TEACH Journal

Is it possible to link biblical principles and a school behaviour plan to encourage students to live in the presence of God?

Faith formation is a topic of considerable interest

for those involved in Christian education. In

this quantitative investigation, 580 students

from Years Four, Six, Eight and Ten from eleven

Adventist schools in Australian were surveyed

to determine their perspectives of their own

faith formation in four areas of their lives: Vision,

Gospel, Lordship and Presence. Additional items

measured student satisfaction with their Biblical

Studies classes. The results indicated that

students, on the whole, were positive about their

faith formation. Trends revealed that younger

students overall were more positive towards

their faith and Biblical Studies classes than high

school students with a gradual decline in levels

of agreement with survey items as the Year levels

increased.

The placement of pre-service teachers in

schools to integrate theoretical learning with

practical experience is an integral component

of many tertiary education courses. Issues with

both the reliability and validity of assessment

grades in a workplace environment suggest

a call to strengthen the level of academic

rigour of these placements. In this study,

professional development lecturers in one

education program [Avondale College of Higher

Education, NSW] constructed a standardsbased

grading rubric designed to assist mentor

teachers assess the performance of pre-service

teachers. After implementation of the rubric

for two Professional Experience sessions,

mentor teachers were surveyed to assess the

effectiveness and usefulness of the grading

rubric. Results from quantitative and qualitative

data found the grading rubric to be a vital tool in

the assessment process. Benefits of the grading

rubric included accuracy and consistency of

grading, ability to identify specific areas of

desired development and facilitation of mentor

to pre-service teacher feedback. This research

asserts that the assessment grading rubric was

a useful tool for all three parties concerned: the

course supervisor, the mentor teacher and the

pre-service teacher.

Holy work with children : Making meaning together is the culmination of personal experience and qualitative research by Campen (2021), children's ministry pastor and director of the Discipleship of the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church in San Antonio, Texas.

Dianne Hillsdon is an experienced classroom teacher and administrator who has noticed a decline in children’s wellbeing during the last 30 years. Most children live a highly managed life, full of structured activities organised and supervised by adults and while these activities may develop specific skills, they do not necessarily build confidence and resilience that transfer to new situations. Dianne notes that we live in a risk adverse society and so children are often not open to taking acceptable risk.

This ‘living memory’ study (Smith, 2018, p. 78) investigated the perceived psychoemotional experiences of four senior high school students at one Christian school during and after the February 22, 2011, Christchurch New Zealand earthquake. The literature revealed that children and adolescents might be impacted socially, emotionally and academically by earthquakes, resulting in mental health issues ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to post- traumatic growth in the victims. Using a qualitative case study and narrative inquiry approach, participants were interviewed seven years after the earthquake. Responses were qualitatively analysed, and coded allowing for the emergence of an Earthquake Impact Profile (EIP) for each respondent. These profiles revealed several mitigating factors that helped the participants personally cope with the stress immediately after the earthquake struck, and in the following months and years.

In her recent book, aptly named As Light Lingers: Basking in the Word of God, Nina Atcheson follows many other Christian authors in tackling the topic of how to study the Bible. Atcheson has written this book in a refreshingly honest and sensitive manner. There are many books on how to study the Bible, but I found a number of features set this book apart.

Working for the wellbeing of indigenous students can be challenging, especially when a difficult home or school situation rouses them emotionally to the extent that it impacts their capacity to engage in learning and/or appropriate social behaviour.

The Context It is Tuesday afternoon at Prescott College, a Seventh-day Adventist high school in an inner suburb of Adelaide. Students and teachers are packing up their books, pens, computers and folders. But next, some are gathering garden tools, others are setting up a puppet theatre and still others are tuning up musical instruments. Students and teachers are all engaged in purposeful activity. It is service learning time, a program that fosters wellbeing for both students and staff.

In a series of introductory classes on wellbeing in schools this year, my primary pre-service students and I looked at wellbeing from four different perspectives.