 4.58 3.75
I was a Christian before attending NCS 0.90 0.91 0.89
I was a Christian when I graduated from NCS 0.92 0.94 0.88
I am a Christian today 0.88 0.92 0.81
I have changed my beliefs since graduating from NCS 0.32 0.26 0.40
My beliefs differ from my parents’ beliefs 0.36 0.32 0.42
Teachers modeled the Christian faith for me 4.42 4.44 4.39
Coaches modeled the Christian faith for me 4.25 4.24 4.28
Arts positively impacted my faith 3.96 4.12 3.75
Athletics positively impacted my faith 3.91 3.97 3.84
Discovery positively impacted my faith 4.34 4.56 4.06
Academics positively impacted my faith 3.92 4.08 3.71
Chapel positively impacted my faith 3.74 3.95 3.46
Small groups positively impacted my faith 3.49 3.47 3.52
NCS positively impacted my faith 4.32 4.47 4.14
NCS positively impacted my preparation for college & career 4.57 4.63 4.49
I had an NCS adult that I trusted to talk with about important issues 0.92 0.94 0.89
I am willing to participate in the second phase of research 0.69 0.71 0.67
Total Number of Responses 349 196 153
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Maybe the most significant variance of male to female response rate is how they identify
as Christians before attending Northfield, when graduating from Northfield, and then today.
Males and females had very similar response to whether they viewed themselves as being
Christians before enrolling at Northfield. However, throughout the course of high school,
females identified an increased rate of being a Christian at graduation and then a slight downtick
to how they see themselves today. Males, however, saw a slight decrease in the response to
being a Christian at the time of graduation and then a significant decline to identifying as a
Christian today. The responses of the students would indicate that the spiritual experiences
while at Northfield and after leaving Northfield are different for male and female students. Male
students tend to view the spiritual aspects of the school and their relationships with the adults on
campus in a different light then their female classmates. These responses could necessitate
further study.
Graduation year. The second stratification of the data was based on students’ year of
graduation. As a young school, Northfield has experienced significant growth over the past
decade. The original graduating class of 2010 had 67 students. The class of 2015 had 220
graduates and the class of 2016 had 197 graduates. This significant change in size has
influenced many facets of NCS. The desire was to separate the responses by graduating class to
see if the students responded differently or if they viewed the organizational influences
differently dependent on the year they graduated from NCS.
A substantial portion of each class is represented in the survey responses. Each class had
at least a quarter of the population respond to the survey and up to 36% for the class of 2016.
This is compared to 31% of the entire alumni population from 2010-2016 responding. The full
summary of the data is presented in Appendix B.
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When examining the responses by graduation year, it was important to note that the class
of 2010 seems to deviate from the overall trends of the respondents. When NCS opened, the
class of 2010 were all sophomores, which means they were all transfer students. While the data
is not clear why the class of 2010 tended to present less favorable responses, it is an important
observation. As well, this information served to inform the way that transfer students were
evaluated below in Appendix C.
The responses of the class of 2010 are significantly lower than every other class in nearly
every category. While the number of students responding was the smallest group, the responses
of these students demonstrate a surprising trend. This group is the least likely to view Northfield
favorably, to believe that God has a purpose for their life, to state they experience God’s love, or
value a local Christian community. What is surprising though is that this is the group that had
the highest rate of response that they viewed themselves as Christians before attending
Northfield and now the lowest rate of response that they view themselves as a Christian today.
Consistent with these responses, this group has the highest rate of having changed their beliefs
from that of their parents.
It is possible to speculate on a wide range of reasons why this group sees Northfield so
differently from other classes. The class of 2010 has the lowest rate of identifying an adult that
they connected with while at Northfield and trusted to talk to about important issues. This may
be a reflection of a lack of overall connection for many of these students that influences their
responses to a number of other areas.
The class of 2011 is a dramatic contrast in almost every category to the class of 2010.
The class of 2011 had the highest overall Net Promoter score, they are the most likely to talk
with a Northfield faculty or staff member since graduating, most likely to have a trusted adult on
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campus they connected with, and their overall view of the school is the highest. This class had
32 students respond to the survey and it is important to note that they were the first class to have
attended Northfield for all four years. While at NCS, this group had a sense of being pioneers
and a deep level of ownership for establishing the traditions of the school. It is interesting to see
that these feelings have continued now six years after leaving the institution.
Another curious fact is that the class of 2016 had the second lowest rate of identifying a
trusted adult on campus. Given the overall trend of the data, this seems to be a very important
metric for determining how a student views Northfield in the long term and how they are
persisting spiritually. Given the significant enrollment increases of the past few years at
Northfield, it is important to continue to monitor whether students connect with at least one adult
on campus. This could be a continued area of importance as the school grows.
Transfer student status. As a stand-alone high school without a set feeder system, NCS
students come from a wide range of middle schools. Most NCS students attend the school for all
four years but the school has had a consistent influx of transfer students throughout the years.
Internally, this has been an important sub-population for the school. The school developed a
specialized Bible course for transfer students and a member of the admissions staff is specifically
assigned to work with transfer students. There have been questions about whether transfer
students experience NCS differently than those students who attend all four years and so this
demographic question was added to the alumni survey. It is possible for some students to
transfer mid-year during ninth grade but historically the greatest influx has occurred at the start
of sophomore year. In limited instances, students may transfer into the school for their junior or
senior year. The question on the survey did not ask the specific amount of time they attended
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NCS but rather if they attended for less than four years. The results are summarized in Appendix
C.
Initially when evaluating whether the response rates were consistent with transfer
students and those that attended Northfield for all four years, the data seemed mixed. But, upon
further analysis, if the class of 2010 is removed from those calculations, transfer students from
2011 through 2016 view Northfield overall, and issues of faith specifically, in a very favorable
light. This group of transfer students made up 58 of the respondents to the survey and their
feedback was overwhelmingly positive. As a group, they have an average Net Promoter score of
8.4 compared to 8.07 for the general population. Beyond that, they have above average
responses in every category of the survey except for their view that Northfield taught them the
central doctrines of Christianity. This is an area of note because Northfield has altered how they
handle the Bible curriculum for transfer students over the past ten years. This may be an area in
need of further evaluation for the school’s ALT.
Another noticeable observation about this group is that they come from families with less
frequent church attendance than those Northfield students who attended all four years. Transfer
students report that both mom and dad attended church less frequently and participated in prayer
and Bible study activities less frequently than students who attended all four years. However,
even given these lower rates of family faith background, this group is more likely to identify as a
Christian today, more likely to read their Bible on a consistent basis, more likely to engage in
devotions and attend a church service. This information is particularly surprising given the
literature on the predictive importance of parental spirituality (Black, 2008).
This information about transfer students is important for the overall strategic planning of
Northfield because as the school has grown, they have admitted fewer transfer students in recent
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years. This data would indicate that historically, transfer students have valued the spiritual
development components of the school and persist at a greater rate than those who attend all four
years. One final observation about transfer students is that they resoundingly identify that they
had a trusted adult on campus that they connected with. Internally, Northfield has questioned
whether transfer students get connected as well as students who attend all four years and this
information would indicate that these students get immersed in the school community well and
benefit from the relationships they foster with Northfield faculty and staff.
College type. Alumni students were asked in the survey to identify what they chose to
do in their first year after graduation. Students could identify attendance at a particular type of
college, working, taking a gap year or other. This question only identified what students did in
that first year and does not examine if they graduated from a particular type of college.
However, this does create four categories of students: those who attended a religious college or
university (CCCU is used as an abbreviation for the Council of Christian Colleges and
Universities), attended a public college or university, attended a private non-religious college or
university, or other. Because a large percentage of NCS students attend a four-year college or
university immediately following graduation, the “other” category encompasses those who
attended a community college, worked, took a gap year, military service, or anything else. The
summary results of these four categories are listed in Appendix D. Overall, the responses from
students confirmed aspects of the literature from Uecker et al. (2007), whose research indicates
that college is not actually antithetical to faith persistence. The response of Northfield alumni
who were grouped into the “other” category were those with the lowest rates of spiritual
persistence. Not surprisingly, those who attended Christian colleges have the highest levels of
persistence at 95% and public college attendees persisted at a rate of 88%. Private non-religious
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institutions persisted at a rate of 79% compared to those who did not attend college initially or
attended a community college. This latter group persisted at a rate of 71% even though they had
the highest response when asked if they were a Christian before attending Northfield. This group
of students had a consistent faith background to the overall averages when asked about their
mom and dad’s frequency of church attendance and participation in prayer and Bible studies.
It is not possible to identify causality in this aspect of spiritual persistence, but it does
seem to fit an overall profile for a student that if they are unsure about the next steps in their life
this may also cause them to question issues of faith as well. This group of students in the “other”
category was also the most likely to identify that they changed their beliefs since graduating and
now have different beliefs from their parents. It is noteworthy that this group of students all
identify an adult on campus that they trusted to talk with about important issues but they are the
least likely to stay in contact since graduation. These findings echo the literature of Hall et al.
(2016), who explain that higher levels of religiosity are associated with positive college and
career related outcomes.
Self-identified faith category. Alumni were asked if they identify with a variety of faith
categories in the survey. The responses based on these categories are summarized in Appendix
E. In the results, students that identified “other” as their preferred identity were given a short
answer to describe their identity of choice. Many of these students identified “evangelical” or
just “Christian” as an option. It seems that some of these students may have been unclear on the
term “Christian – Protestant” and so that is why they selected “other,” or some of the students
may have been uncomfortable with that term. Those students that identified “other” gave
responses that were generally more favorable than students who responded with Agnostic,
Atheist, or None.
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Those students who selected either Agnostic, Atheist, or None were consistent with their
answers in that all of the 40 students selected “no” for the question asking if they identify as a
Christian today. When viewing these three categories of students together, it is important to note
that their overall view of Northfield is significantly lower than those students who selected either
Protestant, Catholic, or Other. This information is valuable for Northfield to understand when
thinking about how to engage alumni students. If a student is not persisting in their faith, at least
to the degree of identifying as a Christian in some way, then the students are unlikely to have the
same level of affinity for the school as a whole.
It is also fascinating to note that those students who identify as being Agnostic report that
their parents attended church when they were young at an identical rate as those students who
identify as being Protestant. However, those students who now identify as being Atheist, their
parents attended church significantly less frequently than those students who currently identify as
Protestant. This is another important factor for Northfield to consider when it looks at issues of
faith alignment for families who choose to attend the school.
Of the respondents, 244 identified themselves as Christian – Protestant and 29 identified
themselves as Christian – Catholic. One hundred percent of these students went on to identify
themselves as Christian today. However, the two populations deviated in a number of significant
ways. First, those students who identify as Catholic reported that their parents attended church
with less frequency than their Protestant counterparts. More significantly though, the parents of
Catholic students engage in disciplines like prayer and Bible study much less frequently than the
parents of Protestant students. Second, this trend continued to the way that the students reported
their own habits of reading the Bible and times of spiritual devotion. In both categories, Catholic
students engage in such disciplines less frequently but they attend church at nearly the same rate.
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For these two groups, their view of Northfield in other areas is very consistent. They report
nearly identical views of teachers, coaches, and the various programming of the school.
Those students who identify as being Agnostic, Atheist, and None provide the most
negative results throughout the survey. There is a markedly different pattern of response from
these students in questions related to the spiritual atmosphere of Northfield and how they viewed
the programming of the school. However, this group identified having a trusted adult on campus
at nearly the same rate as Protestant and Catholic alumni. Additionally, these students are still
fairly positive in their respond to Northfield’s effectiveness in preparing them with the skills
necessary for college and career.
While the researcher would have hoped that the survey provided a clear indication of
some factor that would predict those students who proactively turned away from the Christian
faith, that was not readily apparent. Some themes did come out via the interviews but in general,
this is an area for further research to identify more concrete predictors of those students who will
choose to not persist. One anomaly from the data is how students who identify as Agnostic,
Atheist, and no faith viewed small group discipleship at Northfield. For Protestant and Catholic
students, small group discipleship receive the least favorable results of all the various
programming the school offered. However, Agnostic, Atheist, and students with no faith are not
as negative toward small group discipleship. While the data is not conclusive by any means, this
may indicate that the small group environment may have provided some value for students who
questioned their faith and they remembered this programming more favorably.
When students were asked if they were willing to participate in the second phase of the
research by doing an interview, students who identify as Agnostic, Atheist, or no faith,
responded with “yes” 57% of the time compared to 72% of the time for students who identified
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as Protestant or Catholic. This seems to confirm the assumed respondent bias indicated in the
literature (Russell, 2004; Tammaro, 2012). Those students who are not persisting in their faith
will tend to be less willing to provide their feedback. This serves as a caution for how one ought
to interpret the overall results. Even though they are generally positive, it needs to be understood
that more negative voices may not be represented in the data that was collected.
Marital status. The delay in marriage is seen as an essential factor in creating the
emerging adulthood developmental stage (Hall et al., 2016; Smith & Snell, 2009). The logic for
this is that by not getting married until later in life, many individuals do not take on the same
levels of responsibility as previous generations. The argument also holds that once an individual
transitions out of the emerging adulthood phase into being a more traditional young adult, their
views on spirituality will begin to adjust and may take on more importance. Given this line of
reasoning, respondents were asked to identify if they are married or not. They were also given
the option of “other” and most students who selected other stated that they were engaged or in a
committed relationship but not married. The results for these categories are listed in Appendix
F. An examination of those students who are married and those who are single affirmed aspects
of the literature. Of the responses, 304 identified that they were currently single and 33 students
responded they are married. The balance of the respondents selected “other” and provided a
number of relational categories like they were engaged or in a committed relationship. When
comparing those students who are single and those who are married, a few trends arose. Single
alumni have an average age of 21.32 but those who are married have an average age of 23.33
years. The responses of this group of married students indicate a frequency of persistence
greater than single students. The married alumni are significantly more likely to read the Bible,
have regular devotions, and attend a local church service. In all of the categories that examine
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their view of matters of faith, this group represents a higher level of agreement. Married students
provide a much more favorable response to the academic programming at Northfield, chapel, and
Life Groups. While the data is not conclusive, it may be that these students who have married
young possessed a level of maturity in how they responded to these direct efforts to cultivate
spiritual development.
Parental status. The last demographic category that is segmented are those alumni who
have children and those who do not. The reasoning for this examination is very similar to
marital status. The rationale presented in the literature is that major life events like marriage and
having a child prompts individuals to see matters of faith differently than those who are single or
do not have children. While the sample size for those NCS alumni who have children is very
small at only 11, the average responses of this group compared to those who do not have children
do seem to confirm some of the assumptions of the literature. The results are summarized in
Appendix G. Of the Northfield alumni who responded, only 11 identified that they have
children. While this is a very small sample compared to the overall survey responses, a couple
of items did provide meaningful results. First, this group does report a higher level of agreement
with the questions that faith is important, God has a purpose, and they experience God’s love in
their lives. Additionally, this group of young parents report that they value the teachings of the
Bible and that the Bible impacts their daily decision making more than those respondents who do
not have children. These alumni are also reading the Bible, engaging in times of devotion, and
attending church more frequently than those alumni without children. These results confirm the
literature that points to having children as a profound marker in changing how emerging adults
engage with faith (Smith & Snell, 2009). It will be important to evaluate the alumni in another
five or ten years to see if this holds true with a larger population of young parents.
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Net Promoter score. The last category used to segment responses is based on the Net
Promoter question as outlined above. Those students who respond with a nine or ten are listed as
“active promoters.” Those who responded with a seven or eight are classified as “neutral.” Then
those alumni who responded with a zero through six are classified as “active detractors.” Even
though the literature identifies a response of zero to six as being an active detractor, the
responses for this category are broken down further into those who responded with a five and
six, those who responded with a three and four, and those who responded with a zero, one, or
two. This further segmentation of those who are viewed as active detractors of NCS helps to
reveal some additional information. The summary of responses segmented by Net Promoter
score is outlined in Appendix H. The literature about Net Promoter questions has mixed
opinions about overall scientific value (Bendle & Bagga, 2016). However, because Northfield
has used this category with parents for the past decade, it seemed appropriate to present a similar
question to the alumni. As expected, those students who are active promoters provide the most
favorable responses in their view of all the programming of Northfield. What is surprising in
some ways is that this group reads the Bible, engages in times of spiritual devotions, and attends
church with much greater frequency than those who are neutral or active detractors. Maybe the
greatest takeaway from this portion of the data is an understanding that students who are
flourishing and persisting in their faith are more likely to retain a positive view of their
experience at the school. This would reaffirm the importance of spiritual development to the
mission of the organization. Additionally, it is intriguing to note that those students who are the
most negative on the Net Promoter question are much less likely to have had an adult on campus
that they trusted to speak with about important issues. To gather a better understanding of the
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Net Promoter responses and what factors influenced a student’s view of Northfield’s influence
on faith, a multiple regression analysis was also conducted.
Multiple Regression Analysis
Due to the sample size of the quantitative survey, it provided the opportunity to conduct a
second set of analysis beyond the descriptive statistics provided above. A series of multivariable
regression analyses were conducted to examine which predictive variables influenced the
outcome variables the most. Below are the results of the analyses grouped by outcome variable.
The analysis first examined alumni’s response to the prompt that “weighing all of my time and
experiences at Northfield, I believe Northfield had a positive influence on my faith
development.” The second analysis examined the question related to the Net Promoter score.
Statistically significant influences on viewing Northfield’s impact on faith. The first
regression model was used to examine the correlation between predictor variables and students’
responses to the question “weighing all my time and experiences at Northfield, I believe
Northfield had a positive influence on my faith development.” As with the descriptive statistics
above, students’ responses to Likert scale items were converted to one through five scores. For
the frequency based questions, these responses were also converted. In both instances, higher
numbers represent more favorable responses. These numerically converted responses are treated
as a nominal scale to then examine what, if any, relationship exists between the predictive
variables and the outcome variable of alumni’s view of Northfield’s influence on faith.
The findings of the first model revealed that two of the eleven independent variables
tested were significant predictors of respondents’ ratings on whether Northfield had a positive
influence on their faith development. The variables examined predicted 42.7% of the variance
(adj. R
2
= .427, F(11,332)=24.26, p<.001). Responses to the prompt that Northfield taught the
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central doctrines of Christianity significantly predicted the overall view of Northfield’s influence
on alumni faith (β=.33, p<.001). Additionally, the frequency with which students talk to an NCS
adult since graduation also proved to be statistically significant (β=.13, p<.01).
In model two, eight independent variables were examined. Of the eight, four were found
to be significant predictors of a student’s response to Northfield’s influence on their faith
development. The overall model accounted for 57% of the variance (adj. R
2
= .573,
F(8,317)=55.63, p<.001). Students’ perceptions that teachers modeled the Christian faith for
them was the most predictive (β=.28, p<.001), followed by students’ responses to the overall
academic curriculum having a positive impact on their faith (β=.26, p<.001). The full results of
the regression analysis are recorded in Table 8.
A revised analysis was run after identifying the statistically significant predictive
variables from the first two models of analysis. The data was processed a second time and all
missing responses were eliminated which reduced the total number of responses to 282. The
majority of responses that were eliminated were due to students identifying “not applicable” on
the prompt about the Discovery program.
In this third model, four of the five independent variables were found to be significant
predictors of Northfield’s influence on alumni’s faith. The overall model accounted for 61% of
the variance (adj. R
2
= .610, F(6,275)=74.36, p<.001). In this second round of analysis, the
importance of how students perceived teachers modeling the Christian faith (β=.27, p<.001) and
the role of the academic curriculum were the most significant predictors (β=.26, p<.001). The
results of phase two regression analysis are found in Table 9.
