JournalTOCs

Jesuit Higher Education : A Journal
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This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Online) 2164-7666
Published by Regis University

[1 journal]

IAJU Best Practices in Jesuit Higher Education Program
- Authors: Susana Di Trolio
  Abstract: This article describes the results and the lessons learned from the pilot phase of the Best Practices in Jesuit Higher Education Program. The Program is a joint global effort of the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) that seeks to collect, share and discuss good practices in Jesuit mission integration, formation, and management developed by the IAJU universities and colleges around the world. The essay also presents the planned goals for strengthening the initiative, and creating a community of practice and learning in mission integration in Jesuit higher education.
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:18:09 PDT
A Jesuit Way of Innovating'
- Authors: Lanny Vincent
  Abstract: Innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) initiatives have taken root in colleges and universities over the past several decades. I&E centers, relatively commonplace on campuses in the United States, are now sprouting up in European universities. I&E initiatives are not confined to centers or business schools, but extend throughout curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular efforts in schools of engineering and colleges of arts and sciences. Can and should these initiatives at Jesuit universities and colleges have a distinctive different in their orientation and approach' The following inquiry explores this potential by looking more closely at where and how STEM-based innovating, entrepreneurship and Jesuit might intersect, and what might be implied for Jesuit Universities and colleges in an increasingly competitive future. The article summarizes research funded by the Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Santa Clara University) conducted with eight Jesuit Universities in the United States during 2020-2021. The full report is available on the Ciocca Center website.[i][i] https://www.scu.edu/media/leavey-school-of-business/ciocca/center/pdfs/Report-on-Jesuit-Way-of-Innovating.pdf)
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:17:57 PDT
Teaching Spanish Conversation Through the UAPs: A Pedagogy of Jesuit
Values and Mission
- Authors: Richard D. Reitsma
  Abstract: This praxis piece explores the development of a Jesuit focused pedagogy within the context of a Spanish language conversation course. The author begins by defining the origins of the pedagogy employed in this course and how it came to be centered around the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus (UAPs) which consist of the following goals: 1) Showing the way to God/goodness/hope through discernment; 2) Walking with the excluded, the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice; 3) Journeying with Youth, to accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future; and 4) Caring for our Common Home to protect and renew creation. The author elaborates on various pedagogical strategies including Community Based Service Learning, Dual Immersion, tertulias, interviews, geocaching project, immersion experiences, Role Playing Games (RPGs), and Guest Lectures; and demonstrates assessments and outcomes which align with and enhance the processes of discernment around the UAPs. The paper concludes with an examination of outcomes of this pedagogical approach through the processes of discernment, reflection, and action. A schedule/syllabus is also included.
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:17:57 PDT
Integral Conversion: A Catholic Pedagogical Framework for Teaching
Environmental Sustainability and Ecological Citizenship from Japan
- Authors: Michael R. Polito
  Abstract: As Vatican efforts expand to move awareness of environmental sustainability from the peripheries to the center of public consciousness, Catholic schools face the challenge of instilling in the next generation of graduates a distinctly Catholic sense of ecological citizenship. To this end, Catholic educators are faced with the challenge of presenting complex environmental problems in a manner that honors both the data of science and the transcendental worldview the Church proclaims. This paper offers a framework for examining environmental sustainability issues in the classroom from the perspective of Catholic social teaching. The author’s professional context of teaching Catholic social ethics and Christian humanism at a major Catholic Jesuit university in Japan revealed the need for and inspired the creation of the following pedagogical framework in an effort to help students see the bigger picture of environmental sustainability as understood by Pope Francis, his predecessors, and the entire Catholic Church. The framework may also be a help within contexts of high familiarity with the Catholic faith since it provides a birds-eye view, so to speak, of the various inputs consequential to thinking about ecological issues as a Catholic.
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:17:56 PDT
Living, Learning, Serving: Outcomes of Combining a Living-Learning Program
with Service-Learning Courses
- Authors: Allen Brizee et al.
