Spiritual Formation: A Comparative Study of Modern and Classical Christian Schools
This study focused on the comparison of a modern Christian school and a classical Christian school in the Midwestern United States. The modern Christian school used in this study was a member of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and the classical school was a member of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS). A 37 question survey was developed and used to measure and compare the spiritual formation of students in fourth, eighth, and twelfth grade attending each school. Survey questions of Christian knowledge, belief, and action were the focus of the survey. Answers to the survey questions were compared between grades, between schools, and within schools to determine the different levels of spiritual formation and commitment to the Christian faith in the students at each school. Special attention was given to the Trivium of classical education compared to current modern instructional methodologies. Statistically significant differences were determined to exist between the students attending the two schools and Fowler's Development Theory was used to explain the results. The results from this study suggest that the classical Christian school produces students with a higher level of Christian faith formation than the modern Christian school.
Education History, Classical Studies, Education, Education Philosophy, Religious Education, Association of Classical and Christian Schools, spiritual formation, Trivium, classical education, Christian education, Christian faith development, ACCS, ACSI, Association of Christian Schools International, private schools, classical Christian schools
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