Building a Conceptual Framework within a Diverse Graduate School Environment

The School of Education of a mid-Atlantic region, graduate-only Christian institution sought to build a cohesive, indigenous conceptual framework to assure that school instruction and scholarship were aligned with university and school foundational documents, especially the mission and vision statements. A visiting professor was engaged to initiate and guide the process. Over the course of three years, school foundational documents were studied and revised, instructional documents and practices were analyzed and critiqued, and a cohesive conceptual framework was generated which is indigenous to, and reflective of, both the school and the university. Sharing of the conceptual framework with other schools within the university, and final revisions of the framework and foundational documents, is ongoing.

Notes

1. The visiting professor is a graduate of the oldest emaining evangelical college in the United states (Taylor University, c. 1846), has taught at one of the premier evangelical colleges in the country (Wheaton College, IL, c. 1860), and served as a department chair at one of the largest Baptist universities in the country (Mercer University, c. 1833). All three institutions maintain a historic commitment to the integration of faith and learning.

2. “The Regent University School of Education prepares leaders from a biblical perspective to significantly impact education worldwide, particularly in the areas of educational administration, at-risk populations, special education, and educational policy” (Regent University, 2000, p. 225).

3. “Our mission is to provide an exemplary graduate education from biblical perspectives to aspiring servant leaders in pivotal professions and to be a leading center of Christian thought and action” (Regent University, 2000, p. 11).

4. “There are many who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge: that is curiosity. There are other who desire to know in order that they may themselves be known: this is vanity. Others seek knowledge in order to sell it: that is dishonorable. But there are some who seek knowledge in order to edify others: that is love.” (Bernard of Clairveaux, as cited in Schwenn, 1993, pp. 44–45).