  Abstract: AbstractThis article discusses a two-year IRB-approved programmatic case study that measured the outcomes of merging a living-learning program (LLP) with service-learning. The study compared student survey data from four different pedagogical models, one of which was the hybrid LLP-service-learning model where service-learning students also participated in the LLP. We also interviewed instructors who used the LLP with their service-learning pedagogy. We used a one-way ANOVA and a non-parametric test to code and analyze the survey data. We used grounded theory to code and analyze interview data. Survey data revealed that the LLP-service-learning hybrid model scored the lowest of the four pedagogical models. Interview findings indicated that instructors had positive responses to the LLP-service-learning hybrid model overall but mixed responses to some aspects of that approach. Interestingly, student impressions differed from, and in some cases contradicted, instructor impressions of the LLP-service-learning hybrid model. We posit that high workload and divergent course goals likely influenced the mixed responses to the LLP-service-learning hybrid model.
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:17:56 PDT
Cura Personalis: the Incarnational Heart of Jesuit Education
- Authors: Catherine Peters
  Abstract: Cura personalis is one of the distinctive characteristics of Jesuit education, but the precise meaning of this phrase can sometimes be difficult to discern. Often translated as “care or education of the whole person,” the expansiveness of its formulations can lead to an overlooking of what should be central: the care of a person in their full personhood and a reminder of the person’s ultimate end. To understand cura personalis in a way that retains its distinctive character, I propose a return to Ignatius of Loyola himself, focusing especially on the importance of the Incarnation. I maintain that the Incarnation is indispensable for understanding cura personalis and that it indicates certain practical applications.
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:17:55 PDT
Liberal Studies and Servant Leadership: Inspiring Ignatian values at the
margins
- Authors: Isabella Rega et al.
  Abstract: This paper aims to unpack how the concept of servant leadership is perceived from Liberal Studies graduates living at the margins of society. Anchoring this research in the work of Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL), a faith-based organization providing higher education to displaced and poor communities, this paper seeks to deconstruct the assumption present in the literature of an ‘already-in-power’ servant leader by inviting looking for servant leaders in vulnerable and marginalized places, where they would be most needed. By synthesizing the voices of more than 100 graduates from the Diploma in Liberal Studies program, this research looks at how graduates define servant leadership from the unprivileged perspective and how these graduates could develop and apply this approach in their daily life. Through this analysis, certain values and skills emerge, which permits a contribution to mapping a servant leader’s attributes. This paper concludes on the effect of democratizing the definition of servant leadership with the aims of serving a wider population and having a stronger impact on communities.
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:17:55 PDT
Reimagining the Humanistic Tradition: Using Isocratic Philosophy, Ignatian
Pedagogy, and Civic Engagement to Journey with Youth and Walk with the
Excluded
- Authors: Allen Brizee
  Abstract: The world is in a perilous place. Challenged by zealots, autocrats, a pandemic, and now a war in Europe, elected officials and their constituents no longer exchange ideas in a functioning public sphere, once a hallmark of the humanistic tradition. The timeliness of the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs), therefore, is profound as they provide beacons of light for dark times. In this article, I trace Isocratic philosophy through Ignatian pedagogy and contemporary civic engagement to argue that we can use these three models to help us Journey with Youth and Walk with the Excluded. Key to this approach is a reimagined humanistic tradition, one that fosters a networked, “multiple public sphere,” as discussed by Robert Asen, where people collaborate to bring about positive change. Specifically, I posit that enacting Isocratic philosophy through civic engagement in our Ignatian pedagogy and research will help us join with our students to address issues facing marginalized people. This reimagined humanistic tradition supports the Jesuit mission of social justice, and it supports the core Jesuit value of vita activa, that is, active civic engagement. To explain how these theories can be enacted I discuss a community-based digital humanities project at Loyola University Maryland.
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:17:54 PDT
Editorial: On the Gift of Collaboration
- Authors: Kari Kloos
  PubDate: Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:17:45 PDT
Mission and Mundialización: Solidarity and Global Citizenship through
Immersion Experiences
- Authors: Katherine Brown et al.
