The authors undertook a qualitative study involving a national sample of 75 college students to discover what factors influenced their purpose development. They found that students generally fit into four different purpose types: the Purposeless, the Self-Achievers, the Relationalists, and the Transcendents. Moreover, these different purpose types…

A survey and interviews completed by peer ministers at Catholic colleges and universities in the United States from October 2012 to February 2013 reveal that the interviewed student ministers are engaging peers in interreligious dialogue. The research corroborates the premise that the promotion of interreligious relationships is important to this…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between students' religiousness and participation in alternative breaks (ABs) using both survey and interview data from the National Survey of Alternative Breaks. Findings from this mixed methods study demonstrate the potential for ABs to facilitate religiousness and help students connect…

This article describes the Catholic School Principal Support Program (CSPSP), a mentoring program for first and second-year Catholic school principals in a large urban diocese, and identifies key challenges, impacts and influences on decision-making. Ten school leaders describe their work and provide the lens by which they reflect on their role as…

The responsibilities of Catholic secondary school leaders are multifaceted, and their roles demand essential skills and preparation to ensure success. In addition to performing a myriad of administrative duties, Catholic secondary school presidents and principals are called to exercise "faith leadership" within their schools. Faith…

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to establish among health educators a consensus in the definition of spirituality and health that would ultimately guide effective development of a curriculum or program in spirituality and health for undergraduate programs in college health science departments. Methodology. This mixed-methods research study…

Colleges and universities exist to promote student learning. It is important, therefore, for each institution to identify outcomes consistent with its mission and then to implement a strategy to assess that learning. While this is true for every institution of higher education, it carries special significance for those colleges and universities…

The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to explore factors contributing to college counselors' spiritual competency by obtaining quantitative results from surveying 199 current members of the American College Counseling Association (ACCA) and then following up with 32 purposefully selected respondents based on high…

The purpose of this study was to explore, with eleven Black women leaders in higher education, their perception of spirituality and its impact on their career development. A purposive sample of Black women leaders at research-intensive institutions along the Eastern seaboard was examined in order to understand: (1) How do participants define…

This investigation compared the influence of public and Christian high schools on the spiritual formation and academic achievement of college students. Recent high school graduates who attend a private, liberal arts university in the southeastern United States responded to an online survey and interview questions related to the influence of one's…

Spiritual development and nonheterosexual identity development are both slippery topics that are individually complex and multifaceted. Scholars from various disciplines have called for a deeper understanding of the intersection of spirituality and nonheterosexual identity (Buchanan, Dzelme, Harris & Hecker, 2001; Love, Bock Jannarone, &…

There seems to be an unwritten agreement among most Americans that there are three topics that are best avoided in polite company: (1) politics; (2) personal finances; and (3) religion. The American reluctance to discuss religion with acquaintances at a dinner party or picnic may be a part of a larger phenomenon: a manifestation of the secularism…

This project examines the contributions of Interfaith Ministry to Union College with the hope of amplifying, or "turning up the volume" of this work in this ministry setting. Grounded in the historical realities of a small liberal arts college, the work explores models of chaplaincy in higher education on this specific campus and beyond.…

This report presents findings of a study of a variety of factors relating the processes of aging and faith development among adults. Part I is an overview of the entire study. The introduction (chapter 1) provides its setting. Chapter 2 delineates the project's overall structure and its use of two complementary research designs to gather similar…

"Positive Support" examines potential benefits of matching high-risk youth with faith-based mentors. Drawing on surveys and interviews with young people who participated in the National Faith-Based Initiative, we found that mentored youth were less likely to show signs of depression than the youth who were not matched with a mentor. This in turn…