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Table 8
Multiple Regression Analysis of Northfield’s Positive Influence on Alumni Faith
Variables β
b
SE p-Value F df p adj. R
2
Overall of Model One
24.26 11 <.001 .42
NCS prepared skills for college & career .10 .06 .08
Faith is important .07 .07 .28
God has a purpose .05 .10 .62
Experience God’s love .12 .10 .24
NCS taught the central doctrines .33 .04 <.01*
Value the teachings of the Bible .07 .09 .41
Teachings of the Bible influence decisions -.08 .08 .32
Value a local Christian community .06 .06 .34
Regularly show God’s love .07 .05 .22
Verbally share one’s faith .04 .06 .52
Talk with an NCS staff member since graduation .13 .04 <.01*
Overall of Model Two 55.63 8 <.001 .57
Teachers modeled the Christian faith .28 .06 <.01*
Coaches modeled the Christian faith -.01 .05 .75
Arts positively impacted my faith .04 .04 .36
Athletics positively impacted my faith .06 .04 .15
Discovery positively impacted my faith .13 .04 <.01*
Academics positively impacted my faith .26 .05 <.01*
Chapel positively impacted my faith .13 .04 <.01*
Small groups positively impacted my faith .02 .03 .46
Notes: * p < .05.
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Table 9
Phase Two Multiple Regression Analysis of Northfield’s Positive Influence on Alumni Faith
Variables β
b
SE p-Value F df p adj. R
2
Overall of Model Three
74.35 6 <.001 .61
NCS taught the central doctrines .11 .04 .01*
Talk with an NCS staff member since graduation .06 .03 .07
Teachers modeled the Christian faith .27 .06 <.01*
Discovery positively impacted my faith .13 .04 <.01*
Academics positively impacted my faith .26 .05 <.01*
Chapel positively impacted my faith .17 .04 <.01*
Notes: * p < .05.
Statistically significant influences on Net Promoter score. A regression analysis was
also conducted on the dependent variable of student’s Net Promoter response. The same two
initial models of independent variables were used. In the first model, the regression indicated
that six of the eleven independent variables were significant predictors of a student’s Net
Promoter response. The overall model accounted for 45% of the variance (adj. R
2
= .452,
F(11,332)=26.74, p<.001). Of these significant predictors, a student’s response to the prompt
that Northfield prepared them with the skills necessary for college and career goals was most
significant (β=.80, p<.001), followed by the response to the view that Northfield taught them the
central doctrines of Christianity (β=.76, p<.001).
In the second model, four of the nine independent variables were significant predictors of
a student’s Net Promoter response. The overall model accounted for 56% of the variance (adj.
R
2
=.564, F(9,316)=47.89, p<.001). In this model, the question related to Northfield having a
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positive influence on a student’s faith development was the most significant (β=.73, p<.001).
The full results of model one and two are listed in Table 10.
Following the first round of analysis, an additional regression analysis was conducted
with the most significant predictive variables. The data was processed a second time and all
missing responses were eliminated. This reduced the analyzed sample down to 341 responses.
In this third model, 58% of the variance was accounted for (adj. R
2
=.581, F(5,336)=95.92,
p<.001). In this round of analysis, all five of the variables examined were significant predictors
of a student’s Net Promoter response. The full results of model three are listed in Table 11.
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Table 10
Multiple Regression Analysis of Northfield’s Alumni Net Promoter Score
Variables β
b
SE p-Value F df p adj. R
2
Overall of Model One
26.74 11 <.001 .45
NCS prepared skills for college & career .80 .12 <.01*
Faith is important -.33 .15 .03*
God has a purpose .21 .22 .32
Experience God’s love -.32 .21 .13
NCS taught the central doctrines .76 .10 <.01*
Value the teachings of the Bible .07 .19 .69
Teachings of the Bible influence decisions -.04 .17 .78
Value a local Christian community .37 .13 <.01*
Regularly show God’s love .33 .12 <.01*
Verbally share one’s faith .21 .13 .10
Talk with an NCS staff member since graduation .25 .08 <.01*
Overall of Model Two 47.89 9 <.001 .56
Teachers modeled the Christian faith .37 .14 .01*
Coaches modeled the Christian faith .06 .12 .60
Arts positively impacted my faith .06 .10 .55
Athletics positively impacted my faith .27 .10 <.01*
Discovery positively impacted my faith .28 .11 <.01*
Academics positively impacted my faith .13 .11 .25
Chapel positively impacted my faith .10 .10 .30
Small groups positively impacted my faith .05 .07 .46
NCS positively impacted my faith .73 .12 <.01*
Notes: * p < .05.
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Table 11
Phase Two Multiple Regression Analysis of Northfield’s Alumni Net Promoter Score
Variables β
b
SE p-Value F df p adj. R
2
Overall of Model Three
95.91 5 <.001 .58
NCS prepared skills for college & career .42 .12 <.01*
NCS taught the central doctrines .29 .09 <.01*
NCS positively impacted my faith .82 .10 <.01*
NCS positive influence for college & career .33 .13 .01*
Teachers modeled the Christian faith .54 .12 <.01*
Notes: * p < .05.
Interview Structure
Interview Protocols
The interview process utilized an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. This
allowed for the data and trends from the survey to inform the qualitative interviews (Creswell,
2014). Specifically, the survey feedback allowed for the purposeful selection of interview
participants that reflected three categories of spiritual persistence: active rejection, nominal
Christians, and thriving Christians. These three categories of students were observed through the
survey process and seemed to the researcher to present the most natural segmentation for the
interview phase. A third party interviewer was used in an attempt to increase the freedom that
interviewees felt to address sensitive issues. Training was conducted with the interviewer to
ensure all ethical and IRB standards were utilized. Additionally, the interviewer completed CITI
training to ensure proper understanding of the human subjects protocols.
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A semi-structured interview approach was utilized by the interviewer. Each subject was
taken through their faith upbringing, their time at Northfield, and their experiences since going to
college. The interview questions are listed in Appendix B. Some follow up questions were
asked depending on the nature of the respondent’s answers. This was particularly true for the
nominal Christians as a line of follow-up questions were asked to help understand if these
students believe anything will prompt them to reprioritize their faith in the future.
Interview Participants
When following up on the information gained through the survey, additional students
were solicited to gather qualitative feedback on their experience at Northfield and since
graduating. The decision was made to focus primarily on the class of 2011 and 2012 because, as
is seen above in Table 8, the class of 2010 respondents presented a more negative perspective
than every other class. Additionally, the desire was to get feedback from students who were
already graduated from college and had to face some level of transition into either work or
graduate school. Respondents from the classes of 2011 and 2012 provided this insight. The
other criterion that was used was a focus on getting a distribution of faith experiences in the
interviews. Based on students’ survey responses, they were clustered into three categories:
actively rejected faith, nominally Christian, or thriving Christians. Based on these categories, 14
invitations were sent to schedule interviews. An attempt was made to evenly select interview
participants based on gender but a disproportionate number of males responded to the invitation
request.
Actively rejected faith. Two of the interview participants represented in their survey
that they had actively rejected the Christian faith after their time at Northfield. These students
were specifically targeted to participate in the alumni interviews because of the literature that
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proposed that there would be a respondent bias with those who are thriving in their faith
(Russell, 2004; Tammaro, 2012). The desire was to preserve the perspective of those students
who have not persisted in their faith because of the expectation that this category of student was
less likely to participate in the survey.
Nominal Christians. Based on the responses of the survey, two of the students who
were interviewed were classified as nominal Christians. These students were still identifying as
Christian throughout the survey but they did not indicate that they were actively engaged in
spiritual activities or habits. As well, these students indicated less favorable responses to the
student outcomes section of the survey. These students were believed to fall into the category of
emerging adults who are either “selective adherents” or “religiously indifferent” (Smith & Snell,
2009). These students still identify with the label of Protestant Christianity but are not actively
engaged in matters of faith.
Thriving Christians. The third category of student selected to participate demonstrated
survey responses that indicated they were thriving in their Christian faith. These were students
that did select the self-identified label of Protestant Christian but also had other survey responses
which indicated they were more likely to be engaged in Bible reading, spiritual devotion, and
attending religious services. Additionally, this group was marked by highly favorable responses
in the student outcomes section of the survey which asked questions about their views of God
having a purpose for their life and how important matters of faith are for them. This group
generally aligns with Smith and Snell’s (2009) label of “committed traditionalists.”
The summary of demographic information for the interviewees is seen in Table 12.
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Table 12
Demographic Summary of Interview Respondents
Question Total Number
Male 7
Female 3
2010 1
2011 3
2012 5
2013 1
Thriving Christian 6
Nominal Christian 2
Atheist 2
Themes from the Interviews
To synthesize the views represented through the ten interviews, a process of open and
axial coding was used. Various themes arose out of this process. It became evident that even
though students could be categorized into three phases of faith, this was not the best means of
organizing the themes presented because most of the themes overlapped between the
interviewees regardless of spiritual disposition. Thus, a sequential process best represents the
themes of the group. This chronological approach mirrored the semi-structured pattern of the
questions the interviewer followed, which can be found in Appendix B.
Upbringing and Early Years
Parents’ faith and church background. Of the ten students interviewed, nine of them
identified some level of faith and church attendance in their upbringing. This ranged from just
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attending on Christmas and Easter to active church participation. Multiple students spoke of
their parents being “super involved” (Participant 3), being “heavily religious” (Participant 7), and
another identifying that “my mom actually worked at the church” and so the family was there
regularly (Participant 4).
When reviewing the discussions about parental church involvement, they seemed to be
important for the students but not the determining factor that dictated whether they persisted. Of
the two students who have turned away from their faith, one had parents that were very involved
in church and the other had a mom that was not an active believer but dad was. Participant 8 was
the only student that had parents that did not have faith or attend church when he was young and
now he is thriving in his faith. Participant 8 describes this:
Growing up, my family was very agnostic. Christmas was celebrated, Easter was
celebrated, but I never understood why. I know that there had to be something with
Christianity, but I didn’t know what. Christmas, there was Jesus, and I knew Jesus was a
person. I didn’t know really why. It was just something that we did because it was the
holidays.
Parents clearly played an important role for students in how they understood faith but it
was not the only factor which determined whether they continued to have a faith of their own in
college and after.
Early perceptions of faith. The various ways that families emphasized faith informed
the schema that students brought to Northfield. The students characterized these early
perceptions of faith in both how completely they understood Christianity and how they
understood what it meant to attend a Christian school. For some, there seemed to be a lot of
uncertainty around the decision. For Participant 4, “I had never gone to a religious school before
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so I wasn’t really sure how it would exactly integrate into the day-to-day life as a student.” For
others, it seemed to have no particular meaning: “I don’t think it meant anything to me. I didn’t
know what a Christian school meant” (Participant 1). For the couple of students who had
attended Christian elementary or middle schools, it was possible for them to bring a level of
resentment about the decision by their parents:
I fought my parents on it […] I went to a Christian elementary school, Christian middle
school. It felt like all the cool kids were at public schools and I joined Northfield the first
year it opened so I was pretty uncertain with what it would be like. (Participant 9)
The information from students on the nature of their home life, their early perceptions of
faith, and their expectations coming to Northfield provide important context to the data provided
through the survey. While nearly 90% of students state that they identified as a Christian prior to
attending Northfield, the interviews provide clarity that a wide range of experiences are
presented in that large majority. This information is also helpful in understanding that the survey
did not get a full or clear understanding of what attitude students came to Northfield with or how
receptive they would be to the spiritual development programming.
Experience at Northfield
Influence on faith. As with other aspects of the data provided through the interviews,
students presented a range of perspectives on how they viewed Northfield’s influence on their
faith. Generally, all of the alumni saw Northfield as holding strong to the mission and directly
representing the tenets of Christianity. However, there was disagreement from some on how this
was applied in practice.
Two of the respondents were very direct in that they viewed Northfield as being directly
responsible for the faith they have today. For Participant 8, who was the student that came from
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the unbelieving family, he feels deeply indebted to the school and the teachers that influenced his
life:
If there’s anything I would like to bold and underline is that Northfield helped me come
to Christ. It was the avenue that I found Christ. There’s no greater gift that you can be
given and there’s not enough thanks that I can give to the people and the school.
While other students were not as favorably reminiscent of their experience at the school,
Participant 10, echoed a similar sentiment: “And really the only reason I do have anything to do
with Christianity and faith in general now has nothing to do with my upbringing in my home but
because of Northfield.”
For Participant 2, she turned away from the Christian faith after leaving Northfield. For
her, the take away was negative:
I believe they effectively taught me what they believe Christianity to be. I really have a
lot of issues with what that is and it has affected the way that I’ve moved forward in my
own life about it. I think that there was a lot of really hateful judgment and exclusion
going on at that school.
For Participant 9, she presents a similar statement:
Northfield does a really good job of teaching kind of what the Christian beliefs are when
it comes to all these challenges we face on a day-to-day basis, whether it be things I
mentioned earlier: money, premarital sex, drugs, drinking, dating, dating non-Christians,
things like that. I felt like I learned what the biblical response was.
Although she feels like she understood the biblical response, she still felt like this knowledge did
not truly address the complexity or reality that students face when they head off to college.
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The range of these perspectives on the role that attending Northfield had on one’s faith
development is striking. The information gained from the interviews demonstrates the
importance of gathering information beyond just the survey because the richness of the
perceptions helps to give a broader understanding of the complex process that each student
works through in their own faith and in their own understanding of the school experience.
Value of adult relationships. One area that all the interviewees addressed positively
was the role that adults played through mentorship or discipleship when they were at Northfield.
Each of the students reflected that these adults invested in their lives and made a positive
contribution. Participant 4 addressed how widespread she felt this experience was:
But in general, every teacher that I had was always extremely supportive. I know that I
could have gone to, literally, any of them, and been like, hey, I’m really having problems
at home, or with this. Can you just pray for me?
For Participant 1, he spoke to how patient the faculty of Northfield were with him. He
recognized that he struggled behaviorally in high school but they still showed him kindness:
They are really good at just pursuing me and looking at me for who I was not just another
student and just taking their time with me and just what I think about God, what is God
doing with me right now and just having some of those hard conversations in a very kind
and soft way that a 16-year-old can have.
For some students, the most significant relationships were tied to the areas of involvement they
had in the school. Participant 9 spoke to the influence of her extracurricular sponsors:
I think probably the best part of Northfield for me has been, or was my coaches.
Specifically, my speech and debate coach and my swim team coaches. Both regularly
challenging me at different times in my life […] They could tell if I was having a bad day
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or something was going on at home and they would just do a really good job of listening
to me and praying with me.
For Participant 2, the most poignant relationship was tied to her investment in the arts:
It was really the members of the art department. They were really the closest to me. One
was super important to me. He was there through a lot of stuff. He really nurtured a lot
of my artistic endeavors and he actually really helped my faith for a while there when it
just didn’t seem to be present in the school.
Of all the alumni however, Participant 10 was the most direct about the life changing
impact that a faculty member had on his life:
Especially during my junior and senior years at Northfield when I was really wrestling
with the question of is Christianity true, is there a God at all, he was always there to talk
[…] He was really the only adult that I was close to that actually had this authentic faith
that I wanted. My parents certainly didn’t have it, no one else in my family did. I didn’t
know any other adults really but I knew these were the most important questions and I
knew that this guy had answers and that his faith was very real to him. He had no greater
aim in life than essentially to make this life full of Christ.
Participant 10’s comments illustrate what was a consistent trend: faculty and staff are vital
models for a flourishing Christian faith. This theme should be encouraging for Northfield
because it is evidence of a thriving culture within the school.
Programmatic impact. A line of questions in the interviews asked students about what
programs they participated in while at Northfield. They were specifically asked about the
school’s international service program, weekly chapel, and a small group mentorship program at
the school. Additionally, they were asked generally for feedback about any extracurricular
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activities they participated in. Their responses represented the value they believe these programs
had on their spiritual development. A sampling of the feedback is listed below.
Chapel. Since NCS began, a weekly chapel service has been built into the schedule.
This time is mandatory for students to attend. Responsibility for hosting chapel has shifted over
the years from a committee to the student life team to the Bible department and now resides with
the campus chaplains. Throughout the years, chapel has undergone many revisions in an attempt
to improve the student experience and to make it meaningful for students. The feedback below
is reflective of the experience for those students in the early years of NCS. The statements from
the alumni illustrates the challenge of making the time important for such a range of students and
various faith backgrounds.
The comments of Participant 4 and Participant 10 show the contrasting perspectives that
students can take on this community worship and Biblical teaching time. Participant 4 reflected
on the time favorably:
But then chapels, those are really great. It was a time to escape from the classroom, but
also get to still be with your classmates and your friends, and worship together as
Believers rather than just oh yeah, I sit next to them in math.
However, in contrast, Participant 10, who today is thriving in his faith, did not find value in this
weekly experience:
At chapel, which was someone playing the guitar and doing worship songs — those
never really had much of an effect on me and I think a lot of that had to do with just the
group of kids I was hanging out with at the time. And they’re not bad kids, they were
good kids and everything, good Christian kids too, but at that age when you’re just
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interested in other things and you’re trying to be cool, you’re not gonna want to be into
the worship songs.
Some of Participant 10’s comments illustrate that there is a social pressure to try to be cool and
not necessarily engage spiritually in the time. This vantage is important and Participant 6
summed up the importance for a student to handle the time maturely:
The chapel experience was pretty much what you made of it. Most of the time, it was
more of an individualistic experience, whatever you took out of it is what you got. I
thought it was good, sometimes it was better than other days. It’s just how far you’re
willing to go with the experience.
Based on the alumni comments, it became evident that whether a student was attending
church with their family or not, may influence how they perceived the weekly church service.
For Participant 8, who was not attending church with his family and was new in his faith, the
time was much more meaningful than for Participant 9 who was regularly attending church with
her family. This difference of family faith background changed how this weekly experience was
perceived. Participant 8 noted:
Thursday was chapel which again was like my church for the week so since I didn’t go to
church on Sunday, I had my preaching on Monday and then my period of worship on
Thursday. Which again was great for me. Somebody would speak, we’d have a worship
session, that was nice for me because, again I didn’t have that aspect in my home life.
In contrast, Participant 9 reflected on her experience:
I thought it was fine. I thought sometimes between chapel on Tuesday, church on
Sunday, small group on Wednesday, I think I felt that sometimes it got a little repetitive
and a little bit like, “Enough is enough,” and a little preachy at times. I think that would
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probably be my biggest takeaways. I think I felt that especially just being in a Christian
home. We did go to church on Sunday, it could feel a little bit repetitive.
As an institution it does not seem possible to change these conflicted views while maintaining
that chapel is mandatory. As a large Christian school with a diverse student population, this is a
challenge to make these times meaningful to a wide spectrum of students.
Small groups. Along with the weekly chapel experience, NCS has integrated a small
group connecting point into students’ schedules. This has taken various forms over the years and
has not always been weekly. Most years it has occurred two or three times a month. For this
group of early alumni, most of their time at NCS, the small groups were weekly. The biggest
variable that seemed to influence a student’s evaluation of the small groups was determined
based on the connection with the group leader.
The experiences of Participant 10 and Participant 3 highlight the contrasting experiences
that students can feel through the small groups. For Participant 10, the connection he made in
his small group was valuable:
I think advisory was a lot better for me. And that was in terms of faith. But we never
really talked about faith issues in advisory. We did become pretty close and tight group,
but the reason that advisory helped me a lot I think in my faith journey was because my
advisor was also essentially my mentor at the time.
However, for Participant 3, he relayed the difficulty of this small group approach if the
connection with the advisor is soured:
Towards the end we sort of got to the point where none of us got along with our advisor.
