What is a Christian Education?

What is a Christian Education?

 Paper delivered at TCF Conference in Singapore, March 2004

David Burke

 Overview

This paper ‘locates’ a Christian view of education within Christian world-view and advocates consistency from thought to practice. It discusses how the Bible is used in this, identifies some specific aspects of education for attention and illustrates a Christian perspective in one of these. There are more questions than answers, for this is a vast and ongoing project.

 Introduction

In its broadest form, education is concerned with the totality of the teaching / learning process.

 The term ‘Christian education’ is sometimes used to refer to education in the Christian faith. A wider use of the term refers to a distinctly Christian perspective on education in all learning areas and at all levels. This wider use of the term is the focus of this paper and hence the title; What is a Christian education. There is a growing body of literature in the field[iii].

 A distinctly Christian view of education will be concerned with many of the same topics as other approaches to education. In some respects, its contents will overlap with those of other views, but it has important distinctives.

 Forming a Christian view of education is part of a wider project of developing a Christian world-view. This world-view functions as a map to guide thinking and behaviour over the whole of life – it is part of the renewing of the mind that Paul mentions in Rom 12:2[iv]. Like other topics within a Christian world-view, a Christian view of education starts with the basic reality of the God who created, saves, rules and speaks in his triune nature.

 Thinking about education

All educators have to grapple with some common basic issues[v]. The answers to these form a philosophy of education. In turn, philosophies of education give rise theories of education and these give rise to the practice of education.

 In an idealist world, educators and clients of educational providers would be aware of the philosophies and theories that lie behind educational practice. Practicing educators would then choose and use approaches to education that are consistent with their educational philosophy.  (Of course, the reverse is true in a pragmatist world where theory would be developed from reflections on practice[vi] and, if educational philosophy were ever a concern, it would be derived from practice via an inductive logic.)

 As it stands, anecdotal evidence suggests that much educational practice is conducted on a pragmatic basis, with little attention to the theory and philosophy behind it. Teachers have an instinct to identify what ‘works’ and then use it without much further consideration.

 For example, methods of teaching that rely on rigid control and systems of reward and punishment are common tools. These methods are quite effective in certain contexts (and perhaps appropriate in learning tasks such as spelling lists, math’s time’s tables and safety routines). But, how many teachers and parents are able to label these methods as behaviouralism and how many have thought about and agree with the rather bleak view of the learner undergirding this approach[vii]? Yet, Christian parents and teachers may laud behaviouralist methods as reflecting good discipline and delivering ‘real learning’.

 My point here is not to argue for this or that approach to education. It is rather to observe that much educational practice is rather blind, in that it is conducted with little concern for consistency between different approaches to practice and even less concern to think Christianly about educational philosophy and theory. What passes for a Christian view of education is often an uncritical mish-mash of elements drawn from widely varied sources that do not ‘fit’ with each other, let alone add up to a coherent Christian view[viii].

 As Immanuel Kant said: theory without practice is empty and practice without theory is blind. Theory and practice need to feed into and depend on each other. Theory is to be embedded in practice and practice in theory. What is needed is for Christians to think backwards and forwards through the linkages between a Christian world-view, Christian philosophies of education and Christian theories and practices of education[ix].

 The sources of a Christian education

Where does a Christian view of education come from? The Bible has much to say about education and is a real goldmine for those seeking to develop a Christian view of education[x].

 A little thought is needed however. It is an evangelical view that Scripture is sufficient, in that it tells us all we need to know. However, there is a very important distinction between the sufficiency and the exhaustiveness of Scripture[xi]. Put simply, the Bible does not tell us everything about everything[xii]. It is not an encyclopedia or a textbook on education.

 When we come to education, this means that the task of developing a Christian view of education involves more than looking up relevant concordance references and linking the results together like pieces of a jigsaw. We must learn to think with regard to theological and philosophical categories and with an eye to the subtle distinction between different kinds of material in the Bible that are relevant to education.

 Three categories of Biblical material are relevant here. The Bible sometimes gives us principles, precedents and precepts.

 A precept is a lower-order statement directly related to action. A precept tells us what to do. Our response is one of obedience or disobedience. For example, Ephesians 6:4 tells fathers that they are responsible for the Bible education of their children. How is a father to obey God in this today?

 A precedent is a case study from the Biblical world. It is a description of something that happened.  Our proper response to a precedent is not to automatically replicate what was done, but to investigate and evaluate it. For example, Acts 20:7-9 tells the story of an overly-long Bible lesson that resulted in danger to a somnolent learner. What does this tell us about the way attention spans, timetabling and class seating impact on effective education?

 A principle is a broad higher-order statement of a universal. Our proper response is to investigate and understand the principle in its context and then interpret and apply it to our context.  For example, Proverbs 1:7 states that ‘fear’ (or awe) of God is the start point for all true knowledge. How does ‘fear’ of God serve as the foundation of knowledge in the sciences?

 A mature Christian view of education works within and under the authority of the Bible’s teachings, bearing in mind the differences between different kinds of Biblical material.

 But, what about using material from declared non-Christian sources? Some Christian people will resist this, saying that we should use the Bible alone. Others will assert that all truth is God’s truth, and feely utilise non-Christian sources. I am personally cautious both about claims to use the Bible alone[xiii] and plundering all sources uncritically. I advocate developing a Biblical world-view as the framework of Christian thinking and practice in education and then working this through the issues common to all educators, using principles, precepts and precedents from the Bible carefully. On this model, a Christian view of education is more about the control point than about sources. In short, it is not enough to see a Christian firm listed as the publisher of an educational text. Likewise, a text should not be resisted just because it is from a non-Christian source. The issue is whether its contents are consistent with the Scriptures and a Christian world-view.

 Aspects of education

Education has several central and overarching questions. They can be summarised in the single sentence: Who is teaching what, to whom, why and how?[xiv] A host of further questions can be developed under each of these.

 Who is teaching? What attitudes, knowledge and skills are essential and / or desirable in the teacher? How can these be developed? What do we do with significant differences in giftedness between teachers?

 What is being taught? What learning areas are to be taught in a well-balanced curriculum and what is a good balance between them? What impact does the nature of each learning area have on the way it is to be taught?

 To whom is it being taught? What is the nature of people in general? How do understandings of human development impact on readiness for learning in particular learning areas and particular teaching approaches?

 Why is it being taught?  What are good motivations in those offering or providing education? What kinds of affective, cognitive and psychomotor learning targets are appropriate in different situations and what is the balance between them? What kinds of purposes or goals are appropriate? How are these to be broken down into specific learning targets and how is achievement of them to be monitored and assessed? What teaching methods will best contribute to different kinds of learning goals?

 How is it to be taught? What is wise when it comes to choosing and using methods that reflect the nature of the teacher, the subject matter, understandings of the learners and the purposes of teaching? These are the most common question asked by teachers, arising from their practical concerns and the time pressures on them. Any view of education that does not enable teachers to answer these questions is, in my view, incomplete.

 

There is an order in these questions, broadly corresponding to a movement from theory to practice. The ‘Who, What, To Whom and Why’ are contributive questions. The answers to them contribute to the final question that has an integrative nature. I am persuaded that the giving of attention to the contributive questions is an important step in ensuring that educational practice has a consistency about it. I also believe that it makes it easier to answer the ‘How’ question after giving attention to the contributory questions.

 

Each of these sets of questions raises profound issues and there are Christian distinctives applicable to all of them.

 

For example, consider questions relating to educational goals (the ‘Why?’ questions). In many countries, educational agendas are commonly expressed as outcome statements and these are generally written in economic terms. That is, education is organised to achieve purposes of delivering productive workers for the next phases of economic development. Typically this is seen in a move away from education in the liberal and performing arts and towards scientific, professional and technical subjects. This move is generally a matter of emphasis rather than absolutes and is implemented through such devices as the number of teaching hours given to different subjects; the combinations of subjects needed for such ‘gatekeeper’ exercises as PSLE, O and A levels, university entrance; and the allocation of postgraduate research grants. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Christian parents and schools have accepted these economic agendas. Parents aspire for their child to enter well-paid employment and schools laud the number of their graduates who gain entry to training for this employment.

 From a Christian perspective, a purely vocational or economic purpose for education is questionable. We do need our daily bread and are taught to pray and work for it. However, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Our highest human aspiration is to fulfill our created nature as God’s image bearers by growing from infancy to adulthood as measured by our likeness to Jesus. Jesus’ own growth trajectory is a model of this [xv].

 In short, a Christian sense of educational goals will have a wider range of goals. It will seek to develop students who are economically useful, but it will challenge the materialism that leads to education based primarily around economic goals. It will have social and spiritual agendas. It will laud the graduate who becomes a loving stay-at-home parent or carer; who steps back down the ladder of career success in order to achieve a balanced life; who takes early retirement to attend to family, community or spiritual responsibilities and who uses their education to love God and man rather than to fill barns with overflowing wealth while neglecting an empty soul[xvi].

 Hopefully, this short discussion on education goals shows that there is a distinctive Christian view on all aspects of education and at all levels of thought and practice. It could be extended with respect to educational goals and expanded to take in each of the Who, What, To Whom, Why and How questions.