  Abstract: Within the Jesuit educational network, each institution’s mission informs not only its curricular and co-curricular offerings for students, but a variety of programs for faculty, staff, administrators, and all community members. In recent decades, the Society of Jesus has also spoken with increasing emphasis on the importance of forming whole persons of solidarity for the real world. This paper explores how the call to forming well-educated persons of solidarity intersects with Loyola Marymount University’s specific institutional mission and its formation programs for university personnel, and how this intersection is particularly well-addressed by immersion experiences and especially international immersions. Finally, suggestions for Jesuit educational institutions considering or planning immersion programs are offered in light of these explorations.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:46:17 PST
Review of Nicholas Black Elk: Medicine Man, Catechist, Saint
- Authors: Ryan C. Hendrickson Dr.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:46:06 PST
A Uniquely Jesuit Approach to Engagement Through Social Media
- Authors: Karl F. Kozlowski et al.
  Abstract: Social media is a relevant and powerful instrument of communication in higher education, especially in the college age population. The use of social media in and out of the classroom on the college campus allows faculty to meet students where they are. Content shared by faculty on social media is a means to continue to educate our students and alumni outside of the classroom and build relationships regardless of geographic boundaries. Through the use of social media platforms, we can also continue to relay and demonstrate our Jesuit ideals. This engagement can help build a relationship between faculty and students that can grow into a mutually beneficial connection. This paper describes why campus social media engagement is important and how it can be useful within the scope of Ignatian pedagogy to extend compassion and education to students, alumni and interested followers and an example of how we have integrated social media into our department.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:45:51 PST
Keeping the End in Mind: Re-centering Jesuit Pedagogy for Preservice
Teacher Preparation
- Authors: Margaret Schauer
  Abstract: Jesuit Universities embody a mission to prepare students to be men and women for and with others. Serving people on the margins and working with them to dismantle systems of oppression is infused in academic majors and core curricula. Jesuit pedagogy seeks to engage students in contexts, experiences, reflections, actions and evaluations that develop the whole person for the common good. Jesuit teacher education programs (TEP) are in a unique position where pedagogy is critical to the development of university students who then implement pedagogy with students in K-12 schools as preservice teachers. TEPs are charged with demonstrating ways program outcomes reflect the mission of the university, standards in K-12 schools and educator preparation accreditation requirements. The problem is that these areas do not always align and critical elements of Jesuit pedagogy are not reflected in standards for P-12 learners and educator preparation accreditation. This article explores Jesuit pedagogy, standards for educator preparation accreditation and stated learner outcomes for teacher education at John Carroll University (JCU). A review of the Jesuit Ideal is analyzed against department learner outcomes that follow each domain description. During analysis, significant omissions were discovered where central elements of the Jesuit Ideal were not reflected in learner outcomes. Recommendations for revisions and additions to department learner outcomes are offered to facilitate critical conversations and actions within the teacher education program at JCU and other Jesuit universities with similar programs.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:45:37 PST
An Examination of Alternative Break Trips and Whiteness in Jesuit Higher
Education
- Authors: Susan Haarman et al.
  Abstract: Alternative break trips punctuate life on Jesuit college campuses, acting as experiences of conversion and putting faith into action. The Universal Apostolic Preferences of “walking with the excluded” and “accompanying the youth” come together in the practice of alternative break programs. However, these trips often operate through the position of whiteness. In this paper, we examine alternative service trips through the lens of whiteness. Too often, predominately white groups insert themselves into non-white contexts and assert themselves as owners of the space. Practices of white university students instrumentalizing experiences of service as agents in their own conversion displace the agency of others, resulting in a lack of solidarity and a shallow experience of walking with the excluded. While walking with the excluded is an important preference to enact, it must not be done in the posture of “inverted hospitality.” Accompanying the youth entails challenging structures of whiteness and privilege. We propose best practices for accompanying the youth through resisting cultures of whiteness and instead moving towards solidarity.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:45:23 PST
Discernment as an Apostolic Preference: Ignatius, Patanjali, and the
Fostering of Interior Freedom
- Authors: Mark Graceffo
  Abstract: For the next ten years, the Society of Jesus will immerse themselves in what they have identified as their Universal Apostolic Preferences. In this paper, I will focus on the first of these preferences, “Promoting Discernment and the Spiritual Exercises.” I propose that Saint Ignatius’ teaching on discernment intersects with and can be complemented by teachings on the same subject (viveka) by Sri Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Both of these masterful works offer a practical and experiential path to liberating ourselves from the obstacles that impede us from knowing our True Selves as beings who dwell in the heart of God. I suggest that the popularity of yoga in the United States, specifically as presented by Integral Yoga, provides the Society with an opportunity for engaged outreach to the many young people in educational institutions practicing yoga— whether they are rooted in a religious tradition or not— who have found that it has awakened in them something they might vaguely define as “spiritual.” Introducing these students to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras in conjunction with Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises has the potential to engage them in ways that the Exercises alone may not. Notwithstanding the differences in the religious and cultural milieus in which they emerged, the Exercises and Sutras can teach and imbue a regular habit of discernment, thus contributing to the Society’s effort of promoting “the greater divine service and the more universal good.”