And you know, we had sort of given up on it quite a while before […] getting stuck with
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a bad advisor for four years is pretty brutal but we were really close as a group and we
were all pretty good friends.
One other aspect of the small group experience that came up from multiple students was that as
faculty and staff change, the leadership of these groups change. This transition can negatively
impact how emotionally connected the group becomes. Participant 6 explained his experience:
That was tough for me because I had a different advisor every year. And so, it was cool
because we got to see a different experience, but each time it was tough to relate. My
group was a lot of athletes, and then we had one of the arts teachers as our advisor and it
was just difficult to get that dialogue that was comfortable for that experience. But I
know a lot of my close friends got a lot out of there.
Other students reflected favorably about their small group experience: “It was incredible. It was
one of the best parts of my time at Northfield. Yeah. I looked forward to it every week. It was
great” (Participant 7). And for Participant 8, she enjoyed that the group felt authentic and did not
have the level of judgement she felt in other aspects of church and the school: “Sometimes the
Christian faith can get a little judge-y but I never felt that in my advisory group. It was much
more real and down to earth about that kind of stuff.”
International service. Another program that NCS has worked to cultivate through the
first ten years of the school is the international missions and service program. Through the first
ten years, over 100 trips have been taken. The mission trips have gone to every inhabited
continent to work and serve with local Christian ministries. This program is outside of the
regular school day and is not required for graduation but the majority of students participate in at
least one trip before leaving NCS. Many students participate in multiple trips.
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For Participant 10, he spoke to the significance of his service trips for the growth of his
faith:
I would say that it was really through the international service trip that I actually first got
a glimpse of what authentic faith looks like. But I think that it was still a very inchoate
idea of what Christianity was. It was just like this very real experience of faith in front of
me and I didn’t know what to do with it. So the service trip was definitely one of the
more important aspects of my coming to faith in Northfield anyway.
Participant 5 provided a helpful summary about why these trips challenged students and
prompted areas of faith development:
And I think that it’s more so for the students than it is for those communities. And I saw
that in a sense that, I feel like the students get more out of it because obviously you’re in
a new setting, you’re experiencing a different culture. But it’s more so a time for you to
reflect on the things that you have, and then how those things relate to, and how you’re
gonna reconcile those things with your faith. If you have an abundance of things, what
does that mean for how you view your experience in your faith?
The sentiment of these two alumni have been repeated hundreds of times from NCS students
over the years. Many students reflect back and see these trips as a significant catalyst to spiritual
growth.
Extracurricular programs. For NCS, many students come to the school because of the
competitive success of many different athletic programs or because of the significant emphasis
on the arts. These programs end up being a place where many students invest significant time
and energy while they attend NCS. Because of this pronounced influence on the culture of the
school, students were asked about their experience in these programs. For Participant 8, most of
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his extracurricular experience at NCS was driven by athletics. However, he reflected fondly on a
trip he took while being in a required arts course:
I was not an art student. But I took a semester of photo fall of my freshman year. We
went on a trip to a castle for a weekend to take photos. But at night, the teachers would
bring you together and they talked about their faith and how our faith can change and
how we can change. Again, I was an altered person. Hearing their experience, again, at
that time I wasn’t Christian, I was still exploring it with the ultimate understanding like,
uh, it’s really cool and everyone wants each other to be here and wants to help each other.
The experience of Participant 9 was reflective of many students; their involvement in a particular
sport shaped their social group and their deepest adult relationships on campus:
I would say probably the biggest one for me was the swim team. We were all competing
to be in the top relay or the starting position. Even though this is a competitive
environment, we honor Christ in what we do and how we treat the people that we
participate or are in the sport with. We prayed before every practice. My coaches were
praying with me; they were praying for me.
Of the ten students interviewed, nine were consistently involved in one or more school
sponsored extracurricular program. Of those, all but Participant 10 spoke favorably about the
influence these programs had on their faith development. For most of these students they also
spoke to the role that the adult sponsors in the program played in their lives. These programs
seemed to be a pronounced influence on the maturation of students on campus.
Cultural challenges. Students were asked to speak to whether they felt any aspects of
Northfield’s programming or culture were counter-productive to building one’s Christian faith.
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From this question, two themes arose: the cultural challenge for non-Christians in the community
and the perception of hypocrisy.
Isolated non-Christians. Multiple students spoke to the climate on campus for those
students who do not have a Christian faith. Because the environment on campus is distinctly
Christian, this can create a pressure on students if they do not believe. Participant 3 spoke to this
atmosphere on campus and the effect it had on friends he knew:
The reason my parents sent me to there was an emphasis on faith. It’s sort of everywhere
and I think that that’s really good for a lot of people especially the people who go into
Northfield wanting that but it also really turns a lot of people off. So I knew people
during high school who just weren’t necessarily into it and the fact that it was so constant
sort of made them feel left out.
For Participant 4, she expanded on this idea. She recognized that as a Christian school,
evangelism is a component of the mission but the effect this can have on a student who does not
have a faith can be challenging:
I feel like sometimes at Northfield, it was almost just like fed down your throats whether
you wanted it or not. And obviously, being a Christian school, that’s their mission. They
want to feed it to everybody, even if they don’t believe. But giving students maybe a
little bit of time to wrestle with it, and decide is this what I want to do? The pace of it
almost seems like if somebody wasn’t sure, they might not have been able to make up
their mind before they’re being fed a lot of the details. They might not have been ready
for that yet.
When thinking about these ideas in the abstract, it is concerning but seems
understandable. However, Participant 2 relayed a story of a friend that is challenging:
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My best friend was really guilted and shamed until all of a sudden she started believing in
it and she was shunned from her family. I talk to her about it to this day, she’s like, “I
felt so pressured into it and so guilted into it. I was like an outcast until I did it. When I
did it, I meant it, but it almost just felt like it wasn’t really my choice. It wasn’t
something I was comfortable with. It was just something I did to seek the approval of the
faculty that did matter to me.” Now she adamantly is not a Christian.
Nothing in the literature from NCS states that there is a desire for the culture to be coercive. The
story from Participant 2, however addresses the challenge of having a mixed faith environment
of high school students. It is possible that students can desire to fit into the Christian culture of
the school and feel pressured to affirmation the faith.
Hypocrisy. A second concerning theme were the aspects of hypocrisy that students
remembered. Since most of the students were graduates of 2011 and 2012, multiple students
focused on a couple of key issues that were concerning for them. Participant 8 reflected on a
tension that he perceived in the desires to be a successful sports program and a perception of
hypocrisy:
Going through my senior year and winning I saw the veneer of Northfield very much
towards wanting to make a great team, we want to be a power house. We want to be
known as that team that you have to beat at state. I understand that school, at the end of
the day is a business and you have to make money. I understand that and we can do that
through athletics and through sports. But I think there is a very large aspect of where we
are compromising some of our values that I believe were part of the school, that I had
been taught were part of the school, were being compromised in order to win.
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Of all the students though, hypocrisy was the most dominant theme for Participant 2. For her
this issue hit a nerve. Much of the interview focused on items of concern from nearly ten years
ago that are still a frustration. She echoed a similar sentiment from above:
There is an absolute slant of hypocrisy too for who is required to be a really good
Christian and do the right thing and who is good at sports or good at singing or good at
whatever and can receive God’s grace about it. That was pretty disturbing to me while I
was there, too. That’s really sad when you’re a school, but you also consider yourself an
extension of the church, which I feel Northfield does, right? It’s an extension of the
church, we have chapel, it’s supposed to be a place of God, that you don’t want to be
associated with anybody who falls out of line. (Participant 2)
While the examples provided by the students were not instances of ethical failures or egregious
misrepresentation of the Christian faith, the examples they provided did highlight the need to
continuously reflect on the way faith is employed within the school. Most of the examples
students provided were rooted in how they perceived inconsistent discipline among students or
favoritism for some. This sense was magnified when students perceived it to be tied to the
pursuit of excellence or competitive success. These two negative themes provide a clear window
into a potential area for the NCS administration to evaluate and reflect upon. Many changes
have been made since these students were at Northfield but it still brings up important areas of
evaluation.
Determining Whether to Persist
The interviews affirmed the initial assumptions made from the students’ surveys: there
are three different general faith categories that students fall into. The evidence indicates that
some students are flourishing in their Christian faith, others have not prioritized their faith but
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still identify as Christians, and others have made an active choice to not persist in their faith.
The following section describes the unique experiences of these three groups.
Crisis of faith. As students discussed their time in college and post-college, a question
was asked about whether they felt an explicit “crisis of faith” in their life. The responses of
students were insightful as to the various ways that they have been forced to reconcile what they
believe and what principles they established as central to their life as they transition into
adulthood. For multiple students, they did not state that they felt a clear moment of testing their
faith as the question prompted. Rather, they experienced a series of daily struggles that brought
them to a point of reflection and determining what they believe. Participant 6 describes this
experience clearly:
I wouldn’t call it a crisis. But going through college, there’s definitely, the dog that’s
gonna win is the one you feed, so there’s definitely a lack of feeding that side, whether
you don’t have time for it, or you just don’t make time for it. So, rather than it being a
crisis, I just say you’re definitely tested. Or at least, I was tested going throughout
college just hearing different things from teachers, students, whoever you come across.
For a few students though, they described a process of deep, thoughtful examination to
determine whether they would persist in their faith. Two students in particular, Participant 7 and
Participant 10, had a long period of soul searching to determine what they really believe. The
accounts they provide were powerful even though they resolved the matter differently. First, for
Participant 7, he described this period of spiritual examination in the free response section of the
survey with more detail than in the interview. Below is a section of his feedback:
This was not, however, the end of my religious beliefs. I still regularly attended church
and definitely considered myself a Christian. There are tons of religious people who
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have actually looked into evolution and keep their faith without having to resort to
ignoring scientific evidence. […] There was a period where I was on the fence about
religion and just ignored it. In my mind, I was still who I was before. I was in denial
about any change in my mentality or doubts about my faith. Ultimately, though, this
came to light and I was pressured by my parents to actually think about my faith and
come to some conclusions.
This period of deep reflection ended in Participant 7 choosing to become an atheist. Participant
10 went through a similar process of deep reflection about matters of faith:
I didn’t expect to have to go back to square one and think about all these questions all
over again. It was a Christian philosophy professor that really got me because he was
talking about Descartes and how noble it was of Descartes to knock down all of his
presuppositions and having to build them back up. Just what reason could prove, bare
reason without any revelation, nothing of this kind. And I was like this naïve freshman
philosophy student thinking, “This is so noble, I have to be committed to this Cartesian
cause too and knock everything down and build it back up again.” Of course the minute I
knocked it all down I was like, “Well, now I can’t build it back up so I’m screwed again.
Now life is meaningless and God probably doesn’t exist so there’s just no rhyme or
reason to anything and I’m better off just smoking weed all day.” Which of course I did
because I didn’t believe in God anymore.
For both of these students, the academic curriculum they examined in college was a stimulus for
this challenging faith examination. These two examples serve to affirm the literature which
identifies particular types of college majors as having a more significant effect of causing
students to challenge their worldviews (Mayrl & Uecker, 2011; Uecker et al., 2007).
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Choosing to persist. Of the ten students interviewed, six presented information that
indicated they have made an active choice to persist in their faith, value it in their life, and
regularly make developing their faith a priority. Although the experiences of these six have been
different since leaving NCS, it was clear in their interviews that their Christian faith is
meaningful for them. They have determined that faith has value and have continued to thrive in
their faith as they transition after graduation from college.
Determining that faith has value. When students make an active choice to persist in
their faith, it will often influence other decisions in their life. For Participant 1, his faith
impacted how he made his college choice because he sought to be in an environment that would
continue to nurture his spiritual growth:
I knew going into college I was very young in my faith. And I know that’s very hard for
someone who wants to grow in their faith but also want to go to college in that sense so I
made the choice to go to a Christian university where I would have more more discipline,
more structure to continue that faith walk because I knew if I went to more of a public
institution it would be very easy for the devil to kind of put me off that track. So I made
a conscious decision in that and God kind of gave me some good cards to make that
decision whether it was athletic scholarship and location — things like that. It was
definitely a priority moving forward.
For Participant 4, this decision to actively value her Christian faith seemed to come earlier in life
than Participant 1. For Participant 4, her parents gave her the space to make this choice and it
allowed her to demonstrate the value that her faith had through choosing to engage in church:
You know, obviously, before I could drive, my parents took me to church, but it was
never like a forceful action. […] It was like this is who our family is, and so that’s what
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we’re going to do. Then once I was old enough to make the decision, you know, like I’m
not going to go and stuff like that, they never made me. It was always just like hey,
we’re going to go to church on Sunday. We’re going to go to second service, so if you
want to come, let us know. It was always very open, so because of that, I was able to
make my own decisions.
For the six that are thriving in their faith, they each made a choice similar to Participant 1 and
Participant 4 to value faith in their life to the exclusion of other options.
A thriving, vibrant faith. For the various alumni, faith looks different for each of them
but it was clear that it is meaningful in their life. Participant 4 summed up this fact well:
I think it means something different to everybody. But to me, it means it’s a part of your
everyday life, and it’s something that you’re proud of, and it’s something that people
around you should know that you’re a Christian based on the decisions you make in your
life, how you portray yourself, and how you live your life.
Choosing to deprioritize faith. For two of the students, Participant 3 and Participant 9,
they still identify as Christian but they have not taken steps to make their faith a continued
priority in their life. It is interesting that both students were from deeply religious homes,
attended Christian schooling during elementary and high school, but chose to not attend a
Christian college. Both students provided clarification on how faith has not been a priority and
thoughts that they may return to faith during a different life phase.
Not acting on one’s faith. For Participant 3, he clearly described how his active choice
has been to prioritize other things over developing his faith:
I never sort of really made a huge effort to get involved in my campus organizations and
stuff like that but I do think I continue to persist I suppose. I always have considered
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myself a Christian but never necessarily made a huge effort or that step to really grow my
faith and make it a huge priority. I think that characterizes my entire high school career
and college career and now. […] I’ve definitely chosen other things over it.
Participant 9 helped describe this in a broader context beyond just her faith. She attributes it to
the overall life phase as she transitions out of college and is pursuing her career:
I think part of it is just being young. Christianity is not the only area of my life that I feel
like is kind of on hold right now. I would say my finances are on hold, I’m not great
about saving. My health, I couldn’t tell you the last time I went to a doctor. I would say
that it’s just trying to figure things out: travel a bunch, figure out my career. There are
just other things that I feel like I’m sprinting toward and Christianity isn’t one of them.
Obviously, I know nobody’s guaranteed a long life. Do I feel guilty that it’s not a
priority? Absolutely. Should I be going to church? Yes. Should I be praying regularly?
At bare minimum. I should be doing all those things. I just think it’s not really top of
mind so it gets deprioritized and then I honestly really don’t think about it or focus on it
that much.
For these two, they describe their faith experience very differently than those students
who are thriving in their faith. One section from the interview of Participant 9 represents this
well:
I think I see myself [as a Christian]. But I think if pressed, I wouldn’t go out of my way
to inform people that I’m a Christian and that’s what I believe. I have one very, very
Atheist roommate who will make a lot of comments about how she doesn’t believe in
God or she doesn’t believe in the Bible. I don’t really ever jump in. I don’t really feel
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like it’s a topic that I cared to engage in right now. I guess I would still call myself a
Christian.
Both describe that even though they are not actively engaged in their faith and in some instances
not evening articulating their faith to others, there is a clear vision that they will choose to return
to their faith in the future.
Thoughts of returning to faith in the future. It has become nearly a universal
assumption that students will decline in their religiosity during the college years and then later
opt to return to the faith (Uecker et al., 2007). The experiences of Participant 3 and Participant 9
affirm this view. Participant 9 clearly represented the questioning that many students go through
of determining when they will opt to make faith a priority again in their life:
I actually was thinking about it the other day, I was kind of thinking through my five, ten,
fifteen-year plan and I was thinking at what point in my life am I going to start going to
church again. Or at what point in my life would I stop casually dating and start seriously
dating a Christian because that’s where I see myself ending up eventually. Right now, I
would say it’s not something that I think about very often or really actively pursue or
engage with.
Participant 3 linked this future emphasis on faith to having children:
You know I imagine taking my kids to church all the time and trying to model myself as
a parent similar to how my parents were. I think that will result in me taking it much
more seriously. And you know, I don’t necessarily think it’s a good thing that I’ve not
taken it seriously.
This attitude also affirms the assumptions that are made about the emerging adulthood life phase
and the de-emphasis that many can place on faith during this period (Smith & Snell, 2009).
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For Participant 6, he described the process he went through during college. He relates
that he put his faith “on a shelf” while other things had greater priority but then he describes the
process of reengaging with his faith:
Definitely to some aspect, you put it on a shelf. That’s not what you wanna do, but it just
kind of happens just because you’re going through the motions. Some of it, you’re just
feeling out how to live in college. Just how to get around and all that stuff, but you
definitely, to some degree, put it on a shelf and just leave it for later. But then, you
realize this is all gonna come to an end soon, so you better start figuring something out.
But, you never totally put it away, just because in the end, that is what drives you as a
person. It’s the basis for how you make decisions, and how you do most of the things
you do. So I don’t think it ever completely goes away, but there is definitely, to some
degree, you stunt its growth, I guess, is the best way to put it, rather than just putting it
away.
Time will determine whether these students opt to return to their faith. This helps to make the
case for continuing to revisit this topic to begin to develop longitudinal data about alumni
spiritual persistence.
Choosing to reject faith. The third category of student was those that have made an
active choice to reject the tenets of the Christian faith. For Participant 2 and Participant 7, this is
a purposeful decision that they have made since leaving NCS. Participant 2 describes herself in
more agnostic terms and Participant 7 is clear that he sees himself as an atheist. These students
thoughtfully described the intentional and reflective process that led them to these conclusions.
Through the feedback provided in the interviews and the free response questions on the survey,
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two themes arose: unresolvable shortcomings of the Christian faith and an uneasiness with how
the Church has handled social issues.
Struggling with the shortcomings of the Christian faith. The first recurring theme for
Participant 2 and Participant 7 is that for these individuals, the principles they were taught and
modeled about the Christian faith did not make sense as they gathered more evidence in the
world. Both students felt that the explanations they had been given about Christianity ultimately
rested on the idea of “blind faith” and both found this explanation lacking. In the free response
section from the survey, Participant 7 provided an extensive and thorough explanation of his
faith journey since NCS. A key section of this summary describes why he decided Christianity
could not be a viable worldview moving forward for him:
It was here that I realized that I really couldn’t think up any arguments for God. All these
years of apologetics and Biblical studies, and none of it felt compelling. “God of the
gaps” had been one of the main reasons for most of my life, and now that I understood
those gaps, the rest just didn’t hold up. The only thing I had left was faith — blind trust
that God was real. And it took time to realize that faith was, quite simply, an unreliable
epistemology. It doesn’t hold up. Faith is just ignoring evidence and pretending to have
better information when, in reality, you’re just repeating what you were taught as a child.
Muslims have faith in Allah. Hindus have faith in their gods. The ancient Greeks had
faith in Zeus. Faith doesn’t make something true; it’s ignoring alternative viewpoints and
asserting yours is true simply because you believe in it harder. […] Deconverting just
came with realizing there really isn’t a difference between religions and that I shouldn’t
consider Christianity any differently than I’d considered the other ones my whole life.
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This feedback from Participant 7 touches on a number of different areas that the members of the
Bible department of NCS and the campus chaplains need to thoughtfully examine to determine if
they could have represented the Christian faith in a way that would have been more compelling
for a student like Participant 7. This feedback is also valuable for members of the science
department as Participant 7 left NCS with a sense that he was not prepared to properly engage
with the ideas of evolutionary biology.
