Andrea's Literature Review

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Spiritual Learning

Andrea Blaylock

Ball State University

Introduction

To understand spiritual learning, one must first define two terms: spirituality and religion. Spirituality promotes self-awareness as well as self-esteem and this can contribute positive factors to the learning experience. Spirituality transcends the religious beliefs to provide purpose and meaning to life. On the other hand, religion is the entire collection of beliefs, values, and practices that one group holds as sacred and true. How this impacts spiritual learning is that a person’s religious beliefs explain how they fit into this world and how we should act while we are here on Earth. We find purpose and wholeness through our religious beliefs which help us make the necessary connections with the journey to spiritual learning. The purpose of this literature review is to define spirituality and how it affects the adult learner in education. In so doing, I will introduce service learning, health sciences, and informal education as a ways to include spiritual learning in adult education.

General Themes

Spirituality and the Adult Learner

The basic human condition for all people is spiritual, whether you are religious or not. Generally, spirituality is about an individual’s personal experience with the sacred. These experiences take us on a journey toward wholeness. On the other hand, religion, is about an organized community of faith, with an official creed, and codes of regulatory behavior. (Tisdell 2008) Adult learners bring these personal, spiritual experiences to the classroom. Many of these spiritual experiences are lived out in the form of prayer, meditation, and experiences of wholeness. Needless to say, that these moments happen all the time.

In more recent years, spirituality influences in adult education have been more explicit that implicit. This is mainly due to more adult educators have had careers in ministry.  However, we still need to be careful as many educating in secular places emphasize “separation of church and state”. (Tisdell 2008) Educators do not need to necessarily discuss it directly in classes or learning activities. One can ask learners about the experience of a shimmering moment in their lives, relative to a particular topic, and then explore what was so significant about the experience. (Tisdell 2008) We must not forget that meditation, prayer, etc. are not the only ways people make spiritual connections. Tisdell indicates “The ability to create, imagine, and come to further insight through symbol, metaphor, and art is part of the experience of being human”. (p.34) Using these in the educational process will allow learners to connect spiritually as they work to create change. After all, our purpose as educators is to facilitate and nurture the learning environment.

Spiritual Learning in Service Learning

Service-learning is an important, effective vehicle to encourage the spiritual development of young people and adults.  Through higher education, service learning has been the catalyst used to promote academic growth and civic engagement. Many scholars have come to realize over time, students gain and apply knowledge from service-learning, they realize a deeper kind of learning. As students participate in service learning they begin to develop a sense of purpose and meaning to life. These individuals become aware of “something bigger”—not only bigger than earning a grade or meeting the instructional objectives of a course—but something bigger than their sense of self. (Welsh 612)

Louie-Badua states that the three important spiritual aspects to service learning are:

·       Experiencing a sense of interconnectedness with others and the environment

·       Opening your heart to those around you, including those you have previously thought to be other”

·       Reflecting that expands self-inquiry and knowledge about one’s background, values, purpose, and meaning

As educators, we must realize service-learning can offer new directions for youth and adult development as it certainly changes a person’s life.

Spiritual Learning in Health Sciences

When we discuss spiritual learning it is important to understand the students’ spiritual well-being. If we recognize that students had different spiritual needs at different times in their training, educational interventions could be devised to address directly the students at the particular point in their training. (Schonfeld 2014) For health sciences, they designed a course to improve students’ clinical skills in assessing and addressing patients’ spiritual needs. In health sciences, they have made the case for the necessary inclusion of spirituality in the delivery of patient care, as well as how this is a central feature of the provider–patient relationship. (Schonfeld p. 87)  This particular course that was reviewed contained elements where the students had to evaluate their own spirituality. Students kept a personal spiritual profile, spiritual blog, and reflection paper. The course was given as a capstone project in a formal education environment.

Spiritual Leaning in Informal Education

Adults can learn through formal and/or informal education. Informal education is education that is learned outside of standard school setting, in after-school programs, community-based organizations, museums, libraries, or at home. English contends that informal learning can foster a strong sense of self, care, concern, and outreach to others, and the continuous construction of meaning and knowledge. (English, p.30) Adults learn through interactions with one another, especially from those who we support and have deep relationships. Relationships helps develop spirituality and provide us with a deep strong sense of self. Care, concern, and outreach to others are integral aspects of authentic spirituality. When we reached the realization that life is greater than our sphere of influence we get the opportunity to find relevance and meaning, to be part of something beyond ourselves, is deeply spiritual.