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:45:10 PST
Educating for a Hope-Filled Future
- Authors: Christo V. Fosse et al.
  Abstract: This paper illustrates one student’s experience finding ways to pursue sustainability in a course on political narrative. The student created his own narrative for political and social change based on issues he was already deeply invested in. Tai Chi, practiced at the start of each class, facilitated this narrative creation.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:44:56 PST
A Long, Loving Look at the Real: An Experiential Ignatian Approach to
Immersion
- Authors: Joseph P. Connelly
  Abstract: International travel is a popular and widespread practice among higher education institutions, but the pedagogy and approach to these programs varies widely. The Center for Global Education and Experience at Augsburg University facilitates international immersion programs for U.S. students, faculty, and staff focused on social justice and solidarity; this approach is particularly attractive to Jesuit institutions and has led to fruitful collaborations. This article offers an experienced immersion facilitator’s personal reflections on designing and implementing immersion programs and applies key themes of Ignatian spirituality and pedagogy to the experience of international immersion travel.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:44:43 PST
Reciprocal Relationships: AJCU Presidents & Rectors
- Authors: Jeffrey LaBelle S.J. et al.
  Abstract: This study reviews literature pertinent to the changing landscape of leadership at member institutions of higher education in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) with a view toward revisioning the relationship between presidents and Jesuit superiors. The purpose of this article encourages efforts to foster Jesuit mission and identity during a shift toward increased lay leadership. The research cites related insights from previous studies and mandates from documents of the Society of Jesus that together point to the need for reimagining leadership. The study underscores the importance of fostering relationships of mutuality and reciprocity to ensure the sustaining of the Jesuit mission and identity of AJCU institutions. Finally, the authors conclude with specific recommendations exhorting the enactment of actions that have been recommended or in development during the last twenty years, a period in which a leadership paradigm shift has occurred with the appointment of lay presidents at a majority of the AJCU institutions.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:44:28 PST
Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning to Inform Jesuit Education
- Authors: Arthur Ko PhD et al.
  Abstract: A small group of faculty, staff, and administrators, known as the Online Learning Community (OLC) were collectively interested in enriching online learning at a Jesuit university. With a culture at this Jesuit and Mercy university driven by face-to-face (F2F) learning, the first step was to assess students’ perceptions of online learning from students who have taken online courses at the university. The survey, guided by best instructor practices in online learning and Jesuit philosophy, traditions, and concepts, was designed to explore students’ perceptions, experiences, and practices in online learning. Students (N=484) self-enrolled in the study and included students from all the colleges in the university and across four campuses. The most notable response in the data was students’ (72%) desire for more online learning opportunities at the host university. The freedom and flexibility afforded in online classes was prevalent in students open-ended statements about online learning but additionally emphasized the importance of instructor qualities of being organized in course delivery, availability, and effective communication skills. In this study, OLC members sought to place students’ perceptions at the core of efforts to inform online learning at this Jesuit and Mercy university. The findings enrich and demonstrate linkages with core Jesuit traditions and concepts.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:44:12 PST
Seeing with New Eyes: Costa Rican Pilgrimage as Transformation
- Authors: Elizabeth C. Reilly et al.
  Abstract: In summer 2019, eleven faculty and staff members from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California embarked on an immersion study trip to Costa Rica. An integral part of the university’s commitment to mission and identity, it is one of a number of opportunities for its members to explore the mission and its Jesuit identity within a global context. Framed around the Ignatian principle of pilgrimage, this article describes the focus and goals for the study trip, pre-trip preparations, and the trip itself. We highlight some of the activities in which faculty and staff participated and summarize their reflections of the experience. We conclude with considerations for next steps.
  PubDate: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:43:59 PST