For Participant 2, her experience was similar in some ways to Participant 7. She went to
a Christian college but engaged with a scope of ideas that she had not previously seen at NCS.
This process led her to change her believes from what she held at NCS.
Once I got to college, even being at a Christian college, there were more liberal
Christians and there were more people who weren’t Christians at all. I think it was
exposure to a lot more ideas and actual debate where, instead of just being told I was an
idiot for not believing everything, I had people agreeing or disagreeing and it was a much
more open and liberal debate about Christianity. Then I think the more liberal I got about
it, I just, I don’t want to say fell away because it wasn’t a result of not practicing, I think
it was just distance from ideals that I didn’t realize I disagreed with when they were in
my face every day.
This feedback from Participant 2 and Participant 7 is really valuable. Their insights and
willingness to share why they have disagreed with the views of NCS are helpful to authentically
know why a student would not persist. As the literature on response and respondent bias
indicates (Russell, 2004; Tammaro, 2012), the experiences of Participant 2 and Participant 7 are
likely reflective of a larger percentage of students who opted to not provide their feedback
through the survey phase of the research.
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Struggling to reconcile how the church handles social issues. The second major theme
that arose for these students that turned away from their faith was tied to how they perceived the
church handling controversial social issues. There was a view that the teachings of Christianity
are out of touch with the more controversial social issues. Some of this theme can also be
attributed to the way that they see individuals explaining how to resolve these matters. For
Participant 2, one major issue for her was how the church and Northfield have discussed issues
of homosexuality:
I don’t know if I actually disagree with a ton of the faith, but in terms of being gay, I
know that there’s a thing in the Bible about if you lay with another man, it’s an
abomination. There’s also a line in the Bible that says if a woman is raped, the father has
to sell her to her rapist and a lot of other really messed up stuff. I don’t believe that God
creates everybody straight and then Satan just sneaks into some of them and makes them
gay. I don’t believe that. I grew up at Northfield thinking if you’re gay, it’s wrong. It’s
bad and it’s evil and it’s Satan. A gay person is not possessed by the devil.
This issue struck a chord for Participant 2 and seemed to present a hurdle that she could not
overcome.
It is worth noting that for the two students who are not currently acting on their faith,
Participant 3 and Participant 9, they echoed similar sentiments. For Participant 9, she recalled a
specific instance from while she was at NCS that has stuck with her:
The instance I remember specifically in my year, there was a girl that got pregnant in
high school and she was asked to leave NCS. Northfield had always taught that pre-
marital sex is wrong, blah, blah, blah, but to me that was a really vivid example and
something that still makes me sad to this day. To be honest when I hear about that or
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when I hear about kids who are coming out as gay and they’re asked to leave, that
genuinely makes me really sad because to me, that doesn’t feel like that’s what Christ
would have done. Christ hung out with all sorts of different people from all different
backgrounds and that was kind of a big shock for me when I went to college and felt like
. . . who am I to be judge-y of the LGBTQ group or different communities like that. That
was kind of one of the examples that really turned me away from the Christian faith.
For Participant 3, the issue he felt frustrated by was more political in nature as opposed to issues
of sexual orientation:
I think there are certain views that I just don’t agree with and I don’t think are necessary
for people to believe to be a Christian. I think that there are a lot of teachers who
prescribe to those things and then sort of made it feel like if you don’t believe this or that,
you’re not really Christian. And on top of engraining it into everything it turns a lot of
people off. I’ve had conversations with people recently, specifically in this political
climate that we are in — when we see teachers posting things on Facebook. A lot of
people are almost ashamed to have gone to Northfield because of some of those things.
This feedback reiterates the sentiment from above that students left NCS feeling like there was a
clear, dominant ideology or version of Christianity that they needed to ascribe to. While much of
this may affirm a clarity of doctrine presented by the school, if an individual is not aligned with
this doctrine, it can feel stifling and may prevent a person from coming to a place of faith or
being able to grow in their faith.
Answering the Research Questions
The above summary of the data generated through the quantitative survey and the
qualitative interviews is helpful for getting a broad overview of the feedback provided by the
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alumni. Below, this data is directly applied to the research questions of the study to provide
further clarification on the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences that
contribute to the spiritual persistence of NCS students and whether the assumed influences were
validated through the data collected. The first three research questions are discussed in detail
below and then the examination of the fourth research question is answered in Chapter 5.
Research Question 1: Rate of Spiritual Persistence
The first research question of the study asks “To what extent is NCS meeting the goal of
having alumni students persist in their faith past graduation?” This question is directly tied to the
organizational goal that all NCS alumni will persist in the Christian faith after they leave the
school. This was the underlying motivation of the study because NCS did not have a clear
answer to this question. The researcher was pleased with the overall response rate from the
survey because the data provided a baseline to begin understanding the trends and factors that
influence student persistence.
Self-identified rates of spiritual persistence. In the survey, a three question sequence
was asked of students. These three questions prompted a response from students on whether
they saw themselves as a Christian prior to enrolling at NCS, upon graduation, and at the time of
the survey. Each question allowed for a yes, no, or uncertain response. In Table 7, these three
questions are represented with the uncertain responses eliminated so that the data could be
converted for numeric analysis. Table 13 outlines the full set of responses for these three
questions.
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Table 13
Summary of Survey Responses of Spiritual Persistence
Response Before NCS Graduation Currently
Yes 292 312 283
No 31 27 40
Uncertain 27 11 27
Of the responses represented above, 238 alumni answered yes to all three questions.
There were 44 students who were either uncertain or did not identify as Christian prior to
attending NCS but do identify as a Christian at the time of the survey. There were 27 students
who responded yes prior to attending NCS and at graduation but identified that they were not a
Christian today. There were only three students that responded with uncertain to all three
questions and only three who responded no to all three questions.
Factors that seem to influence persistence. While the rates of persistence fluctuate and
do not present a clear, simple explanation, some trends did emerge. First, male alumni persist at
a lower rate than female alumni. These rates are summarized above in Table 7. Secondly, the
faith experience of the class of 2010 seemed to be different from the other classes that graduated
from NCS. This population of students tended to provide more negative responses. This
information is summarized in Appendix B. Another prominent factor seemed to be what
students chose to do following graduation from NCS. The choice of program in the first year
after NCS is summarized in Appendix D and outlines that those students who chose to work,
participate in a gap year, attend community college, or join the military had the lowest rates of
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persistence. Those that attended a Christian private college or university had the highest rates of
persistence.
The multiple regression analysis reported in Table 8 and 9 provides a statistical analysis
on those factors which were most significantly correlated to the question about Northfield’s
positive influence on alumni faith. The most significant factor identified in the analysis is the
view that teachers effectively modeled the Christian faith. Other factors included the overall role
of the academic curriculum, chapel, international service, and learning the central doctrines of
Christianity.
Research Question 2: Knowledge and Motivational Factors Influencing Persistence
The second research question of the study asks “What are the knowledge and
motivational influences that contribute to spiritual persistence in alumni students of NCS?”
Chapter 2 presented the assumed knowledge and motivational influences that were predicted to
influence the spiritual persistence of students. The following section discusses those factors and
the aspects of data which validate these influences. The four assumed knowledge influences
were all validated or viewed as having a high probability of influencing the spiritual persistence
of students. The summary of the knowledge influences is found in Table 18.
Assumed knowledge influences. The assumed knowledge influences were clustered
into four types of knowledge: declarative factual, declarative conceptual, procedural, and
metacognitive. These four categories are outlined by Clark and Estes and depict the areas of
knowledge that can be examined to determine how to close the performance gap (2008).
NCS alumni need to possess the basic factual knowledge about Christianity
(declarative factual). This knowledge factor establishes the baseline understanding about what
Christianity is. In the survey, students were asked whether they believe NCS taught them the
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central doctrines of Christianity. There were 49% of respondents that stated they strongly agreed
and 36% somewhat agree with this statement. Compared with other similar questions in the
survey, this is a much higher rate for somewhat agree. In contrast, 14% of respondents are either
neutral or disagree that NCS taught the central doctrines of Christianity. The alumni in the
interviews echoed the sentiment of the survey in that most of the students pointed to specific
Bible courses that were beneficial to outline the foundations of the Christian faith.
NCS alumni need to know about how the Christian faith functions in a person’s life
(declarative conceptual). The second knowledge category is important because it describes the
way the factual information functions within a person’s life. For this category, questions were
asked about how students perceived teachers and extracurricular sponsors and whether they
modeled the Christian faith. For respondents, 59% stated they strongly agreed that teachers
effectively modeled the Christian faith and 30% responded they somewhat agreed. There were
10% of respondents that were negative or neutral on this question. For coaches and
extracurricular sponsors, 51% strongly agreed that they effectively modeled the Christian faith
and 29% somewhat agreed. There were 16% of respondents that were either negative or neutral
on this question.
Of the six students interviewed who are thriving in their faith, they each pointed to
teachers, coaches, and extracurricular sponsors who were significant spiritual examples for their
life. Both sets of data seem to affirm the literature that highlights the importance of non-parental
adults in modeling the Christian faith (Long, 2014). The data does not identify whether having
effective models is a prerequisite to growing in one’s faith but it does seem to validate that these
examples are valuable. The regression analysis in Table 8 points to the positive role teachers
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play in influencing students overall view that Northfield had a positive influence on their faith
development.
NCS alumni need to know how to operationalize their faith through various spiritual
disciplines (procedural). The data from the survey and interviews seems to present this idea of
operationalizing one’s faith as an important distinction between those students who are thriving
spiritually and those who identify as a Christian but are not actively engaging with their faith. In
the survey, questions were asked about the frequency with which alumni read the Bible, engage
in periods of devotion, and attend church. While these factors alone do not dictate that one has a
thriving spiritual life, they are helpful indicators of an active choice to engage in spiritual
practices.
This principle was clearly affirmed through the interviews. Those students who were
thriving in their faith had engaged more deeply in a local church and were choosing to engage in
spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible study at a much greater rate than those students who
were identifying as Christian but not thriving in their faith. This is in line with the broader
literature that talks about those emerging adults who are thriving spiritually versus those who
have prioritized other things during this period (Black, 2008; Marrah, 2009; Smith & Snell,
2009).
NCS alumni need the ability to critically reflect on their beliefs and determine what
they hold true in their own life (metacognitive). The survey did not provide clear questions that
examined areas of metacognition for respondents. However, this did come through in the
interviews. Interviewees who are thriving illustrate language that demonstrates metacognition
about faith whereas those who have shelved their faith do not seem to think about faith routinely.
It might occasionally play a role but it is not a central line of thinking. It is also important that
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the two participants who have rejected their Christian faith also demonstrate a deep level of
metacognition in the process of reaching these decisions.
Assumed motivational influences. To understand the motivational factors that
influence whether a student chooses to persist in their faith, two theories were examined in
Chapter 2: Expectancy Value Theory (EVT) and Existence, Relatedness, and Growth (ERG)
theory. These two approaches help to inform the motivational choices that would drive a student
to persist in their faith. The EVT influence was found to be validated by the research and the
ERG influence was viewed as being highly probably that it plays a role in the spiritual
persistence of students but lacked the same level of clarity from the research. The summary of
the validation of the motivational influences is found in Table 19.
NCS alumni need to believe that the time and effort invested in continued spiritual
development has value to the exclusion of other activities they could engage in (Expectancy
Value Theory). Value can be difficult to ascertain but through a series of questions in the
survey, an attempt was made to understand what the alumni students value relative to their faith.
First, students were asked to identify their level of agreement with a series of questions about
value propositions: issues of faith are important in my life, God has a purpose for my life, I
experience God’s love in my life, I value the teachings of the Bible, and I value being involved
in local Christian community. Table 14 presents a summary of student responses to these
questions.
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Table 14
Summary of Survey Responses for Questions Related to Valuing Aspects of Faith
Question
Strongly
Agree
Somewhat
Agree
Neither
Agree nor
Disagree
Somewhat
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Issues of faith are important in
my life.
218 87 27 20 21
God has a purpose for my life. 269 45 19 9 29
I experience God’s love in my
life.
242 62 35 6 27
I value the teachings of the
Bible.
262 59 28 13 11
I value being involved in a local
Christian community.
172 86 49 25 39
The data from Table 14 and the information gained through the interviews creates an
understanding that for students to persist in their faith, there must be a degree of active choice.
Students need to believe that prioritizing their faith has value compared to other competing
options. This is especially true during the college and young adult years. The information from
the interviews indicates that students may expect to place more value on their faith once they are
married and have kids but while single it may not have as much value. Even if they have
knowledge that they should not act like this, many do. The quote from Participant 9 above best
characterized this dilemma.
NCS alumni need to satisfy the desires for relatedness and growth through continued
spiritual development (ERG Theory). The evidence for the ERG theory is less present than the
EVT. A few questions from the survey sought to elicit a response related to this but the
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127
conclusions about ERG were not clear. Two questions were asked in tandem that illustrate the
challenge in interpreting students’ views related to the ERG theory. Students were asked if they
value the teachings of the Bible and then if the teachings of the Bible impact how they make
decisions. There was a fairly large discrepancy between these two items. Table 15 presents the
responses for these two questions.
Table 15
Summary of Survey Responses for How the Bible Influences Decisions
Question
Strongly
Agree
Somewhat
Agree
Neither
Agree nor
Disagree
Somewhat
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
I value the teachings of the Bible. 262 59 28 13 11
The teachings of the Bible impact
how I make decisions.
196 96 39 19 21
The information gathered in the interviews expands on these ideas. The description of
what role faith has for those that flourish in their faith seems to affirm an importance of
relatedness and growth in spiritual matters. When they discuss selecting a spouse and how they
will raise their kids, continued spiritual development seems to hold priority. However, for those
that have shelved their faith, they give ascent to the importance of faith but as something future
tense that they will return to. It does not currently hold this value but they believe it will.
Research Question 3: Organizational Factors Influencing Persistence
The third research question of the study asks “What are the organizational factors of NCS
that have contributed to the spiritual development and persistence of alumni students?” Table 4
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outlines the assumed organizational influences that have contributed to the performance gap.
The survey and interviews produced information that helps provide clarity on these influences
and the manner in which they contribute to the performance gap. To various degrees, each of
these influences proved to be validated through the data collection process. The full description
of their validation is found in Table 20.
Cultural model influence 1. While it has been clearly articulated through NCS’s
mission statement that parents are the primary educators of students, the organization has been
silent on the role of alumni. In an attempt to understand the nature of the parent background,
students were asked to speak to the faith background their parents provided. This information is
helpful because although NCS asks about the family faith background in the admissions
interview process, often families will provide an overly generous representation of the role faith
plays for the family. This creates a lack of genuine understanding on the degree of parent
alignment with NCS’s mission. The series of questions about the family faith background are
represented in Table 16 and present an overall picture of the ways that the mothers and fathers of
NCS students are engaging in spiritual activities.
The information provided by this portion of the survey is helpful to understand that 25%
of NCS moms are either never or rarely engaged in activities like prayer and Bible study and that
nearly 38% of NCS dads are never or rarely engaged in these activities. This information helps
to provide insight on the type of partnership that some of these families will provide if they are
not aligned with the spiritual development goals of the school.
The second aspect of this influencer was to begin gathering information on how students
have persisted in their faith since leaving NCS. The data from the survey and interviews begin to
highlight the overall rates of spiritual persistence that NCS alumni have experienced. The
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information from Table 13 above provides this information. This also serves as an ongoing
example of how to engage with alumni and gather longitudinal information about their spiritual
persistence.
Table 16
Summary of Survey Responses for Parent Spiritual Habits
Question N/A Never Rarely Sometimes Often
When I was young, my mom
attended a church service.
6 17 27 59 253
When I was young, my dad
attended a church service.
9 30 35 67 220
When I was young, my mom
participated in spiritual disciplines
like prayer and Bible study.
10 56 37 78 181
When I was young, my dad
participated in spiritual disciplines
like prayer and Bible study.
14 79 58 70 141
Cultural model influence 2. An assumed organizational factor that could negatively
influence students’ spiritual development is the risk of conflicting messages from the
organization. Since NCS has clearly stated goals of excellence in all areas of the school, this
could come in conflict with the desires of spiritual development. The information provided in
Table 7 describes students’ perceptions of the various areas of programming on their faith
development. Students were slightly less favorable on how they perceived arts and athletics
influencing their faith development. The mixed feedback from the survey prompted the seeking
of additional information during the interview phase. In the interviews, students were asked
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whether anything that NCS did was counterproductive to their faith. Three students did affirm
this idea that pursuing excellence in some programs created a sense of hypocrisy and the risk of
compromising the values of the organization. The quote from Participant 8 above illustrates his
views of this in the area of athletic excellence.
Cultural setting influence 1. An attempt was made in the survey to solicit direct
feedback from alumni on their perception of the various programs that NCS has designed to
influence their faith development. The summary of this information is listed in Table 17.
Table 17
Summary of Survey Responses for Programs that Influence Student Faith Development
Question
Strongly
Agree
Somewhat
Agree
Neither
Agree nor
Disagree
Somewhat
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Arts at NCS had a positive
impact on my Christian faith.
122 66 76 14 9
Athletics at NCS had a positive
impact on my Christian faith.
129 83 62 28 13
International service at NCS had
a positive impact on my
Christian faith.
183 48 41 6 10
The academic curriculum at
NCS had a positive impact on
my Christian faith.
123 131 58 16 20
The chapel programming at NCS
had a positive impact on my
Christian faith.
113 116 58 36 25
The small group programming at
NCS had a positive impact on
my Christian faith.
101 84 77 47 34
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In the questions shown in Table 17, students were given the ability to select not
applicable if they did not participate in one of the various programs. For those that did
participate, the results demonstrated that most had positive views of the various programs.
However, chapel and small groups received the lowest of those responses.
During the interview phase, students spoke to all of these areas and provided an added
level of detail on the value that they had. The greatest theme that arose was related to the
investment that the adults in these programs had in students’ lives. Although certain life and
spiritual lessons were gleaned through the programs themselves, the greatest benefit was tied to
the programs providing the avenue for mentorship and discipleship.
Cultural setting influence 2. Tables 14 and 15 summarize the results of the questions
that were specifically tied to Northfield’s expected student outcomes in the area of spiritual
formation. The data indicates that generally NCS alumni see value in issues of faith but they do
not put their faith into practice at the same rate. The information gathered through the interviews
provided greater clarity on this and allowed for an understanding of two categories of students
who both identify as Christians but have different levels of active engagement in their faith. This
information helps to also provide greater insight into the general spiritual persistence rates that
are summarized in Table 13. While the vast majority of NCS students state that they are still
Christians today, there is a range of those that are actively thriving in their faith and those that
are nominally Christians.
Synthesis and Summary
The data collection and analysis process was rooted in the gap analysis framework in an
attempt to understand how the knowledge, motivation, and organization influences contributed to
the spiritual persistence of NCS alumni. The results of the data revealed most importantly that
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132
the faculty and staff of NCS are instrumental in modeling a thriving Christian faith for students.
Additionally, the mentoring and discipleship relationships that students cultivate with faculty and
staff members are very meaningful to students. As well, the information gathered through the
interview process helped to reveal that it is important to understand spiritual persistence along a
continuum from those students who identify as Christian but do not actively engage in their faith
to those students who are thriving and deeply engaged in spiritual matters. This revised
understanding of spiritual persistence reinforces the importance of the various knowledge and
motivation influencers. These influencers become valuable metrics for determining where on the
spectrum of spiritual persistence a student is. Specifically, the procedural and metacognitive
knowledge influences serve to differentiate those students who are thriving and those who
merely identify themselves as Christian. As well, the EVT motivational influence is a helpful
lens for understanding how students who are thriving in their faith make an active choice to
engage in spiritual matters and demonstrate the value that faith has in their life to the exclusion
of other options.
