|
" 'Low Valleys and High Mountains': "
Royer, Christine Nicole
Broido, Ellen
| Document Type
|
:
|
Latin Dissertation
|
| Language of Document
|
:
|
English
|
| Record Number
|
:
|
1112035
|
| Doc. No
|
:
|
TLpq2514666482
|
| Main Entry
|
:
|
Broido, Ellen
|
|
|
:
|
Royer, Christine Nicole
|
| Title & Author
|
:
|
'Low Valleys and High Mountains':\ Royer, Christine NicoleBroido, Ellen
|
| College
|
:
|
Bowling Green State University
|
| Date
|
:
|
2020
|
| student score
|
:
|
2020
|
| Degree
|
:
|
M.A.
|
| Page No
|
:
|
177
|
| Abstract
|
:
|
This phenomenological study examined the spiritual experiences of Christian students who completed a semester abroad through the Middle East Studies Program (MESP) while it was based in Cairo, Egypt. The theoretical frameworks that shaped my research and guided my analysis were Milton Bennett’s (1993) theory of intercultural development and James Fowler’s (1981) model of faith development. I approached this study as a social constructionist and an interpretivist, and conducted two-stage semi-structured interviews with three MESP alumni. Two key themes emerged from my work. First, interactions with the host community through peer dialogues, homestays, service-learning, and regional travel led my participants to place an increased emphasis on the overarching similarities present in the human experience, a movement towards ethnorelativism in keeping with Bennett’s (1993) Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. Additionally, all of my participants identified spiritual struggles that took place during their semester on MESP, and described using spiritual coping mechanisms to support difficult interactions with cultural difference. However, although my participants experienced a movement towards ecumenism and interfaith inclusivism as the result of their study abroad experience, the use of faith-based meaning making strategies did not always result in faith development according to Fowler’s (1981) theory of faith development. The findings of this thesis will benefit in-country faculty and staff members as well as campus-based study abroad practitioners and student affairs professionals, who will be better equipped to promote intercultural and spiritual development during a study abroad program and to support the continued developmental needs of study abroad alumni.
|
| Subject
|
:
|
Education
|
|
|
:
|
Educational administration
|
|
|
:
|
Educational psychology
|
|
|
:
|
Higher education
|
|
|
:
|
Middle Eastern studies
|
|
|
:
|
Multicultural education
|
| |