As adult educators if we promote informal learning strategies into our processes it will increase opportunities for spiritual growth for our students. Through mentorship we establish a relationship with another person with the potential for them to be and to becoming. Mentoring can help someone realize their life aspirations. Self-directed learning (SDL) can be a spiritual experience. SDL is concerned with increasing self-understanding and awareness, which are dimensions of a relevant and growing spirituality that occurs in relationship with others. (English 2000) For adult educators, dialogue holds numerous possibilities for supporting spiritual development and learning. Usually a dialogue happens when two or more people engage in conversation with each other. However, the type of dialogue that is relevant to spiritual development or learning happens when there is an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, especially a political or religious issue that make interpersonal connections and interchanges between the two or more people.

Implications for Application

Service learning has been neglected for the young generations and college adults. Educators need to have intentional discussions and reflection activities that can be employed before, during, and after any type of service activities, such as alternative spring break or other immersion experiences that reflect and address the specific space students may find themselves in as their spirituality continues to develop during the college experience. (Welsh p.625) Adult educators can initiate mentorship structures in their places of practice, and they can encourage individuals to mentor, to pass on their knowledge, skills, and attitudes to mentees and instill in them the social values of the field. In regards to self-directed learners, the adult educator can promote relationship building among learners and between learners and educators. It is difficult to do this with self-directed learners. The primary focus should be on maintaining connections through the use of technology like email, Facebook, Twitter, text messages, etc. In informal learning, dialogue should be meaningful. Educators need to provide a safe place/space that encourages participation.

Reflection

The topic that was of most interest to me regarding spiritual learning is mentoring and service learning. I am a firm believer of “paying it forward. Mentoring gives you the opportunity to help others learn, grow and become more effective. During my tenure process, my mentor had been with the institution for 30 years. I still appreciate the time that she spent with me, the relationship that I still have with her today, and the opportunity to learn so much about how to be an academic professional. Service learning is an excellent way for students to get out of their everyday self and experience different environments and cultures. I still remember my service learning project where I tutored 6-8 grades students in science, math, and reading. I did not realize it until the end of my assignment, the bond that I had created with these students.

For this project, it was difficult for me to manage my time. I have learned that it is better to start you assignments early and do them a little at a time. I overestimated the time that I had to complete this project. I do however, like working with my group. There are several members of our group that are diligent with their assignments and I need to learn from them.

Table 1: Literature Review

	Main Idea of Literature	Application
Spirituality and the Adult Learner	Spirituality is a part of the journey for adult learners towards purpose and wholeness	Educators can encourage students to engage discussions that involve their spiritual experiences
Spiritual Learning in Service Learning	Service learning can be used as an effective way to incorporate spiritual learning in the classroom.	Service learning can be included as a component to individualized or student group coursework.
Spiritual Learning in Health Sciences	Understanding student’s spiritual well-being is important to how they learn.	Spiritual learning can be used as a part of course curriculum and training.
Spiritual Leaning in Informal Education	Informal education is an excellent resource for spiritual development of adults.	Three ways of informal education that promote and enhance spiritual learning are mentoring, self-directed learning, and dialogue.

References

Bellous, J. E., & Csinos, D. M. (2009). Spiritual styles: creating an environment to nurture spiritual wholeness. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 14(3), 213-224. doi:10.1080/13644360903086471

English, L. M. (2000). Spiritual Dimensions of Informal Learning. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 2000(85), 29.

Fenwick, T., & English, L. (2004). Dimensions of Spirituality: A Framework for Adult Educators. Journal of Adult Theological Education J. Adult Theol. Educ.,1(1), 49-64. doi: 10.1558/jate.1.1.49.36052

Louie-Badua, L. J., & Wolf, M. (2008). The spiritual nature of service-learning. New Directions for Youth Development, 2008(118), 91-95. doi:10.1002/yd.260

Schonfeld, T. L., Schmid, K. K., & Boucher-Payne, D. (2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Health Sciences Education. Journal of Religion and Health J Relig Health, 55(1), 85-96.

Tisdell, E. J. (2008). Spirituality and adult learning. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 2008(119), 27-36. doi:10.1002/ace.303

Welch, M., & Koth, K. (2013). A Metatheory of Spiritual Formation through Service-Learning in Higher Education. Journal of College Student Development, 54(6), 612-627. doi:10.1353/csd.2013.0089