Incorporating Spirituality in the Classroom

Abstract

This study tested the extent to which professors could be trained to help enhance students’ experiences of spirituality in their classes. Three areas of focus that may be important to incorporating spirituality into the classroom were identified in the integration of faith and learning literature: 1) Professor Self-Disclosure, 2) Intellectual Connections, and 3) Interpersonal Connections. In a quasi-experimental design, two professors were trained to incorporate these focus areas into four experimental conditions. A sample of 203 student participants attended different teaching conditions and rated their perception of the teaching quality. Statistical tests revealed that professor ratings on General Teaching Skills and Spirituality greatly improved after training; however, ratings also depended on the professor. Results indicated that applying such a pedagogical training can be a useful tool in educating faculty to successfully incorporate spirituality in the classroom and improve student perceptions of their general teaching skills.

The current status of “spirituality and health” teaching in Brazilian medical schools: a nationwide survey

“…The same barriers observed in our study were also reported by physicians [16,24], highlighting that these barriers should be considered and addressed by educators. Providing S/H training for medical teachers is one of the most important ways to reduce stigmatization and promote the incorporation of S/H content into theoretical and practical classes since training reduces the lack of knowledge and time and encourages faculty to discuss the curriculum [20,25,26].…”