Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education

Elizabeth J. Tisdell is an associate professor of adult education at Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg. Her research interests include diversity and equity issues in adult education, feminist pedagogy, and the connection of spirituality and culture in educational contexts.

• PrefacePart I: Breaking the Silence: Spirituality and Culture in Adult Meaning-Making and Education 11. Introduction: Culture, Spirituality, and Adult Learning 32. Breaking the Silence: Defining Spirituality in a Culturally Relevant Educational Context 253. Spirituality, Religion, and Culture in Lived Experience: Overlaps and Separations 454. Between the Cultural and the Universal: Themes and Variations of Spiritual Experience 67Part II: Claiming a Sacred Face: Identity and Spiritual Development 895. The Great Spiral: Spiritual Development as a Process of Moving Forward and Spiraling Back 936. Gender, Culture, and Spiritual Identity in Midlife Integration 1177. The Role of Spiritual Experience in Developing a Positive Cultural Identity 1398. Searching for Wholeness: Crossing Culture, White Identity, and Spiritual Development 163Part III: Spirituality in a Culturally Relevant and Transformative Teaching Practice 1839. Approaching Transformative Teaching Grounded in Spirituality and Cultural Relevance 18710. A Theory-in-Progress of a Spiritually Grounded, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Philosophical Underpinnings and New Directions 20311. Stories from the Field: Spirituality and Culture in Adult Higher Education Classrooms 21912. The Possibilities and Challenges of Spiritually Grounded, Culturally Relevant Teaching 235Epilogue: Final Reflections 259Appendix: Research Methodology 263References 271Index 285

"This should prove to be a groundbreaking volume. Every adult educator will benefit from engaging in the conversation." (PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, Summer 2004) "...this book makes an important contribution to a new and growing body of knowledge." (Journal of College Student Development, December 2003)"A Professor of Adult Education describes How Spirituality Can Be a Valuable Teaching Tool" (By Dana Sobyra in The Chronicle of Higher Education)"The work is an easy read, not overly laden with references but enough to give it authority." (TCRecord.org, 10/8/03)