Qualitative Research in Theological Education: Pedagogy in Practice

by Mary Clark Moschella (Editor), Susan Willhauck (Editor)

Overview

Qualitative Research in Theological Education brings together a diverse group of scholars to consider the theological values arising from and contributing to their use of qualitative research in scholarship and teaching. The book offers a careful consideration of the pedagogical and administrative challenges involved in teaching qualitative research and its various sub-disciplines such as ethnography. As a whole, the book argues that the teaching of QR methods is critical to the theological, ethical, spiritual, and/or pastoral formation of ministers and theological scholars With contributions from Jody Clarke, David M. Csinos, Elaine Graham, Brett C. Hoover, Tone Stangeland Kaufman, Bernardine Ketelaars, Boyung Lee, Dawn Llewellyn, David M. Mellott, Nichole Renée Phillips, Apipa Prachyapruit, Anthony G. Reddie, Siroj Sorajjakool, Todd D. Whitmore, and Natalie Wigg-Stevenson.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780334056775
Publisher:	Hymns Ancient & Modern
Publication date:	09/30/2018
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.37(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mary Clark Moschella is Roger J. Squire Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Yale University School of Divinity, is the author or editor of three books and numerous articles in the area of pastoral research, including the widely used volume, Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice: An Introduction. She is also the author of Caring for Joy: Narrative, Theology, and Practice.

Susan Willhauck, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Atlantic School of Theology, conducts QR and has published in the areas of Christian education and leadership in ministry, including "Ministry Unplugged: Uncommon Calls to Serve" (2010) and "Breaking the Stained Glass Ceiling" (2013). She initiated and directed a research project funded by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion entitled, “Teaching Qualitative Research in Theological Education to Enhance Leadership for Change in the Church”.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Exemplary Research Essays 1. Theology as Playbook and Gamefilm: Explaining an Ethnographic Approach to Theology to a Sports-Centred Culture - Todd David Whitmore 2. Qualitative Methodology and Critical Pedagogy: A Study of the Lived Experiences of Thai Peasants within the Context of Western Development Ideology - Siroj Sorajjakool and Apipa Prachyapruit Part 2 Issues in Education and the Practice of Research 3. Promoting the Good: Ethical and Methodological Considerations in Practical Theological Research - Elaine Graham and Dawn Llewellyn 4. Between Yes and No: The Inner Journey of Qualitative Research - David M. Csinos 5. The Askesis of Fieldwork: Practices for a Way of Inquiry, a Way of Life - Todd David Whitmore 6. Just Don’t Call It ‘Ethnography’: A Critical Ethnographic Pedagogy for Transformative Theological Education - Natalie Wigg-Stevenson 7. Teaching and Researching Practical Theology: A Liberative Participative Approach to Pedagogy and Qualitative Research - Anthony G. Reddie 8. I Am Not a Sociologist: Reflections on Sociological Research in Theology - Brett C. Hoover 9. Teaching Spirituality with Qualitative Research Methods - Boyung Lee 10. The Researcher as Gamemaker: Teaching Normative Dimensions in Various Phases of Empirical Practical Theological Research - Tone Stangeland Kaufman 11. Qualitative Research at Emory: Ethnographic Insights and Notes from the Field - Nichole Renée Phillips 12. Qualitative Research: The Invaluable Tool in Pastoral Ministry - Bernardine Ketelaars Part 3 Integrating Qualitative Research into Theological Education 13.Qualitative Research in Theological Curricula - David M. Mellott 14. Wonder and the Divine Dance: The Lived Reality of Qualitative Research within a Master of Divinity Curriculum - Joseph (Jody) H. Clarke Part 4 Valediction 15. The Gift and Challenge of Qualitative Methods for Pastoral Formation - Susan Willhauck Select Bibliography Index of Names and Subjects

Editorial Reviews

"Forming religious leaders must mean forming people who can engage in practices of deep listening that decenter arm-chair suppositions and uncover new pathways to action. This book provides a valuable – and practical — introduction to how ethnographic learning is an increasingly vital part of theological education. I’ve already recommended it to my colleagues!"

Nancy T. Ammerman

"These explorations into the deeply important role of qualitative research in the shaping of academic theology and ministers are clearly a gift to the theological world and the pastoral world. "Qualitative Research in Theological Education" provides insights into diverse geographic contexts and a variety of religious and non-religious practices through attention to embodied contextual realities. A crucial contribution is attention to how such research can and should be understood as truly “theological” as opposed to simply quantitative or qualitative."

Mary McClintock Fulkerson

"This is the right book at the right time for advancing students of theology and for qualitative researchers in theological education. Moschella and Willhauck are exemplars of the qualitative turn in theology, and the assembled contributors make for a vibrant conversation on the state of this theological art."

Tom Beaudoin

This is an inspiring collection of essays that powerfully testify to the huge significance qualitative research has assumed within theological education. The authors show how close, patient and attentive engagement with our contexts and communities is strengthened and disciplined by a critical awareness of contemporary research methodologies. Ecclesial, ethical, political and pastoral practice are thus enhanced and the theological imagination itself is enlivened and transformed. An exciting and engaging work.

Heather Walton

Moschella and Willhauck bring together deeply insightful essays “voiced” by experienced practical theologians from around the world who are highly skilled, reflective teachers and researchers. The essays provide a remarkable resource for equipping theological students across masters and doctoral programs to experience the transformative possibilities of qualitative research to disclose new understanding of self and culture and reveal more deeply the wisdom and challenges of their co-researchers whose contexts the students seek to understand. This collection sets a new highwater mark in our resources for teaching and practicing qualitative research.

Nancy J. Ramsay

"Ethnography breaks conventional boundaries of library research, but what are its implications for teaching? This stellar collection tackles this important question and reveals the power of fieldwork to form and even transform us. With contributions by expert scholars from diverse disciplines, institutions, and countries, this book is an indispensable handbook on ethnography, showing not only how to navigate its pitfalls but also how to reap its benefits of radical hospitality and even political activism."

Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore