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"God has my back": the role of faith-based institutions in preparing African-American students for college success
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1
“GOD HAS MY BACK”: THE ROLE OF FAITH-BASED INSTITUTIONS
IN PREPARING AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS
by
Phillip M. Placenti
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
December 2012
Copyright 2012 Phillip M. Placenti
2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project has been one of the most challenging (and ultimately one of the most
rewarding) undertakings of my life. And I have not completed it alone.
First, I am indebted to the students whose stories have become the substance of this
study. Hearing their reflections and having the opportunity to write about them has been an
honor and a privilege. I dedicate this dissertation to them, with the hope that in some small way
it will be a source of encouragement for them to keep telling their stories and to forge ahead in
the very admirable endeavors they continue to pursue.
I am grateful to the members of my doctoral committee, Dr. Kristan Venegas (chair), Dr.
Robert Filback, and Dr. Linda Fischer. Their guidance has been invaluable. I am a better
student and a more reflective and thoughtful person because of how they have challenged me to
think and explore. I also have much appreciation for Dr. Reynaldo Baca, Dr. Pedro Garcia, Dr.
Kimberly Hirabayashi, Dr. Sylvia Rousseau, and Dr. Kenneth Yates, whose guidance in the early
stages of the doctoral program helped me in critical ways to formulate my thoughts about the
direction my studies would take.
Thanks to my peers in the Ed.D. program at USC Rossier, whose professional
perspectives and enduring passion for education have sharpened my thinking and convictions,
and have inspired me to “fight on” with the spirit of a Trojan in all I might pursue in the field of
education. O, how far we’ve come! May we courageously press forward to do good with all we
have gained from this experience together.
Thanks also to my colleagues at the USC Thornton School of Music, who have supported
me with their questions and encouragements throughout these three years – and, of course, their
well-wishes as I raced out the door early every Wednesday to go to class. I trust that what I have
3
gained from this Ed.D. experience will enable me to be a more effective leader and a more
passionate advocate for the educational needs of students.
I do not possess eloquence sufficient to express the feelings of thanks and love I have
toward innumerable family members and friends who encouraged me to begin this journey in the
first place, and have stayed right behind me to push me along until it was completed. My
amazing wife and our precious children have sacrificed much to support my pursuit of this
degree and they have given me their love without waver. I don’t know how to ever repay that.
My parents, grandparents, sister, aunts, and uncles have always believed I could accomplish
more than I believed of myself, and in writing this dissertation that proved again to be true.
Every word, every smile, every penny of financial support – even my grandfather’s teasing
question, “How many degrees does a person need?” – I am grateful for it all. And, not least, I
should surely thank all those friends who thought they were cute starting to call me “Dr. Phil” as
soon as I attended my first class in this doctoral program. I think I’ve now earned the privilege
to again be called simply “Phil.”
Above all, I am grateful to God, in whom I live, move, and have my being. I have had
from Him the spiritual fortitude to press on through the most challenging moments of this
ultimately transformative experience. In the inspiring words of the participants in this study, I
think God has had my back, too.
4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 2
List of Figures and Tables 5
Abstract 6
Chapter 1: Introduction 7
Chapter 2: Literature Review 17
Chapter 3: Methodology 54
Chapter 4: Findings 80
Chapter 5: Implications and Future Directions 121
References 143
Appendices
Appendix A: Information Sheet 156
Appendix B: Call for Participants 158
Appendix C: Interview Protocol 159
Appendix D: Confidentiality Agreement 162
5
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
Table 2-1: Faith Development Theory 19
Table 2-2: Measures of Spiritual and Religious Development 27
Table 2-3: Contrasting Theories of Social Capital 37
Figure 2-1: Synthesis: Theories of Social Capital 38
Table 3-1: Study Participants 65
Table 3-2: A Framework for Understanding the Impact of Involvement in Faith- 69
Based Institutions on the Educational Success of African-American
Students
Figure 3-1: Summary of the Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation Process 73
6
ABSTRACT
African-American students are less likely to attend and successfully complete college
than their Asian and White peers. Possible explanations for this disparity include racial and
ethnic segregation, socioeconomic challenges, persistent shortages of qualified teachers, and
scant access to college-preparatory curricula. In the context of such significant challenges, faith-
based institutions (most notably the African-American Church) play an important role in helping
students to overcome these obstacles and prepare for success in college. This qualitative study
employing personal interviews and artifact analysis has explored how ten African-American
students who have been academically successful in college believe their involvement in the
activities of faith-based institutions before college has had an impact on their aspirations to
attend college and on their preparedness for success in college. Social capital theory, particularly
as applied to religious contexts, has been utilized as a framework for examining these dynamics,
as well as the growing literature on student spirituality and the influence of religious involvement
on educational outcomes. The findings of the study reveal that involvement in faith-based
institutions provided students with a network of supportive relationships and helped them to
develop a belief in their own ability to succeed, a way of interpreting personal challenges
constructively, and a mindset that embraces opportunities for personal growth. These findings
provide direction for practitioners and the research community to consider how educational
institutions might partner with faith-based institutions in supporting African-American youth in
their preparation for college.
7
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. Then
the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left
hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried
out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” Every man stood in his place around
the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. (Judg. 7:19b-21, English
Standard Version)
Introduction to the Topic
Noble ends can be accomplished by unexpected means. Examples are numerous of life
circumstances that seem hopeless and destined for failure. A child born with an addiction to
heroine may not be expected to lead a healthy childhood and become a productive adult. A
young person, who grows up on violent streets where affiliation with gangs is understood to be
the only way of securing his own social and physical protection, may not be a likely candidate
for success in school and other life pursuits. But there are times when the odds are beaten and
the unexpected takes place. Despite unfavorable circumstances, a goal can be reached and the
course of life can be altered, though perhaps in surprising ways.
The ancient Hebrew account of Gideon’s triumph over the Midianites (from Judg. 6-8) is
a story of achieving noble ends by unexpected means. An army of 300, facing another army of
15,000, would not typically be expected to win. One army fighting with horns and clay pots,
would not be the anticipated victor over an army fighting with swords. Unprepared soldiers led
by an untrained general would not, in most cases, be any match for an army led by two strong
kings who are expert battle strategists. Yet in this timeless story, Gideon – an outnumbered,
undersupplied, unskilled leader with no experience in war – triumphs over an overwhelmingly
8
worthy opponent. And for centuries, the reason for Gideon’s victory has inspired many to
pursue their own noble goals despite what seem to be unbeatable odds.
The explanation of the Hebrew text for Gideon’s unexpected victory is a spiritual one:
God called Gideon to lead, and God determined that Gideon would win. Whether one reads this
story literally or allegorically, the message is the same: a man was motivated by a commitment
that was spiritual in nature, to beat incredible odds and achieve a goal which under normal
circumstances could not have been achieved. Gideon was able to win the battle because he
believed that God was with him. If Gideon were telling his own story in contemporary times, he
might say that God had his back.
Gideon’s story may be retold through the experiences of people from all walks of life
who continue to derive great strength and vision from their own spiritual commitments. This
strength enables them to pursue the highest of goals in the face of formidable obstacles. Some of
the most compelling of such stories may be those of students in their high school and college
years who have achieved academic success and who believe that their spiritual commitments
have contributed to their success. African-American students in particular often come of age in
communities which hold spiritual values in high regard. As they mature, these students begin to
embrace spiritual commitments for themselves. These spiritual commitments, and the faith-
based institutions associated with those commitments, can become sources of vision, inspiration,
and resilience through what can be adolescent and early adult years fraught with seemingly
insurmountable challenges. Many of these students are able to overcome such challenges and be
successful in school and in life because they believe that God has their back.
The study presented in this dissertation seeks to give voice to the stories of African-
American students who have achieved success despite significant obstacles. Particular attention
9
is given to the role that their spiritual commitments have played in the pursuit of educational
goals. Like Gideon’s ancient story, these contemporary accounts of spiritual strength in the face
of great challenge shed new light on the unique spiritual dynamics of the experiences of African-
American youth. Their experiences demonstrate how spiritual dynamics can contribute to
positive personal and academic outcomes.
Key Definitions
Four key terms will be utilized in this discussion: (1) spirituality; (2) spiritual
commitment; (3) religious involvement; and (4) faith-based institution. Other existing studies, or
studies to be pursued in the future, may define these or related terms somewhat differently.
Some of the variations in their use are briefly indicated in the definitions below. Presented here
are working definitions for the use of these four terms throughout the current discussion.
Spirituality
Spirituality will refer to a sense of meaning and purpose in one’s life, which may or may
not include sacred or religious elements, but serves as a guide for resolving personal and social
dilemmas regarding ethics, values, and beliefs. This definition is shaped largely by the faith
development theory of James Fowler (1981) and the research of the Higher Education Research
Institute (HERI) on college student spirituality (HERI, 2005), both of which are reviewed more
extensively in chapter two of this dissertation.
Spiritual Commitment
Spiritual commitment will refer to a personal awareness and conscious pursuit of
spirituality. This is to be distinguished from “religious involvement” (defined below) in that it is
not associated with a particular religious belief system or the practices of a specific faith
tradition. Spiritual commitment as used here is similar to the spiritual quest defined by Astin,
10
Astin, and Lindholm (2011a) as a personal interest in searching for meaning and purpose in
one’s life.
Religious Involvement
Perhaps the most readily understood of the terms defined here, religious involvement will
refer to regular participation in activities explicitly associated with a religious faith or belief
system. This includes attendance at worship services, involvement in the activities of a church
youth group, participation in Sunday School or other classes in which sacred texts and religious
beliefs are taught, and community service activities that are directly sponsored by a church or
other religious group. Researchers such as Jeynes (2003, 2009, 2010) and Astin, Astin, and
Lindholm (2011a) use the term religious commitment to describe essentially the same
phenomenon, but this alternative term connotes a greater degree and frequency of involvement
that is not the intended focus of the current study. Thus, the broader term religious involvement
will be utilized here.
Faith-Based Institution
Including but not limited to churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship,
faith-based institution will refer to any organization or group of organizations that is founded at
least in part on the principles of a religious faith or belief system. This includes community
organizations that identify a faith-based purpose but do not hold religious worship services or
teach faith-based practices. For example, a not-for-profit organization that offers after-school
tutoring opportunities for children may be affiliated with a Christian church and may reference
Christian beliefs in its mission statement, but does not in any way mention or seek to explicitly
advance Christian teachings in the tutoring programs it offers.
11
The four terms defined above are important concepts that are central to the present
discussion of African-American youth experience. Spirituality is of great importance to a
significant majority of students throughout the adolescent and early adult years (Smith, Faris, &
Denton, 2003; Higher Education Research Institute, 2005). The importance of spirituality to
these students is demonstrated through an array of personal commitments, including private
exploration of spiritual issues and involvement with others in activities that are essentially
spiritual in nature. Faith-based institutions can be places where students’ spiritual values are
encouraged and supported. This spiritual support can become a basis and vehicle for similar
kinds of support in areas such as education, community service, and social activities.
Statement of the Problem
The various forms of support that can be accessed through involvement in faith-based
institutions are especially important in light of the troubling dynamics that are common to the
educational experiences of African-American students, who are strikingly underrepresented in
academic achievement at the secondary and post-secondary levels. African-American students
are less likely to attend and successfully complete college than their Asian and White peers.
High school dropout rates are higher for African-American students (6.7%) when compared with
those of Asian and White students (2.4% and 2.8% respectively) (National Center for Education
Statistics, 2010a). Of the total number of students enrolled in United States high schools, 17%
are African-American (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010b), but only 13% of high
school graduates are African-American (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010a). In the
first semester of college, 14% of enrolled students are African-American (National Center for
Education Statistics, 2010c), but a mere 9% of all Bachelor degrees conferred by four-year
colleges and universities in the United States are conferred upon students who are African-
12
American (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). While nearly 60% of White 18-24
year olds are either attending or have graduated from college, the same is true for only 40% of
African-Americans in the same age group (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010d).
African-American students who do attend college are less likely than students of other ethnic
backgrounds to attend highly selective universities (Massey, Charles, Lundy, & Fischer, 2003),
and as Tsui (2003) highlights, graduates from highly selective universities are more likely to
attain higher levels of social and economic benefits after college.
Possible explanations for the disparity in educational achievement and other life
outcomes between African-Americans and their Asian and White peers are various and widely
studied. The cultural-ecological perspective of John Ogbu (Ogbu & Simons, 1998; Foster, 2005)
suggests that historically underrepresented students (namely African-American students) will
experience and interpret the culture of schooling very differently than culturally dominant groups
and will thus face unique and significant challenges in their educational pursuits. Other
contributors to ethnic inequities in academic achievement likely include racial and ethnic
segregation, socioeconomic challenges, persistent shortages of qualified teachers, and scant
access to college-preparatory curricula (Yun & Moreno, 2006).
In the context of such significant challenges, a rather different but equally compelling
observation can be made of African-American communities. Churches and other faith-based
institutions play a significant and influential role in these communities. The Black Church has
been described as a centerpiece of the cultural and political dimensions of Black communities.
Since the establishment of the first African-American church in Philadelphia in the late 18th
century, churches have been stable institutions in Black communities, providing all manner of
social services and offering a consistent voice for political reform. Individual churches and
13
coalitions of churches, in both historic and contemporary times, have developed an enormous
array of programs that benefit the communities in which they reside. These programs include
affordable housing projects, schools and educational support programs, recreational and
mentoring activities for youth, public health education and services, legal aid, parenting
education, childcare, food distribution, and support services for senior citizens. These efforts
reflect a long-standing commitment of the Black Church to actively serve the needs of their
communities (Billingsley, 1992; Barnes, 2005; Battle, 2006).
There is evidence that faith-based institutions in African-American communities can play
a role in helping youth to overcome the significant obstacles they encounter in their educational
pursuits. Whether through the cultivation of spiritual commitment in church-based activities
(Jeynes, 2003) or through academic support services (e.g., tutoring programs) and sustained
education reform efforts (Warren, 2001; Shirley, 2002), churches and other faith-based
institutions in African-American communities can have a significant impact on students’
preparation for academic success both before and during college.
The impact that students themselves believe these faith-based institutions have had on
their own educational experiences is the focus of this dissertation in its consideration of one
primary research question:
How do academically successful African-American college students who have
participated in the activities of faith-based institutions before college describe the impact
that their involvement in these institutions has had on their college aspirations and their
readiness for academic success in college?
14
Students’ perspectives on their own experiences can inform future efforts to maximize the
impact of faith-based institutions on the educational trajectories of this underrepresented and
underserved student population.
Purpose and Significance of the Study
In light of the persistent gap in educational achievement between African-American
students and their Asian and White peers, it is important to consider how the activities of faith-
based institutions play a role in the academic achievement and educational aspirations of
students in these communities. Because faith-based institutions are so prevalent in African-
American communities, it is especially critical to explore how these institutions play a role in
preparing African-American students for success in college. Whether as socializing mechanisms
for educationally supportive behavior, providers of educational enrichment programs, sources of
resource-rich social networks, or resilient forces of social change in under-resourced
communities, faith-based institutions, namely churches, can play a vital role in preparing
African-American youth for academic success.
Several studies have explored student perceptions of how religious involvement and/or
spiritual commitment play a role in their current educational circumstances, both before college
(Regnerus & Elder, 2003; Smith, 2003b; Regnerus, 2000) and during college (Bryant, 2007).
Some studies have considered particularly how these perceptions might differ by ethnic or
socioeconomic background (Sikkink & Hernández, 2003; Sanchez & Carter, 2005; Baker 2007;
Jeynes, 2010). What seems relatively unexplored is how African-American students who have
achieved a significant degree of academic success in college might reflect upon their own pre-
college experiences and identify particular dynamics of their spiritual commitment and religious
involvement that have influenced their college experiences.
15
The current study seeks to fill this gap in the research by exploring how African-
American students, who have been academically successful in college, believe their spiritual
commitment and religious involvement before college may have had an impact on their
aspirations to attend college and on their readiness for success in college. The findings of this
study can provide direction for further research that would consider how this interplay between
faith-based activity and educational experience might inform efforts to support African-
American youth in their preparations for college. It is crucial to understand the success stories in
order to identify what factors might contribute to these successes. Ideally, these dynamics could
be replicated in more systematic ways in order to support success on a much grander scale.
The findings of this study will be of interest to a number of constituencies. African-
American students who have not yet reflected on the value of their own faith-based experiences
will be encouraged to do so in ways that will positively support their educational pursuits. Faith-
based institutions will benefit from a greater awareness of the impact they can have on the
academic achievement and college success of African-American students. School districts and
administrators would do well to recognize the role that faith-based institutions play within the
complex sociocultural milieu which influences and shapes students’ pre-college educational
experiences. Formal and informal partnerships can be forged between schools and faith-based
institutions to mutually support student success. Admission and student affairs professionals in
higher education will also benefit from a greater understanding of the spiritual dimension of
students’ lives both before and during college. Recruitment practices and academic support
initiatives which reflect this important area of student experience could prove to be particularly
effective in supporting the college aspirations and post-secondary educational experiences of
African-American students.
16
Theoretical Framework and Research Methodology
The growing literature on student spirituality, rooted in faith development theory, and the
influence of religious involvement on educational outcomes is utilized in the current study as a
framework for examining the relationship between involvement in faith-based institutions and
the educational experiences of African-American students. Social capital theory, particularly as
applied to religious contexts, has also been utilized as a framework for analysis in this study. A
qualitative research methodology has been employed, involving interviews with ten African-
American students who participated in the activities of faith-based institutions before college and
have experienced success in college by advancing to the third year of undergraduate study at a
highly selective research university. Analysis of artifacts provided by study participants has
been incorporated to more deeply understand students’ experiences.
Organization of this Dissertation
Chapter two of this dissertation explores the extant literature on student spirituality and
religious involvement, with particular attention to their impact on educational outcomes.
Chapter two also presents a review of social capital theory with an emphasis on religious social
capital. Chapter three outlines the research methodology of the current study, including
sampling procedures, the process of data collection, and systems for data analysis. Chapter four
reports the findings of the study, and chapter five offers considerations for professional practice
as well as direction for future research.
17
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The current study explores how African-American college students who have participated
in the activities of faith-based institutions before college describe the impact their involvement in
these institutions has had on their college aspirations and their readiness for academic success in
college. The review of literature presented in this chapter provides a basis for understanding
students’ perspectives on the relationship between their faith-based involvement and their
educational experiences.
First, the important role of spirituality and religious involvement in student development
is explored. Faith development theory is briefly introduced, followed by a review of the impact
of spirituality and religious involvement on educational aspirations and achievement. Second,
social capital theory is reviewed as a framework for understanding the value that marginalized
students might derive from their involvement in the faith-based institutions with which they are
associated. Social capital is explained from its origins in the field of sociology, through its
applications to research in education, and finally as it has been applied to the study of religious
institutions and civic engagement for social reforms. It is at this intersection of the sociocultural
resources of faith-based institutions and the spiritual dimension of student development that we
begin to understand the impact that faith-based activities can have on the educational experiences
of African-American students.
Spirituality and Religious Involvement
Before the relationship between faith-based involvement and educational experience can
be understood, it is important to consider the role of faith-based experience in the lives of
individual students. A review of literature exploring student spirituality and religious
involvement is illuminative on this point. The relationship between faith-based institutions and
18
educational experience can be understood in the context of what is known about the important
role of faith and spirituality in student development.
Faith Development Theory
The theoretical foundation of contemporary research on student spirituality is the faith
development theory of James Fowler (1981). Influenced by the cognitive development theory of
Piaget (1967) and Kohlberg’s (1981, 1984) moral development theory, faith development theory
offers a framework for understanding how one develops a personal system of beliefs and values,
as well as ways of making meaning of life experiences, relationships with others, and the world.
Though based in theistic concepts, faith development theory defines faith generically, rather than
in terms of any specific faith or creed. From this theoretical vantage point, faith is the dimension
of human existence where cognitive, physical, and emotional processes come together to develop
a personal worldview which guides interpretations of and responses to life’s deepest questions
and experiences. Faith development is “an integral, centering process, underlying the formation
of…beliefs, values, and meanings…[and]…is a common feature of human beings” (Fowler &
Dell, 2005).
Faith development theory (Fowler, 1981) defines seven “stages of faith” through which
one will transition over the natural course of human development (see Table 2-1). While these
stages are essentially successive in nature, Fowler & Dell (2005) are careful to emphasize that
the stages are meant to be descriptions of observable patterns of behavior. This knowledge can
inform the kinds of support that might be provided at any given stage, but should not be used as a
way of assessing the quality of one’s spiritual experience. It is also not to be considered
inevitable that a person will transition from one stage to the next, or that s/he will experience all
seven stages of faith development in a lifetime.
19
Table 2-1
Faith Development Theory (Fowler, 1981)
Stage
Type of Faith
Approximate Age
Description
1 Primal Infancy Learning to trust
2
Intuitive-
Projective
Early
Childhood
Learning to categorize and to think in
(mostly visual) representations
3 Mythic-
Literal
Middle
Childhood
Learning to reason (in relatively
absolute terms)
4
Synthetic-
Conventional
Adolescence Exploring one’s place in the world
5
Individuative-
Reflective
Adulthood Beginning to consciously develop a
personal set of beliefs and values
6
Conjunctive Adulthood Relating personal beliefs to the beliefs
of others
7
Universalizing Adulthood Applying personal beliefs to life
activities for the benefit of others
Stage one: Primal faith. Generally coinciding with the time period from birth to two
years of age, it is at this first stage of faith development that one develops a most basic sense of
trust through the bonds of attachment with parents and caregivers. Infants cope with the
unfamiliarity of the post-natal world through trust in those who most directly respond to their
needs. Such trust counteracts what would otherwise be a stage of overwhelming anxiety around
the enormous volume of cognitive and emotional stressors encountered in infancy more than at
any other stage of human development.
20
Stage two: Intuitive-projective faith. This stage is characterized by children’s effort –
usually during the toddler years and early elementary school – to categorize the thoughts and
feelings they experience through their increasingly independent interactions with the world
around them. This process of categorization is generally managed through the forming of visual
images that efficiently and vividly represent thoughts and feelings. These images enable young
children not only to begin interpreting their environment, but also to cope with the more
unsettling dynamics it may present.
Stage three: Mythic-literal faith. One will typically transition to this stage of faith
development during middle childhood and may exhibit behaviors consistent with this stage for
quite some time, even into adulthood. Here, logical reasoning is developed, which enables
consciously evaluation, interpretation, and response to personal observations and experiences.
At this stage of faith development, responses to life events will tend to be dichotomous in nature
(e.g., good or bad, right or wrong) and will generally only consider information that is readily
available. In this respect, while reasoning and more complex thinking is possible at this stage of
faith development, such reasoning is typically not rooted in a consciously defined system of
personal beliefs. Logical conclusions are drawn instead from the information that can be
gathered from one’s immediate, observable environment.
Stage four: Synthetic-conventional faith. Most closely associated with the adolescent
years, this stage of faith development is marked by conscious reflection on oneself and others.
While behaviors in stages one through three demonstrate natural attempts at making sense of the
world around oneself, a person at stage four of faith development will be engaged in processes
that seek to make sense of his/her place in that world. This involves extensive personal
consideration of how one makes decisions, reacts to his/her environment, and relates to others.
21
However, this careful reflectiveness lacks what Fowler & Dell (2005) call “third person
perspective taking” (p. 39), which is the ability to take a relatively objective, “outside-looking-
in” position when evaluating events and experiences. Instead, a person at stage four of faith
development will interpret the world very much in terms of how s/he is personally affected by it.
Stage five: Individuative-reflective faith. The very personal reflection that marks stage
four becomes critical reflection at stage five. Here, one begins to evaluate the values and beliefs
that have been exhibited through the way s/he lives, followed by a determination reached more
independently than before of whether s/he actually desires to live that way. This is where
conscious development of a personal belief system begins.
Stage six: Conjunctive faith. With a more clearly defined personal belief system in
place, a person at stage six of faith development will begin to make sense of how his/her own
belief system differs from and/or resonates with the belief systems of others. Paradoxes
encountered in life are approached as a means of deepening one’s personal convictions, rather
than as a threat to them. A growing sense of interdependence with others is also characteristic of
this stage.
Stage seven: Universalizing faith. This final stage of faith development is one in which
the personal belief system becomes a conscious vehicle for transforming what is undesirable in
the world and affirming what is desirable. Concerns about the needs of others and societal forces
of oppression, for example, are mobilized into transformative action through the groundedness
that issues from a faith that is personally owned and which has been reflexively tested through
the earlier stages of faith development.
Summary. Fowler’s (1981) stages of faith development (summarized in Table 2-1)
provide a helpful framework for understanding how a person develops from infancy through
22
adulthood in his/her ability to make sense of the extraordinary array of experiences encountered
in the course of human life. This process of sense-making invariably shapes one’s perception of
the world, his/her place in it, and the ultimate meaning of all that inheres and transcends it.
Faith development theory has been at points criticized as fundamentally construed from a
restrictively Western, Judeo-Christian perspective (Streib, 2003; Small, 2008). Fowler himself
acknowledges his own faith origins in the Methodist (Christian) tradition, but is also quite candid
about the constructive influences that other faith traditions have had on his own personal faith
development and on his work as a theorist (Fowler, 2004). He is careful to emphasize that faith
development theory is only useful to the extent that it helps to explain the developmental process
for a given person within the context of a given belief system. If, in a particular faith tradition or
system of philosophical conviction, these stages do not truly reflect one's personal process of
development, the faith development framework should not be imposed upon that unique
experience.
Any critique of faith development theory notwithstanding, it has been widely utilized in
scholarly endeavors to understand the spiritual lives of students. Fowler’s (1981) work has
contributed significantly to the research of Sharon Parks (2005) in particular, who argues that the
connection between cognitive development and the development of “affect, community, and
faith” (p. 139) is both undeniable and critically important to the ultimate success and personal
fulfillment of college students.
Religious Involvement Prior to College
Researchers have demonstrated a direct correlation between religious involvement and
educational outcomes in the years prior to college. This is particularly true for underrepresented
students in urban settings. Sikkink and Hernández (2003) have found that pre-college Latino
23
youth who either identify their religious faith as important or regularly attend religious services
achieve higher levels of educational success as measured by traditional outcomes such as grades
and test scores than those who do not identify faith as important and who do not regularly attend
religious services. Jeynes (2003) has demonstrated that African-American students who are
religiously involved tend to perform better in school than African-American students who are not
religiously involved, and generally perform at least as well in academic work as White students.
Other studies have shown direct correlations between higher academic achievement and
attendance at religious services. Regnerus and Elder (2003) have shown that church attendance
is specifically correlated with positive academic outcomes among youth in socioeconomically
disadvantaged communities. The religious involvement of these students has a kind of protective
effect against the maladaptive influences that are so prevalent in their neighborhoods and school
settings. A correlation between academic achievement and religious education activities, such as
the reading of sacred texts and the study of religious teachings, has also been demonstrated
(Jeynes, 2009). These kinds of religious activities are further correlated with positive behavioral
outcomes, such as self-discipline and compassion (Jeynes, 2010). Using hierarchical linear
modeling, Regnerus (2000) has shown that involvement in religious activities (namely church
attendance) is positively related to the educational experiences and academic achievement of
sophomores in metropolitan high schools. There is evidence, then, that religiously involved and
spiritually committed urban youth both aspire to and attain higher levels of academic
achievement. There is further evidence that association with peers who are religiously involved
and spiritually committed can be correlated with positive academic outcomes among African-
American youth (Williams, Davis, Cribbs, Saunders, & Williams, 2002).
24
Many churches and other faith-based institutions in African-American communities
provide extra-curricular educational opportunities, such as tutoring programs, summer camps,
and other educational enrichment activities. Through such activities, these faith-based
institutions invest in the educational development of children and youth in ways similar to like
activities in non-religious community organizations (Foley, McCarthy, & Chaves, 2001). Faith-
based institutions provide youth with ethical and moral frameworks which promote behaviors
and disciplines that are conducive to educational achievement. These moral convictions might
include respect for elders and others in authority, active listening skills, independent reading, and
focused attention on an activity (Sikkink & Hernández, 2003; Smith, 2003b). Church attendance
may be a particular religious activity that facilitates ethical and moral development, since
religious services tend to be structured around these kinds of moral convictions (Regnerus &
Elder, 2003). Using the social capital framework of Coleman (1990), Smith (2003a) has
empirically concluded that strong intergenerational closure between parents and religiously
involved adolescents is a significant reason why religious involvement and spiritual commitment
have a positive impact on educational outcomes for these youth. Network closure among peers
can also be conducive to educational aspirations and achievement in these settings if the quality
of educational information and resources held by these networks is consistently high (Glanville,
Sikkink, & Hernández, 2008).
Habitus, as conceptualized by Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992), has been utilized as a
framework for considering the positive relationship between religious involvement and
educational outcomes (Barrett, 2010). As explained earlier in this literature review, habitus
describes the learned system of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward one’s own possibilities
for achievement and success. The socializing influences of a religious community, such as
25
learning sacred texts, participating in ritual activity and fellowship, building relationships with
peers and role models, volunteering in the community, and serving in roles of leadership all
contribute to the development of habitus. Through their participation in faith-based activities,
youth can develop perceptions of both the world and of self that will be conducive to educational
success.
There is compelling evidence in the resilience literature that the religious involvement of
urban teens is one of the most significant sources of motivation for avoiding the negative social
behaviors that result in not only academic under-achievement, but also potentially severe
physical and emotional harm (Thomas & Hewitt, 2009; Moore-Thomas, 2009). Cook (2000) has
shown in a study of Black and Latino youth that church attendance and other forms of religious
involvement can produce a number of positive socio-emotional outcomes. These faith-based
activities can reduce stress levels, provide mentors and other forms of personal support, nurture
healthy identity development, develop effective patterns of self-regulation, and provide
opportunities to participate in constructive, positive activities. Hearn, Hooten, Kim, and Walker
(2007) have shown that the religious involvement of Latino youth can empower them to
overcome social and institutional barriers that often hinder their ability to succeed in their
educational pursuits by providing them with a resilient sense of purpose and higher calling.
Spiritual Commitment during the College Years
In contrast to the relationship between religious activities and educational achievement
prior to college, there is no consistent evidence that spirituality or religious involvement has any
clear relationship to traditional measures of academic performance (e.g., GPA) at the college
level. In fact, the evidence seems to point more to the conclusion that there is no direct
correlation between religious activity and academic success among college students (Bryant,
26
2007). What is clear, however, is that spirituality and religious involvement can be important
aspects of college student experience. As such, both should be readily acknowledged and
actively nurtured in order to support optimal student experience.
Through a seven-year study of spiritual qualities and spiritual commitments among
college students, Astin, Astin, and Lindholm (2011b) have concluded that “spirituality is
fundamental to students’ lives” (p. 1). In college, students ponder questions of life purpose and
meaning more earnestly than before. Through active self-reflection on their own experiences
and experiences of others, young adults begin to develop a personal system of belief that is both
conscious and foundational to how they will make moral judgments throughout adulthood.
Twelve measures of spiritual and religious development have been defined by Astin, Astin, and
Lindholm (2011a) which help to describe and more deeply understand the spiritual commitment
and religious involvement of college students. These measures are summarized in Table 2-2
below.
One measure of spiritual development defined by Astin, Astin, and Lindholm (2011a) is
“equanimity,” or “the extent to which [a] student feels at peace [or] centered, is able to find
meaning in times of hardship, and feels good about the direction of her/his life” (p. 47). This
dimension of college student spirituality is becoming increasingly important, as a growing
number of college students identify themselves and describe their life experiences in ways that
are consistent with the scholarly measures of equanimity. This measure spiritual development is
also significant in its correlation to other measures of student engagement and success. As Astin
and Keen (2006) have shown, equanimity is significantly and positively associated (though
modestly so) with college grade point average and satisfaction with the college experience. It is
also strongly correlated to measures of engagement such as social activism, charitable
27
involvement, and an interest in becoming community leaders who “improve the human
condition” (p. 7).
Table 2-2
Measures of Spiritual and Religious Development (Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2011a)
Measure
Definition
Spiritual Quest Interest in searching for life meaning and purpose
Equanimity
Feeling of being at peace or being centered about one’s life
experience and life direction
Ethic of Caring
Values related to helping others and making the world a better
place
Charitable Involvement
Exploring one’s place in the world and making a contribution
Ecumenical Worldview
Interest in and respect for different religious traditions and a
sense of connectedness to all humanity
Religious Commitment Commitment to following the teachings of a particular
religious tradition
Religious Engagement Regular involvement in the activities of a particular religious
tradition (e.g., worship services, prayer and meditation,
reading sacred texts)
Religious / Social
Conservatism
Adoption of a defined set of beliefs commonly labeled as
“conservative” (e.g., opposition to casual sex and abortion,
commitment to proselytizing)
Religious Skepticism
Adoption of a defined set of beliefs that favor concepts such
as “chance” and no life after death
Religious Struggle
Unsettled feeling about religious matters
28
Based on a review of social scientific research on religion in higher education, Mayrl and
Ieur (2009) have concluded that religious beliefs held by students prior to college are strongly
maintained and meaningfully developed during the college years. Actual religious practice
(traditionally defined as attendance at religious services) tends to decline during the same period,
but this does not seem to have any negative effect on the strength of religious beliefs or the
positive influence that those beliefs have on students’ life experiences during the college years.
It has been suggested that the decline in religious practice may simply be a function of new
constraints on students’ time schedules in the first year of college, or other practical
considerations such as limited access to transportation (Higher Education Research Institute,
2007).
A relationship has been demonstrated between students’ spiritual commitment and the
increasingly important area of leadership development. The long-standing belief that higher
education must play a central role in developing the future leaders of society has only intensified
in the last two decades (Astin & Astin, 2000; Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, 2006). Based on a
correlation analysis of some of the common quantitative measures of spiritual development (e.g.,
spirituality, equanimity, and spiritual quest) and similar measures of leadership development
(e.g., commitment, change, common purpose, citizenship), Gehrke (2008) argues that there is a
spiritual dimension to leadership development and practice. It has been suggested that the more
effective leader will be the one who has developed a deep sense of spiritual awareness (Sanders,
Hopkins, & Geroy, 2003). The aspects of higher education that support the development of
leaders would be, therefore, wisely informed by an understanding of the spiritual dimension of
student experience.
29
A national study of college student spirituality by the Higher Education Research
Institute (2005) offers a comprehensive perspective on the spiritual dimension of college
experience. The HERI study distinguishes between student spirituality and student religiousness.
The former includes ideas such as belief in the sacredness of life, an interest in spiritual
questions, and engagement in discussion with friends about the meaning and purpose of life.
Measures of student religiousness include belief in God, attendance at religious services, and
prayer. While spiritual and religious preferences vary considerably, what is clear from the HERI
study is that a substantial majority of college students are engaged in spiritual practices and
thought processes. More than three-quarters of respondents in the HERI study believed in God,
were interested in spirituality, and were engaged in an active search for meaning and purpose in
their lives.
As discussed above, spiritual commitment and religious involvement can and does have
an impact on students’ academic achievement prior to college. This may be especially true for
African-American students in whose home communities churches are such a central part, but
who are underrepresented on most college campuses and therefore experience unique challenges
relative to their own identity development in early adulthood (Stewart, 2002; Johnson, Oates,
Jackson, Miles, & Strong, 2003; Sanchez & Carter, 2005). Baker (2007) notes that opportunities
for African-American students to participate during their college years in activities associated
with the faith commitments they made prior to college may be more important for their
development than any relationship that might be demonstrated between religious involvement
and academic performance.
30
Summary
While there can be a shift in the practice and substance of religious involvement from
adolescence to early adulthood (Smith & Snell, 2009), it is clear that spirituality is important to
the majority of young people. Their spiritual commitments fundamentally shape students’
beliefs and values systems, and have a significant impact on their educational aspirations and
achievement. The influence of religious involvement and spiritual commitment is especially
important for African-American students.
Social Capital Theory
Having explored the importance of faith and spirituality in student development, an
introduction to social capital theory will provide a helpful context for understanding how
institutions can play a role in supporting students (especially those who are underrepresented) in
their preparations for and eventual pursuit of a college education. The following section is a
review of social capital theory. Particular attention is given to how social capital theory has been
applied to the field of education and to religious contexts.
Social capital as a theoretical construct initially developed in the field of sociology and
has later been applied to fields such as political science and education. As originally conceived,
the idea of social capital is related to the economic concept of “human capital,” which represents
the resources held by an individual that can be utilized for personal advancement. As Lin (2001)
delineates, while human capital may be cultivated through one’s development of personal
knowledge and skills, social capital is cultivated through investment in social relationships from
which the resources of others may be accessed and leveraged for personal benefit.
While many definitions of social capital have been offered, it is essentially understood as
the value derived from one’s social networks and relationships, however formal or informal these
31
associations may be. More precisely, social capital is “resources embedded in a social structure
that are accessed and/or mobilized in purposive actions” (Lin, 2001, p. 29). Three important
components of social capital are evident in this definition: (1) available resources that have the
potential for being invested; (2) embeddedness of these resources in social structures; and (3)
active investment of these socially-embedded resources for specific purposes.
An examination of the work of three social capital theorists is a helpful starting point for
understanding both the origins of social capital theory and the various frameworks that have
evolved from it. In the application of social capital to the field of education, the work of
Bourdieu (1984, 1986), Coleman (1988, 1990), and Putnam (1993, 1995, 2000) is most
instructive (McGonigal et al., 2005).
Social Capital and the Institutions of Society
The writings of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu arguably ushered the concept of social
capital into the field of education. In his seminal essay, “The Forms of Capital,” Bourdieu
(1984) describes social capital as the resources one may access through his/her association with a
social group. These resources may be utilized in the present or in the future, though access to
them may vary considerably from person to person. Fundamental to Bourdieu’s
conceptualization is the understanding that these resources are only available through one’s
association with a particular social group. It is the group which collectively possesses the
resources, and individuals within the group benefit from their association with the collective.
The amount and quality of social capital are emphasized by Bourdieu (1986). The size of
one’s social network, the degree to which one can effectively access and mobilize network
resources, and the value of the capital held by the network, will all fundamentally shape the
benefit one might glean from his/her association with the group. Power – to influence, to
32
advance, to control, to succeed – is inherent in social capital. The quantity of these resources of
power is distributed differentially across social groups. Some groups will have more power than
other groups, not simply as a function of the size of the group, but by the role and status of the
group in society. By association, then, the members of a social group will have more or less
access to these societal resources of power depending on the power possessed by the group.
Accumulation and multiplication of social capital is inextricably connected to the social
group, from Bourdieu’s perspective (Bourdieu, 1986). One particular dimension of social capital
as conceptualized by Bourdieu (1986) is the idea of “habitus,” or the learned system of beliefs,
attitudes, and behaviors that is often unconsciously acquired through involvement in the
activities of a social group. People will tend to observe the behaviors of others in the social
group and will internalize those behaviors. This process of unconscious socialization will have a
significant impact on how one perceives his/her own potential for achievement and success,
whether in education or any other life endeavors. Habitus is thus a facilitator of the resources of
social capital for the individual. This system of beliefs about one’s place in the world will
fundamentally shape the manner in which s/he approaches a purposive endeavor such as
education.
Thus, the capital accessed and deployed by an individual is dependent upon the capital
held by the social group with which s/he is associated, whether that association is by personal
choice or by societal assignment. Particularly in the case of societal assignment, this view of
social capital as the resources of the collective rather than of the individual becomes a basis for
understanding the inequitable access of various groups to the resources of society. Members of
historically dominant groups in society (e.g., males, Caucasians, heterosexuals, those of strong
physical ability) will have greater access to societal resources and will therefore generally always
33
contend against far fewer cultural barriers than members of subordinate groups. Whether
deliberately or subconsciously, dominant groups leverage the capital of their social networks to
the end that their dominant societal position is strengthened and advanced. This persistent
dominance is necessarily to the exclusion of non-dominant groups, whose position continues to
be relegated to one that is immutably subordinate. In summary, Bourdieu (1984, 1986) offers a
foundational understanding of social capital as the resources accessible to individuals, based on
the resources which are differentially – and virtually always inequitably – held by the social
network(s) with which they are associated.
Social Capital and the Individual
Not altogether different, but certainly distinct from Bourdieu (1984, 1986), is Coleman’s
(1988, 1990) conceptualization of social capital. Writing from a more clearly American
sociological perspective rooted in the individualistic philosophical heritage of the United States,
Coleman builds his definition of social capital around three primary components: (1) obligations
and expectations; (2) information channels; and (3) social norms.
Like Bourdieu (1984, 1986), Coleman (1990) emphasizes the benefit to individuals of the
resources accessible to them through their social networks. In contrast to Bourdieu, Coleman
argues that, in any particular social network, the level of trust between group members –
specifically, the expectations and obligations group members have toward one another – will
directly impact the value individuals derive from the resources of the collective. Coleman
illustrates this by the example of financial lines of credit: one member of the group extends
financial credit (i.e., trust) to another member of the group with the expectation that the debt will
be repaid (i.e., trust will be reciprocated). Thus, rather than differential access of various social
34
groups to the institutional resources of society, Coleman’s emphasis is on the capital individuals
create when they work together in relationships of mutual trust.
Coleman (1990) also emphasizes the importance of information channels in social
networks; that is, the ways in which the passing of information between group members is
accessed – and even manipulated – by individuals within the group. While Coleman notes that
this leveraging activity on the part of individual group members strengthens social ties and
increases social capital for the group, he places far greater emphasis on the activity of the
individual to act in the context of the group and to access the resources of the group. The power
to develop social capital fundamentally lies with the individual, from Coleman’s perspective.
Trust within the social network is protected, according to Coleman (1990), through the
norms and sanctions to which the members of the network mutually adhere. Drawing again on
the metaphor of a financial line of credit, Coleman would assert that if a member of the group
breaks trust with another member of the group by not reciprocating trust (i.e., by failing to repay
the debt owed), the group can collectively apply sanctions (e.g., social pressure or ostracism) to
the one who broke trust, to the end that the collectively accepted norms of group membership are
maintained and strengthened.
It is important to highlight that Coleman’s (1990) work focuses largely on social
networks that are relatively small in size and scope. His writings deal primarily with the
resources of social capital available to individuals through family structures and localized
community associations, as opposed to the large – and often dominant – institutions of society.
He extensively develops the concept of “closure,” a term coined by Coleman which identifies the
tendency of members of small social networks to be related closely enough to one another so as
to efficiently maintain the norms and sanctions of the network. A specific application of this
35
concept is what Coleman calls “intergenerational closure,” which refers to the connectedness of
one parent to other parents in the same social network, by which these parents collectively
monitor the behavior and activities of their children. Coleman’s emphasis on smaller rather than
larger social networks affirms his focus on the individual as primary in both the development and
maintenance of the resources of social capital.
Bourdieu (1984, 1986) and Coleman (1988, 1990) share an understanding of social
capital as the resources of one’s social network from which personal benefits are derived. The
differences between their conceptualizations of social capital lie in what they identify as the
source of these resources, as well as the degree of influence individuals within the network can
have on these resources. Bourdieu views social capital as primarily associated with – if not
imposed by – societal power structures over which some individuals have very little control.
Coleman, in contrast, views the resources of social networks as being created and maintained in
relatively local settings that can be directly influenced by individual network members.
Social Capital and Civic Engagement
Building on Coleman’s (1990) conceptualization of social capital as a function and
resource of the individual, Putnam (1993, 1995, 2000) develops his idea of social capital in the
context of civil society. As expounded by O’Connell (1999), civil society is the system of
voluntary associations and relationships that are the substance of daily life. It is the norms,
social trust and network affiliations of these voluntary relationships that Putnam defines as social
capital. These are the resources that can be invested, coordinated, and mobilized for mutually
beneficial outcomes. Putnam focuses extensively on what he views as a decline in social capital
in the United States and the resulting decline of civic institutions that promote the common good.
36
In Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Putnam (2000)
argues that one of the most important root causes of persistent social problems in American
society (e.g., joblessness, chronic health concerns, inequitable educational outcomes) is a decline
in civic engagement. He cites studies by researchers from diverse fields of inquiry which
consistently demonstrate that more positive social outcomes are associated with communities
characterized by the active civic engagement of their citizens. Attendance at civic gatherings
(e.g., town hall meetings and city council hearings), voting patterns, associational memberships,
voluntarism, and philanthropic activity are all examples of the civic engagement emphasized by
Putnam. A decline in civic engagement, Putnam argues, is the result of a decline in social
capital. Because people are less connected to one another and thus have less social capital,
Putnam asserts that they are less likely to engage in the civic discourse and civic activity that
would begin to solve the most pressing social problems of society.
To further explain how social capital may or may not be mobilized for societal benefit,
Putnam (2000) distinguishes between “bonding” social capital and “bridging” social capital. The
former describes the trust and reciprocity that is naturally formed in social relationships, but
which can also work to isolate social networks from one another and hinder social cooperation.
Bridging social capital, in contrast, brings the trust and reciprocity of individual social bonds to a
larger social network. This larger network will more effectively invest greater pools of social
resources in activities that address social problems and pursue positive social goals. Clearly,
bonding and bridging forms of social capital are necessary for encouraging and facilitating the
kind of civic engagement emphasized by Putnam. The efforts for social change that can be
pursued by a large social network are made possible through the bonds of trust that exist in
individual social relationships within the network.
37
Table 2-3
Contrasting Theories of Social Capital
Theorist
Focus
Key concepts
Summary
Bourdieu
(1984, 1986)
Societal
Institutions
Power
Habitus (learned beliefs)
Access to social capital
will be a function of
one’s social status in
society.
Coleman
(1988, 1990)
Individuals
Obligations and expectations
Information channels
Social norms
Social capital is created
and maintained by
individual people in their
social relationships with
other people.
Putnam
(1993, 1995,
2000)
Civic
Engagement
Bonding social capital
Bridging social capital
Individuals develop and
mobilize social capital
through voluntary
participation in social
organizations.
Summary
As summarized in Table 2-3, there are contrasts between the conceptualizations of social
capital by Bourdieu (1984, 1986), Coleman (1988, 1990), and Putnam (1993, 1995, 2000).
Bourdieu is concerned with the institutional forces that define the resources of social capital that
are differentially available to various social groups in society. Coleman emphasizes the work of
the individual to access and invest the resources of social capital available to him/her. Putnam
views social capital, when invested through active civic engagement, as a key to solving social
problems. While all three would identify social capital as resources derived from social
networks, they differ in their explanations of the source of social capital, as well as how and for
what purpose it is invested.
38
The points of divergence between Bourdieu (1984, 1986), Coleman (1988, 1990), and
Putnam (1993, 1995, 2000) may be important points of opportunity for mutual application.
Corwin Smidt (2003) suggests that “social capital serves to transform self-interested individuals
exhibiting little social conscience and weak feelings of mutual obligation into members of a
community expressing shared interests and a sense of the common good” (p. 5). As depicted in
Figure 2-1, the shared obligations, expectations, and social norms emphasized by Coleman
(1988, 1990) may be mobilized through the bridging forms of civic engagement emphasized by
Putnam (1993, 1995, 2000). Such engagement can challenge and ultimately transform the
institutional power structures that are of concern to Bourdieu (1984, 1986).
Figure 2-1
Synthesis: Theories of Social Capital
Education and Social Capital
Bourdieu (1986) and Coleman (1988) frame their conceptualizations of social capital in
the context of educational achievement. It is therefore not surprising that social capital theory
has been extensively applied to research in education. While most of this research is concerned
with understanding the gap in student achievement across gender, ethnic, and socioeconomic
Individuals with
shared norms
and beliefs
(Coleman,1988;
1990)
Civic Engagement
(Putnam, 1993; 1995; 2000)
Transformation
of institutional
power structures
(Bourdieu,
1984; 1986)
39
categories, the hypothesized causes of this gap and the corresponding focus of research differ
considerably, given the specific theoretical framework of social capital that is the basis for any
particular study. As Dika and Singh (2002) have demonstrated, education research that draws on
the work of Coleman typically emphasizes the importance of the role of family and community
in the educational success of children (e.g., Coleman, 1992). In contrast, research based on
Bourdieu’s work tends to consider much more directly the contrasting ways that students of
different ethnic backgrounds, genders, and social classes experience school, as well as how
educational institutions themselves help or hinder the educational success of students.
While social capital research in education that is rooted in Coleman (1988) is
substantially more prevalent than that which draws on Bourdieu (1986), there has been
significant discussion in the literature regarding the limitations of a Colemanesque approach.
For example, there is evidence that Coleman’s emphasis on the impacts of intergenerational
closure might only be rightly applied to middle-class or professional-class families (Horvat,
Weininger, & Lareau, 2003). A framework rooted exclusively in Coleman overly emphasizes
the responsibility of the individual student to chart his/her own course for educational success
through the resources of social networks, without questioning the role that educational
institutions play in either supporting or hindering that success (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). Perhaps
most importantly, Coleman’s notion of social capital as a resource primarily fungible by
individuals for their own success leaves unresolved the problem that educational achievement is
still largely differentiated along lines of race, gender, and socioeconomics (Lin, 2001; Stanton-
Salazar, 1997). If individual success in education were only a function of one’s own ability to
leverage the resources of social group associations, there would not be such differentiation in the
40
educational achievement of particular social groups. There must also be institutional
explanations for these differences.
The information and relationships which facilitate access to educational opportunities
from pre-kindergarten through college is much more readily available to students who are White
and from either middle- or upper-class backgrounds. One reasonable explanation for this is that
the values and norms of the educational establishment are much more closely aligned with the
values and norms of White, middle-class social networks (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). These social
resources are not inherently more valuable; the values and norms which shape the culture of
schooling are arbitrarily defined (Monkman, Ronald, & Théramène, 2005). But because of
societal structures of power which impose the values and norms of dominant groups on the
institutions of society, the culture of American educational institutions overwhelmingly reflects
White, middle-class values. Students who do not interact with an educational institution in ways
that are consistent with the arbitrarily defined norms of that institution are not likely to achieve
success within those structures. Thus, students who are not from a dominant societal group are
considerably constrained in their pursuit of educational success unless they are permitted to
accumulate substantial resources of social capital that will enable them to overcome the
arbitrarily imposed institutional barriers to their success (González, Stoner, & Jovel, 2003).
It is therefore incumbent upon educational institutions to carefully consider the role they
themselves play in perpetuating what amounts to an oppressive, ethnocentric power dynamic that
has a pervasive negative impact on the educational aspirations, access, and achievement of
millions of children and young adults. These institutions must consider how they – even if
unintentionally – support and maintain the inequitable status quo that characterizes so many of
the central institutions of American society, particularly the institution of education. Cultural
41
resources, such as language, customs, and kinship networks, can be valuable resources of social
capital in all ethnic and cultural groups (Stanton-Salazar & Dornbusch, 1995). But students
possessing these resources may not be able to invest them in ways that are advantageous if
institutional structures hinder such investment by maintaining – however tacitly – the dominating
norms and values that have been imposed through these institutions and which alienate students
who are not of the dominant class (Stanton-Salazar, Chávez, & Tai, 2001).
There is a critical role that individuals from institutions of power can and must play in
addressing the inequitable distribution of social capital. “Institutional agents,” as defined by
Stanton-Salazar and Dornbusch (1995), are people with whom students are able to form
supportive relationships that will help them to access institutional resources and to navigate
institutional power structures. Institutional agents can be teachers, counselors, and other
representatives of schools, or community agents outside of school such as social workers, clergy,
and higher-status neighbors who might possess information and other resources that would be of
value to students in the pursuit of their education. It is through these relationships with
institutional agents that students can gain understanding of the aspects of school culture that may
be unfamiliar to them, access information about the representatives of the educational
establishment who might be able to assist them in solving problems, or be exposed to the very
complex systems that must be navigated in order to access higher education.
The effectiveness of institutional agents is limited, however, if their assistance to
marginalized students essentially maintains the institutional status quo. Resources that will help
students overcome institutional barriers to educational achievement will not necessarily lead to
transformational change in these institutions that effectively removes these barriers (Stanton-
Salazar & Spina, 2000; Stanton-Salazar, 2010). If the barriers remain, the inequitable conditions
42
will persist. One of the more recent developments in the social capital and education literature is
the delineation between institutional agents and “empowerment agents” (Stanton-Salazar, 2010).
This new conceptualization draws on the Freireian (1970, 1974) idea of “critical consciousness,”
which emphasizes two equally crucial needs: (1) to become aware of the oppressive elements of
one’s societal context, and (2) to take action against the hegemonic tendencies of that context.
An empowerment agent, therefore, is one who aids marginalized students not only in accessing
institutional support and resources, but also in understanding and effectively challenging the
often hidden, yet powerfully oppressive elements of the institutions that have been shaped by the
values of the dominant class.
In summary, education research that has utilized social capital theory demonstrates the
important role that individuals play in counter-balancing and challenging the culturally
oppressive power dynamics of educational institutions. Through the efforts of institutional
agents, marginalized students can access the resources needed to navigate these complex
institutional dynamics. Empowerment agents can go beyond simply facilitating access by
equipping these students to deeply understand and ultimately challenge those dynamics in ways
that will bring about transformational change.
Religion and Social Capital
Religion, religious schools, and religious involvement have been consistently referenced
in the social capital literature. While meta-analytical studies have not been conducted on this
intersection of religion and social capital, a clear pattern can be highlighted and a unique
literature in “religious social capital” (Smidt, 2003) has emerged.
Coleman (1988) has specifically considered the differential quantity and quality of social
capital that is evident in his comparisons of religiously and non-religiously based schools. His
43
analysis of data on high school drop-out rates found that students who attended religiously based
high schools were less likely to drop out. Looking to the same data for possible explanations for
this outcome, Coleman has concluded that the intergenerational closure of students’ religious
communities (measured as regular attendance at religious services) was strongly correlated to
lower drop-out rates even for students who did not attend religiously based schools.
Putnam (2000), in describing the decline of social associations in American society, has
identified religious affiliation and membership in religious groups as the most common
institutional form of bonding social capital in the United States. While affiliation with other
social institutions ebbs and flows, Putnam asserts, members of society across generations have
consistently connected with one another in mutually-beneficial ways through their religious
affiliations.
In his explanation of the sources of social capital, Portes (1998) has cited religious
institutions as examples of the kinds of organizations more likely to benefit from the
philanthropic activity of individuals who associate themselves with those institutions because of
the solidarity these individuals feel with the institution. As a result, church members will more
readily give financial support to their church than to a social cause with which they do not as
closely identify. As an example of the threat of sanctions within a social network, Portes points
to the risks that members of religious institutions might be willing to take in extending goodwill
to one another (e.g., granting a loan without collateral) because of the obligations and
expectations that will be enforced by the social ties and norms of the group. Members of
churches might more readily offer support to one another than to others who are not affiliated
with their religion-based social network.
44
From their analysis of the sources of social capital for at-risk youth, Furstenberg and
Hughes (1995) have specifically identified the religious involvement of youth and their parents
as one example of multiple sources of social capital that should be examined when considering
possible interventions that will aid these young people in rising above their circumstances of
disadvantage.
Fukuyama (2001), arguing that social capital cannot be directly generated through policy
initiatives, has explained in a way similar to Putnam (1995) that social capital is a complex
construct of mutual trust and reciprocity that is informally cultivated in social networks and can
be mobilized for collective action. Examples of these social networks, as cited by Fukuyama
(2001), vary widely in terms of size and structure, from small friendship groups to large political
organizations. Significantly, Fukuyama points to religious groups as a common example of
these social networks, even across cultures and national boundaries.
Ricardo Stanton-Salazar has made reference to churches, clergy, and religious institutions
in his development of social capital theory in the field of education. Along with teachers,
counselors, and various types of community leaders, clergy are examples of institutional agents
(Stanton-Salazar & Dornbusch, 1995; Stanton-Salazar, 1997). Churches are identified as a type
of community organization with which young people might associate outside of school and
family (Stanton-Salazar, 1997; 2010). Through these faith-based associations they can develop
strong relationships of trust that support the development of resilient behaviors for meeting
social, emotional, and academic challenges (Stanton-Salazar & Spina, 2000).
Religious Social Capital as Bridging Social Capital
Building mostly on the work of Coleman (1990) and Putnam (2000), researchers such as
Wuthnow (2002, 2003), Wood (2002), and Warren (2001) have undertaken a variety of both
45
quantitative and qualitative studies that consider the role of religious institutions in cultivating
and mobilizing social capital. The findings of this expanding body of research would seem to
lend credence to the classic assertion of Glock (1962) that religion is consequential.
Putnam’s (2000) conceptual distinction between bonding social capital and bridging
social capital is especially important in any consideration of religious social capital. Religious
institutions are capable of cultivating both types of social capital, but there is a danger in the
tendency of institutions with such deeply held values and strong network closure to become
exclusive and insular, thus creating only bonding forms of social capital. Though strong bonding
capital is a necessary foundation for strong bridging capital, the development of the former
without progressing to the latter will substantially limit – if not virtually blot out – the value that
will be afforded to society by these social resources.
Beyerlein and Hipp (2005) have documented the unfortunately negative impact that an
exclusive kind of bonding social capital can have on a community. Their study identified
significant correlations between crime rates and forms of social capital in the religious
communities of over 3,000 counties in the United States. In counties where religious
communities exhibited behaviors characteristic only of bonding social capital, crime rates were
higher. By stark contrast, crime rates were lower in counties where religious communities
developed both bonding and bridging forms of social capital. Religious communities that
cultivate only bonding social capital may create environments from which their own members
derive benefits, but there is no evidence that these networks have any enduring, positive impact
on the larger communities in which they reside. Religious institutions can, however, generate
the kind of bridging social capital that produces important societal change. Churches have
played a historical role in bridging members of underserved communities to financial and social
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resources, such as job training, legal assistance services, health and safety information seminars,
and food distribution (Putnam, 1993). Churches and religious institutions have also played a
critical role in creating pathways for participation in significant social and political movements
(Verba, Schlozman, Brady, & Nie, 1993).
Based on extensive consideration of the data available on the role of religious institutions
in American society, Wuthnow (2003) has concluded that “there is little doubt that religious
participation is conducive to social capital” (p. 204). His own quantitative study of the
correlation between religious involvement and bridging social capital demonstrates that members
of religious congregations are more likely to have relationships with what he calls “high-status”
individuals (e.g., political leaders, government officials, people of wealth) (Wuthnow, 2002).
Through these relationships, congregational members can collectively gain access to a wider
array of resources than they would if not affiliated with these religious organizations.
Wuthnow’s conclusions are compelling, as they are based on analysis of survey results from a
large nationally representative sample of both ethnic and class diversity.
Cnaan, Boddie, and Yancey (2003) have acknowledged the decline in organizational
affiliation noted by Putnam (1995), but offer a hopeful outlook regarding the ways that religious
congregations can be sources and mobilizers of social capital. They argue that civic engagement
can often be a norm of congregational life, a theme complemented by the growing evidence that
religious involvement has a significant impact on civic engagement (Wald & Wilcox, 2006).
This is true not only for older congregational members, but also for youth and young adults who
are religiously committed (Gibson, 2008). Membership in a congregation generally produces
bonds of trust and expectations of reciprocity that are key components of social capital as
conceptualized by both Coleman (1990) and Putnam (2000). These bonding elements of the
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congregation’s social network are naturally converted into bridging forms of social capital
through civic engagement that is rooted in deeply-held beliefs about the importance of serving
the needs of others. Congregations that progress beyond the cultivation of bonding social capital
are able to mobilize their members to meet the needs of the broader community through the
shared social norms and networks of trust that they possess.
The progression from bonding to bridging capital can begin within the relatively closed
social network of the congregation. Through participation in congregational activities or by
serving in official positions of leadership within the congregation, members can develop civic
skills (e.g., persuasive writing skills, verbal communication skills, event organizing skills) in
ways they may not otherwise have the opportunity to do, whether through their work experiences
or through participation in non-religious associations (Brady, Verba, & Scholzman, 1995). As
Verba, Scholzman, and Brady (1995) have concluded, the opportunity to gain civic and
leadership skills through involvement in religious institutions can and does play a role in
bridging the gaps of opportunity between ethnic groups and social classes that so pervasively
exist in American society.
Foley, McCarthy, and Chaves (2001) have explored the wide range of bridging activities
in which congregations can engage to the benefit of their surrounding communities. These
benefits can include rallying congregants for political and social action or community
organizing, providing resources of information on topics as diverse as health care, education, and
job opportunities, providing meeting space and other physical resources for community causes,
and facilitating the provision of social services such as legal assistance, tutoring programs, and
food and clothing distributions. Beyerlein and Hipp (2006) have emphasized the enormous
potential of religious congregations to mobilize sizeable numbers of volunteers when the need
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for voluntarism is for a cause that can be reasonably aligned with the values and beliefs of the
congregation. In a separate study, Warren & Wood (2001) have identified the organizing efforts
of religious institutions as having the most far-reaching impact on historic movements for social
justice in the United States, perhaps most notably the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Religious Social Capital in Underrepresented Communities
Because of the prominent role that churches play in many ethnic communities,
researchers have given an increasing degree of attention to the ways that religious social capital
can be effectively invested in social reform efforts in communities that are underrepresented and
underserved. Authors have long explored the centrality of the Black Church to African-
American culture and community development, particularly as it relates to community action and
social reform (Billingsley, 1968; 1992; Nelsen and Nelsen, 1975; Billingsley & Caldwell, 1991;
Verba, Schlozman, Brady, & Nie, 1993; McAdam, 1999; Cook, 2000; Harris, 2003; Barnes,
2005; Groff, 2008). Brown and Brown (2003) emphasize the correlation between participation
in the Black Church and the development of civic skills, though they are careful to point out that
this correlation is strongest in congregations which intentionally provide opportunities both to
cultivate these skills within church life and to apply them beyond the church through civic
engagement.
Though not studied as extensively as the efforts and commitments of the Black Church,
authors have also explored the role that churches can and do play in mobilizing congregants for
social reform in predominantly Latino communities. It has been suggested that this link between
faith-based activity and social action is actually not as strong in Latino communities as in
African-American communities. Some have noted that the majority of Latinos are associated
with the Catholic Church, which has tended historically to be more authoritarian in orientation
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than the Protestant denominations that are more common in Black communities. It is suggested
that this difference in structural orientation may explain a relatively weaker correlation between
Latino churches and social reform movements when compared with Black churches (Warren,
2003). There is evidence, however, that both Latino churches and individual Latinos who are
motivated by the teachings of their faith traditions are actively invested in social change efforts
in their communities (Espinosa, 2007; Sherman, 2003). Beyerlein and Hipp (2006) note that
congregational activities that promote social activism can be present in both Protestant and
Catholic churches, probably due in no small part to the fact that both of these traditions cultivate
values of social justice. This may suggest that the relative imbalance of attention given in the
research literature to the role of Black Protestant churches versus Latino Catholic churches in
cultivating civic engagement is not reflective of the true and farther-reaching impact these
congregations may actually have in their respective communities.
Several researchers have conducted extensive qualitative studies of the role that religious
social capital plays in predominantly Black and Latino communities, particularly those
communities that are also socioeconomically disadvantaged. Mark Warren (2001) has studied
the community organizing activities of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) and Dennis Shirley
(2002) has considered the efforts of one particular IAF affiliate in the Rio Grande Valley of
South Texas, both of which facilitated substantive reform in their local school systems. Richard
Wood (2002) has examined the impact of religious social capital in the efforts of the Pacific
Institute for Community Organization (PICO) in comparison to a similarly structured federation
of community organizing groups that is not religiously based. In all of these studies, religiously
based institutions brought together large networks of churches in predominantly Black and
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Latino communities to pursue social change that would not only benefit their own communities
of faith, but the larger communities in which they were located.
Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). A national network of religiously based
organizations, IAF has been enormously effective at mobilizing large, diverse groups of people
from churches and other religious congregations to pursue reforms in housing, education, and
other community services in some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. The
size and resources of the IAF network enables it to provide high-quality leadership training and
other forms of support, which individual affiliates would otherwise be too small and under-
resourced to acquire on their own.
In his study of the Texas IAF in particular, Warren (2001) emphasizes the deeply
religious motivations of the people participating in IAF activities, as well as the uniquely non-
partisan position that this religiously motivated network takes in its political activism. He notes
that the involvement of religious groups in politics is often viewed with a degree of suspicion,
due to the assumption that the actual motivation of such involvement is to proselytize and
impose the moral and social values of their own religious teachings on the general society.
Contrary to this conventional perspective, the religious faith of participants in IAF activities does
not motivate them to engage in dogmatic imposition of their own moral teachings. Instead, it
inspires a sustained effort toward restoring communities and pursuing social justice, even in the
face of formidable obstacles and challenges.
A compelling example of a social change effort by a faith-based network is the effort for
school reform by the Allied Communities of Tarrant (ACT), an IAF coalition of Black, Latino,
and White communities of faith in Fort Worth, Texas, that has been reviewed by Warren (2001).
These communities had independently pursued efforts for social change over an extended period
51
of time with relatively limited success until their shared religious conviction regarding the
imperatives for social justice inspired them to cross racial lines and faith traditions in order to
build the ACT coalition. The identity these groups held in common as people of God helped
them to persist through the struggles of organizing the many layers of their complex
collaboration and to effectively mobilize their diverse communities of faith for unified social
action. Once established, this coalition was able to effectively build bridges to schools in their
community, through which a wide range of school reforms were realized, including parent
involvement initiatives, teacher training and professional development programs, and academic
intervention programs, all of which contributed to a dramatic improvement in students’ academic
performance.
Valley Interfaith. Dennis Shirley’s (2002) study of another IAF affiliate in South Texas
is particularly illuminative of how religious social capital can be invested to effect significant
reforms in education, though primarily at the local level. Based on his nearly three-year study of
Valley Interfaith, Shirley has concluded that it was the staying power of this organization infused
with Judeo-Christian values and motivated by Judeo-Christian beliefs that made it such a
formidable partner to schools and community leaders in bringing about transformative change in
the two elementary schools and one middle school that were the subjects of his study. As in the
case of ACT (Warren, 2001), Valley Interfaith was motivated by a persistent belief in the values
of social justice, rooted in the religious teachings and faith commitments of its member
congregations.
Pacific Institute for Community Organization (PICO). Wood (2002) presents another
example of a religiously motivated federation of community organizations that is able to
mobilize large groups of people to effect significant social change: The Pacific Institute for
52
Community Organization (PICO). A somewhat unique feature of its development as an
organization is that PICO enjoyed greater success in its reform efforts as it adopted a more
explicitly religious basis for its work, as well as a more clearly religious discourse. As Wood
(2003) explains, PICO was, in its early years, “less grounded in religious institutions and less
focused on a religious cultural strategy” (p. 79) than it became in later years. While it always
partnered with churches in its community organizing efforts, its shift to a more religiously based
model in the mid-1980s marked a turning point in its effectiveness as a facilitator of social
change.
Wood’s (2002) multi-year study of PICO’s work in locations across the United States
highlights the reforms it accomplished on social issues as diverse as education, minimum wage
laws, health care, and economic development. Wood also identified that the common belief
system in principles of social justice shared by the participant groups in PICO allowed them to
progress in their efforts for reform with relatively fewer interpersonal and intercultural barriers
when compared with another federation of community groups, the Center for Third World
Organizing (CTWO), which is not a religiously based organization. In CTWO, Wood observed,
the lack of a common belief system resulted in a much higher incidence of intergroup conflict
and lack of understanding than in the religiously based PICO federation.
Summary
Taken together, Warren (2001), Shirley (2002), and Wood (2002) point to the substantial
resources of social capital that can be developed in religious congregations and mobilized – often
through federations of religious organizations – through active civic engagement to promote
social reform. These studies emphasize how the investment of social capital can be especially
powerful to create social change in ethnic communities that are underrepresented and
53
underserved. Individual congregations cultivate the deeply-held values and beliefs that are
necessary for persistent and resilient social reform efforts. Faith-based institutions provide
opportunities for developing civic skills that can be applied through participation in activities
that promote lasting social change. These studies highlight the impact that these religiously-
motivated activities can have on educational systems and education policy reform in particular.
As demonstrated by these profiles of IAF, Valley Interfaith, and PICO, the social capital
of faith-based institutions can be especially powerful in underserved and under-resourced
communities. Student populations which are underrepresented in college access and college
success may be supported by faith-based institutions which mobilize social capital to help
students overcome the obstacles they encounter in their pursuit of an education. As reviewed
earlier in this chapter, the issue of spirituality is important to student development, both before
and during college. Given the prominence of faith-based institutions in African-American
communities, these institutions may also play an important role in supporting both the spiritual
dimension of student development and providing opportunities for the development of beliefs
and skills that will promote academic success. Qualitative inquiry which explores the
perspectives of African-American students on the interplay between spirituality and educational
experience in their own lives will help to identify themes that can be studied more systematically
with larger sample sizes. The next chapter will detail the research methodology for the current
qualitative study which explores the experiences of ten African-American students who live at
the intersection of education and faith.
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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
The preceding chapters have established the importance of studying the influence of
spirituality and religious involvement on the educational experiences of students both before and
during college. It has been further established that this is an especially important consideration
in the case of African-American students who have grown up in communities where culturally
exclusionary institutional dynamics, as well as insufficient information and material resources,
pose significant obstacles for access to and success in college. To better understand the role of
spirituality and religious involvement, the current study explores how academically successful
African-American college students who have participated in the activities of faith-based
institutions before college describe the impact their involvement in these institutions has had on
their college aspirations and their readiness for success in college.
What follows is a detailed description of the research methodology that has been
employed to facilitate this exploration. Included in this chapter are an explanation of the specific
research approach, sampling and data collection procedures, the analytical framework, and the
process of data analysis. The chapter will close with a consideration of the study’s limitations.
Research Approach
This study takes a qualitative approach to understanding the role of spirituality and
religious involvement in the educational experiences of African-American students. As Creswell
(2009) explains, qualitative research is the appropriate methodological approach when the
researcher seeks to understand and explore the meaning that people ascribe to and/or derive from
their experience of a phenomenon. Qualitative research is characterized by several key features,
which include naturalistic inquiry, purposeful sampling, the researcher as the primary instrument
of data collection, and inductive data analysis (Patton, 2002).
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Naturalistic Inquiry
One of the hallmarks of qualitative inquiry is that it is inherently naturalistic. Qualitative
studies will seek to understand actual lived-out phenomena, in their natural contexts, without
manipulation or control by either the researcher or any other components of the research process.
The design of qualitative research supports the exploration of a phenomenon as it exists and only
employs theoretical constructs and previous findings as a point of entry for understanding what is
observed. If, however, through the process of observation the researcher discovers something
about the phenomenon that is new, unexpected, or inconsistent with previous findings, the
research design is adapted, and in some cases even entirely reconstructed, thus facilitating
exploration of the phenomenon as it is, rather than what it is expected to be.
Three primary sources of data are common in qualitative research: interviews,
observations, and artifacts. A phenomenon can be understood by talking to those who have
experienced it, by observing them while they are experiencing it, and/or by analyzing documents,
audio-visual recordings, or other forms of material culture (Colloredo-Mansfeld, 2003) which
were created by those who experienced the phenomenon in the past (Patton, 2002). There are
strengths and limitations to each of these data sources, but through the design of any particular
study, strengths and limitations can be carefully acknowledged and balanced. As a result, the
phenomenon can be observed in its most natural context and can be interpreted on its own terms
(Creswell, 2009).
The qualitative naturalistic approach to inquiry is in contrast to quantitative, experimental
research which seeks to generalize the results of a study to a large population. Qualitative
studies require a methodology which isolates very specific components of a phenomenon. These
components can then be controlled and tested to conclusively determine causal relationships
56
between the variable being measured. Most medical research, for example, is experimental in
nature, conducted in a research lab with tight controls on the various components of the
experiment. This allows the researcher to conclusively determine whether a certain medication
actually treats a disease with some degree of effectiveness, or whether a particular kind of
therapy actually produces healing and renewal. Without these experimental controls, researchers
could not conclusively determine that the medication or therapy causes any observed
improvement in patients’ physical or emotional condition.
Unlike experimental designs which prioritize conclusions about causal relationships,
naturalistic designs seek to understand and richly describe what is happening in a particular
context or how a person or group of people experience what is happening in their environment.
For example, a qualitative study might seek to understand how a culture has evolved, how a
person’s interest in a particular career comes to be, or how the values and beliefs of a group of
people shape their interpretations of life events. These are the kinds of questions that cannot
typically be answered in experimental ways, but which can be explored most richly through a
naturalistic approach.
Purposeful Sampling
Another important characteristic of qualitative research is the sampling procedure
generally called “purposeful sampling” (Patton, 2002). This approach to sampling seeks to
intentionally identify a small number of individual cases that are rich in information about the
phenomenon being studied. The actual number of cases may be as few as one, or as many as
several hundred. Regardless of the number of cases determined to be optimal for a particular
study, the crucial consideration in purposeful sampling is the depth of information that will be
provided by the cases included in the study. These information-rich cases will allow for the
57
researcher to gain a deep understanding of how people experience and make meaning of a
phenomenon.
There are a number of possible approaches to purposeful sampling, which include the
identification of extreme cases, cases that are very similar to one another (i.e., homogeneous
samples), cases that are very different from one another (i.e., heterogeneous samples), or cases
that vividly illustrate a particular theoretical construct. Purposeful sampling can also be pursued
through an approach often called “snowball” or “chain” sampling (Patton, 2002), which involves
the recommendations of informants who are familiar with the phenomenon and have knowledge
of cases that would be particularly relevant to the study at hand. These recommendations can
help the researcher to more efficiently consider prospective cases, and more quickly identify the
most information-rich cases for inclusion in the study sample.
Whatever the approach, the goal of the qualitative researcher is to construct a sample that
will be most illuminative of the phenomenon being studied. The key question the researcher
attempts to answer through the sampling process is: What are the cases from which we will learn
the most about this phenomenon? Depending on the phenomenon, the research question, and the
theoretical approach of the researcher, the manner in which this question is answered can vary
considerably. But the goal of purposeful sampling will always be to construct a sample of
information-rich case studies that will provide a deep understanding of the phenomenon.
Researcher as the Primary Instrument of Data Collection
As has been suggested in the descriptions of naturalistic inquiry and purposeful sampling
above, the role of the researcher in qualitative studies is central to the research design. In fact,
the researcher – or team of researchers, as the case may be – is the primary instrument of data
collection in qualitative inquiry. Qualitative researchers not only design the study, they are also
58
the ones observing, describing, and ultimately interpreting the phenomenon. This is unlike
neuroscientific research, for example, in which an imaging device will quantitatively and
objectively measure the amount of brain activity that is stimulated in response to a particular
experience. This quantitative collection of data by the imaging device is followed by the
researcher interpreting the data generated by the imaging device. In this example, the researcher
is primarily the designer of the study and interpreter of the data; s/he is not the collector of the
data. In a qualitative study, an instrument of measurement like the imaging device is generally
not available, so the researcher assumes the role of data collector in addition to the roles of
research designer and data interpreter.
This approach may seem beautifully efficient (and perhaps even less expensive, when
considering the cost of technological equipment like an fMRI scanner), but in fact the role of the
researcher as primary data collection instrument introduces a level of complication that is unique
to qualitative inquiry (Locke, Spirduso, & Silverman, 2007). Because the researcher is
personally engaged in the process of collecting data, the process of data interpretation necessarily
begins as soon as data collection begins. The human data collector will not be able to collect
data with absolute objectivity and will record what is observed through the lens of personal
background and experience. This is both a strength and a limitation of qualitative research. The
human researcher will be able to observe those aspects of a phenomenon that a mechanical data
collection instrument could not, particularly when those aspects are unexpected, previously
unknown, or notable from a socio-emotional perspective. At the same time, the personal biases
of the researcher will inevitably have an impact on how s/he observes the phenomenon, to the
end that two researchers may observe the same phenomenon quite differently from one another.
59
Two specific steps can be taken by the researcher to ensure that the strengths of a human
data collection instrument are leveraged and the limitations minimized. First, multiple data
collection methods should be employed in order to be able to consider what is being observed
from multiple perspectives (Patton, 2002). For example, a school site might be studied through a
combination of observations, interviews, and document analysis. Alternatively, a group of
people who have experienced a similar phenomenon might be interviewed both individually and
in groups, followed by the researcher evaluating written documents that relate to the
phenomenon they experienced. These are just some of the many ways that qualitative
researchers can ensure that they will effectively remove any potential blind spots in the study
design and maximize the confidence that the actual phenomenon will be observed as it naturally
exists, rather than as the researcher might expect for it to exist.
A second important step for qualitative researchers to take as the primary instruments of
data collection is to engage in an on-going practice of personal reflection throughout the course
of the study (Creswell, 2009). Acknowledgement of potential biases and personal values in the
beginning of the study, as well as reflection on those values throughout the data collection,
analysis, and interpretation of data, will help to maximize objectivity on the part of the
researcher. Acknowledgement of researcher bias will also become an important basis for readers
and consumers of the research findings to keep those findings in their right perspective.
Inductive Data Analysis
The inductive approach to data analysis is another key component of qualitative inquiry.
Qualitative researchers immerse themselves in the very specific details of the study to discover
important themes and patterns that can be observed of the phenomenon. Rather than explicitly
stating hypotheses in the beginning of the study, the researcher explores the phenomenon first,
60
and then confirms what was observed through exploration in order to draw conclusions about
what is truly at work in the phenomenon. This approach helps to ensure that the interpretive
process will be guided by what is unique to the phenomenon, rather than through principles and
assumptions that might be imposed upon it. Some common inductive analysis tools in
qualitative research are reflexive note-taking by the researcher, transcription of interviews, and
coding schemes which organize the themes that emerge from the data.
Researcher notes. In qualitative inquiry, the researcher will take extensive, detailed
notes of his/her observations and/or interviews. These notes are taken during the actual act of
interviewing or observing, as well as in reflection upon those activities after they have been
completed. These notes document as extensively and carefully as possible the data that the
researcher collected in the natural context of the phenomenon.
Interview transcriptions. When data is collected from personal interviews, it is
common for the interviews to be recorded so that a word-for-word transcription can be
constructed. These transcriptions will make detailed analysis possible after data collection is
completed. In addition, a procedure known as “member check” (Elliot, Fischer, & Rennie, 1999;
Lincoln & Guba, 1985) can be employed, by which interviewees review the transcriptions of
their own personal interviews and provide feedback to the researcher. Based on this feedback,
the researcher can make revisions to the transcriptions to ensure that the interview transcriptions
accurately reflect the experience and/or viewpoints of the interviewees.
Coding schemes. To facilitate analysis of the data collected, qualitative researchers
typically develop a coding scheme which will identify the themes and patterns that emerge from
the data. These themes and patterns are identified through a careful process of reviewing the
notes and transcriptions, often multiple times. These multiple reviews allow for themes to
61
naturally emerge from the data. Codes are then assigned to these themes and patterns according
to a scheme determined by the researcher (e.g., a variety of colors or symbols, a series of
numbers). Once the data is coded, the researcher can begin to interpret the data around these
themes and patterns, and ultimately s/he will be able to draw conclusions about what the data
demonstrate about the phenomenon.
The foregoing review of a common qualitative approach to research provides a helpful
basis for the design of the current study. What follows is a detailed description of how these
general principles of qualitative inquiry have been applied in this study. The specific sampling
and data collection procedures are explained, followed by a description of the approach to data
analysis and other important considerations.
Sampling Procedure
Purposeful sampling is a common feature of a qualitative study. The goal of purposeful
sampling is to identify a relatively small number of cases from which the most can be learned
about the phenomenon. In the current study, the phenomenon is the impact of involvement in
faith-based institutions on the college aspirations and college readiness of African-American
students. A sample of African-American students who have achieved academic success in
college and who were involved in the activities of faith-based institutions prior to college
provides information-rich examples of the phenomenon this study seeks to understand.
Site Selection
Participants for the current study were students at a highly selective university, which for
the purpose of this dissertation has been identified by the pseudonym “Coastal University” (CU).
A large, private research university, CU is located in a major metropolitan area in the western
United States and has a student enrollment of about 37,000, more than half of which are post-
62
baccalaureate students. For the fall semester of 2010, CU admitted only 24% of students who
applied as entering freshmen, and nearly 10% of the entering freshmen were National Merit
Scholars. During the 2010-2011 academic year, 4.4% of undergraduates enrolled at CU were
African-American (“Coastal University” website, retrieved August 6, 2011).
“Coastal University” was an ideal site from which to draw a purposeful sample for the
current study. Students who have achieved academic success at CU have clearly achieved
college access and college readiness. CU is an academically competitive university, ranked in
the top 25 colleges and universities in the United States by U.S. News and World Report
(www.usnews.com/education, retrieved August 6, 2011). Students entering CU as freshmen are
some of the most academically qualified according to traditional measures, with high school
grade point averages of 4.0 and average SAT scores around 2000 (“Coastal University” website,
retrieved August 6, 2011). The six-year graduation rate for the CU entering freshman cohort of
fall 2004 was 89% (“Coastal University” website, retrieved August 6, 2011), which is similar to
elite universities such as Emory, Vanderbilt, UC Berkeley, and UC Los Angeles (National
Center for Education Statistics, 2011). Students at CU are academically successful college
students who were well prepared for college by their pre-college experiences.
Participant Selection
Ten African-American students were identified for the study from the current
undergraduate population of “Coastal University,” each of whom met all of these four criteria:
1. African-American ethnic background
2. Involvement in the activities of at least one faith-based institution prior to college
3. Current enrollment as an undergraduate student at CU
4. Persistence to at least junior-class standing of their college-level studies
63
Participation in the study was at all times voluntary. Each participant self-identified as meeting
each of the four eligibility criteria for participation in the study.
A snowball sampling procedure was employed to identify the ten students who
participated in the study. The first ten students to be identified as meeting the criteria for
participation in the study according to the sampling procedure described here were ultimately
included in the study sample. The researcher initiated contact with the staff director of an
African-American student affairs office on the CU campus. The staff director assisted the
researcher in identifying the appropriate and most effective ways of distributing a call for
participants that would reach CU students who were most likely to meet the criteria for
participation in the study.
The staff director also recommended three students who she believed would meet the
criteria and would be especially interested in participating. The researcher contacted these three
students via email at the addresses provided by the staff director. Included in this email message
was a personal note of invitation, mention of the staff director’s recommendation, and a PDF
attachment of an “Information Sheet” which provided details about the study, including the
participation criteria (see Appendix A for the text of this information sheet). Ultimately, two of
the three students recommended by the staff director participated in the study.
Based on the guidance of the staff director, a “Call for Participants” was published in the
weekly e-newsletter distributed by the office she oversees (see Appendix B for the text of this
call for participants). This call for participants asked for a response from students to indicate
their interest in participating in the study. One student responded to this call for participants, to
whom the researcher sent an email message which included all of the same components as the
64
message sent to students recommended by the staff director. The one student who responded to
the call for participants ultimately participated in the study.
As part of the interview protocol (see Appendix C), each participant was asked to
recommend other CU students who might be interested in participating in the study. The
researcher collected names and email addresses for each of the students recommended. An email
message was sent to each of these students by the researcher, which included all of the same
components as the message described above that was sent to other prospective participants. A
total of thirty-three students were recommended by other study participants, of whom ten
responded and seven ultimately participated.
Of the ten participants in the study, five were male and five were female. All ten were
involved in an array of faith-based activities prior to college. All of these faith-based activities
were associated with Christian churches of various denominational affiliations. These included
youth group, community service projects, Sunday School, summer camps, and roles of service
within the church. The participants identified and described their involvement in these activities
during their personal interviews. All participants had persisted to at least junior-class standing at
CU by the time of their interview. This information regarding the student participants is
summarized in Table 3-1. A more extended description of each of the participants is presented
in chapter 4 of this dissertation.
65
Table 3-1
Study Participants
Pseudonym
Gender
College
Class-
Standing
Faith-Based Involvement
Prior to College *
How Referred for
Participation in the Study
Aaron Male Junior a., c., h., j., n., p. Another participant
Alicia Female Senior b., e., g., h., n., p. Another participant
Edward Male Senior a., b., d., g., h., j., n., p. Staff director
Ellen Female Senior h., l., q. Another participant
Madelyn Female Senior a., e., f., g., h., i., n., p., q. Another participant
Matthew Male Junior b., e., g., h., i., p., q. Another participant
Michael Male Junior a., d., g., h., n. Call for participants
Nathan Male Senior a., b., g., h., n., o., p. Staff director
Patricia Female Senior i., k., m., n., p., q. Another participant
Sheila Female Junior b., e., h., n., o., p., q. Another participant
* Faith-Based Involvement Prior to College is indicated according to a lettered coding system
defined as follows:
a. Baptist church attendance
b. Bible study (discussion group format)
c. Catholic church attendance
d. Catholic school
e. Christian church attendance (non-denominational or denomination not indicated)
f. Christian school
g. Church choir
h. Church performances (e.g., music drama, dance, public speaking)
i. Church retreats or conferences
j. Community service activities (organized by the church)
k. Episcopal church attendance
l. Pentecostal church attendance
m. Presbyterian church attendance
n. Role of service within the church (e.g., usher, altar boy, children’s ministry assistant)
o. Summer church camp or Vacation Bible School
p. Sunday school (traditional classroom setting)
q. Youth group or youth ministry
66
Data Collection Procedures
To maximize objectivity in data collection, the researcher employed three data collection
instruments: (1) individual interviews; (2) member check; and (3) analysis of artifacts. The
individual interviews were semi-structured, open-ended (Patton, 2002; Creswell, 2009), and each
approximately one hour in length. These interviews were designed to facilitate deep reflection
by each participant on their pre-college experiences in the activities of faith-based institutions
and how those faith-based experiences may have played a role in their educational experiences.
Each interview was recorded by a digital recording device, which ensured that the language used
by the participants to describe their own life experiences could be accurately preserved.
The researcher engaged a professional transcription service to transcribe each interview
from the digital recordings taken by the researcher at each interview. These word-for-word
transcriptions made it possible to conduct a detailed analysis of these deeply reflective personal
accounts. The digital recordings of the interview were provided to the professional transcriber
via a secure, web-based sharing protocol, according to the provisions of a confidentiality
agreement signed by the transcriber (see Appendix D for the text of this confidentiality
agreement).
Once the transcription of any given interview was available, the researcher contacted the
corresponding participant to arrange for a member check appointment. At each member check
appointment, the participant reviewed the transcription of his/her own interview and provided
corrective feedback to the researcher on the accuracy of the transcription. The researcher
subsequently made revisions to the transcriptions based on the feedback from the interviewees,
ensuring the accuracy of the interview transcriptions and maximizing the reliability of the
research findings (Creswell, 2009). Nine of the ten study participants reviewed the transcription
67
of their respective interviews and reported to the researcher that, with only minor revisions, the
transcription of their individual interview was an accurate record of their personal experience.
One participant was unresponsive to the researcher’s contact attempts after the interview.
Member check was therefore not possible for this participant. Based on the accuracy of the other
nine interview transcriptions, the researcher assumed the accuracy of the interview transcription
for the one unresponsive participant. One of the nine participants who reviewed their interview
transcriptions was responsive to post-interview contact by the researcher, but was unable to meet
a second time for member check. Instead of an in-person meeting for this later phase of the
study, the researcher sent a PDF document of the interview transcription to the participant, to
which the participant responded via email with feedback.
Each participant was asked to bring documents and/or artifacts from his/her pre-college
involvement in faith-based institutions to the member check appointment. These artifacts
represented and illustrated their involvement in faith-based organizations before entering college.
Each participant presented these artifacts and described to the researcher the personal
significance these artifacts held for him/her. The artifacts provided to the researcher by the
participants included:
• Articles of clothing and other memorabilia
• Recordings of musical performances
• Reflective journal entries
• Personal photographs
• A well-worn, extensively-marked Bible
• Books and other writings that have been a source of inspiration for the participants
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While the artifact descriptions provided by the participants were not recorded, careful notes were
taken by the researcher in order to document them for later analysis. For the one unresponsive
participant, the researcher reviewed public information available online about the faith-based
institution identified by the student in the interview. The participant who was responsive but
could not meet in person for the member check appointment instead provided documentary
artifacts to the researcher via email.
In addition to using various data collection methods, the researcher carefully documented
his own reactions, observations, and interpretive ideas throughout the course of the study in order
to maximize objectivity in data collection. These thoughts were documented in the form of
reflexive notes taken before, during, and immediately following each individual interview and
each review of artifacts. These notes were reviewed during the data analysis phase (described
below) in order to maintain awareness of personal biases on the part of the researcher, as well as
to document insights that emerged during data collection.
Research Framework
Chapter two of this dissertation provided a review of literature, highlighting several
theoretical frameworks that are relevant to the current study. As shown in Table 3-2, three
concepts from social capital theory (habitus, bridging social capital, and skill development) can
be joined with three themes from the student spirituality and religious involvement literature
(search for meaning and life purpose, involvement in religious activities, and development of
values and beliefs) to establish a useful framework for data collection, analysis, and
interpretation. What follows is a brief review of each of these concepts and descriptions of how
they have been applied to the current study.
69
Table 3-2
A Framework for Understanding the Impact of Involvement in Faith-Based Institutions on the
Educational Success of African-American Students
Concept
Connection to
Literature
Connection to
Current Study
Implications for
Education
Habitus Social Capital
(Bourdieu, 1984,
1986; Barrett, 2010)
How do values learned
through involvement in
faith-based institutions
shape beliefs about one’s
potential for success?
Students who believe
they can succeed are
more likely to be
successful in college.
Bridging
social capital
Social Capital
(Putnam, 1993, 1995,
2000)
How do faith-based
institutions provide
support to students who
will pursue higher
education?
The social capital of
a faith-based
institution can benefit
students outside its
own social network.
Skill
development
Religious Social
Capital
(Smidt, 2003; Smith,
2003b)
How does involvement in
faith-based institutions
promote the development
of skills that support
academic success?
Skill development
before college can
promote success in
college.
Search for
meaning &
life purpose
Student Spirituality
(Astin, Astin, &
Lindholm, 2011)
How does involvement in
faith-based institutions
facilitate personal
reflection about meaning
and life purpose?
Spiritual awareness
and equanimity are
associated with
success in college.
Involvement
in religious
activities
Religious
Involvement
(Regnerus, 2003;
Jeynes, 2003)
How does involvement in
religious activities have
an impact on educational
outcomes and
aspirations?
Religious involve-
ment is associated
with academic
achievement.
Development
of values &
beliefs
Faith Development
Theory
(Fowler, 1981)
How are students’ values
and beliefs shaped by
involvement in faith-
based institutions?
A well-defined
personal belief
system can be a
compass for
academic success.
70
Habitus. As reviewed in chapter two, “habitus” is the learned system of beliefs,
attitudes, and behaviors that is often unconsciously acquired through involvement in the
activities of a social group (Bourdieu, 1986). As Barrett (2010) suggests, faith-based institutions
can have a socializing influence on students’ perceptions of themselves, the world, their
educational context, and their potential for success in that context. How this influence plays out
in African-American students’ development of self-perceptions is relevant to the current study.
Bridging social capital. The concept of “bridging social capital” developed by Putnam
(1993, 1995, 2000) is an important consideration when examining the influence of faith-based
institutions on the educational trajectories of youth and young adults. The degree to which faith-
based institutions can effectively connect the resources available within their own social
networks to the communities beyond those networks will be a measure of how extensively the
social capital of faith-based institutions can benefit larger communities. If a church, for
example, is rich in information about strategies for college preparation, but that information is
not shared beyond the closed network of the church itself, then only the youth of that one church
will benefit from this rich information resource. If, however, the church is able to reach beyond
its immediate context and create ways to share this information with youth who are not a part of
the church – perhaps through a free education fair in the community – the impact will be greater.
Skill development. Smidt (2003) and others have extensively explored how religious
social capital (i.e., the capital held by those in social networks that are religious in nature) can
promote psychological and emotional resilience toward challenging circumstances, as well as the
development of social skills that facilitate success in activities as diverse as educational pursuits
and political reform efforts. Smith (2003b) notes that this can be especially true of high school
students. Students’ reflections on their own experiences with faith-based institutions will
71
provide a deeper understanding of how religious social capital can have an impact on the
educational pursuits of students who are also involved in faith-based activities.
Search for meaning and life purpose. The spiritual dimensions of development in early
adulthood have been well established (Santrock, 2009). Astin, Astin, and Lindholm (2011b)
have explored extensively how this plays out in the college years. Spiritual development can be
facilitated through the practices of a certain religious faith or through a much more general
exploration of spiritual issues (e.g., personal values and place in the world, the meaning that can
be derived from life experiences, the motivating purpose in various life pursuits). Involvement
in faith-based institutions may provide an opportunity for students to begin building cognitive
mechanisms for reflecting upon spiritual issues which will prepare them for the spiritual
dimensions of development that will likely be encountered during the college years.
Involvement in religious activities. Correlations between religious involvement and
educational outcomes have been consistently demonstrated among high school students,
particularly those in urban contexts (Jeynes, 2003). Deeper exploration of how academically-
successful college students perceive the relationship between religious involvement and
educational outcomes in their own life experiences will help to better understand this correlation.
Development of personal values and beliefs. As suggested by faith development theory
(Fowler, 1981), many students of adolescent age will be in a stage of development that involves
early, but conscious consideration of a personal system of values and beliefs. This system will
likely be defined to a much greater extent in later stages of development, but the groundwork is
generally laid in adolescence. How, then, this belief system begins to take shape in the high
school years will inevitably have an impact on how a student perceives education and his/her
own pursuit of it, whether at the secondary or post-secondary level.
72
Taken together, these six concepts have provided the framework from which the
interview protocol has been designed and the data analysis conducted for the current study. This
framework has been the basis for interview questions, as well as the theoretical lens through
which the researcher has analyzed and interpreted the interview and artifact data that were
collected for the study.
Interview Protocol
An interview protocol was developed for the interviews conducted in the current study
(see Appendix C for the text of the interview protocol). The development of this protocol helped
to ensure that the same types of information were gathered from all study participants (Patton,
2002). The interview protocol was designed according to an adapted form of a structure
suggested by Creswell (2009). The following components were included in the protocol for this
study:
• Heading (specifies the date, location, interviewer, and interviewee)
• Standard Instructions for the Interviewer
• Introductory Statement (welcomes the interviewee, briefly reviews purpose of study)
• Ice-breaker Question (establishes rapport between interviewer and interviewee)
• Additional Questions (reflect the theoretical framework(s) to be utilized)
• Concluding Statement (thanks interviewee for his/her time and provides information
regarding next steps for the study)
The heading and standard instructions promote organized data collection by the researcher. The
introductory statement and ice-breaker question create a comfortable atmosphere for the
interviewee. The additional questions are strategically open-ended, but are designed to elicit
information around the theoretical concepts described in Table 3-2. This design focuses the
73
interview discussion on relevant topics, while allowing for the participants to openly share the
details of their experiences. The concluding statement sets the stage for later phases of data
collection.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
The data collected in the interview transcriptions and the researcher’s reflexive notes
were analyzed using a coding scheme developed by the researcher. A summary of the data
collection, analysis, and interpretation process is provided in Figure 3-1. It is important to note
that data analysis began during the data collection process, as is generally the case in qualitative
inquiry (Patton, 2002). The researcher took careful notes before, during, and following each of
the interviews in order to record his observations and reflections as they emerged. These notes
were important for monitoring researcher bias throughout the study, and also guided the process
of interpretation by preserving aspects of the phenomenon that were observed during data
collection but not captured in digital recordings and interview transcriptions.
Figure 3-1
Summary of the Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation Process for this Study
1. Took reflexive notes (throughout data collection)
2. Conducted and digitally recorded interviews (one recording for each participant)
3. Engaged a professional transcription service to create interview transcriptions
4. Conducted member check and collected artifacts from participants
5. First reading of data: Made interpretive notes and developed initial coding scheme
6. Second reading of data: Revised coding scheme
7. Third reading of data: Used finalized coding scheme to conduct full analysis
8. Wrote interpretive descriptions of each theme using examples from the data
74
After each interview was completed, the researcher listened to the recording of the
interview and took additional interpretive notes. Similarly, after each member check
appointment was completed, the researcher took additional notes on his impressions and
observations from the appointment. The researcher then revised the interview transcription
according to the feedback provided at the appointment by the participant.
After all interview transcriptions were revised, the researcher read all notes and interview
transcriptions, making interpretive notes on a separate page as he read. This reading was
approached and the interpretive notes were made according to the theoretical lens presented in
chapter two of this dissertation and briefly reviewed in the “Research Framework” section above.
The researcher then reviewed the interpretive notes from both the interviews and the artifact
review, and reflected on his first reading of the data in order to generate a list of themes that
emerged from the data. These themes were intentionally very specific and descriptive – and
therefore numerous – at this stage of interpretation. Identification of these more granular themes
early in the process of analysis allowed for later aggregation into larger themes that were more
accurately reflective of the data, but which only emerged as the analysis progressed.
Next, the researcher read through all notes and transcriptions again in order to confirm
that the list of themes generated after the first reading of the data accurately captured the essence
of what was being revealed in the data. Any additional themes or revisions of existing themes
identified through this second reading of the data were added to the original list of themes that
had been generated from the first reading. Then, the researcher aggregated the themes on this
expanded list according to the patterns that were emerging from the analysis. Simplified, but
descriptive labels were established for each of the thematic areas in order to allow for greater
efficiency in the later stages of analysis. These labels were consciously assigned in the language
75
of the data (Patton, 2002); that is, every effort was made to label the themes that emerged from
the data in ways that the study participants would recognize and/or utilize themselves in
describing their own experiences. This was an important step toward ensuring that the
phenomenon would be explained on its own terms, a value of qualitative research discussed
earlier in this chapter. Once descriptive labels were assigned to all of the thematic areas, a color
was also assigned to each theme to allow for efficient visual recognition of thematic material in
the data.
The researcher then read through the data a third time, highlighting examples of each of
the thematic areas using the colors of the coding scheme established in the previous step. The
color-coded transcriptions and researcher notes facilitated a thorough interpretive process and
helped to identify information-rich examples from the data of the thematic areas identified in the
earlier stages of analysis.
Finally, interpretive descriptions were written by the researcher, each of which elaborated
on an individual thematic area. A summary paragraph was composed for each thematic area,
followed by bulleted notes which gave specific examples from the data that supported these
thematic conclusions. These interpretive descriptions provided the basis for the findings
presented in chapter four of this dissertation.
The careful process of data analysis and interpretation explained above has supported the
development of an honest, thorough description of the phenomenon observed in this study. The
patterns and themes drawn from the researcher’s analysis emerged naturally from the data. Great
care was taken by the researcher to maximize objectivity through a variety of data collection
procedures, reflexive note-taking, and a multiple-step thematic coding process. Finally, a careful
76
synthesis of the analyzed data resulted in information-rich descriptions of the themes that
naturally emerged.
Researcher Bias
While objectivity is pursued in qualitative research, it cannot be absolutely achieved.
The reason for this is found in the humanity of the primary instrument of data collection. As
discussed earlier in this chapter, there are benefits to the researcher being the primary data
collection instrument, but there can also be drawbacks. One such drawback is the unavoidable
reality of researcher bias. The values and experiences of the researcher will have an impact on
what is observed in data collection and on what is concluded in data analysis and interpretation.
The researcher in the current study has been active in faith-based ministry for nearly
twenty years. Though he is not African-American, he has mentored several African-American
high school students and led the children’s ministries of a predominantly African-American
Christian church for more than eight years. These experiences give the researcher an advantage
for understanding the perspectives of the study participants, but possibly also a bias toward
observing the positive impact that faith-based experience will have in the lives of young people.
His personal experiences do not directly parallel the experiences of the participants in this study,
but the researcher does have a personal interest in identifying ways of supporting the educational
pursuits of young people with similar backgrounds to those whom he has mentored.
Several provisions were made in the design of the current study to control for researcher
bias:
1. The call for participants was widely distributed.
2. A student affairs professional who is familiar with the experiences of academically-
successful African-American college students was consulted throughout the sampling
77
process. This helped to ensure that information-rich examples of the phenomenon
were identified for the study sample without researcher bias.
3. The first students to respond to the call for participants and other forms of outreach
were selected for the study. Preference was not given to any student based on the
personal viewpoints or experiences of the researcher.
4. The sampling criteria allowed for involvement in the activities of faith-based
institutions without practicing a particular religious faith.
5. A Christian religious experience was not required for participation in the study.
6. Academic achievement and educational impacts were the intended focus of the study
rather than the substance of students’ spiritual and/or religious experiences.
Limitations of the Study
Constraints on the researcher’s time, budgetary resources, and data collection methods
produce certain limitations on the generalizability of findings in a qualitative study (Patton,
2002). However, because the purpose of a qualitative study is to provide information-rich
description rather than generalizable findings (Creswell, 2009), the limitations described here
should not be construed as negative. Instead, these limitations should be kept carefully in mind
when applying the findings of the current study to new contexts.
First, the current study has utilized a relatively small sample. Though this sample is
purposeful and the findings are information-rich, it cannot be concluded that what is learned
from this study can be reliably applied to all student populations. The findings of this study
highlight the unique experiences of the ten students who participated, which can be helpful for
understanding the unique experiences of other students from similar backgrounds and
78
experiences, but these findings cannot be imposed upon other students simply because of these
similarities. Individual experiences must be permitted to speak for themselves.
Second, the faith-based experiences of the participants in the current study are
specifically Judeo-Christian in nature. This is reasonable given the prominence of the Judeo-
Christian tradition in African-American communities. But any faith-based experiences of
African-American students – or of students of other ethnic backgrounds – that are not Judeo-
Christian in orientation could be very different from the experiences explored in this study.
Similarly, the current study has not specifically considered the socioeconomic status of
academically successful African-American students. The influential dynamics of faith-based
experience in poor and working-class communities may be different from those in middle- and
upper-class communities, even for students of the same ethnic background. The socioeconomic
backgrounds of the participants in the current study seem to be diverse, but any possible
conclusions related to socioeconomics should not be drawn since this was not a specified focus
of the study and was not examined by the researcher. However, there are sociocultural
explanations for why African-American students of any socioeconomic background might
benefit from educational support programs outside of school in ways that culturally dominant
student populations might not (Ogbu & Simons, 1998; Foster, 2005).
Finally, the current study has focused on the experience of students who have been
academically successful in college. The impact of involvement in faith-based institutions during
adolescence for African-American students who either have not pursued a college education or
have not persisted through a college education is not explored here.
79
Conclusion
This chapter has specified the methodological design of the study presented in this
dissertation. A review of the naturalistic, qualitative approach to inquiry has been provided,
followed by details of how these principles of qualitative research have been applied in the
current study. The procedures for purposeful sampling, data collection, analysis, and
interpretation have all been explained. The findings of this methodological process are presented
in chapter four.
80
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS
Through the lens of social capital theory and the scholarly literature exploring student
spirituality, the current study has examined how pre-college involvement in the activities of
faith-based institutions plays a role in preparing African-American students for academic success
in college. The qualitative methodology employed in this study has revealed a very personal and
information-rich perspective on the dynamics of spirituality and faith-based activities in relation
to student development and academic success. The preceding chapters have presented the
purpose of the study, a review of pertinent scholarly literature, and the research methodology. In
this chapter, the findings of the study are explained. First, brief introductions of the study
participants are offered, followed by a detailed description of the themes that emerged from the
analysis of interview and artifact data.
Introduction to the Participants
The ten participants in this study have: (1) persisted to at least junior-class standing at a
highly-selective research university; (2) were involved in the activities of faith-based institutions
prior to college; and (3) self-identify as African-American. Individual interviews offered a
unique opportunity to hear the personal stories of these academically successful young adults.
Table 3-1, in the previous chapter, provided a brief summary of who these students are (e.g.,
gender, class standing, types of faith-based involvement prior to college). What follows is a
more detailed introduction to their stories, based on what the participants themselves shared with
the researcher in their individual interviews. These introductions provide a helpful context for
the themes presented later in the chapter. As previously indicated, for the sake of confidentiality,
pseudonyms have been assigned to each participant throughout this dissertation.
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Aaron
Ambitious and articulate, Aaron aspires to a successful career in journalism. This seems
a fitting objective for him, as he asks careful questions, makes insightful observations, and
demonstrates a well-established pattern of self-reflection. Aaron grew up in a quiet suburban
community in the Midwest, where he was one of few African-Americans. Each Sunday, his
family commuted into the nearby city center to attend an urban Catholic church where Aaron and
his brothers served in a variety of capacities, including serving the altar (i.e., being an altar boy)
and participating in the Junior Knights, a community service organization for young men in the
church. Aaron regularly participated in Sunday School and experienced the common rite of
passage in the Catholic tradition known as Confirmation, in which young people are expected to
learn more about the teachings of Catholicism and to make a personal faith commitment as a
mature adult. The church Aaron’s family attended was predominantly African-American and
emphasized the contributions and accomplishments of African-American leaders in Catholicism
(e.g., Black saints, deacons, and nuns) and in the history of the United States (e.g., Martin Luther
King, Jr.). Aaron’s faith practice is a highly personal one which continues to permeate his life as
a college student. He speaks fluidly of how his faith commitments help to guide his personal
growth and development through reflection on moral issues and ethical questions, as well as
through prayer, an important spiritual discipline which he describes as “talking to God.” Aaron
also points to his faith as a strong foundation for life that gives him confidence in the pursuit of
his goals and comfort in the face of personal and academic challenges.
Alicia
Somewhat soft-spoken, but highly reflective and self-aware, Alicia describes in
compelling detail how her faith has guided her through a number of social and relational
82
challenges, both before college and during her college years. Alicia attended urban schools in
Southern California, where she consistently performed at the top of her class. Her family
attended a small Baptist church where her uncle, who was one of the more consistent male
figures in her life, was the pastor. When, in high school, she began to experience hurt and
betrayal in both romantic relationships and other friendships, she found herself turning to the
teachings of her faith as a way of making sense of the things that were happening to her. Even
when she felt the people in her church and family were not able to support her through these
challenges, she derived hope and the will to persevere from being able to trust God and His plan
for her. She now concludes that if she had not been able to “call on [her] faith as [her] source of
strength,” the relational struggles she so deeply experienced would have distracted her from her
educational pursuits and she would not have been so successful in her academic work.
Edward
Reasoned, yet witty, it might be said that Edward is the embodiment of rural South meets
urban West. He reflects with affection and gratitude on the loving, stable, conservative
Missionary Baptist family and church in which he was raised, and passionately expresses a
progressive worldview and concern for global issues that have been shaped by his diverse,
rigorous academic experiences. His upbringing was marked by regular attendance at church-
related events and activities, through which Edward seems to have developed a clear conviction
that he can succeed and achieve his goals regardless of what challenges he may need to face
along the way. Before and during college, Edward has viewed challenge as inevitable and as an
opportunity for personal growth and improvement. He shares with remarkable maturity and self-
awareness about a pivotal life event in his early teenage years when his family experienced the
stillbirth of his younger brother. This tragedy was the impetus for prolonged spiritual
83
reflectiveness which Edward says directly contributed to the personal and lasting faith
commitments he has made for himself. Inquisitive and curious, he has sought to understand how
his personal faith relates to and is enriched by the faith experiences of others.
Ellen
Out-going and confident, it is easy to imagine that Ellen would be a fun friend and
committed student. She is a descriptive storyteller who grew up with a passion for Broadway,
and is not afraid to express a viewpoint, though she does so with respect and humility. Ellen is
as engaging as she is insightful and, like many of the other participants in this study, she has
developed a great sense of stability and life purpose through her faith commitments. Ellen is the
daughter of Nigerian immigrants and was raised in a Nigerian Pentecostal church in Southern
California, which she describes as “a home away from home.” In this setting, Ellen and her
siblings had what was essentially an extended family of friends and loved ones who supported
each other through significant life events and helped each other in times of need. The church
significantly invested in passing on the teachings of its faith to younger generations and offered
them opportunities to serve and work in the ministries of the church. Ellen fondly remembers
many Sunday School classes, choir rehearsals, and social events at her church, as well as
enriching social time spent with church friends. In her college years, Ellen has found her faith-
based background to be a source of strength through the many new and sometimes difficult
experiences she has faced, whether in academic or social situations. She describes her life of
faith as a “relationship with God,” to whom she can look for guidance and on whom she can
depend for help “in the hardest of times.”
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Madelyn
Steady, but spirited, Madelyn describes how she “grew up in the church, but redefined
[her] faith about two years ago.” Her family lived in Texas in the earlier years of her childhood,
and then later moved to Southern California where much of her extended family lived.
Involvement in various church ministries (including Christian schools) was a consistent aspect of
Madelyn’s family life, both before and after this move, though their experience with church-
related groups was not always positive. The transition to life in Southern California was
challenging in many respects, but it seems to have been Madelyn’s involvement in youth
ministries at her family’s church that brought stability to her otherwise turbulent experience. She
was “super involved, doing everything” at church throughout her adolescent years. Once in
college, however, Madelyn began to feel that she was simply “going through the motions” in
these faith-based activities. She began to critically examine what faith is and what it should
mean to her. Academic challenges in college provoked this spiritual reflection. Madelyn felt ill-
prepared for college-level academic work and was “ready to drop out,” but through spiritual
disciplines such as prayer and bible study, she was able to overcome those challenges. She now
concludes that her “relationship with God has helped [her] get through school.”
Matthew
Matthew is a talented musician who expresses great passion for the things he believes and
the goals he pursues. He grew up in an urban community in Southern California where many
“go in and out of jail, in and out of hospitals, in and out of drug rehabilitation centers, in and out
of mental institutions, in and out of liquor stores.” In this context, Matthew came to view the
church as “that central place that will always be there to help people, to be that shoulder to cry
on, to bring you in and get you help.” He found for himself in the church a kind of refuge from
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the many maladaptive influences that he encountered in his neighborhood, a place where he
could build relationships with people who would support him, teach him, and encourage him to
pursue things more noble than the crime and despair that was so prevalent around him. Matthew
regularly participated in bible studies and social activities that his church hosted for youth. He
developed strong, supportive relationships with both pastoral leaders and peers in his church.
Through these experiences, Matthew developed the ability to persevere through personal
challenges and pursue worthy goals regardless of how unattainable they may have seemed. He
expresses this conviction by confidently quoting from Scripture: “I can do all things through
Christ that strengthens me.”
Michael
Stability and support characterize the personal story of faith-based involvement offered
by Michael, and these terms would also seem to fittingly describe Michael himself. He is well-
known to several of the other participants in the study, who offered unsolicited commentary to
the researcher about their willingness to participate in the study largely because Michael was
participating. Michael speaks freely and openly about the importance of the people in his life,
and he clearly cares as much about them as they do him. Like Matthew, Michael is a talented
musician and it was in the context of his faith-based experience that he was given some of his
first opportunities to explore and develop this talent – he sang his first solo in church at age
three. Throughout his upbringing in the Northwest, he has had a close connection to his church
community. He continued to pursue his musical talents through participation in the church’s
music ministry, and also found in his church an extended family of “mommas and father figures
… who were always motivating [him] to keep going on.” These “church family” members
attended his musical performances, expressed to him regularly their expectation that he would go
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to college, and even supported a scholarship fund from which he has financially benefited while
in college. Not surprisingly, Michael has continued to participate in communities of faith in his
college years, performing in various music-related ministries and discussion-based social groups
with other people of faith.
Nathan
Major life tragedies can cause children to grow up more quickly than they otherwise
might. This would arguably be true of Nathan, an energetic, creative, articulate young man from
a large city in the Northeast, who lost his mother to cancer when he was only twelve years old.
Such a loss at such a young age might send a child into irreversible despair. In Nathan’s case, it
seems to have facilitated a healthy and mature process of personal development, one that was
supported by an unquenchable interest in issues of faith and spirituality. Nathan explains that the
first thing he did after his mother passed away was go to church because he “knew that the
church was a really stable ground for [him].” From the example of his mother and other adults
in his church, Nathan has had from a very early age an enduring interest in what he calls “being
deeply connected spiritually,” an interest which he continues to explore in his college years.
Nathan participated in an array of church-based activities through which he developed
friendships with peers and relationships with mentors. He describes his church youth ministry as
a “safe space for youth to come instead of being on the streets getting involved in everything else
that’s out there, which is mostly not that productive.” Like Matthew, Nathan found protection in
the faith-based experiences of his youth which kept him from engaging in activities that may
have been unhelpful (or even dangerous) for him.
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Patricia
At first introduction, Patricia might seem timid. She speaks with a soft, gentle voice, and
offers a welcoming smile. But through the course of an hour-long conversation, it becomes clear
that Patricia is a strong, intelligent, goal-oriented young woman who values friendship and loves
to laugh. Patricia is the oldest of four children. Her family moved from the East Coast to a
suburban community in Southern California when she was eight years old. About a year after
the family relocated, Patricia’s parents divorced, after which she and her three younger siblings
lived primarily with her mother, who is originally from Nigeria. The family attended an
Episcopal church, where Patricia participated in youth group and served as an usher during
worship services. In her teenage years, Patricia began to develop a conviction that her faith in
Christ can give her strength and endurance through all of life’s experiences, especially the more
difficult ones. This conviction was especially valuable when she entered college and
experienced the challenges of life away from home and of a very rigorous academic program.
Because she had been involved in faith-based activities before college, Patricia sought out
similar activities once she was in college. She developed some of her most significant and
supportive relationships with peers and mentors in these faith-based institutions in college, and
she attributes much of her academic successes in college to the supportive network of friendships
she was able to build through her faith-based involvement. Having grown up in a community
where she was one of few African-Americans, it has also been partly through faith-based
activities in college that Patricia has had more opportunities to connect with African-American
culture and build friendships with other African-American students. Patricia expresses gratitude
for the faith-based activities in which she could participate before college, as they set the pattern
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for the kinds of activities she would seek out (and from which she would so greatly benefit) in
college.
Sheila
Well-spoken and fun-loving, Sheila is a confident young woman who willingly and
transparently tells her personal story of faith learned, faith lost, and faith regained. Sheila grew
up in a strong, religious family, who lived in an upper-middle-class suburban neighborhood in
Northern California, regularly attended church, and shared many faith-based activities together at
home. She is thankful for the privileges she has been given in her life, including a strong
education and a loving family. Early in her teenage years, she experienced the untimely and
devastating loss of her younger sister, which seems, through struggle and sadness, to have
ultimately strengthened her personal life of faith. Throughout her teenage years, she continued
to attend church and serve in various ministries. A change of church affiliation (from one made
up of mostly White and Asian members to one that was predominantly African-American)
offered an unanticipated opportunity for Sheila to deeply explore issues relating to her own
cultural identity. When she entered college, Sheila began to explore aspects of college life that
she describes as being inconsistent with the teachings of her Christian upbringing. Through this
exploration, Sheila found herself longing for a deeper spiritual experience than she knew from
her pre-college years. She began to pursue the faith of her childhood once again and now
describes a level of spiritual commitment that permeates all dimensions of her life, a
commitment that is practiced through activities such as prayer, bible study, and keeping a
personal journal. These spiritual disciplines give her a perspective similar to other participants in
the study: “these external, negative things surrounding me really don’t matter in the end… It’s
never that serious… because I have Christ on my side.”
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Thematic Analysis
As described in chapter three of this dissertation, the data analysis for the current study
was performed according to a framework developed by the researcher. This framework for
analysis was based on concepts drawn from the student spirituality literature and social capital
theory. In order to explore how involvement in faith-based institutions before college may have
played a role in preparing students for success in college, the researcher analyzed and interpreted
interview and artifact data through the theoretical lenses of habitus, bridging social capital, skill
development, search for meaning and life purpose, religious involvement, and development of
values of beliefs.
Four primary themes emerged from the data analysis. These thematic areas have been
labeled using descriptive language that the participants themselves used in the stories they shared
in their individual interviews. The four thematic areas are:
1. I Can Do All Things – a belief that despite significant challenges, they can achieve
personal goals through help and strength from God.
2. The Lens of Faith – a way of interpreting their life experiences that is rooted in their
faith in God. This lens helps them to find purpose and meaning in all circumstances,
and offers peace and stability even in times of adversity.
3. A Mindset toward Growing – a way of approaching their life experiences that
embraces opportunities for personal development.
4. Church Family – the closely knit, supportive network of relationships they have
developed in the faith-based institutions in which they have participated.
Each of these themes is described in greater detail in the sections that follow. Data collected and
analyzed for the current study is quoted in these descriptions to more richly illustrate the themes
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that emerged. These descriptions have been crafted in a way which deliberately seeks to reflect
the participants’ experiences from their own perspectives and (whenever possible) in their own
words. Following each description, commentary is offered which connects these themes in the
data to themes previously explored in existing scholarly literature. This commentary is presented
using the lens of social capital theory and the literature on student spirituality, both of which
have been presented in chapter two of this dissertation.
“I Can Do All Things”
Five of the ten participants in the current study express a belief that they can succeed at
what they commit themselves to do, despite any obstacle, because they believe that God will
help them to do it. Three of the participants explicitly state this belief, while two others only
infer it. In every case, the students’ belief in God’s help has motivated them to persevere
through challenging experiences. Three of the participants refer to scriptural passages they
learned through their faith-based experiences before college. Once such passage, quoted by two
of the participants, is from the New Testament letter of Paul to the Philippians: “I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13, New King James Version). This reflects
the concept of habitus in the social capital literature, in that through their lived experiences with
faith-based institutions, these students have developed a belief in their own ability to succeed
with the help of God, even when challenges to their success may seem great. In the stories
shared the participants in their individual interviews, this belief (developed before college)
became especially significant for them once they began to experience the academic and social
challenges of an academically rigorous and socially diverse university environment.
Edward describes his experiences growing up in church, attending Sunday School and
participating in church youth activities, through which he was taught to memorize biblical texts
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and reflect on their meaning, usually through group discussion with teachers and peers. During
his college application process, Edward found himself looking to what he had been taught about
God as a source of inspiration to persevere, particularly when family members and friends did
not fully understand the goals he was setting for himself.
I would try to explain to my mom why I wanted to go to a certain school… she would
just look at me, like, “You just need to go get an education. What are you talking about?
… Why do you have to go to California when there are colleges here?” … And I’d be
thinking, like, it’s me and God right here trying to get into college.
Once he enrolled in college, Edward began to experience the challenges of academic life and he
again found himself recalling the Scriptures he had been taught in his youth as a means of
persevering through these challenges.
Not being as well prepared in my math courses as I probably could have been etc. … the
faith I’ve been brought up with has really helped me understand what’s going on and how
to deal with it … I feel like there are points where I can be just distraught and I just want
to give up. I’m just going to go home. This just isn’t going to work… [But] I had my
own personal faith and that’s when I’d be, like, alright I can do this. “I can do all things
through Christ.”
Despite feeling at times that he would prefer to simply give up, Edward believes he should press
forward. He believes he should continue a committed pursuit of his personal goals. This belief
is rooted in the faith-based teachings of his upbringing, and he actively recalls these teachings in
the moments when he feels the most discouraged in his academic life.
Matthew describes with similar fervor the strength he derives from the scriptural passages
he learned in his faith-based experiences before college. He quotes the same biblical passage
from Philippians and offers heartfelt commentary on its meaning.
“I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me” … What that means to me is
there’s no limit to what you can do… because you have Him as your God. With His
strength placed in you since you walk in the image of Him and He’s strong, then that
means you’re strong. If you’re strong then you should have faith no matter what… That
faith is just something that you can hold onto despite any obstacle, any circumstance that
comes up in your life; good or bad.
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Remembering various scriptural passages he has learned in the past seems to be a consistent
practice in Matthew’s life. In his descriptions of how he depends on God for strength, he
regularly quotes or paraphrases these passages, as demonstrated in the following, which alludes
first to a passage in First Corinthians, then one in the Gospel of Matthew, and finally a verse
from the Book of Proverbs:
He will never give you anything that you can’t handle because there’s nothing that you
can’t handle. All things are possible in Him; with His help, with Him directing your
path, all things are possible.
Matthew’s involvement in faith-based institutions before college instilled in him a habit of
learning the scriptures of his Christian faith. These scriptures continue to be a source of strength,
endurance, and resilience for him in his college years.
Though not through explicit quotation of biblical passages, Alicia and Sheila both
express a similar belief that because God is with them, they will be able to succeed in spite of the
obstacles they may need to face. In describing some her more challenging college experiences,
Sheila says confidently, “If I get to the brink of almost crying, I just say, what? No, it’s never
this serious. This doesn’t matter because I have Christ on my side.” Alicia, reflecting on the
very difficult personal challenges she has faced both before and during college concludes, “If I
say I’m going to do it, if I put in my best work and whatever I don’t do, He [God] will bring me
through… I know that You [God] don’t make mistakes … and I know You’ll fix this.” Even
when she may be confused about why certain things are happening, Alicia holds on to a belief
that God will resolve the issues that are of concern to her.
Patricia expresses a similar confidence in God’s help and strength, though her confidence
seems to have been developed less through the explicit teachings of certain biblical texts.
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Rather, her outlook seems to have been nurtured more through the experience of regular
participation in faith-based activities.
You would just go to church and feel reminded of the strength and endurance that you
have through Christ and then take that with you in everything you did outside of church.
This is also true for Matthew, who was not only taught the scriptural passages he quotes, but was
surrounded by people in his church community who consistently reminded him of the themes of
these passages, even if not explicitly quoting them.
It’s okay when you’ve learned something and you lose sight of it because God is going to
bring it back up in your mind, friends are going to bring it back up in your mind, family
members will bring it back up in your mind and you can go back to the source… And
even if I wasn’t into the Bible that much pre-college experience, I had a lot of friends in
church that were really helpful. They’re, like, “Man, you’re smart and I know you’re
going to college but don’t be tempted, don’t go away from your faith, actually go closer
to your faith.” … God won’t put anything on you that you can’t bear. He gives you
something that’s going to challenge you. He doesn’t want this road to be easy for you but
He’s going to give you things that you can handle. I’ve had people stress that and kick
me in the butt and really push that.
For Michael, the faith-based community of which he was a part applied their shared convictions
of perseverance and hard work to the specific aspiration of attending college.
It was just “You’re going to college.” It wasn’t like I was going to choose not to go to
college … With them it was, like, I really didn’t have a choice.
Through both the explicit teaching of scriptural passages and the lived values of the faith-based
communities in which they were involved before college, these students developed an enduring
personal belief that they should pursue noble life goals (such as education) with perseverance
and commitment, even in the face of great challenges, because God is with them and He will
strengthen them. They brought this belief with them to college, and it has been a source of
strength and inspiration through the difficulties they have experienced in their college years.
Connection to scholarly literature: Social capital theory and habitus. As explained
in chapter two of this dissertation, a key concept in social capital theory is habitus, which
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describes the learned system of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that is often acquired through
involvement in the activities of a social group. This learning takes place through the
internalization of observed behaviors of others in the same social group. The beliefs developed
through social associations can shape how one perceives his/her own potential for success and
achievement, and will thus have a significant impact on how s/he will approach the pursuit of life
goals, particularly those relating to education (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992; Barrett, 2010).
Several participants in the study demonstrate that through their involvement in faith-based
institutions prior to college they developed a strong belief in their ability to not only attend
college, but to also persevere through the challenges of college. This belief was developed
through the learning of sacred texts, participation in faith-based activities, and the supportive
influences of the relationships they built in faith-based institutions.
“The Lens of Faith”
All of the participants in the study describe how their faith helps them to be calm,
focused, and committed to their goals. Five of the participants describe faith as having a
“grounding” effect on their life experiences; faith helps to keep them “grounded.” One
participant explains that he can often remain calm and focused in his life because he is able to
view and interpret life experiences (especially the difficult ones) through “the lens of faith.”
This “lens” is developed through students’ involvement in faith-based institutions through the
learning of sacred texts and other practices of religious life. This sense of “groundedness” that
the participants describe is reflective of the equanimity explored in the student spirituality
literature introduced in chapter two of this dissertation. These students find peace and stability in
their personal faith commitments, which becomes a source of strength and perseverance through
the challenges of college life.
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Sacred texts. Learning and meditating on sacred texts is a personal habit described by
eight of the participants in the current study. For some, this habit was developed before college
and has intensified since being in college. For others, the learning of scriptural passages was a
more passive activity before college, but they have found themselves drawn to a more committed
pattern of exploring these texts since entering college. Whatever the history, all participants who
identify a personal discipline of engagement in the sacred texts of their faith describe these texts
as a source of peace and perspective in the midst of confusion and uncertainty in their college
experiences. Ellen explains her view:
The Bible gives you everything you need to know… When you read about people in the
Bible – all the big names like David and Abraham – they all went through things…
Seeing how they were able to learn and really grow through those things makes it more
achievable for someone like me who will stumble.
Matthew expresses a similar view, emphasizing his need to consistently reflect on scriptural texts
so that the timeless truths they reveal will not be forgotten.
The Bible is always there, it’s always concrete… it’s always that primary source that you
can go back to… I just take the time and reflect on those Scriptures throughout my day,
throughout my week, however long it may take because nothing ever stops. Whatever
you learn it never stops because you’re going to go through those same challenges,
you’re going to face those same obstacles… When you don’t read [the Bible] and those
obstacles come, you don’t know what to do… These obstacles and these trials and
tribulations come, and you don’t know how to handle them.
This view of Scripture as “concrete” and a source of “everything you need to know” has
motivated these students to make time for remembering and reflecting on biblical passages so
that they will be able to “handle” the challenges of life when they come.
Artifacts shared by two of the participants represent a commitment to remembering
sacred texts that goes beyond mere mental activity. They keep various tokens by which they can
quickly recall biblical passages that have been personally meaningful. Ellen keeps a silver lapel
pin given to her by her childhood pastor, upon which one such passage is imprinted. She
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intentionally does not wear this pin because she “doesn’t want to lose it.” Patricia, at various
points in her life (specifically before college), has received posters and banners made for her by
friends which display biblical passages that have been sources of great encouragement to her.
She has kept these visual reminders of Scripture and looks at them for similar encouragement
when she is experiencing personal difficulty, whether in academic pursuits or in personal
relationships.
Even if passively in the years prior to college, the participants developed the capacity to
view life experiences through the “lens of faith,” as described by Edward:
There are a lot of Scriptures that speak on when you have these moments… [God] will be
with you and you will get through it and it will be better for you at the end of it… [This]
has really helped me understand what’s going on and how to deal with things and see life
through the lens of faith… Instead of seeing a bad situation [such as] my first math grade
– my first ever bad grade in my life! – as an all-ending situation, seeing it as a stumbling
block that I will have to overcome… He [God] will get you through it.
For Edward, challenging experiences do not need to be overwhelming. They can be viewed as
opportunities to learn and to be strengthened in new ways. This perspective (this “lens of faith”)
was developed through the pattern of learning sacred texts that was established before college
and continued in his college years.
Prayer. Another habit developed by participants in the current study is the disciplined
practice of prayer. Whether in private, with friends, or through the rituals of worship in the
churches they attend, each of the ten participants describes how the discipline of prayer is a
means by which spiritual peace and stability is experienced.
Prayer, as defined by Aaron is simply “talking to God… a personal discussion.” He
continues with a reflection on his own personal practice of prayer.
I pray a lot… I pray about classes. I pray about my family… I try to think in my head of
people that I have said I was going to pray for… I pray that I keep up with the work [in
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my classes] and that God would give me the strength to study adequately and to do my
reading and to stay on schedule – all the stuff that college students struggle with.
Aaron, and other participants in the current study, “talk to God” about the things in their lives
that would otherwise overwhelm them. By praying about these things, they find peace and are
able to face difficulties with calmness and an expectation that all will ultimately turn out for the
better. As Edward describes it, they “pray around it and deal with it.”
Beyond the common academic challenges of college life, the social challenges that also
affect college students can be overwhelming. Alicia describes how prayer is an important way
by which she has been able to endure the difficulties she has experienced in her personal
relationships:
I think in relationships with people, even just with family, the social aspect of life was
always where I struggled… I think it could have affected my academics if I allowed it to,
but… it was, like, you’re going to pray about these social things, you’re going to get this
done… By being able to keep going [socially], I was able to keep going in school.
Because she was able to pray about her relational struggles, Alicia was able to avoid distractions
that may have resulted in disappointment in her academic work.
Sheila experiences physical pain when she does not pray.
My chest will feel heavy and there’s so much that I feel like I’m trying to handle on my
own… I pray and just give it to God. And once I do that, I feel better. That’s what I
have to do every morning or else I won’t be able to focus in class.
A daily practice of prayer has become a source of peace upon which Sheila depends to have the
focus and strength she needs in approaching the academic activities of college life. Without this
practice, she begins to experience physical discomfort. But like the others, in times when she
has felt overwhelmed by her college experience, prayer has helped her to feel calmer and more at
peace. Also, like several of the other participants, this pattern of prayer was established long
before Sheila entered college; her family “would pray before every meal” and “pray before bed.”
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Feeling “grounded” and “spiritually connected.” The ten participants in this study
describe their own experience of spiritual peace and calmness as feeling “grounded,” being
“spiritually connected,” and having a “foundation” for their lives that becomes a “source of
strength.” Employing terminology that is far less abstract, several of the participants express a
comfort in knowing that God is always with them and that He will always help them when they
need it. They describe it in simple terms: “God has my back.” Ellen explains,
God had my back the entire time, even when it was hard… Over the last two years was
when I struggled most in the classroom… There were a lot of things that were up and
down but my faith just got stronger knowing that God was there the entire time… I know
that if I hadn’t struggled… I wouldn’t be as diligent as I am now, or I wouldn’t value
things the way I do now... My faith has really kept me grounded.
Nathan describes his faith as an experience of being “spiritually connected,” a stabilizing
influence that affects how he views the world and his relationship to it:
You’re aware that there’s something beyond the flesh and everyday encounters with
individuals. You start to view the world from a different perspective… You start to
communicate with people differently. This heightened sense of [spiritual] awareness
allows you to see from a different perspective and also to experience the world
differently, to understand it differently and then to be able to communicate differently… I
think when you’re deeply connected, spiritually, your whole life operates differently.
You’re not going by routine anymore. You start to believe that there’s a specific reason
for everything and then you operate under that awareness. It’s this alignment with God.
Being “spiritually connected” enables Nathan to experience the world in a more meaningful way
and to have hope in the “reason” something difficult or challenging might be happening to him,
even if he will only come to understand that “reason” in the future.
Madelyn observes that the spiritual peace she is experiencing is something many of her
college peers are not experiencing. She explains,
I think my faith has been the only real reason why I’m able to get through all of this
because it’s really stressful. Just knowing that God is going to take care of me … I know
God has me … I’ve been able to have this peace that a lot of my peers don’t have…
which has been super valuable because I probably would have gone crazy by now.
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Aaron describes the experience of feeling “stable” in his college years. This stability is
rooted in spiritual beliefs and practices introduced to him before college.
Religion gives me a foundation, someone who I can count on… I think if I were to have
dropped it when I went to college… I would have been kind of lop-sided. I would have
eventually come back to it… When I’m more involved with the church and I’m thinking
about God more every day, things seem to be better off for me. And the same thing was
true in high school… In college it’s played a big role in keeping me grounded.
This groundedness in spiritual things is enhanced for Aaron through a daily, emailed
inspirational reading to which he subscribes. Of these readings, he says, “These are cool because
they give you something to think about every morning… It’s like a little inspirational boost.”
Review of several of these inspirational readings reveals that they are brief commentary on a
scriptural passage by a well-known pastor, followed by short reflection questions for the reader.
The topic for reflection for one such reading was closely aligned with the theme of groundedness
that Aaron described about his own life. One of these readings says:
Discouragement will come; it always does… When discouragement comes, you can rest
assured in one thing: God chose you to be part of His family... How should the
knowledge of your secure place in God’s family change your attitude and perspective on
life?
It seems as though Aaron and several of his peers in the current study have had such a change of
“attitude and perspective on life.” Their belief in God gives them strength, a sense of security,
and a will to persevere through the inevitable challenges of college life.
Significantly, the system of beliefs and the patterns of faith practice that these students
have continued to develop in their college years were introduced to them through their pre-
college involvement in faith-based institutions. Madelyn astutely reflects on this point.
I feel like for me the foundation, no matter how flawed it was, was still a foundation.
And I feel like my life would be so off if I hadn’t had that grounding. If I hadn’t been in
church in high school I wouldn’t have had any type of guidance for what I should be
doing… So I think it was very necessary in order for me to be where I am now.
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Patricia also highlights the importance of her pre-college involvement in faith-based institutions.
She says, “It was that experience with [faith-based institutions] before college that made me seek
them out in college and that involvement in college supported my success.” Had these students
not been involved in these activities before college, they may not have been inclined to
participate in similar activities in college, nor would they have developed the “lens of faith” that
has helped them find meaning, purpose, and the will to persevere in times of adversity.
Connection to scholarly literature: Student spirituality and equanimity. The
“spiritual connectedness” and the feeling of being “grounded” that the participants in the current
study describe about their own experience is the “equanimity” explored in the student spirituality
literature introduced in chapter two of this dissertation. Recalling Astin, Astin, and Lindholm’s
(2011a) definition, equanimity is a feeling of being at peace or being centered about one’s life
experience and life direction, and “may well be the prototypic defining quality of a spiritual
person” (Astin & Keen, 2006). In the literature, equanimity is positively and significantly
(though modestly) related both to college students’ grade point average and to their level of
satisfaction with their college experience. This is true of the students who participated in the
current study. Though they describe their experiences somewhat differently (none of them used
the term equanimity), they speak fluidly about a college experience that is stable, positive, and
ultimately successful, despite real challenges along the way.
A Mindset toward “Growing”
All of the participants in the current study demonstrate a mindset toward personal
development that was instilled through their involvement in faith-based institutions before
college. They describe this mindset as a value for “growing,” especially growing “in their faith.”
They all welcome opportunities to discover personal talents and refine personal skills, to expand
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their knowledge of the world and of people, to continue developing into mature adulthood, and
to more deeply explore practices of faith and spirituality. As identified by the participants in
their individual interviews, opportunities for these types of personal growth through involvement
in faith-based institutions have included roles of leadership and community service, exposure to
various modes of learning, and relational support through the stages of both spiritual and cultural
identity development. This mindset toward growth has been demonstrated through self-
reflection consistently practiced by the participants, and also seems to have contributed to the
development of the personal resilience they exhibit in times of adversity. These themes are
consistent with the religious social capital literature which has explored the ways that faith-based
institutions can provide opportunities for skill development that may not otherwise be available
in a given community. The themes around issues of personal development are consistent with
Fowler’s (1981) faith development theory and studies of student spirituality which highlight the
central role that faith development plays in the lives of youth and young adults.
Roles of leadership and community service. Almost without exception, when given the
opportunity to describe their involvement in faith-based institutions, the participants in the
current study begin to list an impressive collection of opportunities to volunteer their time and
talents. In many cases, they have taken full advantage of these opportunities and are able to
describe the sense of responsibility and fulfillment they have gained from these experiences.
For Sheila, these opportunities began when she was very young. By the time she was a
pre-teen, she “started volunteering as one of the leaders” for the Vacation Bible School that her
church hosted each summer. This was a program in which she personally participated as a child,
but as she grew older, the church invited her into the role of helping to lead and care for the
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younger children. Her responsibilities consisted of “making sure that they all went to snack time
together and helping them with crafts.”
Patricia had the opportunity to serve as an usher at her church before college. She
describes her many responsibilities in this volunteer role of service:
I would greet people as they came in and hand them the bulletin for the day which
outlined the service. Then during the service, I would help with the offering plates and
carry those to the altar and back and also I would let people out of the pews when it was
time for communion. Then pick up after the service was done.
Madelyn and Nathan each describe the monthly opportunity they had as teenagers to help
in the planning and leading of the worship services in their respective churches. In Madelyn’s
church, this was called “Youth Sunday,” when “the youth would fill in the place of the older
people for that Sunday – youth choir, youth ushers…” One time each year, Madelyn was also a
part of planning the “Youth Annual Day,” which was an entirely separate worship service
devoted to and planned by the youth in her church. Nathan also describes regular youth
activities in the church of which he was a part during his teenage years:
Every third Sunday of the month, the youth ministry hosted the service. The pastor still
spoke, but the youth ministry sang all the musical selections, the youth played all the
instruments, the [youth] acting ministry was also a part of it. A skit would happen and
there would be, like, a praise dance and mime ministry the youth would put on.
Madelyn describes her involvement in a “youth leadership program” at her church. “We were
the peer leaders of the youth ministry… We had weekly meetings and we would chaperone the
kids during the kids’ service.” An annual “state youth convocation” brought Madelyn together
with young people from churches all over her state and afforded her the opportunity to be a
leader for this large gathering of her peers.
There were seminars. There was a service every night… They had a joint choir and so if
you were in a church choir you got to go and they had rehearsals and they put on this
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little concert at the end. They had joint praise dancing team, joint everything… I was the
secretary of the board so I was always on stage making announcements… We would
have meetings every few months to plan it. I was the secretary, so I would take notes.
The public speaking experience Madelyn gained through her state youth convocation is
echoed by the personal stories of Ellen, Edward, and Nathan. For each of these three
participants, public speaking was a regular part of what “all the children in the church would be
required to do.” Most of these public speaking opportunities were a part of the traditions
associated with church holidays, such as Easter. Edward recalls the “speeches for Easter
program” that he and his brothers had to do each year “by memory,” and “if not a speech, then a
skit or some form of creativity to express the holiday.” Nathan also shares fond memories of the
occasions when he and his peers would be required to “perform” something they had memorized,
whether a “long poem” or a skit. Ellen remembers “testimony time, when someone would come
up and give a story of how God had helped them during that week” and she clearly points out
that she would be “scorned” if she chose not to share a testimony when it was already known by
others that something significant had taken place in her own life. This meant that Ellen had to
learn from a young age how to stir up the courage to speak in front of a large group of people.
Several of the participants described opportunities for community service that their
churches provided for them when they were teenagers. Madelyn explains that the state youth
convocation in which she participated offered such an opportunity to serve: “There was a service
portion where we would go out to a homeless shelter or an elderly home and talk to them.” As
early as age ten, Aaron served as an altar boy in his Catholic church and participated in the
Junior Knights of Saint Peter Claver, a service organization that “had regular meetings after
church on Sundays, did community service events… like clothing and food drives, … and would
raise money for certain things in the community.” Aaron was also required to organize and
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execute a community service project for his confirmation: “I did a community drive to collect
cans and cosmetic goods for homeless people… I passed out some flyers in my neighborhood
that said I am doing this drive, leave stuff out on your porch on this date.”
Modes of learning. Particularly in the case of students who have found the educational
resources of their local public schools lacking, opportunities outside of school to develop
academic skills such as good study habits and familiarity with various modes of learning can be
critically important if these students are to be prepared for success in college. Several
participants in the current study express feelings of regret that the high schools they attended did
not have adequate resources to prepare them and their peers for success in college. While their
involvement in faith-based institutions did not fill this gap completely, it seems likely to have
had a narrowing effect by providing supplementary exposure to various modes of learning. It is
reasonable to suggest that involvement in Sunday School and other forms of youth ministry can
expose children to a range of instructional and learning styles (e.g., direct instruction, group
discussion, and self-reflection). All but one of the participants in the current study describe their
own involvement from an early age in faith-based activities that incorporated a range of learning
modes and styles.
The participants consistently describe faith-based settings from their childhood in which
direct instruction was the primary mode of learning. The traditional sermon, preached from the
pulpit by a single preacher to a large congregation, was a common experience for all participants
in the study. Aaron, among others, describes that he and his brothers had to learn how to
“remain quiet and sit down for a long time” in order to not be a distraction to the worship
service, but also to hear what was being taught from the pulpit. In later years, several of the
participants developed note-taking skills out of a desire to remember and be able to study more
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extensively the things they would hear in Sunday morning sermons. Matthew comments directly
that “taking notes is very important” and Alicia shared a well-worn Bible in which she carries
numerous loose sheets of notes she has taken during sermons over the years. Her note-taking
habit is also demonstrated on the pages of this well-worn bible, where she has written her
reflections next to various passages and, in many cases, she has also used a bright highlighting
pen to mark passages that have had a significant impact on her developing thoughts about life
and spirituality. Significantly, she explains that while some of these notes and highlights are
from her more recent readings of these passages, many are from her pre-college years when she
was just beginning to learn the practice of note-taking in her studies of the Bible.
Even more common than listening to the direct instruction of Sunday sermons, the
participants describe their early experiences in children’s Sunday School, where “it was a teacher
up at the front of the room giving you a lesson.” In these settings, children were exposed to
“books that [they] would follow along with and hear stories from the Bible… and color.” These
are the kinds of early exposure to literacy that prepare children for both the culture of school and
the activity of learning in school. Several of the participants recall rote memorization activities,
usually involving the memorization of scriptural passages. In later childhood, Madelyn
remembers she and her peers in Sunday School “making a lot of pictures and diagrams” of the
topics they were learning, a more complex cognitive process than rote memorization.
At older ages, many of the participants became involved in discussion groups with their
peers, in which “a leader and a group of other individuals… would just delve into a Scripture –
what it means, tie it back to other Scriptures. It was discussion with a leader.” In these
discussion groups during their teenage years, several of the participants described how they
began to use literary terms like “metaphor,” “figurative language,” and “double entendre,” all of
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which are indicative of a more advanced level of cognitive activity. Whether these tools for
literary interpretation were actually introduced in these faith-based discussion groups, or if their
use in these groups was supplementary to what was already being learned in school, the
opportunity to have this kind of analytical discussion certainly supported the students’ cognitive
development and provided them with a more refined set of academic skills to support their
educational success.
It is clear from the participants’ stories that they also had opportunities in their pre-
college faith-based experiences to develop metacognitive skills such as self-regulation and self-
reflection. Through the disciplines and routines before college of attending faith-based activities,
participating collaboratively in those activities with others, and developing a greater awareness
of time, schedule and responsibility, they became more familiar with the kind self-regulatory
habits they would need to practice in order to be academically successful both before and during
college. Ellen’s description of her weekly church activities give one look at the kind of schedule
several of the participants were accustomed to keeping before college:
I would go to church every Sunday… There was also bible study on Tuesdays… Friday
night we had things as well. Saturday was choir rehearsal, so there would actually be
times when I would go to church four times a week.
Sheila paints a similar picture from her experience:
Sunday morning consisted of going to church at 11:00 and that service went to about
12:30 and then our parents would go home but we would stay and usually go to Togo’s
across the street with some of our friends. Band practice would start at 1:00 or 1:30 and
that would go until about 3:00 or 3:30 and then dance team had practice from about 3:00
to 4:30. So our Sundays were completely spent at church. We had Awanas at night
which started at 7:00. And it was just normal to spend Sundays that way. Wednesday
nights we went to youth services and I played for the band there.
Beyond the skills of self-regulation developed through these structured and time-consuming
activities, these students were also encouraged through their faith-based involvement to develop
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habits of self-reflection. Opportunities for this often came from group discussion activities in
their church youth ministries, such as what Patricia describes:
The leader would bring up the topic of the day and he or she would ask what that topic
meant to us and so people would answer… Questions like “How does this relate to you?
How do you think this can help you? What do you think is the message of this? Do you
agree with this?”
Nathan, Madelyn, and Aaron all recount how the self-reflective activities of their church youth
ministries guided them in applying the teachings of their faith to the real-life challenges they
were beginning to experience in high school, such as bullying, drugs, and alcohol.
Madelyn also shared a journal entry that she had written, which offers an example of the
kind of self-reflection in which she has learned to regularly engage through her faith-based
experiences. In this journal entry, Madelyn reflects on one particular passage from the Gospel of
Matthew about the unfortunate emptiness of much of what is practiced in the name of religion:
I am still learning to discern what my spirit does and does not need to be fed, but I am
also trying to make sure that I seek God in everything. I don’t believe that God has
called His followers to be cynical and doubtful and I am constantly trying to draw the line
between discernment and judgment.
Having developed such patterns of self-reflection before college, students were able to continue
practicing these habits in their college years.
Development of skills in the performing arts. Eight of the ten participants in the
current study were involved in activities of faith-based institutions which emphasized the
performing arts. All eight were in their church choirs, four mentioned the performance of skits
or other forms of dramatic art, two referenced an activity known as “praise dance” (a kind of
modern dance routine that is choreographed for religious pieces of music), and two mentioned
youth mime ministries. Both Edward and Alicia have been involved in such activities since “a
very young age”; specifically for Alicia it began when she was “around three.” Michael had
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similar opportunities to engage in the performing arts at an early age: “I sang my first solo in
church choir when I was three or four… I got an early start in music at my church.”
Significantly for Michael, this “start in music” ultimately led to his declaration of a college major
and aspirations to pursue a professional career in music. A recording produced by the music
ministry of his church features Michael singing with his mother, a clear example of the many
opportunities he had throughout his upbringing to develop and exercise his artistic talents.
Faith development. Eight of the ten participants in the current study reflect extensively
on how their life of faith has changed from the time before they entered college to the years they
are now experiencing in college. Most common in these reflections is the notion that they were
“going through the motions” before college when religious practices may have been “forced
upon them by their parents,” to a place of personal commitment in their college years when they
are “really deep into it.” Faith development is clearly an important aspect of their personal
stories.
As Aaron explains, “Church was something that I knew I had to do at first and then when
I got older, I got to figure out specifically what I believed in.” Alicia speaks of “that transition
from… being someone who’s been raised in the church and just believing what my family told
me to believe, to being a college student and really knowing that… I believed all that I said I
believed.” For Ellen, this transition has involved “tests of faith,” as she describes in the
following quotation about her own experience of faith development:
As a teenager, faith was this thing that I knew I was supposed to have and definitely did
have but… it was kind of a surface-level faith… Since I got to college I’ve had to defend
my faith more than I ever have in my entire life.
This need for “defending” her faith, has been experienced in class discussions with students
whose beliefs are different from her own and even through comments posted by friends on her
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personal Facebook page. These open and sometimes difficult discussions around issues of faith
were not at all common in her high school years when “everyone [she] was surrounded by shared
the same faith.”
Edward “grew up in an extremely traditional conservative faith, and was never really
given the opportunity to experience a lot of diversity in any way, shape, form or fashion –
whether ethnic, racial, or religious diversity.” Now that Edward is in college, he says that he has
“grown to see faith having a purpose, and not just for your own personal salvation.” What used
to be “a lot of external expressions of faith then… is [now] much more internal.” He shared a
well-pressed, paisley-patterned necktie, which he sees as a symbol of how he used to pursue faith
– neat, orderly, externally “put together.” Before college, he would wear a necktie such as this to
church, and his disposition toward faith was very formal like this necktie. He says, “I don’t wear
ties to church anymore,” which reflects the less formal, but much more internalized personal
faith to which he now commits himself.
The college experience itself, with all of its academic and social challenges, seems to
facilitate the process of faith development. This is true of Matthew who says,
I was a surface Christian before college because I was so dependent on my parents… But
when I started to really get into this college life and this college environment, I found that
I needed to lean on somebody and Jesus is that person… [I needed to] find my own path
to Christ because nobody can really help me get closer but myself.
Michael expresses similarly that he has “gone through experiences coming into college… that
have certainly played a role and had an impact on faith.” He continues,
Once I got to college… I really started to seek God for myself… It wasn’t my mom
anymore telling me, “You have to go to church on Sunday” or “it’s time for choir
rehearsal.” Instead, it was, “I want to be in a gospel choir” and “I want to go to church.”
Michael says he had to ask himself self-reflective questions such as “Am I convinced? Do I
believe?” This caused him to “strive and dig deeper” so that he could make his own decisions
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about faith and religion. But he is quick to point out that he “had the foundation” and he knew
“the basics” from his involvement in church throughout his childhood and adolescent years. His
process of self-reflection regarding matters of faith could be pursued on the strong foundation
that was laid through his faith-based experiences before college.
Cultural identity development. Five of the ten participants in the current study
reflected on various ways that their involvement in faith-based institutions before college
facilitated the development of their own cultural identity. For three of these students, the ethnic
make-up of their churches was predominantly African-American and various programs of these
churches helped to expose them to culturally specific themes. For the other two students, while
African-Americans were ethnically a minority in their churches, personal relationships
developed through involvement in faith-based activities became a source of guidance and
support through their development of cultural identity.
Aaron, who grew up in “an all-White neighborhood” reflects on the benefits to his
personal development of being involved in an African-American Catholic church:
Going to a Black Catholic Church… [meant that] I got to interact with people who
looked like me. We did Black History Month programs. In the church bulletin on the
first Sunday of every month there would be “This Month in Black History” … We
acknowledged Black saints… [and] Black nuns in our community.
The activities of his church exposed Aaron to aspects of African-American history and to the
stories of African-American leaders in a way that his school experience in a predominantly
White neighborhood did not.
While his neighborhood and school experiences were somewhat less culturally isolating,
Edward also describes how his Black Baptist upbringing exposed him to valuable information
about Black history and culture.
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The way we teach and preach is just different. There’s a lot of rhythm in some way. The
cadences of a black Baptist preacher and his message in and of itself [are] different… We
had Black History Month programs and you would hear that tone you would have
probably heard in the 60s was still somewhat there… You could evoke the image of the
pastors that were in the civil rights movement.
Michael recounts a similar experience in his church, which was also a predominantly African-
American Baptist church, saying, “A lot of culture [got] tied to the services and to the
messages… so I feel that I definitely had a strong understanding of heritage and culture growing
up.” Later, Michael had developed a stable cultural identity and was able to express that identity
in the context of students from other ethnic backgrounds at the predominantly White high school
he attended. He describes how he would share a musical style of his culture and the message of
his faith in the context of his high school jazz choir:
Each year I would teach a gospel song and my teacher was very supportive… I would
come up with an arrangement and teach it to the choir. In addition to all the jazz
repertoire that we were learning, we would do a gospel song in each of the concerts.
The role of faith-based institutions in supporting cultural identity development has been
much different for Sheila and Patricia, who grew up in predominantly White and Asian
communities and attended predominantly non-African-American churches. Yet, still, a role has
been played. For Sheila, a mentoring relationship with a Black youth pastor and peer
relationships with other African-Americans in a church setting facilitated personal reflection on
her identity as an African-American young woman. For Patricia, the opportunity to connect with
other African-American students in college has come largely from the relationships she has
developed through faith-based activities.
Connections to scholarly literature. All of the subthemes identified above as areas of
personal development for the participants (e.g., roles of leadership and community service,
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modes of learning, faith development) are reflective of several areas in the scholarly literature.
Each of these connections is briefly described below.
Religious social capital. The stories offered by the participants in the current study
provide clear examples of what researchers such as Cnaan, Boddie, and Yancy (2003), Wald and
Wilcox (2006), and Gibson (2008) have described in the religious social capital literature as the
“bonding” elements of social capital that can be converted into “bridging” forms of social capital
to create new benefits for small social networks as well as larger communities. Through their
participation in the activities of faith-based institutions before college, the participants engaged
in various opportunities to lead and serve in these networks of trust. Their participation in
service activities brought benefits to the outlying community through their assistance to those
who were homeless or otherwise in need, as well as by reaching out to their peers who were not
already a part of the faith-based network and engaging them in faith-based activities.
Religious involvement and skill development. The academically successful students
who participated in the current study exemplify the correlation that has been demonstrated in the
scholarly literature between religious involvement of high school students and high academic
achievement (Regnerus, 2000). The opportunities for the development of leadership skills that
these students have enjoyed through their faith-based activities might be a clear reason for why
Gehrke (2008) and Sanders, Hopkins, and Geroy (2003) have observed a strong correlation
between spiritual development and leadership development. If young people have significant
opportunities to develop leadership skills through involvement in faith-based institutions, it
would stand to reason that leadership development would be taking place in these environments
that generally also emphasize spirituality.
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The development of important metacognitive skills, as well as the many other skills
described above which support strong academic achievement, has been supported through
students’ involvement in faith-based institutions before college. This involvement seems to have
contributed to their readiness for success in college by offering a consistent opportunity over a
number of years to refine and sharpen these skills. These are some of the same benefits of faith-
based activity that both Sikkink and Hernández (2003) and Smith (2003b) have identified in their
studies of the religious involvement of youth.
Faith development theory. The reflections offered by the participants in the current
study demonstrate a pattern of personal development that is consistent with the stages of faith
development that have been theorized by James Fowler (1981). These stages provide a
framework for understanding how one develops a personal belief system, including how to make
meaning and find purpose in the experiences of life. The participants in the current study all
describe a process of personal development that has followed Fowler’s stages. They all
developed a “mythic-literal faith” (Fowler’s stage three) which roughly aligned with the faith
commitments they observed in their parents and/or mentors. They demonstrated behaviors in
their adolescent years that were consistent with a “synthetic-conventional faith” (Fowler’s stage
four), with which they began to make sense of the world and their place in it through relatively
new and underdeveloped self-reflective activity. Then, in college, they have all transitioned to
Fowler’s stage five (“individuative-reflective faith”) in that they are critically examining what
they believe and how that should relate to their goals, relationships, and personal decisions. One
participant (Edward) has demonstrated behaviors reflective of “conjunctive faith” (Fowler’s
stage six) in that he described a personal motivation to understand the faith commitments of
others and relate them to his own system of belief. Four participants also demonstrated some
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behaviors consistent with stage seven (“universalizing faith”) in that they are considering how
the convictions of their own faith can be a source of personal motivation for meeting the needs of
others and transforming what is undesirable in the world.
Cultural identity development. Various researchers have suggested that African-
American students can experience unique challenges relative to cultural identity development
(Stewart, 2002; Johnson, Oates, Jackson, Miles, & Strong, 2003; Sanchez & Carter, 2005).
Opportunities for African-American students to continue their process of faith development in
college can strengthen and facilitate healthy development of cultural identity (Baker, 2007). The
experiences of participants in the current study reflect these themes in the literature and further
emphasize the important role that faith-based experience can play in supporting cultural identity
development for African-American students.
“Church Family”
All but one of the participants in the current study describe the significance of faith-based
institutions as a source of supportive relationships. A label used by three of the participants to
describe this phenomenon is “church family.” Beyond the supportive relationships they may
have had with biological family members, their church family was a network of relationships
that supported their personal development, helped them cope with personal challenges, and
encouraged them to stay committed to personal goals (e.g., the goal to attend and be successful
in college). Several participants also describe how their church family played a protective role in
their lives by providing “safe spaces” for them in communities where influences toward
maladaptive behaviors were prevalent. These themes of church family and safe space reflect
similar themes in the religious social capital literature that point to the role of religious
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communities in providing opportunities and support through bonding and bridging forms of
social capital (Putnam, 2000).
Supportive relationships. Whether with mentors or peers, supportive relationships are a
hallmark of the “church family” as described by the participants in the current study. In fact,
Edward defines his church family as “anyone who belongs to our church, be it as a member that
continuously goes or someone that comes to the church at all.” Ellen’s church family is “really
close knit, really family oriented, everyone knows everyone but not in that annoying way where
everyone knows everyone’s business… [It is] home away from home [where] we always support
people.” For Nathan, the church is his “extended family.” Michael describes his home church as
“a big support system” to which he still enthusiastically returns even though he has moved away
to attend college.
Seven of the participants specifically identified the significance of their relationship with
a pastor or other mentor in this “extended family.” Ellen reflects on the importance of “being
able to connect with [her] pastor” because it helped keep her connected to the supportive
network of the church during her teenage years.
If I didn’t go to church on a Sunday, he would call me and ask me what happened. So I
think just knowing that you had someone aside from your parents who was also looking
out for you was really helpful. I felt like I could talk to him about things that I may not
have been able to talk to my parents about directly.
Matthew expresses great respect for his “bishop” who can “just point you in the right direction.”
Alicia’s pastor “was the father figure [she] had growing up… because [her] dad had gone to jail
when [she] was young.”
Nathan’s youth pastor was “someone who was there for [him]” during his high school
years, but the supportiveness of this relationship did not end when he went away to college. He
says, “To this day I get phone calls from her… and she is now stepping in and trying to give
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guidance and be a mentor to my younger sister.” Nathan also speaks of the valuable opportunity
he had to be mentored by men in his church before college:
The men’s choir… was an opportunity to be surrounded by a group of older Black men
who were present and very active in their children’s lives, who had solid marriages, who
were men of God and what that exemplified. They weren’t perfect by any means but…
to see an image of a positive Black male and what that means… was so inspiring.
For seven of the participants, peer relationships were also an important part of the
“church family.” Madelyn’s interest in going to church at all was fueled by the fact that “there
were all these young people there.” Of this experience with her peers at church, she says, “It was
so fun… I just loved it.” Nathan points to the value of having peers in the church because “you
watch them grow and they watch you grow and they look up to you and you look up to them.”
Matthew remembers all of the social activity he enjoyed with his peers in “youth fellowship.”
We played a whole bunch of games. We had potlucks. We had baking contests. A
whole bunch of different things. We played basketball and tag. There was one year…
[when] we had a sleep-over in the sanctuary… and we watched movies and just ate and
ate.
This “big support network” also showed their support in various other ways outside of
church activities. Michael and Nathan both talk about how their church family would “come out
to different performances” and “events where [they] would sing.” Nathan recalls a show he “put
on in downtown Manhattan… A lot of the church family came out to support me and to see the
show.” Both of these young men also benefited from scholarships awarded to them by their
churches. Michael explains that the scholarship program at his church is “intended for people
who have grown up in the church… [and] it’s been a tradition of my home church for a very long
time.”
A “safe space.” Another way that several of the participants in the current study
characterize their “church family” is as a “safe space” where “[you] can go any day of the
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week… at all hours of the day.” Sheila observes that some of her peers “used the church to get
away from what they went through at home… There are a lot of things that can be avoided [by
being in church] – alcohol, drugs, being sexually active, swearing, a lot of those things.”
Madelyn also reflects on how her experience has differed from the experience of some of her
peers:
I think about the choices that I’ve seen my friends make and where it’s led them. The
only reason I wasn’t with them is because of my faith in God and the only reason I wasn’t
interested in doing what they were doing is because of my faith in God. So if I didn’t
have God I’d be in the same exact boat. I’d be out partying every night, failing all my
classes, and getting kicked out, or pregnant somewhere, like many of my friends from
high school.
Thus, Madelyn draws a confident conclusion that her faith-based involvement has kept her from
activities that would have led her “down a wrong path.”
Nathan also extensively describes how the church in which he was active during high
school played a critical role in keeping him from engaging in maladaptive behaviors. His church
served a protective function in his life. It was the “safe space” to which he often went to “stay
busy” and avoid things in his urban neighborhood that would not be good for him.
It served as an outlet and just a safe space for youth to come instead of being out on the
streets getting involved in everything else that’s out there for you to get involved in,
which is mostly not that productive… The youth would get together and play games,
watch movies in the church, and the pastor of the youth ministry would always cook for
us or order food.
This opportunity for youth in his neighborhood to go to the church as a refuge from maladaptive
influences in the community can make the difference between succeeding and failing. Nathan
continues:
When there is nothing else to do, you’re searching for something to get involved in,
something to occupy your time, whether that would be drugs or hanging around people. I
remember as early as junior high school there were associates of mine who were exposed
to drugs and all those things… Usually just being at somebody’s house or apartment not
doing much of anything and really out of boredom, what do you use to occupy your
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mind? I have no idea what else I would have been doing – maybe just roaming the
streets, just looking for something to get involved in… But you had a place here [at the
church] that kept you busy… So I was very busy. My mind was always occupied.
You’re tired, number one, after all that. But you’re constantly growing and being
challenged and you have something to look forward to. You start to see your gifts and
talents, something you aspire to be. And when you don’t have that you really have
nothing to look forward to.
This “safe space,” where constructive, positive activity “kept you busy” was an important part of
Nathan’s development before college. It was not to be so for his cousin, though the two
essentially “grew up in the same household.” With gratitude for how his own life has developed,
but with equal regret for the difference in his cousin’s experience, Nathan offers this
commentary:
He wasn’t planted in the church… He didn’t have enough things in his life… I look at
him now, and I see that it took him a very long time to finish high school. He just
finished not too long ago and he’s moved from high school to high school… and even his
behavior has been atrocious. He even had to move down south… just to finish school…
And now he’s unemployed, he doesn’t even have many of the basic skills you need to
really survive as a man. I definitely see the difference. He had been dabbling with drugs
and locked up [in jail]. And we’re just a year apart.
While there were certainly other factors at play, Nathan is struck by how different his life
experiences have been from those of his cousin, especially since the one primary difference in
their childhood experience was that Nathan was under the protective influence of his church. He
was in the “safe space” he has so compellingly described. His cousin was not. Nathan is now
experiencing academic success in a rigorous university environment. His cousin has barely
completed high school.
Connection to scholarly literature: Bonding and bridging social capital. As
explained in chapter two of this dissertation, Putnam (2000) distinguishes between bonding
social capital and bridging social capital. The former is the trust and reciprocity that is formed in
social relationships, but that can become insular and exclusive to the network in which it is
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developed. The latter is a form of social capital that avoids such an inward tendency and extends
the value derived from the smaller social network to a much larger social sphere. The supportive
network of social relationships in the churches described by the participants in the current study
is an example of the insular, bonding form of social capital. This is of great value to those who
make up this relatively small social network. This value is extended to larger communities
beyond the churches themselves through the protective function they serve in the lives of young
people. The example of Nathan’s cousin demonstrates that churches will not protect every
young person in every case. But the potential for such protection is there, as perhaps for Sheila’s
friends who came to church to escape trouble at home, or even for Nathan’s sister who is now
beginning to benefit from the reaching out efforts of Nathan’s former youth pastor. As Beyerlein
and Hipp (2005) have warned, faith-based institutions can have significant positive impact on
their communities, but only if the bonding social capital they so naturally develop can be
transformed into bridging social capital that can be extended to others beyond their immediate
social network.
Conclusion
This chapter has carefully described four primary themes that emerge from analysis of
the data in the current study: (1) “I Can Do All Things,” (2) “The Lens of Faith,” (3) a mindset
toward “Growing,” and (4) “Church Family.” The description of these themes has been
supported by extensive, direct reference to the data in order to utilize the language of the study
participants as extensively as possible.
These themes reveal a rich and vibrant social environment in the faith-based institutions
in which these students were involved before college. These institutions were the nurturing
ground for the development of a system of personal values and beliefs that is characterized by
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equanimity, perseverance, and resilience. Through faith-based involvement, participants were
also afforded numerous opportunities to develop various social and academic skills that have
likely contributed to their academic successes in college. Finally, these faith-based activities
before college laid the foundation for healthy experiences of the later stages of faith development
during the college years.
In the next chapter, consideration will be given to how these themes might inform
professional practice in both secondary and post-secondary educational settings. Some examples
will also be presented of how organizations are already applying these ideas in the
implementation of academic support and spiritual enrichment programs. Finally,
recommendations for future research will be offered.
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CHAPTER 5: IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Against a backdrop of persistent gaps in opportunity and achievement among students
from a similar ethnic background, the participants in the current study seem to defy the odds.
These ten African-American students have been academically successful by finishing high
school and attending a highly selective research university. They have persisted to advanced
class standing in this academically rigorous environment and, as their stories reveal, have
continued a process of personal development in their college years that points to a bright and
fulfilling future. These valuable developmental experiences began well before college, and some
of the most significant of those experiences were supported and facilitated through their
involvement in the activities of faith-based institutions. The picture that emerges from the
current study is compelling in its consistency – all of the participants are able to extensively
reflect on how their involvement in these institutions encouraged and nurtured their spiritual
development and provided them with a network of supportive personal relationships that carried
them through their often confusing, even tumultuous, pre-college years. Significantly, several of
the participants describe these experiences in explicitly spiritual terms – in their own words,
“God had [their] back.”
These themes are consistent with the scholarly literature that points to the value of social
capital in religious networks to provide personal support, opportunities for skill development,
and a worldview of resilience and persistence in the face of formidable challenges. The findings
of this study also reflect themes in the scholarly literature exploring students’ religious
involvement and spirituality, which points to the role of spiritual development in supporting
behaviors that are associated with academic success and personal life fulfillment. All of these
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themes in previous research have been thoroughly reviewed in chapter two of this dissertation,
and the themes that emerge from the experiences of the ten participants in the current study have
been detailed in chapter four.
This final chapter explores the implications of the findings that have been explained in
chapter four, along with thoughts on how these findings might be applied to personal and
professional practice. Several examples are offered of faith-based organizations currently
engaged in activities that would seem to support the type of positive developmental outcomes
that are evident through the faith-based involvement of students in the current study. Finally,
suggestions are made regarding future research that might be pursued to further explore the
themes that have emerged from this study.
Implications for Students
African-American students who face significant challenges and obstacles in their
academic lives may find a valuable resource in the faith-based institutions of their hometown
communities. The personal stories shared by the participants in the current study suggest that
African-American students growing up in communities where faith-based institutions are active
should be encouraged to explore these activities as a source of opportunity for developing
personal skills and networks of supportive relationships that will help to better prepare them for
college entrance and college success. Even in the cases of faith-based institutions sponsoring
activities that may not be explicitly academic in nature, these activities can potentially strengthen
the socio-emotional foundation upon which future academic success can be built.
Faith-based institutions can provide opportunities to develop personal resilience, various
skills that will support academic achievement, and a foundation for future spiritual development
that will support successful and fulfilling academic experiences both before and during college.
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In many cases, students are already participating in the activities of faith-based institutions in
their communities because they are growing up in families where church-going is a habitual
activity. Others may participate in community activities sponsored by faith-based institutions,
such as tutoring programs or social events. Still others may not yet have any personal contact
with faith-based institutions, but could seek out opportunities for such involvement that would
ultimately have positive effects on the trajectory of their educational experiences.
Skill Development
African-American students, especially those who are already connected to the activities
of faith-based institutions through the faith commitments of their families, should be encouraged
to actively seek out these opportunities for personal growth. The faith-based teachings of these
institutions can help to develop a view of self that encourages success and motivates young
people to pursue important personal goals with commitment and resilience, even when they feel
that their own personal skills may be lacking or have been told by others that they are incapable
of achieving success. This resilient view of self is expressed by students like Alicia, Matthew,
and Sheila, who have come to believe that they “can do all things” because of their spiritual
commitment. As the stories of students like Aaron and Ellen demonstrate, engagement in the
rituals of faith and the learning of sacred texts can develop a worldview that interprets
challenging experiences as opportunities for growth and transformation, rather than evidence of
probable defeat and desperation. The experiences of Madelyn and Nathan, among others, show
that these faith-based activities can support the development of personal skills and behaviors that
can lead to academic success, such as active listening skills, analytical and literary skills, habits
that facilitate self-reflection and self-regulation, and various types of leadership skills.
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It is important to note that students may not otherwise have these opportunities. Several
participants in the current study who grew up in school settings that did not effectively meet their
academic and socio-emotional needs significantly benefited from the opportunities provided by
the faith-based institutions with which they were associated in their pre-college years. Certainly
any African-American student who finds a dearth of opportunity in his/her school environment
could look in similar ways to faith-based institutions for guidance, personal support, and
protection from the maladaptive behaviors that might have a negative impact on their academic
pursuits.
Leadership and Community Service
Students should be encouraged to look for opportunities to develop leadership skills
through community service activities sponsored by faith-based institutions, such as filling formal
roles of service within the church (e.g., being an usher, serving on an organizing committee),
participating in food drives and other forms of outreach, and mentoring younger children.
Aaron’s involvement in the “Junior Knights” and Madelyn’s leadership in her state youth
convocation are vivid examples of how leadership skills can be developed through involvement
in faith-based activities. As explored in chapter two, these activities build a sense of social
awareness, civic responsibility, and creative thinking that will increase the likelihood of similar
activities in their college years and adult lives beyond college (Gehrke, 2008; Sanders, Hopkins,
& Geroy, 2003). Thus, early participation in the kind of activities that will develop specific
leadership skills, as well as a general mindset toward leadership, is one clear way that students
can benefit from engagement in these activities in faith-based settings.
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Exposure to Various Modes of Learning
Students should also be encouraged to recognize the academic value they might gain
from participation in various learning settings within faith-based institutions. As is commonly
described by the participants in the current study, these settings may include various forums for
group discussion, Bible study classes, and attendance in regular worship services. Private faith-
based activity such as the reading of sacred texts and journal writing, such as are described by
Alicia, Madelyn, and Sheila, can provide opportunities for skill development that will have
educational value. Participation in various public presentation and performing arts activities, as
described by Alicia, Edward, and Michael, can also be significant, particularly when not readily
available in other settings. Faith-based institutions (especially, it seems from the current study,
in African-American communities) can offer early and sustained exposure to the performing arts
and public speaking, opportunities that students may not otherwise have in schools where
funding shortages and philosophical short-sightedness may be removing these kinds of activities
from the common educational experience in favor of activities that are seen to be in more direct
alignment with standardized tests and government-mandated learning objectives.
Cultural Identity Development
The unique role played by healthy cultural identity development in supporting academic
success for African-American students is also an area to which faith-based institutions can
effectively contribute. African-American churches and relationships with African-American
mentors in faith-based settings can provide valuable opportunities for African-American students
to gain exposure to the history and social contributions of the African-American community, as
well as to the richness of the African-American cultural heritage. This important opportunity for
development of a healthy cultural identity is evident in the stories of Aaron, Edward, Michael,
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Patricia, and Sheila. Culturally monolithic school curricula can deprive African-American
students of such an opportunity. Any effort of faith-based institutions to counteract this
deprivation through their own programming can support cultural identity development and, by
extension, greater academic success for these students.
Supportive Network
Finally, and not insignificantly, the rich network of social relationships that faith-based
institutions can provide should not be underestimated. Students should be encouraged to
consistently invest in these relationships. As the stories of nearly every participant in the current
study demonstrate, both adult mentors and peers can provide a kind of personal safety net that
protects students from maladaptive behaviors and points them to adaptive ones. Especially when
students cannot find sufficient opportunities for these types of relationships in school settings,
they should actively look for them in faith-based institutions, whether through organized youth
activities or less formal interactions around regular faith-based activities, events, and customs.
Implications for Faith-Based Institutions
While the students who participated in the activities of faith-based institutions may be
able to vividly describe those experiences and insightfully reflect on the ways their personal
development has benefited from them, the leaders and members of the faith-based institutions in
which they participated may not be fully aware of the impact they have had on the academic
lives of these students. It is beyond the scope of the current study to explore the extent of this
awareness. However, in any case in which such awareness is minimal, it would be wise for these
institutions to increase that awareness and consider how they might more strategically invest in
the academic success of the young people who are under their influence.
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Development of a System of Beliefs
Perhaps the most readily identifiable way in which faith-based institutions can and do
invest in the development of young people is in the activities which actively teach faith-based
doctrines and beliefs. These systems of belief, which tend to be so important to the identity of
faith-based institutions, can also become a foundation for healthy self-awareness and motivation
toward academic success for school-aged children in these settings. Those who lead the various
activities for learning in these institutions should be mindful of the opportunity these activities
provide for addressing this important area of development for students. Discussion topics in
youth groups and Bible study classes should include reflection on how faith teachings can be
applied in school settings, particularly those teachings which nurture the “I Can Do All Things”
belief expressed by so many of the participants in the current study.
Development of Habits of Self-Reflection
Faith-based habits that involve self-reflection can become habits that will also support
academic success. The disciplined study of sacred texts can train students to invest focused and
sustained time in an activity that involves the intellect, and can even introduce them to analytical
and literary concepts. Prayer and journal writing can train students to reflect on their life
experiences in ways that will help them develop a sense of purpose, meaning, and life direction.
These self-reflective activities can also help students to identify personal weaknesses and
develop ways of building new skills in those areas of weakness. Similarly, these activities can
help students identify areas of personal strength and affirm any number of personal efforts to
apply those strengths in socially adaptive ways.
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Leadership Development through Community Service
Faith-based institutions can offer an extensive array of leadership development
opportunities to children and youth, both in explicitly faith-based practices within the religious
network of the institution itself, and in the larger community-based activities that reach beyond
that network. Faith-based institutions should be encouraged to not only continue offering these
opportunities, but to explore how to offer more of them and to effectively mentor and train
students through them. Youth could be paired with adult members of the faith-based institution
who serve in these roles of service. These adult mentors could both model and directly instruct
young people in how to effectively serve in these roles. Once young people have developed the
necessary skills, they can be paired with peers and younger children who might serve in similar
ways.
Public Speaking and Performing Arts Activities
Faith-based institutions should also be mindful of ways that youth can be involved in
activities that require public speaking and artistic presentation. The activities of churches in
particular tend to be structured in a way that could easily facilitate these kinds of opportunities
for young people. Similar to the “youth days” and holiday programs described by participants in
the current study, faith-based institutions can offer youth the opportunity to do a public reading
in a worship service, sing in a concert of faith-based or faith-inspired music, or perform in a skit
or play that communicates faith-based themes.
Cultural Identity Development
Certainly in faith-based institutions in which memberships are predominantly African-
American, but also in those that have a much more diverse ethnic makeup, the role played by
these institutions to promote cultural identity development for African-American students cannot
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be underestimated. The common practice in predominantly African-American churches of
highlighting African-American history and other important dimensions of Black culture should
be maintained and could even be enhanced. Faith-based institutions in which African-American
students are involved can create opportunities for them to explore their cultural identity by
pointing them to literary works by Black authors, providing opportunities to read and write about
Black historical figures, and helping to connect them with African-American mentors.
Facilitating the Development of Supportive Relationships
The stories of the participants in the current study seem to suggest that relationships
develop rather organically in the close networks of faith-based institutions. The opportunity for
developing close ties with both peers and mentors is clearly available in these institutions and
intentional efforts to support the development of these relationships would certainly be of benefit
to students growing up in these faith-based contexts. Organized social activities, discussion
groups, and community service activities can all be opportunities for youth to spend time and
work together. Adult mentors can organize, lead, and participate in these activities, thereby
building trust with young people and becoming a source of support and guidance for them.
These relationships also create a context in which the “safe space” described by participants in
the current study can be provided, both for young people who are closely associated with the
faith-based institution and those who may benefit from its efforts at reaching out to the
surrounding community.
Contemporary Examples
Faith-based institutions should be encouraged to learn from one another how to
effectively support the academic lives of students under their influence. The next section offers
three examples of faith-based institutions that are making strategic investments in the educational
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development of young people. These examples can provide a starting point for like institutions
to consider how they might make similar investments.
Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and “The Turn-Around Agenda.” “The Turn-Around
Agenda” (TTA) of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas (www.turnaroundagenda.org)
takes a multi-level approach to faith-based community outreach, specifically partnering with
local school districts to support academic achievement among underserved youth. TTA offers
traditional programs such as food, shelter, and clothing assistance, along with crisis pregnancy
counseling, summer camps, and a technology and education institute that provides adult literacy
and computer training programs. Of particular relevance to the current study is TTA’s “Adopt-
A-School” program, which partners local churches with local schools to organize back-to-school
rallies, academic and life skills seminars, mentoring programs, and leadership development
opportunities for youth. TTA offers a striking example of the kind of organized approach that a
faith-based institution can take to support educational achievement in a largely African-
American community.
Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church. A predominantly African-American Church in
Los Angeles, California, the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church (MSMBC, www.msmbc-
la.org) seeks to support the educational achievement of children and youth in its own
community. MSMBC is a much smaller congregation than Oak Cliff, but it seeks to offer similar
kinds of opportunities for young people to experience healthy personal development and achieve
success in school. MSMBC invests significant resources in providing a variety of learning
environments for children and youth, as well as social activities that offer a safe space for both
youth in the church and youth from the surrounding community. MSMBC has hosted
“community days” which offer education-related seminars to parents and children, as well as
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various school-related giveaways such as backpacks filled with school supplies. MSMBC also
provides opportunities for leadership development among youth through their “youth Sundays” –
on the second Sunday of every month, youth at MSMBC lead scriptural readings, songs, and
prayers in the church worship services, and also serve as ushers, greeters and sound production
assistants (Pastor George E. Hurtt, personal communication, May, 5, 2011).
Church of the Redeemer. A small, neighborhood church in Los Angeles, California,
Church of the Redeemer has adopted a vision for children and youth ministry which they call
“Cradle to College.” Together with Redeemer Community Partnership (www.redeemercp.org),
an independent, community-based non-profit organization closely affiliated with the church,
Redeemer offers a range of programs that benefit the development and educational progress of
children and youth, including after-school tutoring programs, summer camps, and parent
seminars on education-related topics. As described by youth pastor, Elliot Ling, these projects
are all designed to help prepare children for success in primary and secondary education, as well
as in college and in their future careers and adult lives (personal communication, September 7,
2012).
Two particularly innovative programs offered through Redeemer and another of its
community partners, “Streetlamp Studio” (www.streetlampstudio.com), are related to the
performing and visual arts. In a community where young people have relatively few
opportunities to engage in arts-related activities, these programs are especially enriching
developmental opportunities. “REEL Joy” is an annual film festival produced by teenaged
students associated with Redeemer. Small groups of students work collaboratively over a period
of weeks to create short films around a theme of interest to urban youth (e.g., young heroes,
choices, belonging). Adult mentors lead these groups through the creative process, from
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developing characters, plot, and a script, to the many creative considerations in the production of
a film, including camera angles and sound levels. The students also are the actors in their own
films and participate in organizing a day-long filming session, as well as the annual screening of
their finished films at an event attended by family, community members, and the press. A
similar opportunity for youth is “When Justice and Peace Kiss” (WJPK), also organized by
Redeemer and Streetlamp. Though not culminating in a cinematic product, WJPK is another
annual project that provides mentorship for youth in creating dramatic presentations, various
forms of visual art, music, and dance.
Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, and Church of the
Redeemer are all examples of faith-based institutions that are providing opportunities for skill
development (Smidt, 2003; Smith, 2003b) and are bridging the resources of the religious social
network to the outlying community (Putnam, 1993, 1995, 2000). These institutions are not
unlike the institutions with which the participants in the current study were affiliated in their pre-
college years. Other similar institutions that are providing these kinds of opportunities should be
encouraged to continue such provision, and faith-based institutions that are not yet engaged in
this kind of activity should be encouraged to follow the example of those that are.
Implications for Schools and School Districts
In their efforts to narrow the opportunity and achievement gap encountered by African-
American students, schools and school districts would do well in acknowledging the role that is
already being played by faith-based institutions in African-American communities to support
students’ academic endeavors. Schools and school districts would also do well to identify ways
of partnering with faith-based institutions to promote academic opportunity and success for
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African-American students. This is especially critical in light of the financial crisis currently
gripping the education system in the United States.
Connecting Students to Resources
One simple step schools should take in this effort is to identify the educational programs
offered by faith-based institutions in their communities (e.g., tutoring services) and refer students
and their families to these programs. Many schools, particularly those in underserved and
underfunded urban settings, do not offer sufficient tutoring services to their students. These
types of services offered by faith-based institutions could be extremely valuable to students who
are especially in need of such services but who are not able to access them at their local school
site. Similarly, extra-curricular social and enrichment activities (e.g., carnivals, sports leagues,
game nights) offered by faith-based institutions should also be identified and promoted by
schools to their students as a way of connecting children and families to safe and productive
activities that may not otherwise be available in their communities. In addition, school officials
should communicate with the leaders and members of faith-based institutions about how they
might support the educational endeavors of the young people associated with their institutions.
This could be done through community forums organized at the facilities of faith-based
institutions or through direct communication with the leaders of faith-based institutions that
provides information about the important role they can play.
Engaging Volunteers
Schools should also consider ways of reaching out to faith-based institutions in their
communities to advertise opportunities to volunteer at the school site. Assistance in schools’
administrative offices, libraries, and classrooms could be provided by willing volunteers who are
associated with faith-based institutions. Schools should provide invitations to volunteer, along
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with step-by-step information about how to register as a volunteer through the school district.
This potentially valuable resource for filling the persistent need for volunteer assistance in school
settings should not be overlooked. In many cases, coordination and training of these volunteers
could be offered in the facilities of the faith-based institutions that are providing the volunteers.
District-Level Strategies
The legal and procedural considerations unique to any given school district may limit the
ability of individual schools to develop the strategies being suggested here. District-level
administrators should publish information both online and in printed pamphlets about how
schools can pursue these kinds of partnerships within the guidelines of district policy. Active
steps should then be taken to point the leaders and members of faith-based institutions, as well as
teachers and school administrators, to the online information. The printed pamphlets should also
be made readily available for distribution in school offices and at parent events hosted at the
school site (e.g., Back to School Night, Open House, PTA meetings).
Implications for College Admission and Student Affairs Professionals
While the focus of the current study has been on pre-college activities, the significant
impact of these activities on the course of student development led to important implications for
professional practice in higher education. Both college recruiters who engage prospective
students in the process of accessing college and student affairs professionals who provide a wide
variety of support services to students throughout their college years should creatively consider
how their strategic and programmatic decisions might be informed by the significant faith-based
experiences of the students they serve.
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College Recruiters
In the quest to find the most qualified applicants, college recruiters might look to faith-
based institutions (particularly in African-American communities) as possible points of
connection with students who are well prepared for success in college. Students who have been
involved in faith-based activities before college will have often developed the kind of socio-
emotional stability and spiritual equanimity that support success in college. In addition, students
who have participated specifically in the education-related activities of faith-based institutions
will tend to have the academic skills that also support college success.
The California State University (CSU), comprised of 23 campuses, has developed an
annual recruitment initiative called “Super Sunday” (www.calstate.edu/supersunday). Each
February, leaders from the CSU system, including presidents, trustees, and the CSU chancellor,
speak at predominantly African-American churches in various locations throughout California to
provide guidance to students and their families about how to apply and be prepared for success in
college. This program, begun in 2005, is a partnership with civic and religious leaders in Black
communities that seeks to promote the value of a college education in preparing young people
for stable and successful futures. In 2012, the Super Sunday ambassadors visited over 100
churches. The success of the Super Sunday program has also lead to the development of a
college fair program called “CSU Super Saturday,” which includes college preparation seminars
for students and parents, and a traditional college fair that provides students the opportunity to
explore the admission requirements and program offerings at various CSU campuses.
Public and private colleges and universities should develop similar programs that would
partner with faith-based institutions in predominantly Black communities to provide information
to African-American students about college opportunities and how to be prepared for college
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success. Visits to churches by university officials, like the Super Sunday program offers, can
certainly be a powerful tool for providing this kind of information. Beyond these more personal
interactions, however, colleges and universities should consider opportunities to develop online
seminars and host online chats that would not require the time and financial resources necessary
for travel to local sites and could also potentially reach larger numbers of prospective students.
Targeted communications to faith-based institutions could equip these institutions with valuable
information to distribute through community programs that are already being offered.
Student Affairs Professionals
American colleges and universities provide a wide array of academic support services to
their students. These services range from tutoring programs in certain academic areas (e.g.,
math, writing) to socio-emotional support programs, such as mental health counseling and
various social and recreational organizations. Given the importance of spiritual development
during the college years, these services and opportunities should be consciously expanded to
include organizations and activities that involve spirituality and faith-based practices. These
activities could include discussion forums, providing transportation to faith-based activities off-
campus, and access to student activities funding for faith-based programs on campus.
At the University of Southern California, students participate in over 80 on-campus
religious organizations “representing almost every major world faith” and have access to several
“places for reflection and worship” in university facilities (www.usc.edu/religiouslife). The USC
Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs (CBCSA) is particularly mindful of the role of
spirituality in the lives of African-American students and plans activities each year that are
related to and reflective of students’ faith-based experiences. An example of this is a “church
and brunch” event that is part of CBCSA’s annual student welcome activities. CBCSA partners
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with a predominantly African-American church located near the USC campus to invite USC
students to attend church together and share a meal after the morning worship service. This
provides an important opportunity for students to engage in the community, meet other students,
and participate in faith-related activities (Corliss Bennett-McBride, personal communication,
August 29, 2011).
Whether by organizing programs specifically designed for spiritual engagement like the
examples described above or by cultivating a more general mindset toward supporting spiritual
development, student affairs professionals should make a consistent effort to become
increasingly supportive of this important area of college student experience. New student
orientation programs should offer interest sessions or information fairs that provide students with
opportunities to engage in activities that promote spiritual development and religious
involvement on and off campus. Centralized student support programs should consider ways of
training staff to be attuned to the spiritual needs of students and aware of the opportunities for
engagement in spiritual activities that are available to students. Budgetary decisions should also
be made that will commit student programming resources to the development of spiritual
activities on campus. These initiatives could be especially important for students of color who
may be more likely to have engaged in these types of activities before college than students of
other ethnic backgrounds.
Recommendations for Future Research
The findings of the current study suggest several areas for future research. As this has
been an exploratory study, the themes that have emerged would appropriately be examined in
future studies in which larger sample sizes are involved in order to consider how indicative the
experiences of these participants may be of a larger population. In addition, other qualitative
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studies should be pursued which explore more deeply the dynamics within faith-based
institutions that may have contributed to the experiences described here. What follows is a series
of specific recommendations for future research.
How is Habitus Developed in Faith-Based Institutions?
A system of beliefs that contributes to a positive view of self and encourages the pursuit
of academic goals is evident in the stories of the current study’s participants. The fact that this
system of beliefs is developed through involvement in the activities of faith-based institutions is
quite clear, but very little can be gleaned from this data about exactly how such activities
contribute to the development of these beliefs. What about the faith-based teachings and
learning settings in these institutions develops these beliefs? What are the dynamics of the
supportive network of relationships in these institutions that contribute to a belief that “I Can Do
All Things”? How is the belief that “I Can Do All Things” communicated and modeled in these
institutions?
Future studies could take several approaches to exploring these questions. One approach
might involve personal interviews with students of similar backgrounds to the participants in the
current study. Interview protocols would be designed to probe their system of beliefs much more
directly by uncovering what specific activities, memories, mentors, or patterns in these faith-
based institutions have influenced students’ beliefs about their own ability to succeed. Another
approach would involve studies of the faith-based institutions themselves. These studies might
include observation over a period of time with the goal of identifying patterns of behavior and
discourse that would seem to contribute to this system of beliefs. Analysis of instructional
materials from youth group and study activities around sacred texts, as well as sermons and other
public presentations within the institution, might also reveal patterns of teaching that would
139
engender these beliefs. Interviews with leaders and mentors in these faith-based institutions
might provide additional insight into how these groups influence the beliefs and self-perceptions
of the youth who associate with them. The faith-based institutions and programs offered earlier
in this chapter as examples of current practice would be appropriate choices for this kind of site-
based study.
These studies that would explore the roots of the “I Can Do All Things” system of beliefs
would most appropriately be conducted through the theoretical lens of habitus and social capital.
This system of beliefs which promotes a positive self-perception and a constructive degree of
self-motivation toward academic goals and successes, as well as the dynamics of the religious
social network that promotes it, can be well understood from this theoretical standpoint.
How is Equanimity Developed in Faith-Based Institutions?
The dynamics that promote the development of equanimity in these institutions should be
further explored. Separate but similarly designed studies to those suggested above could
examine how faith-based activities and sacred rituals produce this sense of spiritual
groundedness in students. Examining these dynamics separately from those which promote the
“I Can Do All Things” system of beliefs will help to distinguish which, if any, patterns in the
activities of faith-based institutions might contribute differently to the development of a belief
system than to the development of spiritual equanimity. Since, from a theoretical perspective,
the one is a way of believing and the other is a way of being, it would be important to separately
study what influences each, so as not to confuse them. It may be that similar dynamics
contribute equally to both, but carefully designed studies that consider them separately would
confirm whether such is the case.
140
Further Exploration of Skill Development
The current study has identified a variety of skills that participants had the opportunity to
develop through involvement in faith-based institutions prior to college. The skills developed
through faith-based activities seem to have supported students’ success in college. Opportunities
for skill development included exposure to various modes of learning and the promotion of
habits of self-reflection. Studies that probe these opportunities more deeply would reveal with a
greater degree of certainty whether such skill development is truly a common feature of faith-
based involvement and, if so, how faith-based institutions actually provide these opportunities.
Surveys and skill assessment instruments might be utilized to create an inventory of skills
developed in faith-based settings that can be supportive of academic pursuits.
How Wide-Spread are the Findings of the Current Study?
Perhaps the most important issue to consider in future research around the themes that
have emerged from the current study is whether these dynamics are unique to a small population
of students or if they are common among a much larger population. Studies which employ
larger-scale survey instruments would gather the data required to more fully consider this
question. Smith (2003b) offers a framework that would be especially useful in such a study.
This framework organizes the possible dimensions of habitus in religious contexts into three
primary categories: moral order, learned competencies, and social and organizational ties.
Survey questions could be developed around these categories to determine the extent to which
involvement in faith-based institutions contributes to the development of a system of beliefs that
ultimately plays a role in students’ college success. Similar questions could be developed and
added to the continued research being conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute
141
(HERI) which was briefly reviewed in chapter two, as well as to the various surveys of student
experience that are administered annually by colleges and universities.
The current study has considered the influence of faith-based activities from the
perspective of successful students while still in college. Future studies might seek to discover
how college alumni who completed college and are now leading successful adult lives and
careers would reflect on their involvement in faith-based institutions both before and during
college. These alumni would have the benefit of longer life experience from which to reflect
more deeply on the role that these activities played in their personal development. Since the
experiences of the participants in the current study reflect Fowler’s (1981) stages of faith
development, it would also be instructive to discover whether the spiritual development of
alumni continues to be consistent with this theoretical model.
Other Exploratory Studies
Given the underrepresentation of African-American students at highly-selective
universities, larger-scale exploration of this issue among African-American students is critical
and should be the focus of future studies. Other studies might also explore, however, how
similar dynamics might be at play among other underrepresented student populations, such as
Latinos, Native Americans, and underrepresented Asian groups. Exploratory studies like the
current one would be informative with respect to these other populations, as would large-scale
survey studies as recommended above.
Concluding Thoughts
Gideon, the great hero of the Hebrew Scriptures, believed that God went into battle with
him and his army. This belief enabled them to persevere in their struggle and they achieved a
great victory (Judg. 6-8). The participants in the current study are certainly not fighting with
142
weapons of war. But in the specifically academic challenges they have faced in the past and
continue to face in the present, these highly successful students live by a similar belief. As they
describe it, God “has their back.” This belief has had a stabilizing influence on their social and
academic lives since before they began applying to college, and it has remained with them – has
even grown stronger – in their college years. Because they believe that God “has their back,”
they believe that they can accomplish the loftiest of goals, view all of life’s experiences through
the “lens of faith,” have a constant eye toward opportunities for personal growth and
development, and enjoy a network of personal relationships that supports them through the
mountains and valleys of their life journey. From their own perspective, all of these beliefs and
blessings have issued from their experiences in faith-based institutions before college and have
played an important role in their college success. In an educational world where personal
challenges are commonplace, the story of Gideon’s unwavering spiritual commitment reflects the
hope and motivation of students who live by a similar commitment. They are blowing their own
metaphoric trumpets and breaking their own symbolic jars to overcome the formidable
opponents they have faced in their academic lives. As their stories are told with increasing
frequency, may others like them be inspired toward their own victories.
143
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APPENDIX A: Information Sheet
The following information sheet was distributed to each student who responded to the call for
participants or was recommended for participation in the study by either another student
participating in the study or the staff director of the consortium of African-American student
organizations on the CU campus.
INFORMATION SHEET
The Role of Faith-Based Institutions in African-American College Student Success
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This study seeks to understand how African-American students who have been academically
successful in college believe their involvement in faith-based institutions has had an impact on
their aspirations to attend college and on their readiness for success in college. The findings of
this study may provide direction for further research that would consider how educational
institutions might partner with faith-based institutions in supporting African-American youth in
their preparations for college.
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you agree to participate, you will be asked to do three things:
1. Meet privately with the researcher for a one-hour interview. During the interview, the
researcher will ask you to describe your involvement in faith-based institutions before
college and the role this involvement may have played in preparing you for success in
college.
2. Meet privately with the researcher a second time for the purpose of reading the
transcription of the initial interview and checking it for accuracy.
3. Provide the researcher with any kind of printed information or memorabilia that might
represent in visual or written form your pre-college experience with faith-based
institutions.
Participation in the study is at all times voluntary. You may discontinue participation any time
and/or for any reason. Whether you participate in this study will not affect your relationship
with {Coastal University}.
CONFIDENTIALITY
With the exception of name and basic contact information, no identifiable information will be
obtained from participants in connection with this study. All written, published analysis of this
study will utilize pseudonyms in order to maintain confidentiality.
157
The data will be stored on a password-protected computer and maintained for three years, then
destroyed.
The members of the research team (including the primary researcher and his faculty advisor) and
the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) may access
the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research studies to protect the rights and welfare of
research subjects.
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Principal Investigator: Phillip M. Placenti
{contact email address}
{contact phone number}
Faculty Advisor: Kristan Venegas
{contact email address}
{contact phone number}
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
University Park IRB, Office of the Vice Provost for Research Advancement, Stonier Hall, Room
224a, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1146, 213-821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu
158
APPENDIX B: Call for Participants
The following call for participants was published in the weekly e-newsletter of a consortium of
African-American student organizations on the CU campus.
CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS
Attention All African-American {CU} Juniors and Seniors!
Were you involved in your church (or other faith-based institution) before entering college?
Do you not consider yourself a “spiritual” person, but you were involved in activities that
“spiritual” organizations may have helped to produce before entering college?
Then TELL US YOUR STORY!
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you are invited to participate in a research
study which includes artifact collection and two interview meetings. The study will explore the
impact of involvement in faith-based institutions on college success for African-American
students.
The aim of the study is to understand ways in which African-American students can be
supported in their pursuit of higher education.
Participation is voluntary. You must be aged 18 or older to participate.
Contact:
Phillip Placenti
Candidate for the Doctor of Education Degree
USC Rossier School of Education
{contact email address}
{contact phone number}
159
APPENDIX C: Interview Protocol
Date: ________________ Location: _____________________________________________
Interviewer: ___________________________________________________________________
Interviewee: ___________________________________________________________________
NOTES TO INTERVIEWER:
Take notes on the condition of the space in which the interview will be conducted.
Note the size, shape, décor, temperature, and set-up of the room.
Note any other details about the physical space that are noteworthy.
Greet the interviewee in a friendly way when s/he arrives.
Start and end the interview on time!
Encourage the interviewee to tell stories and give examples.
Notice the possible probing questions indicated in italics under Question 2 and Question 3.
Introductory Statement
Thanks for meeting with me today. This will be your individual interview for my dissertation
study on the impact of your involvement in faith-based institutions on your college experience.
Our interview today will be no more than an hour and I will be recording it. A transcription will
then be made of the interview, and I will be in touch with you again so that you can review the
transcription and recommend any changes to the transcription that would more accurately reflect
your story and experiences.
Do you have any questions about how the interview will be conducted before we get started?
Question 1: Ice-Breaker
What made you interested in participating in this study?
160
Question 2: Experience with Faith-Based Institutions
In what ways have you been involved in the activities of faith-based institutions?
Possible probing questions:
• Can you list the activities in which you participated?
• How frequently did you participate in each?
• Why did you participate in these activities?
• What did you learn from these experiences in faith-based institutions?
• Can you provide examples of what you are describing?
• How did you feel about these experiences?
• Who else was involved in these activities with you?
• Can you recount a memorable event from your involvement in faith-based
institutions before college?
Question 3: Connection to Education
Now I want to ask you to reflect on your experience of these activities and how they might relate
to your college experience. In what ways might these experiences have had an effect on your
path to college or your actual experience in college?
Possible probing questions:
• How do those experiences before college relate to your experiences in college?
• Were their particular faith-based experiences from before college that you would
identify as being especially influential for you now that you are in college?
• Were their particular people who played an important role in your faith-based
experiences?
• What role did faith and spirituality play in your life then?
• What role do faith and spirituality play in your life now?
• Can you provide examples of what you are describing?
• Are there things you learned in faith-based institutions before college that you
think have affected what you are experiencing now in college?
• Are there any particular experiences in college that have highlighted the role of
faith-based experience in your life?
Question 4: Recommendations of other Possible Participants
Are there other students at {CU} who you think would be interested in participating in this
study? Can you provide me with their names and email addresses?
161
Concluding Statement
Thank you for your time. I’m thankful for the opportunity to hear about your experiences. I will
be contacting you again in a couple of months so that we can schedule one more time to meet.
Next time, I’ll have a typed transcription of your individual interview and I’ll be asking you to
review it for accuracy. I’ll make the corrections that you feel need to be made to the
transcriptions to make sure that the data used for the study will truly represent your experiences.
At that time I will also be asking you to share something with me that you feel represents your
experience with faith-based institutions; this could be some kind of memorabilia, a recording of
some kind, a journal entry, or even reference to a website or other source of information that
would tell me more about your experience.
162
APPENDIX D: Confidentiality Agreement
The following confidentiality agreement was signed by the professional transcriber hired by the
researcher to create transcriptions of each of the interviews conducted for this study.
Confidentiality Agreement for Transcription Services
I, ________________________, in the course of providing professional transcription services,
agree to maintain full confidentiality with respect to any and all digital audio files and
documentation received from Phillip M. Placenti relating to the research study he is conducting
on the role of faith-based institutions in the college success of African-American students.
While I agree to make a good faith effort to take all necessary steps to ensure confidentiality of
these recordings and documents, I specifically agree to all of the following:
1. Hold in strictest confidence the identity of any person or group of people which may be
revealed during the transcription of audio-recorded interviews, or in any associated
documents; and
2. Not make copies of the digital audio files related to this study, nor of any other
documents related to the study which may be provided to me, nor of the transcribed
interview texts I will be producing, unless specifically requested to do so by Phillip M.
Placenti; and
3. Store all digital audio files and other materials related to this study in a safe, secure
location as long as they are in my possession, including but not limited to a secure web-
based server for the submission of the digital audio files by Phillip M. Placenti; and
4. Return any printed (i.e., non-electronic, non-digital) materials related to this study to
Phillip M. Placenti in a complete and timely manner; and
5. Delete from my computer hard drive and any backup devices all digital audio files and
other electronic documents provided to me for the purpose of this study.
I am aware that I can be held legally liable for any breach of this confidentiality agreement, and
for any harm that may come upon anyone associated with this study if I disclose identifiable
information contained in the digital audio files or other materials related to this study to which I
will have access.
Transcriber’s signature _________________________________________________________
Transcriber’s name (printed) ____________________________________________________
Date _____________
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
African-American students are less likely to attend and successfully complete college than their Asian and White peers. Possible explanations for this disparity include racial and ethnic segregation, socioeconomic challenges, persistent shortages of qualified teachers, and scant access to college-preparatory curricula. In the context of such significant challenges, faith-based institutions (most notably the African-American Church) play an important role in helping students to overcome these obstacles and prepare for success in college. This qualitative study employing personal interviews and artifact analysis has explored how ten African-American students who have been academically successful in college believe their involvement in the activities of faith-based institutions before college has had an impact on their aspirations to attend college and on their preparedness for success in college. Social capital theory, particularly as applied to religious contexts, has been utilized as a framework for examining these dynamics, as well as the growing literature on student spirituality and the influence of religious involvement on educational outcomes. The findings of the study reveal that involvement in faith-based institutions provided students with a network of supportive relationships and helped them to develop a belief in their own ability to succeed, a way of interpreting personal challenges constructively, and a mindset that embraces opportunities for personal growth. These findings provide direction for practitioners and the research community to consider how educational institutions might partner with faith-based institutions in supporting African-American youth in their preparation for college.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Placenti, Phillip M.
(author)
Core Title
"God has my back": the role of faith-based institutions in preparing African-American students for college success
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Education (Leadership)
Publication Date
11/19/2012
Defense Date
10/11/2012
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
African-American students,college access,college success,faith-based institutions,OAI-PMH Harvest,religious social capital,student spirituality
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Venegas, Kristan M. (
committee chair
), Filback, Robert (
committee member
), Fischer, Linda A. (
committee member
)
Creator Email
phillip.placenti@sbcglobal.net,placenti@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-115106
Unique identifier
UC11289018
Identifier
usctheses-c3-115106 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-PlacentiPh-1305.pdf
Dmrecord
115106
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Placenti, Phillip M.
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
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
African-American students
college access
college success
faith-based institutions
religious social capital
student spirituality