The data that was gathered is incredibly rich and demonstrates the importance for NCS to
continue to engage alumni and begin producing longitudinal data on their spiritual persistence.
Taken in tandem, the themes from the interviews and the survey data provide a robust picture of
the experiences of students since they left NCS. In one sense it is encouraging that the vast
majority of NCS students have maintained their Christian faith. It is also affirming that the vast
majority of students had an adult on campus that they trusted to speak with about important
issues. Many of these students continue to communicate with these adults and some have gone
on to foster long-term mentoring relationships. For NCS, attention needs to be given to
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understand the organizational factors that can be revised to benefit spiritual development and
persistence of students.
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CHAPTER 5
RECOMMENDATIONS
The goal of the project was to identify what factors influenced the performance gap in the
spiritual persistence of NCS alumni. The data above provided a range of information that
illuminated the complexities of this topic. The examination of the KMO influences and analysis
of the extent that the data validated the research questions informs an understanding of
recommendations for future action. All of the assumed influences were either validated or
deemed highly probable. The summary of these evaluations is presented in Tables 18, 19, and
20. Chapter 5 will examine research question number four and present recommendations for the
organization. Research is powerful but must be accompanied by effective implementation and so
below, the New World Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016) will be used as a
guide for best practice on implementation of needed reforms based on the research. The
implementation model will be accompanied by recommendations for future research. The hope
is that this research proves to be a catalyst for a broader focus on the important feedback that
alumni can provide for Christian high schools across the country.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the knowledge and motivation of NCS alumni
to persist in their faith after graduation, and what organizational factors, if any, influenced the
alumni students’ spiritual development. The analysis began by generating a list of possible
needs and then moved to examining these systematically to focus on actual or validated needs.
While a complete needs analysis would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes the
stakeholders that were the focus of this analysis were the NCS alumni from the class of 2010 to
2016.
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As such, the questions that guided this study were the following:
1. To what extent is NCS meeting the goal of having alumni students persist in their
faith past graduation?
2. What are the knowledge and motivational influences that contribute to spiritual
persistence in alumni students of NCS?
3. What are the organizational factors of NCS that have contributed to the spiritual
development and persistence of alumni students?
4. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Knowledge Recommendations
Introduction. Table 18 represents the summary of the assumed knowledge influences
that impact the spiritual persistence of Christian high school alumni. Through the data collection
and analysis process, these assumed influences have been examined to determine whether they
are validated. These influences have been outlined according to the progression of knowledge
from declarative to procedural to metacognitive (Krathwohl, 2002). Table 18 lists the degree of
probability for the influences to be validated and whether these should be a priority moving
forward for the organization. Finally, the table outlines the theoretical principles that support
these knowledge influences and the context-specific recommendations that relate to the
stakeholders and the organization. Table 18 serves as a summative reference to understand how
the knowledge influences impact the stakeholder and the organization moving forward.
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Table 18
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Validation
Status Priority Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
The NCS alumni need
to possess basic factual
knowledge about
Christianity. (D)
V Y The ability to operationalize
knowledge in a procedural
fashion, increases with basic,
foundational knowledge
(Clark & Estes, 2008).
Bible curriculum in a
Christian school serves to
educate students about the
essentials of the Christian
faith (Long, 2014).
There is a need to continue
educating and training
students through a refined
Bible curriculum so that
students without a formal
church background
understand the fundamental
doctrines of Christianity.
The NCS alumni need
to know about how the
Christian faith
functions in a person’s
life. (D)
V Y Beyond the basic factual
knowledge, concepts begin to
form the framework for
understanding complex
topics (Rueda, 2011).
Non-parental adults serve as
critical models of faith in
practice for young people
(Marrah, 2009).
Faculty members serve a
vital role as non-parental
examples of how faith
functions in a person’s life.
Continued job aide support
for faculty to understand
how they can serve as
models is critical.
The NCS alumni need
to operationalize their
faith through various
spiritual disciplines. (P)
HP Y Declarative knowledge is
operationalized in
understanding how to use the
basic information - the
process of implementation
(Krathwohl, 2002).
Focused training in the
spiritual disciplines helps
produce long-term spiritual
growth (Marrah, 2009).
While students have an
understanding of the
spiritual disciplines, many
do not practice them. The
data highlights that this is an
important practice for those
students that are thriving in
their faith.
Expanded training for
students in the spiritual
disciplines is needed.
The NCS alumni need
to possess the ability to
critically reflect on
their beliefs and
determine what they
hold true in their own
life. (M)
HP Y Metacognition and self-
regulation assists in the
transfer of learning to
practice (Krathwohl, 2002).
Self-reflection on one’s own
faith is critical to
internalizing spiritual truths
(Black, 2008; Smith & Snell,
2009; Uecker et al., 2007).
Additional training and
education is needed for both
students and faculty on how
to reflect on their own
spiritual development and
how to persist in their faith.
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Declarative knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. Fundamental to
the ability for NCS alumni to persist in their faith, they need to possess the basic factual
knowledge about Christianity. Clark and Estes (2008) rightly explain that one cannot begin to
operationalize knowledge in a functional or practical way without the basic, foundational
knowledge first. For alumni students, the need for basic Christian doctrine puts the onus on the
Bible curriculum at NCS and ensuring that there is a foundational knowledge for all students
(Long, 2014). Incorporating fundamental Christian teachings in the Bible curriculum is
particularly important because NCS students have a wide range of faith experiences prior to
coming to the school. For other Christian schools who require all students to have a formulated
faith prior to attending the school, this foundational knowledge is already assumed but for NCS,
this knowledge needs to be expressly taught during the time at the school. Table 18 records the
importance for NCS to continue to monitor the training and education of students through the
Bible curriculum to ensure this fundamental knowledge is secured.
When examining persistence of Christian young people, much of the literature is focused
on the role of the church or focuses on Christian schools where all of the students have to sign a
statement of faith to attend. Long (2014) works through the factors that influence spiritual
persistence for Christian school alumni at a small Christian school where all of the students come
from a family that is heavily involved in the local church and have received spiritual education
throughout their upbringing. Black (2008) addresses this issue from the viewpoint of church
clergy who work with young people. In both instances, the authors point out the importance of
establishing core knowledge about the Christian faith. When this is applied to the context of
NCS, the school cannot assume that this content is being taught in the home and so it reinforces
the importance of ensuring the Bible curriculum addresses these fundamental truths about the
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138
Christian faith. NCS students will benefit from the school continuing to ensure that basic
Biblical doctrine is included in the core curriculum and there is a schoolwide shared knowledge
around what the Christian faith is.
The second declarative knowledge influence that Table 25 outlines is the importance for
students that they understand how the Christian faith functions in a person’s life. Rueda (2011)
expands on the work of Clark and Estes (2008) and explains that once a person possesses the
basic factual understanding, they begin to formulate a framework for understanding more
complex ideas in relation to one another. In the specific context of faith development, Marrah
(2009) demonstrates the importance of non-parental adults in helping students by modelling how
faith functions in a person’s life. The feedback from the alumni survey supports the important
role that NCS faculty and staff play in modelling a mature Christian faith. Continued job aids for
faculty members serve to help them understand the ways to work with students and be explicit in
the modeling of their Christian faith.
Procedural knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. The data from the
research highlights that the major difference between those students who are thriving in their
faith and those who are nominally Christian is found in how they operationalize their faith.
Nominal Christian alumni are not regularly reading the Bible, attending church, or engaging in
periods of devotion. Rather for these students, they identify with the label of being a Christian
but it is not put into action in tangible ways in their lives. The desire of NCS is to have students
persist in their faith but this should manifest itself in observable demonstrations of their faith.
The abstract nature of spirituality is incredibly difficult to quantify (Atchley, 2010), but the data
from the research does point to a categorically different response pattern for those who are
thriving in their faith and those students that have shelved their faith for a period.
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139
Krathwohl (2002) presents the idea that declarative knowledge is operationalized through
the process of implementation. For alumni students, understanding the basic tenets of
Christianity and operationalizing the teachings in aspects of their daily life, demonstrates an
image of what spiritual persistence is. Additionally, this process of operationalizing one’s faith
validates the various motivational influences that are listed below. To thrive spiritually, comes at
the exclusion of other priorities or goals that a person can have. Continuing to embed training in
the spiritual disciplines is important for NCS and provides an avenue to continue to discuss and
model their importance.
Metacognitive knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. The second
area that draws a distinction between those students who are thriving and those who are
nominally Christian is the way that they reflect on their own spirituality. For the two students in
the interview phase of the research, both reported that they had not actively challenged their own
beliefs or faith but rather had ignored matters of faith. For those students that were thriving and
those that have rejected their faith, each described a process of deep, purposeful reflection to
determine what beliefs they held in their own lives. The experiences of these students affirm
Krathwohl’s view that one must engage in metacognition and self-regulation to support the
transfer of learning to practice (2002). This internalization process is an important reminder for
NCS to model this aspect of spiritual development. The data from the survey indicates that not
all students are not engaged in this practice and it is unclear whether this is part of the explicit
Bible curriculum or programming of the school.
Motivation Recommendations
Introduction. Clark and Estes (2008) identify active choice, persistence, and mental
effort as key facets of motivation. The motivational theories help to illuminate the manner in
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140
which alumni students move their cognitive learning into practice and make spiritual
development a priority. In Table 19, two motivational theories are represented as assumed
influences. Each is represented with the determination of validation from the research and
whether it should remain an area of priority for NCS. Additionally, selected citations that
support the understanding of each theory are presented along with the recommendations for NCS
based on the analysis of the research process. The EVT influence was clearly validated through
the research as students made evident in their survey responses and in the interviews that for one
to persist, it comes at a tradeoff of other priorities. The ERG theory has a high probability of
influencing the spiritual persistence of students, but was not as clearly evident.
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141
Table 19
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Motivational
Influence
Validation
Status Priority
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Expectancy Value
Theory (EVT) —
NCS alumni
students need to
believe that the time
and effort invested
in continued
spiritual
development has
value to the
exclusion of other
activities they could
engage in.
V Y Motivation is rooted
in active choice and
without this
intentional decision,
then persistence is
not possible (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
The EVT helps to
explain why a
college age student
would put forth a
portion of their finite
time and effort
toward maintaining
or developing their
faith (Wigfield,
1994).
During a student’s
senior year, ensure
that the Bible
curriculum prepares
students to expect
challenges to their
faith but also work to
help students believe
they can persist in
their faith.
Utilize messages from
previous students
about their college
experience to serve as
examples of the
challenges that
students may face.
Existence,
Relatedness, and
Growth (ERG)
Theory — The NCS
alumni need to
satisfy the desires
for relatedness and
growth through
continued spiritual
development.
HP Y This needs based
motivational theory
is focused on
intrinsic desire and
satisfaction
(Standifer, 2013).
The intrinsic desire
of alumni students to
grow and persist in
their faith is essential
in understanding the
root of their
motivation
(McLaughlin, 2005).
Provide clear
messaging through
chapel and the Bible
curriculum that a local
Christian community
is essential for
continued spiritual
development.
The data illustrates
that students have not
internalized this as a
critical aspect of their
faith development.
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Expectancy value theory. The feedback provided by students through the survey and
the interviews was consistent that for those students that are thriving in their faith, they are
making an active choice to persist. This information validates the EVT assumed motivational
influence. EVT proposes that valuing a task and believing that one will be successful in that task
is powerful to provide motivation to persist (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). The combination for
students of valuing spiritual development and believing that they will be able to continue in their
faith during college is important for spiritual persistence. Especially during the college years,
there are many things that can vie for students’ attention and so there must be an inherent value
placed on spiritual matters for a student to persist (Black, 2008). NCS could help prepare
students for this transition through the curriculum of the Bible courses in the senior year. Being
able to assist students in the level of confidence they have for what will come during college can
help facilitate persistence. Additionally, the feedback from alumni highlighted that even though
some efforts have been made in the past to prepare for this transition, the students did not feel it
was authentic. NCS could integrate the experiences of previous NCS students and allow their
voice to be heard by current students.
Existence, relatedness, and growth. The ERG theory places a high level of emphasis
on the intrinsic desire that a person feels (Standifer, 2013). The feedback from alumni was
inconclusive in some ways about how this intrinsic desire was supported. For students who were
not engaging in levels of metacognitive reflection, it was unclear about whether they placed
intrinsic value on their spiritual development. The data did indicate that if a student did not
persist in their faith, they were choosing to satisfy this desire for relatedness through other
means. The comparatively low response rates about the value that students place in a local
Christian community and the lower frequency with which students attend church indicates that
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there is a need for NCS to reaffirm the importance of a Christian community outside of NCS
because when a student leaves the school, this could adversely impact their persistence (Marrah,
2009).
Organization Recommendations
Introduction. Table 20 summarizes the assumed organizational influences and the
potential for their validation. To determine whether they are fully validated, the survey and
interviews of alumni were used. One of the objectives of the data collection was to understand
the organizational factors that influenced the spiritual development and persistence of alumni
students. Spiritual development is a stated expected student outcome and as such the culture,
policies, and programming should be aligned with meeting this goal (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Table 20 outlines the organizational influences along with whether they were validated, the
prioritization within the organization and recommendations based on principles of organizational
theory.
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Table 20
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Organization
Influence
Validation
Status Priority
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Cultural Model
Influence 1:
Parents are defined as
the primary partners
in the education of
students which has
left a vacuum in how
NCS sees students
after they graduate.
V Y The culture of an
organization
needs to be
adapted to allow
for recognition
of a new
stakeholder
(Clark & Estes,
2008).
NCS needs to prioritize the
feedback from the alumni
students and continue to reflect
on the insights provided to
determine areas of needed
revision.
Cultural Model
Influence 2:
Spiritual development
is a stated priority of
NCS but can be seen
as a being in conflict
with excellence in
other areas.
V Y Organizational
behaviors need
to be in line with
organizational
culture (Clark &
Estes, 2008).
The extra-curricular
programming at Northfield is
designed to support the overall
mission of the school but each
area needs to be reviewed to
ensure that spiritual development
is systematically integrated into
the planning of all programs.
Cultural Setting
Influence 1:
NCS has purposefully
integrated
opportunities for faith
development into the
curricular and extra-
curricular fabric of the
school but has not
evaluated the long-
term effectiveness.
V Y Organizational
change needs to
be
systematically,
regularly, and
continually
evaluated (Clark
& Estes, 2008).
While efforts have been made to
embed Biblical teaching into
every course, a curricular review
needs to be undertaken by every
department to ensure fidelity
across disciplines.
Ensure that the schedule and
demands of faculty and staff
allow them the opportunity to
connect regularly with students
in a mentorship capacity.
Cultural Setting
Influence 2:
NCS has clearly
defined spiritual
development
outcomes for students
but lacks verification
of effectiveness.
V Y Clear goals
should be
accompanied
with definable
measurement
(Clark & Estes,
2008).
The model of alumni feedback
that this research program
established needs to be
institutionalized to provide
feedback at regular intervals.
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Cultural model influence 1: define alumni stakeholder role. A strength of NCS has
been the manner in which it has purposefully partnered with parents. An unintended
consequence of this emphasis has been that NCS has not specified how it will partner and engage
with alumni. This assumed organizational influence creates the need to adjust aspects of the
organizational culture (Clark & Estes, 2008). Embedding feedback from alumni will serve to
provide another data point for NCS that can validate the goals of the organization.
Cultural model influence 2: spiritual develop in conflict with programmatic
excellence. As a faith-based school, NCS has sought to have all aspects of the school be geared
toward providing a Christian environment for students, including areas like arts, athletics, and
community service. As alumni students have been solicited for feedback through the survey and
interviews, questions were designed to understand what influence these organizational programs
had on students’ spiritual development. Marrah (2009) found in his research that often areas like
arts and athletics were a missed opportunity to extend the mission of Christian schools and
support spiritual development. For NCS, the survey results were mixed on how significant the
various extra-curricular areas were in supporting students’ spiritual growth.
Cultural setting influence 1: purposefully integrate faith development. A central
organizational factor for the spiritual development of students is the example provided by faculty
and staff. Since its inception, Northfield has prioritized the hiring of men and women who are
doctrinally aligned with the mission of the school because there has been the belief that the
mission cannot be fulfilled without faculty and staff effectively modeling the Christian faith.
Leblanc and Slaughter (2012) make a similar argument that the moral modelling teachers
provide is critical for the overall development of students. Long (2014) powerfully summarizes
this view when she states “integration of biblical and/or moral education is most effective when
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it flows from the character of the teacher supported by the subject matter” (p. 46). As an
organization, it is central that the faculty and staff are the most prevalent model for the spiritual
growth of students.
To validate the role that faculty and staff play in the spiritual development process, the
alumni survey and interviews asked direct questions about this topic. In the survey, students
responded to the prompt: “My teachers at Northfield effectively modeled a Christian faith for
me.” This prompt serves to solicit whether students identified this core organizational influence
as having been present in the school. In the interviews with alumni, students were asked to
elaborate on the role that faculty and staff played in their understanding of what a vibrant
Christian faith looks like. These questions serve to determine whether the influence of faculty
and staff can be validated. This data, along with the research cited above, provides the impetus
for continuing to ensure that NCS hires and retains faculty and staff that are aligned to the
mission of the school and the central Christian doctrines affirmed by the school.
Cultural setting influence 2: verify spiritual development outcomes. Since inception,
NCS has been clear on the desired outcomes for students, however there has not been an
accompanying method of measurement. Organizational theory provides that healthy
organizations need both clear goals and clear methods of assessment (Clark & Estes, 2008). The
current research project provides a template for soliciting alumni feedback that should be
institutionalized for the school. Consistent, regular feedback will continue to provide more
robust information to validate the goals of the organization. Specifically, it is recommended that
NCS attempt to systematically communicate with alumni to gather feedback on whether the
faculty, staff, and coaches are effectively modelling the Christian faith. A similar survey could
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be employed with current students to produce a greater level of comparison of student
perceptions while they are students and once they leave.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
To guide the implementation process and the subsequent evaluation of its effectiveness,
the New World Kirkpatrick Model will be utilized (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The
Kirkpatrick model works through four levels of implementation. The emphasis of the “new
world” model is to first focus on the desired outcomes from the change process and then work
backwards to understand the requisite steps for successful implementation. Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick identify “leading indicators” and “desired outcomes” as the level four target of the
change process (2016). The leading indicators are the small, sometimes underwhelming markers
that signal progress is being made in the right direction. This model highlights that it is valuable
to forecast what those indicators will be as a way of identifying the successful implementation
but also as a means of celebrating small victories along the way. The desired outcomes focus on
the internal and external metrics that will be used to determine success. In every organization,
there are various constituents that will judge whether a change effort has been successfully
executed. As a leader of change, it is essential to understand how one’s organization will
determine success in each instance.
In the New World model, level three outlines the essential behaviors that will be
necessary for the change process to be adopted. The model proposes that desired behavior is
supported by appropriate institutional encouragement, reinforcement, reward, and monitoring.
When these supports are continually applied, the viability of the change increases. Level one
and two of the New World Kirkpatrick model are seen as happening simultaneously and include
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reaction and learning. The four levels of the model work together to determine the success of the
proposed change.
Organizational Purpose, Need and Expectations
For NCS, as a Christian college-prep high school, spiritual development of its students is
central to the overall mission of the organization. The organizational goal is that 100% of NCS
alumni would continue to persist in their faith. Based on the research conducted in this survey,
NCS seeks to examine what curricular and organizational changes need to be implemented to
support the overall goal of spiritual development in students. The feedback from NCS alumni
indicates that the most significant factor in the effective spiritual development of their time as
students was the intentional interaction with faculty, staff, and coaches at NCS. Cultivating
opportunities for these relationships forms the core of the desired implementation process for
change.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Table 21 shows the proposed Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators in the form of
outcomes, metrics and methods for both external and internal outcomes for NCS. As these
internal and external indicators are realized and fulfilled, it serves to gauge the progress toward
successful change within the organization.
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Table 21
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
1. Successful spiritual
development of current
NCS students.
Degree of positive
feedback from students
about the spiritual
development atmosphere
on campus.
Seek annual feedback from current
students on their perception of the
spiritual climate on campus and
their own spiritual growth.
2. Parents support the
spiritual development
activities of NCS.
Consistently strong
results on the annual
parent survey on those
questions related to
spiritual development.
Revise aspects of the annual parent
survey to ensure the wording
solicits feedback on parents’ view
of spiritual development activities.
Internal Outcomes
3. Faculty, staff, and
coaches are well aligned
and consistently engaged
in discipleship and
mentorship activities.
Seek 100% engagement
by faculty, staff, and
coaches on being
proactively engaged with
students.
Semi-annual feedback from all
faculty, staff, and coaches
gathering information on what
students they have an active
mentorship or discipleship
relationship with.
4. The campus chaplain
team successfully refines
the campus-wide spiritual
development
programming.
Monthly observations and
feedback show continued
revisions and priority of
spiritual development
activities.
For the first 18 months of
implementation, the chaplain team
should conduct observations of
revision progress.
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Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors. The stakeholders of focus for implementing change are the
employees of NCS. To effectively influence the desired reforms in the organization, this group
needs to possess three critical behaviors. The first is that faculty, staff, and coaches need to
consistently engage in mentorship and discipleship relationships with students. Based on the
responses from alumni students, it is the active engagement from non-parental adults that had the
most significant impact on their overall spiritual development. As such, the employees of NCS
need to be regularly engaging in students’ lives. The second critical behavior is the need for all
NCS academic departments to work through a curricular review to ensure the integration of
Biblical doctrine and worldview. Utilizing the KMO model served to reveal the need for
students to possess the basic factual knowledge about the Christian faith; without this, they are
unable to significantly grow spiritual. The third critical behavior is the need for attitudinal buy-
in from all NCS employees. For the continued spiritual development of students, all employees
need to see themselves as essential in this role. Table 22 outlines the critical behaviors along
with the metrics, methods, and timing for each of the critical behaviors.
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Table 22
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
1. Faculty, staff, and
coaches consistently
engaged in
mentorship and
discipleship
relationships with
students.
100% engagement from all
faculty, staff, and coaches
engaged in at least one
discipleship or mentorship
relationship.
Ensure that faculty,
staff, and coaches
understand the
expectation of these
proactive
relationships.
Semi-annual review
of relationships.
2. All departments
engage in curricular
reform to ensure the
integration of
Biblical doctrine and
lessons.
Documentation submitted to
the academic dean and the
campus chaplain team
outlining how Biblical
doctrine and lessons are
integrated into the scope and
sequence of all course
curricula.
Have departments
use their weekly
planning periods to
map the needed
curricular revision
process.
Embed the
curricular revisions
as part of the
department head’s
annual review.
Initial documentation
completed by May
2019.
Annually review the
curricular plan.
3. Attitudinal buy-in
from all NCS
employees on the
importance of
spiritual
development
throughout the
school.
100% of faculty, staff, and
coaches commit to engage in
spiritual development as part
of the annual statement of
faith.
Utilize in-service
training to establish
expectations for
faculty, staff, and
coaches.
This initial training
will happen in August
of 2019 with
continued clarification
of the expectations
annually.
Required drivers. In Table 23, the required drivers that will support the desired change
are outlined. Per the New World Kirkpatrick model, it is essential to support change efforts
through reinforcement, encouragement, rewards, and monitoring (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2016). When systems are in place to support the change, the efforts are best facilitated.
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Table 23
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Methods Timing
Critical
Behaviors
Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing
Job aide that outlines effective strategies for discipleship and mentoring. Ongoing 1, 3
Training during the on-boarding of new employees on the importance of
discipleship and mentoring.
Annually 1, 3
Training for department heads on required curricular refinements. Ongoing 2
Encouraging
Discussion within department level team meetings about successes or
struggles with discipling or mentoring students.
Monthly 1, 3
Academic leadership team to meet with each academic department and
discuss the process of curricular reform.
Semi-
annually
2
Rewarding
Implement a “mentor of the year” award during the school-wide
employee meeting.
Annually 1, 3
Implement a monthly drawing for a Starbucks card for those faculty,
staff, and coaches engaged in a mentoring and discipleship relationship.
Monthly 1, 3
Monitoring
Required curriculum documents from each academic department
outlining the plan for Biblical integration.
Annually 2
Survey of NCS employees to identify what students they are actively
engaged with in a formal or informal means of discipleship and
mentorship.
Semi-
annually
1, 3
Survey of NCS students to identify what faculty, staff, or coach they
identify as a trusted adult.
Annually 1, 3
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Organizational support. For Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), support for the
required drivers must be combined with appropriate accountability to ensure consistent
implementation. This facet of Level 3 is crucial for the overall success of any change effort. For
NCS leadership, all divisions of the school need to embed accountability measures into the habits
of the department. Accountability begins with a clear vision for implementation from the head
of school and the board of education. A clear declaration that these change efforts are essential
for the spiritual development and persistence of students is important so that there is clarity
throughout the organization. Beyond that, the division heads that oversee academics, athletics,
arts, and the international service program are responsible for holding all employees accountable.
NCS leadership can utilize the annual review process of all employees which is already in place.
Secondly, all NCS managers need to regularly touch base with members of their team to
understand how this process is going. Additionally, because NCS is a mission driven
organization and faculty and staff see their work at the school tied to their own Christian faith,
self-monitoring is a valuable accountability tool. Student discipleship could be added into the
employee self-evaluation module to help prompt faculty and staff to reflect regularly on these
items. For the curricular review, the academic dean and the ALT will be responsible for
monitoring the action plans of each academic department and ensuring that the curricular
revisions are made and implemented in a timely fashion.
Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. Following completion of the recommended solutions, the academic
leadership team and the campus chaplains will be able to:
1. Identify the aspects of Northfield’s curricula that outline a Christian worldview. (D-P)
2. Examine existing programs that effectively support spiritual development. (D)
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3. Plan and monitor a process to develop future revisions to the chapel program. (P)
4. Plan and monitor a process to develop future revisions to the life group program. (P)
5. Apply the learning to allow integration of discipleship within academic subject areas.
(P)
6. Express with confidence that they can make the needed revisions to the schoolwide
programming to better facilitate spiritual development. (Confidence)
7. Value spiritual development of students during their four years at NCS. (Value)
8. Value the process to revise chapel and life group. (Value)
Program. NCS needs to evaluate curricular revisions within the Bible department and
throughout the school. The feedback from transfer students was particularly important as they
noted a lower than average response rate to the question that NCS taught them the central
doctrines of Christianity. The feedback from students through the interview process helped to
highlight that students come to NCS with a variety of faith backgrounds and so having a more
tailored Bible curriculum could be valuable especially for students who were not raised in the
church. Continued recognition that there is a need for clear instruction about the doctrines of the
Christian faith is central to the mission of the school. Biblical teaching is also helpful when it
occurs throughout disciplines and not compartmentalized within the Bible courses.
Additionally, there is a need for the chaplain team to take the feedback provided from
alumni students and reflect on the weekly chapel programming and the small group structure.
Many revisions have already been implemented over the past four years that may not have been
accounted for by students who graduated before these changes. The chaplain team will need to
develop a plan that accounts for this feedback and monitors needed revisions. Given the sizable
amount of time, effort, and financial investment that chapel demands, it is imperative to monitor
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any needed revisions that increase the overall effectiveness. The campus chaplain team are
essential stakeholders in implementing long term revisions and seeing this strategic change to
completion.
NCS has long had a small group program, which pairs a faculty or staff member with
eight to twelve students of all the same gender and same grade. This group is designed to stay
together for the full four years that a student is at NCS. The value of how small groups have
been designed is that it provides students and adults with an avenue to connect over time.
However, NCS’s use of small groups as a tool to cultivate spiritual mentorship needs to be
revised. The feedback from alumni was mixed on whether it is an effective tool. Much of the
overall value is linked to the investment by each of the adults. Because small groups have been
perceived as an add on to the overall obligation of the employees, it has not received the
attention or focus that it needs. Also, the personality differences of the life group leaders have
caused a wide range of experiences for students.
Components of learning. As is often the case in learning, one must establish
foundational knowledge first to be able to put this new learning into practice. The declarative
and procedural knowledge of the stakeholders will be examined in Table 24 by demonstrating
the timing and evaluation model for this new learning.
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Table 24
Components of Learning for the Program
Methods or Activities Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it.”
Knowledge checks through discussions, “pair, think,
share” and other individual/group activities.
Twice during the school wide in-
service.
Discussion forum demonstrating understanding of
ways to engage in spiritual development.
Following the school wide in-
service.
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
During the ALT planning retreat, brainstorm the
needed curricular revisions.
This will occur during the ALT
planning retreat in August.
The campus chaplain team will demonstrate the revised
chapel structure to the faculty and staff.
During the school wide in-service.
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Instructor’s observation of participants’ statements and
actions demonstrating that they see the benefit of what
they are being asked to do on the job.
During the school wide in-service
and ongoing throughout
implementation.
Discussions of the value of spiritual development in
students.
During the school wide in-service.
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Survey of how faculty and staff are engaging with
students because of the training.
Following the school wide in-
service.
Discussions within the individual planning teams. Within the month following the
school wide in-service.
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Utilize the annual statement of commitment to reassert
the essential job function to engage students in spiritual
development.
Annually at the start of the year in-
service.
Create an individual action plan. During the school wide in-service.
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Level 1: Reaction
Table 25
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Methods or Tools Timing
Engagement
Completion of short pulse survey. Once during and then immediately
following the school wide in-service.
Observation by instructor/facilitator. During the school wide in-service.
Observation by department heads. Following the school wide in-service.
Observation by the ALT and Campus Chaplains. During and following the school wide
in-service.
Relevance
Department level debrief during team meetings. One week after the school wide in-
service.
Customer Satisfaction
Brief pulse-check with faculty and staff via survey
(online) and discussion (ongoing).
After school wide in-service.
Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. In Appendix J, a fifteen-item
survey outlines the questions that will be used to gather feedback from faculty after the school
wide in-service. The survey instrument is designed solicit insights about the Level 1 and Level 2
experiences of those in attendance for the program. The fifteen items cover the basic level of
satisfaction and the review of the method of instruction but also goes deeper to understand how
prepared attendees are feeling with the information. For many faculty and staff, they will
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already feel confident in their ability to support the spiritual development of students but for
others, the in-service will be challenging. Understanding their confidence level and how
committed they are to the process will be very helpful.
The survey instrument utilizes a five-point response scale from strongly agree to strongly
disagree. It is estimated that respondents will be able to complete the survey in less than four
minutes and so it is hopeful that nearly all will participate. The survey will be sent out
electronically after lunch. Attendees will be made aware that the survey is coming prior to being
dismissed from the morning training. An expectation will be established for all team members to
respond but the desire is that they will do it privately and have the ability to reflect on their
responses.
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. One month after the in-
service training, attendees will receive another online survey. This survey is found in Appendix
K. Portions of this twelve-item survey mirror the first survey that attendees took. Items one
through seven have the same wording from questions in the prior survey. The intention of this is
to gather context on how attendees’ perceptions changed or stayed the same following the in-
service. These responses directly address Level 1 and Level 2 feedback.
Items eight through twelve examine Level 3 and Level 4 implementation from attendees.
The goal is to determine how effectively the participants are utilizing the new information in
their daily life. This feedback will be essential for the campus chaplains team and the academic
leadership of the school. These two groups will review the feedback from the survey to
determine if they need to cycle back to any of the information from the in-service to help quality,
school wide adoption.
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Data Analysis and Reporting
It is imperative that the status of change implementation be appropriately reported to
those invested within the organization and key external stakeholders. Through the process of
evaluating the revisions to Northfield’s spiritual development program, the feedback that has
been provided through initial and delayed surveys is important to share because it describes
where the members of the organization are in the process. This level of authentic discussion is
essential in allowing all interested parties understand the effectiveness of all levels of the New
World Kirkpatrick Model. The results of the feedback surveys will be shared internally to all
faculty and staff through a summary chart via email. The information will also be shared to the
alumni network so that they understand how the feedback they have provided has been utilized
by the school to strive for improvements. This same summary chart will be distributed to the
school’s Board of Education. An example of the summary is shown in Table 26.
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Table 26
Summary of Faculty and Staff Feedback
Action/Result Target Actual Rating
The Bible
department has
completed the
implementation
process for a
revised curricular
options.
Full completion
by August 2019.
Implementation has begun
and is in process. Overall
buy-in is strong but the
documented revisions are
delayed.
In-process and Needs
improvement.
The campus
chaplains have
presented a revised
strategic plan for
chapel and life
group to the head of
school.
Full completion
by February
2020.
Implementation has yet to
begin but the chaplain
team will receive the data
from the survey in August
2018 and begin reflecting
on how best to make
tangible changes.
Needs improvement.
Requires Head of
School action for
further progress.
Faculty and staff
successfully
demonstrate the
critical behaviors
and the leading
indicators listed
above.
100% of the
Faculty and Staff
demonstrate
buy-in to the
vision for
spiritual
development of
students.
During in-service August
2018, the faculty and staff
will be walked through the
data from the research
project and the proposed
revisions for student
discipleship. Additionally,
training for how to engage
in spiritual discipleship
will be provided.
Needs improvement.
Requires further
action from the ALT
and Campus
Chaplains to
determine next steps
for continued
successful
implementation.
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Summary
As Northfield attempts to improve the spiritual development outcomes, understanding the
change and implementation process is essential. Too often data driven organizations short-
circuit the process by gathering valuable information but failing to properly act on it. The New
World Kirkpatrick Model provides a structured method of understanding the essential steps in
activating the information that was provided by Northfield’s alumni. The information that was
provided revealed areas of needed growth in the Bible curriculum, the broader spiritual
development programming, and the efforts of the faculty and staff in discipleship. Kirkpatrick
provides a way for ensuring that the process of change is measured and understood to ensure
sustainable implementation.
As Northfield continues the implementation process, three essential questions must be
answered: Do these new efforts meet the expectation of improving student spiritual
development? If not, why not? If so, why? (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). If the
implemented changes are not positively impacting the spiritual development of students, then
continued modifications need to be made. A thriving learning organization needs to be
consistently engaged in the process of analyzing the available data and making informed
decisions as a result.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Gap Analysis Approach
The gap analysis framework was an essential guide that structured the current research
project. Clark and Estes (2008) outlined the importance of identifying the organizational goal,
the current performance, and the gap that exists between. An examination of the gap is focused
on the knowledge, motivation, and organization influences as a succinct way of categorizing the
various factors at play. The gap analysis model provided a valuable framework to examine the
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topic of alumni spiritual persistence. Given the potentially abstract nature of the topic, the KMO
approach provided a workable structure to examine the various influences. Specifically, the
emphasis on motivation was particularly helpful given that the topic addressed choices that
individual students needed to make about the value of faith in their life. Clark and Estes (2008)
and the other theories about motivation were helpful in anchoring the examination of the topic
(Wigfield, 1994; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). The one weakness the researcher identified is the
rigidity of the framework. For certain types of research projects, this approach would not be
helpful or appropriate. The framework rests on the assumption of a performance gap and if a
research topic was examining best practices of an organization, the framework could be
frustrating.
Limitations and Delimitations
For the current study, it was proposed that there would be both a respondent and response
bias that would limit the results. There was also an understanding that by just examining the
NCS context, the results would not necessarily be broadly applicable. These assumed limitations
proved to be true. For the survey, even though a substantial portion of the population responded,
the nature of the responses indicated that there was a favorable respondent bias. Those students
who were either thriving in their faith or maintained an affinity for the organization were more
likely to respond than those who did not. Given the anonymity of the survey, it is not possible to
know definitively who responded but anecdotally, those students who do not identify as a
Christian today were less likely to agree to participate in the second round of interviews.
Additionally, in scheduling the interviews, those students who had turned away from their faith
were very difficult to schedule and multiple participants did not respond to the request to
participate. During the interview phase only ten students were interviewed. This served to
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provide helpful feedback but was inherently limited in the perspectives presented. In future
research, the use of focus groups could be employed to expand the sample size for the
interviews.
The proposed response bias was the idea that students would respond more favorably
because there was a perceived “right” answer. Again, it is difficult to say for sure that this
occurred but the additional feedback provided during the interviews seems to affirm this view.
For the two students who were identified as being nominal Christians, their responses on the
survey were generally favorable even though they were not actively engaged in their faith. Also,
these students represented that they do still feel some family pressure to adhere to their faith
which is possible that it influenced their responses.
The context of NCS also serves as a limitation for how broadly the findings can be
applied. The fact that NCS does not require a statement of faith from students or parents is an
important contrast from many Christian high schools. Given the sample size, it may be possible
to draw some conclusions that may be indicative of a general population but without further
research to confirm the findings, that is unclear. It could be valuable to replicate the study in
other parts of the country and in similar types of Christian schools. This could be valuable to
begin developing a broader theory of spiritual persistence for Christian school alumni.
Future Research
The information gleaned from the data affirmed five major lessons that should guide the
major takeaways from the study and also be a launching point for future research:
• The critical role of non-parental adults in a student’s life affirms the importance of
retaining mission aligned faculty, staff, and coaches. These employees are essential
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for the environment of mentorship and discipleship that is established on a school’s
campus.
• For Christian schools, teaching the central doctrines of Christianity through the Bible
curriculum and reiterated through other courses is crucial for students to build a
foundational understanding of the faith.
• For those Christian schools that do not require students to have an active faith, it is
important to cultivate an environment that allows unbelieving students to examine
their faith in an authentic manner. This may cause a refinement of the Bible
curriculum and spiritual development programming on campus.
• School leadership needs to regularly examine if actions or messages of the school are
hypocritical to the tenets of the Christian faith. Consistent, authentic modeling of the
Christian faith as an organization is important for students with a Christian faith and
those without.
• The data produced in this first round of alumni feedback highlights the importance for
institutionalizing the process and working to gather longitudinal data. More robust,
multifaceted information will continue to enrich the understanding of this topic. NCS
is uniquely positioned to gather this data because of the size and unique spiritual
demographic of students.
These five lessons should inform the next steps of research and examination of this topic.
The ability for NCS or other researchers to build upon this information with other Christian
schools across the country would begin to validate broad themes for alumni of Christian schools.
The understanding of this topic would also be enriched by examining the contrast between those
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schools which require a statement of faith from students and those which do not. Are the KMO
influences different in these types of schools?
Faculty, Staff, and Coach Best Practices
Given the importance of the role of faculty, staff, and coaches in mentoring and
discipling students, it would be helpful to understand what are best practices for mentoring
within a Christian school context. Additionally, understanding what motivates the most
influential faculty, staff, and coaches could serve to inform recruitment and hiring practices for
schools. Complementary to this, it would be important to research the best practices for
professional development of spiritual discipleship. Understanding that this may be an area of
weakness for many Christian school employees, it would be important to conduct a gap analysis
on the KMO influences for faculty, staff, and coaches’ ability to spiritually mentor students.