 Conclusion

This paper has tried to show that a Christian education is more than education in the Bible, although it certainly includes that[xvii]. Rather, it includes a distinctly Christian view of all aspects of education, from educational philosophy to educational practice. In many places this will overlap with other views of education (for truth is to be found in many places), but it will have a distinctive form arising from its foundations in the God from whom all is and to whom all shall be[xviii].

 

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Endnotes

[iii] Some examples of introductory level reading follow: Renewing the Mind In Learning (ed. D Blomberg & I Lambert, CSAC, 1998); Foundational Issues in Christian Education (R Pazimo, Baker, 1988); The Greening of Christian Education (B Hill, Lancer, 1985); The Christian Philosophy of Education (S Perks, Avant, 1992); The Christian School (N Weeks, Banner of Truth, 1988); Christian Education: Its Philosophy & History (K Gangel & W Benson, Moody, 1983); A Biblical Psychology of Learning (Accent, 1982); For The Children’s Sake (S Schaeffer-Macauley, Crossway, 1984); Philosophy & Education (2^nd edit, G Knight, Andrews Uni, 1989); Philosophy of Education (M Peterson, IVP, 1986); Christian Education & The Search For Meaning (J Wilhoit, Baker, 1986); The Crumbling Walls of Certainty (Ed. I Lambert & S Mitchell, CSAC, 1997); Reclaiming the Future( ed. I lambert & S Mitchell, CSAC, 1996).

[iv] There is a huge literature in the field of Christian world-view, much of it coming from a reformed theological perspective. The following works may provide a starting point: Building a Christian World View, Vols 1&2 (ed. W Hoffeker, Presbyterian & Reformed 1986 & 1988); Worlds Apart, (N Geisler & W Watkins, Baker 1989); The Transforming Vision (J Middleton & B Walsh, IVP, 1984); Truth is Stranger Than It Used To Be (J Middleton & B Walsh, IVP, 1995); The Making of a Christian Mind (ed. A Holmes, IVP, 1985); The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (M Noll, Eerdmans, 1994); The Christian Mind (H Blamires, Servant, 1963); Foundations of Christian Scholarship (ed. G North, Ross House, 1979); Every Thought Captive (R Pratt Jnr, Presbyterian & Reformed, 1979).

[v] This can be illustrated from the field of adult education: for example, see Philosophical Foundations of Adult Education (J Elias & S Merriam, Kreiger, 1980). Also see endnote (iii) above for some Christian texts relating to these issues.

[vi] There is a well-respected body of literature that argues for deriving theory from practice. Consider the following: The Reflective Practitioner (D Schon, Basic 1983) and The New Production of Knowledge (M Gibbons et al, Sage, 1994). No epistemology of education can ignore this literature. For my part, I would argue for a combination inductive / deductive approach in which philosophy, theory and practice inform each other in a two-way dialogue.

[vii] G Clark’s Christianity & Behaviorism (Trinity, 1982) evaluates Skinner’s behaviouralism from a Christian perspective.

[viii] Some years back I conducted a review of many texts relating to Christian education as part of a project to develop a teacher-training curriculum. At one level, there were comments from Christian sources about the dangers of using insights from non-Christian sources, specifically Piaget’s development approaches as applied to education about the Christian faith by people such as R Goldman in Readiness for Religion? Somewhat to my dismay, I discovered that many educational texts published by Christian publishing houses used Piaget’s work, but never acknowledged it or discussed its philosophical or theoretical basis. Was this ignorance or inconsistency? It certainly creates the suspicion of an uncritical use.

[ix] My use of the plural is intentional. I resist the suggestion that there is a single philosophy, theory and practice of education arising from a Christian world-view. Faith and reality are too complex to allow for reductionism to a convenient binary formula in which all is seen in blacks and whites. Even black and white TV had shades of grey!

[x] A concordance search under such words as ‘teach’, ‘instruct’, ‘knowledge’, ‘learn’ etc will throw up many references as starting points. The plethora of the Biblical material on education makes it easier to develop a Christian view of education than it is for other learning areas.

[xi] Noel Weeks discusses the sufficiency of Scripture in: The Sufficiency of Scripture (Banner of Truth, 1988).

[xii] Deut 29:29.

[xiii] See endnote viii above.

[xiv] I have used these questions as an organising structure for Christian teacher training in several different cultures and think that there is some universality about them.

[xv] Mt 6:11; 2 Thess 3:6-12; Lke 4:4; Gen 1:26-27; Eph 4:11-16; Lke 1:52.

[xvi] Mt 22:37-40; 6:19-24.

[xvii] In some ways, Dt 6:7ff is the fundamental task of education. Its proximity to the Shema reinforces this priority.

[xviii] Rom 11:36.