Exemplary Features of Bible Curriculum
Another important area for research would be an examination of highly effective Bible
curricula. A broad comparison of how different Christian schools develop their Bible curriculum
would be helpful. Information about a school’s Bible curriculum when compared to the spiritual
persistence rates of the students can begin to frame best practices of impactful teaching. This
information could serve as a model for other Christian schools and improve the overall
instruction within Christian high schools.
Experiences of Non-Christians in Christian Schools
The feedback from NCS alumni pointed to the challenges of being a non-Christian in a
Christian high school. While not a direct focus of this research project, the experiences of non-
Christian students unearthed an important topic for further examination. Understanding why
non-Christian students would seek out a Christian school and then also better understanding their
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experiences would be very helpful for school administrators. Christian schools seek to serve
their students well and more consideration of an often silent population would be valuable.
Conclusion
The limited research on the experience of Christian high school students after they
graduate, highlighted the need for this project. For NCS, the feedback that the alumni provided
was both challenging and encouraging. The hope is that this research serves to demonstrate the
unique perspective that alumni can provide and that others will be compelled to conduct similar
research within their own organization. As Christian institutions seek to fulfill their missions,
rooted in the spiritual development of students, this objective is limited without thorough and
comprehensive validation of institutional goals. Alumni students provide the most valuable and
insightful perspective on whether the learning and spiritual goals have been fulfilled in their
lives. Christian school leaders would be wise to seek out this input and authentically reflect on
the responses. As an institution, the ability to demonstrate this kind of open, honest, and humble
desire to grow and improve is a hallmark of health. Christian schools should not be closed off to
the possible rebuking or affirmation that alumni students can provide. Seeking out the voices of
all alumni provides an opportunity for refinement that can grow the individual Christian school
and the community of faith-based education.
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APPENDIX A
SURVEY ITEMS
Thank you for your willingness to participate in the study. All of the questions are optional and
you can exit the survey at any time if you wish. Please feel free to respond honestly as your
answers are confidential. Additionally, your answers will be reported in aggregate and not
individually. If you are not comfortable answering a question, you may skip it.
Demographic
1. Gender
a. Male
b. Female
2. Age
a. 18 e. 22
b. 19 f. 23
c. 20 g. 24
d. 21 h. 25
3. What year did you graduate from Northfield
a. 2009 e. 2013
b. 2010 f. 2014
c. 2011 g. 2015
d. 2012 h. 2016
4. How many years did you attend Northfield
a. 4 years
b. Less than 4 years
5. What did you do your first year after graduating from Northfield?
a. Worked
b. Took a gap year
c. Attended a community or junior college
d. Attended a public 4-year college or university
e. Attended a private non-religious 4-year college or university
f. Attended a private religious 4-year college or university
g. Other
6. What was the name of the first educational institution you attended after Northfield?
a. Free response
7. Are you currently in school pursuing your undergraduate degree (bachelor’s degree)?
a. Yes
b. No
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8. If yes, what college are you currently attending?
a. Fill in the blank
9. Have you graduated from college or university with your undergraduate degree
(bachelor’s degree)?
a. Yes
b. No
10. If yes, what college did you graduate from?
a. Fill in the blank
11. If yes, how many years did it take you to graduate with your undergraduate degree
(bachelor’s degree)?
a. 3 years c. 5 years
b. 4 years d. 6 or more years
12. Are you currently attending a graduate school?
a. Yes
b. No
13. If yes, what graduate school and program are you attending?
a. Fill in the blank school and program/degree
14. Have you graduated from graduate school?
a. Yes
b. No
15. If yes, what graduate school and program did you graduate from?
a. Fill in the blank school and program/degree
16. Are you currently employed either part-time or full-time?
a. Yes
b. No
17. If yes, who is your current employer and what is your job title?
a. Fill in the blank employer and job title
18. What is your current marital status?
a. Single d. Widowed
b. Married e. Other
c. Divorced
19. Do you have one or more children?
a. Yes
b. No
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20. Regarding your current religious or nonreligious perspective, with which of the following
descriptors do you most closely identify?
a. Agnostic e. Jewish
b. Atheist f. Mormon
c. Christian – Protestant g. None
d. Christian – Catholic h. Other
21. Please share any additional information about your education and career since leaving
Northfield. If you have transferred schools or if there have been periods out of school, we
would appreciate knowing about those.
a. Short answer
Student Outcomes
22. How likely is it that you would recommend Northfield to potential students? Zero
represents “not at all likely” and 10 represents “extremely likely.”
a. 0 g. 6
b. 1 h. 7
c. 2 i. 8
d. 3 j. 9
e. 4 k. 10
f. 5
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
23. Northfield prepared me with the skills needed to pursue my college and career goals after
graduation.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
24. Issues of faith are important in my life.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
25. God has a purpose for my life.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
26. I experience God’s love in my life.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
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27. Northfield taught me the central doctrines of Christianity.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
28. I value the teachings of the Bible.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
29. The teachings of the Bible impact how I make decisions.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
30. I value being involved in local Christian community.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
Spiritual Background and Behaviors
How frequently do the following statements describe you?
31. I attempt to show God’s love to others through my actions.
a. Not applicable d. Sometimes
b. Never e. Often
c. Rarely
32. I attempt to show God’s love to others through verbally sharing my faith.
a. Not applicable d. Sometimes
b. Never e. Often
c. Rarely
33. Since graduating from Northfield, I talk, text, or e-mail with at least one adult from
Northfield.
a. Not applicable d. Sometimes
b. Never e. Often
c. Rarely
34. When I was young, my mom attended a church service.
a. Not applicable d. Sometimes
b. Never e. Often
c. Rarely
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35. When I was young, my dad attended a church service.
a. Not applicable d. Sometimes
b. Never e. Often
c. Rarely
36. When I was young, my mom participated in spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible
study.
a. Not applicable d. Sometimes
b. Never e. Often
c. Rarely
37. When I was young, my dad participated in spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible
study.
a. Not applicable d. Sometimes
b. Never e. Often
c. Rarely
38. On average, how frequently do you read the Bible for spiritual edification?
a. Daily d. Less than once a week
b. 2-3 times a week e. Never
c. Once a week
39. On average, how frequently do you engage in a period of spiritual reflection or devotion
for more than 10 minutes?
a. Daily d. Less than once a week
b. 2-3 times a week e. Never
c. Once a week
40. On average, how often do you attend a religious service?
a. Never e. Three times a month
b. Less than one time a month f. One time a week
c. One time a month g. More than one time a week
d. Two times a month
Belief Trends
41. Before enrolling at Northfield, I called myself a Christian.
a. Yes
b. No
c. Uncertain
42. When I graduated from Northfield, I called myself a Christian.
a. Yes
b. No
c. Uncertain
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43. Today, I call myself a Christian
a. Yes
b. No
c. Uncertain
44. Have you changed your spiritual beliefs since leaving Northfield?
a. Yes
b. No
45. If yes, please share how you have changed your spiritual beliefs since leaving Northfield.
We are interested in understanding what has influenced your spiritual beliefs. As much
detail as you are willing to provide is very helpful. Thank you for your time on this
question.
a. Short answer
46. Do your spiritual beliefs differ from the spiritual beliefs of your parents?
a. Yes
b. No
47. If yes, please share how your spiritual beliefs differ from your parents.
a. Short answer
Response to Organizational Influences
How true are the following statements for you?
48. My teachers at Northfield effectively modeled a Christian faith for me.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree f. Not applicable – did not participate
49. My coaches or extra-curricular sponsors at Northfield effectively modeled a Christian
faith for me.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree f. Not applicable – did not participate
50. Arts at Northfield had a positive impact on my Christian faith.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree f. Not applicable – did not participate
51. Athletics at Northfield had a positive impact on my Christian faith.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree f. Not applicable – did not participate
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52. Discovery at Northfield had a positive impact on my Christian faith.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree f. Not applicable – did not participate
53. The academic curriculum at Northfield had a positive impact on my Christian faith.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree f. Not applicable – did not participate
54. The chapel programming at Northfield had a positive impact on my Christian faith.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree f. Not applicable – did not participate
55. The advisory or life group programming at Northfield had a positive impact on my
Christian faith.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree f. Not applicable – did not participate
56. Weighing all of my time and experiences at Northfield, I believe Northfield had a
positive influence on my faith development.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
57. Weighing all of my time and experiences at Northfield, I believe Northfield had a
positive influence on my academic preparation for my college and career.
a. Strongly agree d. Somewhat disagree
b. Somewhat agree e. Strongly disagree
c. Neither agree nor disagree
58. While a student at Northfield, I had at least one adult at Northfield that I trusted to talk
with about important issues.
a. Yes
b. No
59. If yes, please tell us about the adult at Northfield who was important in your life. You can
share about more than one adult if you would like.
a. Short answer
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60. There will be a second phase of the research that includes interviews about student’s
experiences at Northfield and since leaving Northfield. Are you willing to help in this
part of the research process?
a. Yes
b. No
61. If yes, please list your name and best contact number or email address.
a. Fill in the blank for name and phone or email address
Thank you so much for your participation. Your feedback is valuable to us as we continue to
seek to improve the quality of education we provide for students and families.
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APPENDIX B
NCS ALUMNI SURVEY ITEMIZED AVERAGE RESPONSES BASED ON GRADUATION
YEAR
Question All ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16
Net Promoter Score 8.07 6.41 8.81 7.42 8.57 8.53 7.70 8.26
NCS prepared me with skills 4.51 3.86 4.50 4.25 4.68 4.68 4.64 4.57
Faith is important to me 4.20 3.36 4.25 4.27 4.21 4.49 4.19 4.19
God has a purpose for my life 4.37 3.52 4.53 4.35 4.25 4.71 4.41 4.37
I regularly experience God’s love 4.28 3.77 4.53 4.25 4.14 4.54 4.31 4.23
NCS taught the central doctrines 4.24 3.50 4.25 4.21 4.43 4.53 4.10 4.21
I value the teachings of the Bible 4.45 3.86 4.50 4.48 4.38 4.68 4.41 4.50
Teachings of the Bible impact decisions 4.12 3.45 4.19 4.25 3.91 4.33 4.21 4.13
I value a local Christian community 3.83 3.19 3.97 3.92 3.77 4.02 3.90 3.77
I regularly show God’s love to others 3.28 3.14 3.63 3.17 2.96 3.54 3.26 3.32
I verbally share my faith with others 2.39 1.86 2.66 2.35 2.18 2.61 2.53 2.38
Talk with an NCS adult since graduation 2.67 1.95 3.19 2.87 2.77 2.73 2.33 2.71
When I was young, mom regularly attended church 3.49 3.64 3.59 3.44 3.39 3.56 3.36 3.59
When I was young, dad regularly attended church 3.29 3.33 3.16 3.19 3.29 3.51 3.16 3.39
When I was young, mom attended Bible study 3.02 3.14 3.28 3.10 2.79 2.98 2.91 3.13
When I was young, dad attended Bible study 2.69 2.82 2.69 2.65 2.50 2.80 2.76 2.70
How frequently I read the Bible 2.82 2.18 2.97 2.79 2.82 2.86 3.17 2.69
How frequently I have spiritual devotion 2.97 2.82 3.28 3.08 2.73 3.10 3.10 2.77
How frequently I attend a religious service 4.22 3.27 4.38 4.12 4.02 4.68 4.14 4.37
I was a Christian before attending NCS 0.90 0.95 0.91 0.89 0.88 0.91 0.88 0.92
I was a Christian when I graduated from NCS 0.92 0.80 1.00 0.94 0.91 0.97 0.89 0.90
I am a Christian today 0.88 0.70 0.97 0.85 0.80 0.95 0.89 0.89
I have changed my beliefs since graduating 0.32 0.45 0.41 0.46 0.34 0.25 0.28 0.20
My beliefs differ from my parents’ beliefs 0.36 0.55 0.31 0.50 0.45 0.24 0.26 0.36
Teachers modeled the Christian faith for me 4.42 3.50 4.72 4.43 4.53 4.54 4.36 4.44
Coaches modeled the Christian faith for me 4.25 3.59 4.56 4.37 4.46 4.23 3.96 4.35
Arts positively impacted my faith 3.96 3.18 4.37 4.04 4.03 4.06 3.71 4.03
Athletics positively impacted my faith 3.91 3.23 4.47 3.83 4.26 3.93 3.60 3.95
Discovery positively impacted my faith 4.34 3.65 4.59 4.21 4.48 4.46 4.33 4.37
Academics positively impacted my faith 3.92 3.00 4.50 3.87 4.02 4.20 3.84 3.74
Chapel positively impacted my faith 3.74 3.14 4.38 3.65 3.84 3.90 3.58 3.63
Small groups positively impacted my faith 3.49 3.00 4.16 3.85 3.69 3.57 3.45 2.88
NCS positively impacted my faith 4.32 3.23 4.81 4.33 4.39 4.57 4.22 4.29
Positively impacted preparation for college & career 4.57 3.86 4.72 4.31 4.59 4.67 4.69 4.73
I had a trusted NCS adult 0.92 0.82 0.97 0.94 0.96 0.91 0.95 0.87
Willing to participate in the second research phase 0.69 0.33 0.72 0.69 0.75 0.79 0.78 0.59
Total Number of Responses 349 22 32 52 56 59 58 70
Response Rate by Percentage of Class Size 31% 33% 28% 33% 32% 29% 26% 36%
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APPENDIX C
NCS ALUMNI SURVEY ITEMIZED AVERAGE RESPONSES BASED ON TRANSFER
STATUS
Question All 4 Years Transfers
Non-’10
Transfers
Net Promoter Score 8.07 8.15 7.82 8.40
NCS prepared me with skills 4.51 4.56 4.38 4.59
Faith is important to me 4.20 4.22 4.19 4.43
God has a purpose for my life 4.37 4.37 4.40 4.66
I regularly experience God’s love 4.28 4.27 4.35 4.52
NCS taught the central doctrines 4.24 4.33 3.94 4.14
I value the teachings of the Bible 4.45 4.46 4.45 4.62
Teachings of the Bible impact decisions 4.12 4.12 4.14 4.36
I value a local Christian community 3.83 3.82 3.94 4.12
I regularly show God’s love to others 3.28 3.28 3.29 3.38
I verbally share my faith with others 2.39 2.39 2.44 2.62
Talk with an NCS adult since graduation 2.67 2.72 2.55 2.79
When I was young, mom regularly attended church 3.49 3.51 3.46 3.40
When I was young, dad regularly attended church 3.29 3.32 3.22 3.21
When I was young, mom attended Bible study 3.02 3.05 2.95 2.88
When I was young, dad attended Bible study 2.69 2.72 2.59 2.53
How frequently I read the Bible 2.82 2.82 2.85 3.03
How frequently I have spiritual devotion 2.97 2.90 3.21 3.29
How frequently I attend a religious service 4.22 4.22 4.26 4.52
I was a Christian before attending NCS 0.90 0.90 0.89 0.87
I was a Christian when I graduated from NCS 0.92 0.91 0.95 0.98
I am a Christian today 0.88 0.87 0.91 0.96
I have changed my beliefs since graduating 0.32 0.32 0.31 0.26
My beliefs differ from my parents’ beliefs 0.36 0.35 0.40 0.36
Teachers modeled the Christian faith for me 4.42 4.47 4.26 4.54
Coaches modeled the Christian faith for me 4.25 4.29 4.14 4.38
Arts positively impacted my faith 3.96 3.94 4.06 4.38
Athletics positively impacted my faith 3.91 3.92 3.90 4.18
Discovery positively impacted my faith 4.34 4.37 4.26 4.45
Academics positively impacted my faith 3.92 3.94 3.87 4.16
Chapel positively impacted my faith 3.74 3.71 3.82 4.03
Small groups positively impacted my faith 3.49 3.44 3.70 3.93
NCS positively impacted my faith 4.32 4.38 4.17 4.48
Positively impacted preparation for college & career 4.57 4.60 4.47 4.66
I had a trusted NCS adult 0.92 0.92 0.94 0.98
Willing to participate in the second research phase 0.69 0.72 0.60 0.71
Total Number of Responses 349 271 78 58
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APPENDIX D
NCS ALUMNI SURVEY ITEMIZED AVERAGE RESPONSES BASED ON FIRST-YEAR
COLLEGE SELECTION
Question All CCCU Public Private Other
Net Promoter Score 8.07 8.50 7.90 8.04 7.59
NCS prepared me with skills 4.51 4.65 4.48 4.52 4.28
Faith is important to me 4.20 4.57 4.10 4.00 3.88
God has a purpose for my life 4.37 4.69 4.29 4.20 4.06
I regularly experience God’s love 4.28 4.56 4.20 4.13 4.03
NCS taught the central doctrines 4.24 4.34 4.24 4.17 4.00
I value the teachings of the Bible 4.45 4.73 4.38 4.41 3.97
Teachings of the Bible impact decisions 4.12 4.45 4.01 3.93 3.88
I value a local Christian community 3.83 4.30 3.72 3.54 3.34
I regularly show God’s love to others 3.28 3.56 3.20 3.15 3.00
I verbally share my faith with others 2.39 2.81 2.26 2.07 2.25
Talk with an NCS adult since graduation 2.67 2.85 2.59 2.67 2.56
When I was young, mom regularly attended church 3.49 3.59 3.43 3.50 3.50
When I was young, dad regularly attended church 3.29 3.37 3.26 3.35 3.19
When I was young, mom attended Bible study 3.02 3.10 2.90 3.11 3.25
When I was young, dad attended Bible study 2.69 2.75 2.66 2.65 2.69
How frequently I read the Bible 2.82 3.22 2.78 2.35 2.47
How frequently I have spiritual devotion 2.97 3.35 2.88 2.52 2.84
How frequently I attend a religious service 4.22 5.08 4.00 3.39 3.69
I was a Christian before attending NCS 0.90 0.91 0.89 0.87 0.96
I was a Christian when I graduated from NCS 0.92 0.97 0.91 0.88 0.83
I am a Christian today 0.88 0.95 0.88 0.79 0.71
I have changed my beliefs since graduating 0.32 0.29 0.30 0.28 0.53
My beliefs differ from my parents’ beliefs 0.36 0.27 0.38 0.35 0.59
Teachers modeled the Christian faith for me 4.42 4.50 4.43 4.33 4.25
Coaches modeled the Christian faith for me 4.25 4.25 4.33 4.37 3.73
Arts positively impacted my faith 3.96 3.94 4.01 4.08 3.72
Athletics positively impacted my faith 3.91 4.04 3.91 4.10 3.21
Discovery positively impacted my faith 4.34 4.48 4.29 4.42 4.10
Academics positively impacted my faith 3.92 4.18 3.88 3.70 3.58
Chapel positively impacted my faith 3.74 3.80 3.84 3.63 3.19
Small groups positively impacted my faith 3.49 3.65 3.54 3.42 2.81
NCS positively impacted my faith 4.32 4.55 4.32 4.11 3.94
Positively impacted preparation for college & career 4.57 4.70 4.59 4.62 4.00
I had a trusted NCS adult 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.91 1.00
Willing to participate in the second research phase 0.69 0.74 0.66 0.69 0.72
Total Number of Responses 349 106 165 46 32
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APPENDIX E
NCS ALUMNI SURVEY ITEMIZED AVERAGE RESPONSES BASED ON SELF-
IDENTIFIED FAITH CATEGORY
Question All Prot Cath Agno Athe Other None
Net Promoter Score 8.07 8.56 8.31 6.05 5.17 7.26 5.88
NCS prepared me with skills 4.51 4.65 4.48 3.77 4.25 4.29 4.13
Faith is important to me 4.20 4.55 4.41 2.50 1.83 4.03 2.00
God has a purpose for my life 4.37 4.79 4.76 2.27 1.17 4.06 2.25
I regularly experience God’s love 4.28 4.66 4.62 2.38 1.17 4.06 2.38
NCS taught the central doctrines 4.24 4.33 4.31 4.05 4.00 3.88 3.63
I value the teachings of the Bible 4.45 4.73 4.66 3.27 2.08 4.32 2.75
Teachings of the Bible impact decisions 4.12 4.44 4.31 2.68 1.25 4.03 2.50
I value a local Christian community 3.83 4.27 4.10 1.73 1.17 3.44 1.25
I regularly show God’s love to others 3.28 3.66 3.59 1.41 0.17 3.21 1.00
I verbally share my faith with others 2.39 2.70 2.69 0.73 0.25 2.29 0.50
Talk with an NCS adult since graduation 2.67 2.78 2.69 2.36 2.50 2.38 1.88
When I was young, mom attended church 3.49 3.55 3.52 3.55 2.83 3.35 3.38
When I was young, dad attended church 3.29 3.36 3.10 3.36 2.67 3.18 3.38
When I was young, mom attended Bible study 3.02 3.16 2.41 2.77 2.08 3.00 3.25
When I was young, dad attended Bible study 2.69 2.82 2.14 2.32 1.67 2.88 2.63
How frequently I read the Bible 2.82 3.14 2.62 1.32 1.08 2.76 1.13
How frequently I have spiritual devotion 2.97 3.28 2.62 1.36 1.00 3.21 1.25
How frequently I attend a religious service 4.22 4.73 4.69 1.55 1.50 3.47 1.50
I was a Christian before attending NCS 0.90 0.91 0.96 0.82 0.88 0.82 1.00
I was a Christian when I graduated from NCS 0.92 0.98 1.00 0.43 0.40 0.88 0.83
I am a Christian today 0.88 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.79 0.00
I have changed my beliefs since graduating 0.32 0.25 0.24 0.64 0.58 0.44 0.88
My beliefs differ from my parents’ beliefs 0.36 0.25 0.24 0.95 0.92 0.56 1.00
Teachers modeled the Christian faith for me 4.42 4.58 4.52 3.91 3.50 4.03 3.88
Coaches modeled the Christian faith for me 4.25 4.37 4.32 4.16 3.50 3.88 3.50
Arts positively impacted my faith 3.96 4.14 3.82 3.53 2.88 3.61 3.38
Athletics positively impacted my faith 3.91 4.05 4.07 3.18 2.82 3.75 3.13
Discovery positively impacted my faith 4.34 4.53 4.55 3.47 2.40 4.06 4.60
Academics positively impacted my faith 3.92 4.16 4.21 2.52 2.33 3.56 3.38
Chapel positively impacted my faith 3.74 3.99 4.10 2.50 1.92 3.33 2.75
Small groups positively impacted my faith 3.49 3.68 3.55 2.76 2.55 3.15 2.50
NCS positively impacted my faith 4.32 4.58 4.55 3.18 2.58 3.88 3.50
Impacted preparation for college & career 4.57 4.70 4.62 3.68 4.42 4.26 4.50
I had a trusted NCS adult 0.92 0.94 0.93 0.82 1.00 0.85 0.88
Participation in the second research phase 0.69 0.73 0.69 0.50 0.75 0.62 0.50
Total Number of Responses 349 244 29 22 12 34 8
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APPENDIX F
NCS ALUMNI SURVEY ITEMIZED AVERAGE RESPONSES BASED ON MARITAL
STATUS
Question All Single Married Other
Net Promoter Score 8.07 8.05 8.64 7.17
NCS prepared me with skills 4.51 4.54 4.45 4.08
Faith is important to me 4.20 4.16 4.73 3.92
God has a purpose for my life 4.37 4.35 4.85 3.73
I regularly experience God’s love 4.28 4.25 4.76 3.92
NCS taught the central doctrines 4.24 4.26 4.33 3.42
I value the teachings of the Bible 4.45 4.43 4.85 3.83
Teachings of the Bible impact decisions 4.12 4.09 4.70 3.25
I value a local Christian community 3.83 3.77 4.63 3.58
I regularly show God’s love to others 3.28 3.28 3.70 2.25
I verbally share my faith with others 2.39 2.35 3.03 1.92
Talk with an NCS adult since graduation 2.67 2.65 2.97 2.67
When I was young, mom regularly attended church 3.49 3.50 3.52 3.25
When I was young, dad regularly attended church 3.29 3.26 3.66 3.25
When I was young, mom attended Bible study 3.02 3.02 3.09 2.83
When I was young, dad attended Bible study 2.69 2.65 3.06 2.67
How frequently I read the Bible 2.82 2.75 3.73 2.25
How frequently I have spiritual devotion 2.97 2.89 3.82 2.75
How frequently I attend a religious service 4.22 4.09 5.64 3.58
I was a Christian before attending NCS 0.90 0.90 0.90 1.00
I was a Christian when I graduated from NCS 0.92 0.91 1.00 1.00
I am a Christian today 0.88 0.86 1.00 0.78
I have changed my beliefs since graduating 0.32 0.31 0.27 0.58
My beliefs differ from my parents’ beliefs 0.36 0.37 0.24 0.50
Teachers modeled the Christian faith for me 4.42 4.43 4.48 4.00
Coaches modeled the Christian faith for me 4.25 4.24 4.52 3.92
Arts positively impacted my faith 3.96 3.95 4.26 3.73
Athletics positively impacted my faith 3.91 3.90 4.10 3.75
Discovery positively impacted my faith 4.34 4.35 4.57 3.83
Academics positively impacted my faith 3.92 3.88 4.36 3.67
Chapel positively impacted my faith 3.74 3.70 4.15 3.58
Small groups positively impacted my faith 3.49 3.41 4.15 3.83
NCS positively impacted my faith 4.32 4.31 4.58 4.00
Positively impacted preparation for college & career 4.57 4.59 4.61 4.08
I had a trusted NCS adult 0.92 0.92 0.97 0.83
Willing to participate in the second research phase 0.69 0.68 0.78 0.67
Total Number of Responses 349 304 33 12
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APPENDIX G
NCS ALUMNI SURVEY ITEMIZED AVERAGE RESPONSES BASED ON PARENTAL
STATUS
Question Overall Non-Parent Parent
Net Promoter Score 8.07 8.08 7.80
NCS prepared me with skills for college & career 4.51 4.53 4.30
Faith is important to me 4.20 4.19 4.80
God has a purpose for my life 4.37 4.36 4.89
I regularly experience God’s love 4.28 4.27 4.70
NCS taught me the central doctrines of Christianity 4.24 4.25 3.80
I value the teachings of the Bible 4.45 4.44 4.90
The teachings of the Bible impact my decisions 4.12 4.10 4.70
I value a local Christian community 3.83 3.81 4.70
I regularly show God’s love to others 3.28 3.27 3.80
I verbally share my faith with others 2.39 2.38 2.90
Talk with an NCS adult since graduation 2.67 2.68 2.70
When I was young, mom regularly attended church 3.49 3.50 3.50
When I was young, dad regularly attended church 3.29 3.30 3.22
When I was young, mom participated in prayer and Bible study 3.02 3.02 3.00
When I was young, dad participated in prayer and Bible study 2.69 2.70 2.50
How frequently I read the Bible for spiritual edification 2.82 2.80 3.70
How frequently I have spiritual reflection or devotion 2.97 2.94 3.90
How frequently I attend a religious service 4.22 4.19 5.40
I was a Christian before attending NCS 0.90 0.90 0.78
I was a Christian when I graduated from NCS 0.92 0.92 1.00
I am a Christian today 0.88 0.87 1.00
I have changed my beliefs since graduating from NCS 0.32 0.31 0.50
My beliefs differ from my parents’ beliefs 0.36 0.36 0.40
Teachers modeled the Christian faith for me 4.42 4.43 4.10
Coaches modeled the Christian faith for me 4.25 4.26 4.30
Arts positively impacted my faith 3.96 3.96 4.22
Athletics positively impacted my faith 3.91 3.93 3.33
Discovery positively impacted my faith 4.34 4.34 4.71
Academics positively impacted my faith 3.92 3.92 3.90
Chapel positively impacted my faith 3.74 3.73 4.00
Small groups positively impacted my faith 3.49 3.48 4.00
NCS positively impacted my faith 4.32 4.33 4.20
NCS positively impacted my preparation for college & career 4.57 4.58 4.30
I had a trusted NCS adult 0.92 0.92 0.90
I am willing to participate in the second phase of research 0.69 0.69 0.80
Total Number of Responses 349 338 11
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APPENDIX H
NCS ALUMNI SURVEY ITEMIZED AVERAGE RESPONSES BASED ON NET
PROMOTER RESPONSE
Question 9 & 10 7 & 8 5 & 6 3 & 4 0-2
NCS prepared me with skills 4.79 4.51 3.81 3.94 3.27
Faith is important to me 4.55 4.05 3.69 3.56 2.93
God has a purpose for my life 4.73 4.28 3.66 4.00 2.53
I regularly experience God’s love 4.61 4.19 3.59 4.00 2.50
NCS taught the central doctrines 4.54 4.19 3.78 3.56 2.60
I value the teachings of the Bible 4.76 4.36 3.94 3.88 3.00
Teachings of the Bible impact decisions 4.46 4.01 3.56 3.75 2.27
I value a local Christian community 4.28 3.72 2.90 3.13 2.00
I regularly show God’s love to others 3.60 3.30 2.69 2.50 1.33
I verbally share my faith with others 2.71 2.39 1.66 1.94 0.60
Talk with an NCS adult since graduation 2.91 2.52 2.53 2.19 1.73
When I was young, mom regularly attended church 3.51 3.57 3.09 3.56 3.47
When I was young, dad regularly attended church 3.35 3.30 2.91 3.19 3.47
When I was young, mom attended Bible study 3.07 3.09 2.56 2.88 2.93
When I was young, dad attended Bible study 2.80 2.67 2.09 2.69 2.67
How frequently I read the Bible 3.18 2.69 2.16 2.38 1.33
How frequently I have spiritual devotion 3.18 2.90 2.69 2.63 1.60
How frequently I attend a religious service 4.79 4.02 3.06 3.63 1.87
I was a Christian before attending NCS 0.89 0.93 0.79 1.00 1.00
I was a Christian when I graduated from NCS 0.98 0.93 0.76 0.81 0.57
I am a Christian today 0.96 0.88 0.67 0.79 0.25
I have changed my beliefs since graduating 0.16 0.43 0.53 0.50 0.87
My beliefs differ from my parents’ beliefs 0.23 0.45 0.56 0.50 0.87
Teachers modeled the Christian faith for me 4.78 4.38 3.81 3.81 2.40
Coaches modeled the Christian faith for me 4.59 4.21 3.67 3.43 2.57
Arts positively impacted my faith 4.27 4.00 3.36 3.08 2.33
Athletics positively impacted my faith 4.37 3.67 3.25 2.92 1.92
Discovery positively impacted my faith 4.65 4.44 3.72 3.40 2.20
Academics positively impacted my faith 4.41 3.82 3.03 2.81 1.87
Chapel positively impacted my faith 4.25 3.55 2.97 2.80 1.40
Small groups positively impacted my faith 3.84 3.51 2.60 2.63 1.93
NCS positively impacted my faith 4.81 4.29 3.53 3.00 1.93
Positively impacted preparation for college & career 4.84 4.63 3.78 3.56 3.67
I had a trusted NCS adult 0.94 0.96 0.94 0.75 0.53
Willing to participate in the second research phase 0.75 0.67 0.65 0.50 0.40
Total Number of Responses 180 103 32 16 15
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APPENDIX I
INTERVIEW PROTOCOL
The interviews were conducted by a third party interviewer and not the primary researcher.
Today is: ________________________
This is alumni interview number: ____________________
Thank you for your willingness to participate in this interview. The goal of the interview is to
build upon the feedback that students provided through the online survey and gather a more
robust understanding of students’ spiritual experiences since leaving Northfield.
Your participation in today’s interview is voluntary and you can end the interview at any time.
The interview will be recorded for purposes of analyzing the transcript and understanding the
experiences of the students interviewed. Your identity or specific responses will not be revealed
to the Northfield administration. Only myself and the primary researcher will have access to this
information. If any direct quotes are utilized in the reporting of the research, a pseudonym will
be used for you.
I will ask you a series of questions and please feel free to answer in any way you believe is
appropriate and if you are uncomfortable with any of the questions, you are welcome to not
answer. I will begin with some questions about your faith background before you were a student
at Northfield, then we’ll discuss your experiences while at Northfield, and finally what your
spiritual experiences have been since you graduated from Northfield.
I have not seen your responses to the original survey. Some of the information may feel like it is
repeated from what you already provided, but this will help us to get a fuller context of
perspective.
Do you have any questions about this process?
Let’s begin.
Before Northfield
Please describe your family’s faith experience before you attended Northfield.
Please describe what role faith and religion had in your parents’ lives before you attended
Northfield.
Did the fact that Northfield is a Christian school have any influence on you and your family’s
decision to attend the school?
Please describe the perception you had about faith at Northfield before you became a student.
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While at Northfield
Do you feel like Northfield effectively taught you about what Christianity is?
Do you understand what it means to have a vibrant Christian faith?
Did you participate in Discovery while you were a student at Northfield?
• If yes, describe this experience and did it influence your faith development?
Did you feel like the areas of extracurricular involvement influenced your spiritual development?
• If so, describe your experience.
A theme that arose from the survey was the idea that teachers, coaches, and staff members were
important to many alumni. Did you have an adult or multiple adults on Northfield’s campus that
were important to you? What role did they play in your growth in general and specifically in
your spiritual development?
The spiritual development of students is an important component of the Northfield mission. Do
you have any recommendations for ways Northfield can improve how we seek to fulfill this
goal?
Do you feel like any aspects of Northfield were counter-productive to the spiritual development
of students?
While in college
Did you expect to persist in your faith when when you went to college?
Did you expect that your faith would be challenged while in college?
Do you place value on being a part of a spiritual or faith community?
Did you seek out any kind of faith community (church, Bible study, Campus Crusade/CRU, etc)
while in college?
Did you miss the faith environment at Northfield while you were in college?
Since graduating college:
Some of the literature on spiritual persistence talks about the importance of a “crisis of faith” or a
significant challenge to a person’s faith. Have you experienced a moment like this while in
college or since graduating from college?
• If yes – tell me about it?
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Are you currently married or in a committed relationship?
• If yes – did faith have any influence on choosing to be in a relationship with your
significant other?
• If no – do you consider issues of faith when considering who you would date or marry?
How do you think your faith experience will influence how you will raise your children?
Is there anything additional about your experience at Northfield or your faith experience since
graduating that you would like to share with us?
Possible Follow-up Questions
Some of the literature talks about how young adults will often put their faith away for a while. It
isn’t necessarily that they have rejected their faith but that it is not a priority for a period of time.
Does this characterize how you see your faith right now?
• If so, when do you think you will come back to your faith or place a more active priority
on your faith?
• What will cause that to happen?
Based on how you are describing your view of faith and the importance it has for you, why do
identify with the label of being a Christian? Is this accurate for you?
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APPENDIX J
IMMEDIATELY POST-IMPLEMENTATION EVALUATION
Please respond to the following items to provide needed feedback on the implementation
program.
To what extent do you agree with the following statements?
A. Strongly agree
B. Somewhat agree
C. Neither agree nor disagree
D. Somewhat disagree
E. Strongly disagree
1. I found the method of instruction for the training program to be engaging. (L1 – E)
2. The format and time allotted for the training supported my learning. (L1 – E)
3. I found the information discussed in the training to be valuable to my work at Northfield. (L1
– R)
4. Compared to other professional development workshops I have attended, I found this
program to be very beneficial. (L1 – S)
5. I am satisfied with the time spent learning about spiritual development activities. (L1 – S)
6. The training program provided me with the knowledge needed to effectively support students
in their spiritual development. (L2 – D)
7. I have the knowledge to mentor a student through a period of spiritual questioning. (L2 – D)
8. I have the skills and ability to mentor a student through a period of spiritual questioning. (L2
– S)
9. I see value in incorporating mentorship into my daily interaction with students. (L2 – A)
10. I believe the Northfield community benefits from adults that actively engage in students’
lives. (L2 – A)
11. I believe effective Christian education involves the intentional spiritual development of
students. (L2 – A)
12. I am comfortable engaging students in spiritual conversations. (L2 – CO)
13. I believe I can apply the concepts discussed in my relationships with students. (L2 – CO)
14. Prior to this training, I regularly engaged students in spiritual development. (L2 – CM)
15. I will commit to regularly engage students in spiritual development. (L2 – CM)
SPIRITUAL PERSISTENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI
192
APPENDIX K
DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION EVALUATION
Please respond to the following items to provide needed feedback on the implementation
program.
To what extent do you agree with the following statements?
A. Strongly agree
B. Somewhat agree
C. Neither agree nor disagree
D. Somewhat disagree
E. Strongly disagree
1. I found the information discussed in the training to be valuable to my work at Northfield. (L1
– E)
2. Compared to other professional development workshops I have attended, I found this
program to be very beneficial. (L1 – S)
3. The training program provided me with the knowledge needed to effectively support students
in their spiritual development. (L2 – D)
4. I see value in incorporating mentorship into my daily interaction with students. (L2 – A)
5. I believe the Northfield community benefits from adults that actively engage in students’
lives. (L2 – A)
6. I believe effective Christian education involves the intentional spiritual development of
students. (L2 – A)
7. I think I can apply the concepts discussed in my relationships with students. (L2 – CO)
8. I consistently engage in mentorship and discipleship relationships with students. (L3 – CB)
9. I have the support needed to continue to refine my ability as a mentor to students. (L3 – RD)
10. Since the training, I have been more equipped to work with students in the area of spiritual
development. (L4 – LI)
11. Since the training, I have identified areas of spiritual growth in students I work with. (L4 –
R)
12. I believe the overall attitude of the faculty and staff is positive when discussing the spiritual
development of students. (L4 – R)
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Nearly all Christian educational institutions have spiritual development as a core outcome of their mission. The purpose of the study was to better understand what factors influenced spiritual persistence and whether spiritual outcomes could be validated for one Christian high school. Clark and Estes’ (2008) Gap Analysis model was utilized to identify the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences which positively or negatively contributed to the students’ spiritual persistence. A mixed methods design was utilized where alumni students were invited to participate in an online survey and then a series of follow-up interviews were conducted. From the research, three broad groups of alumni were identified: students who had rejected the Christian faith, students who identified as Christians but it was not a priority in their life, and those who were thriving in their Christian faith. The results of the study helped to validate that students need basic factual knowledge about Christianity and need to understand how faith functions in a person’s life. However, the most important result was that the non-parental adults like teachers, coaches, and staff members that students connect with through mentorship and discipleship are vital to a student’s spiritual persistence.
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Gautier, Zachary L.
(author)
Core Title
Spiritual persistence of high school alumni: an evaluation model
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)
Publication Date
03/13/2018
Defense Date
03/05/2018
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
alumni,Christian schools,gap analysis,High School,OAI-PMH Harvest,spiritual development,spiritual persistence
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Datta, Monique (
committee chair
), Hanson, Katherine (
committee member
), Robles, Darline (
committee member
)
Creator Email
zach.gautier@gmail.com,zgautier@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-485546
Unique identifier
UC11266592
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etd-GautierZac-6105.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-485546 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-GautierZac-6105.pdf
Dmrecord
485546
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Gautier, Zachary L.
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
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Repository Location
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Tags
Christian schools
gap analysis
spiritual persistence