Given that everything we learn is scaffolded onto prior knowledge, how and what we learn is infinitely complex. There are many factors influencing learning, including environment, social and institutional attitudes, access, conditioning and biases. Among the social and environmental factors, religious affiliation is a powerful force which can either encourage educational pursuit, or discourage and demonize it.
This study used Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory (2003) to examine the lived experiences of individuals who were raised in biblical literalist faith traditions. The researcher conducted loosely structured interviews with each participant to learn about their educational and spiritual journeys as they left the religion of their childhood in search of a more integrated approach to knowledge and spirituality. The study culminated in recommendations for educators teaching students from such a background.
","abstract_html":"<p>Given that everything we learn is scaffolded onto prior knowledge, how and what we learn is infinitely complex. There are many factors influencing learning, including environment, social and institutional attitudes, access, conditioning and biases. Among the social and environmental factors, religious affiliation is a powerful force which can either encourage educational pursuit, or discourage and demonize it.</p> <p>This study used Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory (2003) to examine the lived experiences of individuals who were raised in biblical literalist faith traditions. The researcher conducted loosely structured interviews with each participant to learn about their educational and spiritual journeys as they left the religion of their childhood in search of a more integrated approach to knowledge and spirituality. The study culminated in recommendations for educators teaching students from such a background.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Austin, Sara"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["William Boozang","Suzan Nelson","Michelle Collay"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:18Z","subjects":["Educational Leadership","Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dune.une.edu/theses/155","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["William Boozang","Suzan Nelson","Michelle Collay"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Austin, Sara"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-05-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Educational Leadership","Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/155"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Given that everything we learn is scaffolded onto prior knowledge, how and what we learn is infinitely complex. There are many factors influencing learning, including environment, social and institutional attitudes, access, conditioning and biases. Among the social and environmental factors, religious affiliation is a powerful force which can either encourage educational pursuit, or discourage and demonize it.
This study used Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory (2003) to examine the lived experiences of individuals who were raised in biblical literalist faith traditions. The researcher conducted loosely structured interviews with each participant to learn about their educational and spiritual journeys as they left the religion of their childhood in search of a more integrated approach to knowledge and spirituality. The study culminated in recommendations for educators teaching students from such a background.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Biblical Literalism And Implications For Learning"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["William Boozang","Suzan Nelson","Michelle Collay"],"dc:creator":["Austin, Sara"],"dc:date.available":["2018-05-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Given that everything we learn is scaffolded onto prior knowledge, how and what we learn is infinitely complex. There are many factors influencing learning, including environment, social and institutional attitudes, access, conditioning and biases. Among the social and environmental factors, religious affiliation is a powerful force which can either encourage educational pursuit, or discourage and demonize it.
This study used Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory (2003) to examine the lived experiences of individuals who were raised in biblical literalist faith traditions. The researcher conducted loosely structured interviews with each participant to learn about their educational and spiritual journeys as they left the religion of their childhood in search of a more integrated approach to knowledge and spirituality. The study culminated in recommendations for educators teaching students from such a background.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/155"],"dc:subject":["Educational Leadership","Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"],"dc:title":["Biblical Literalism And Implications For Learning"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:18Z"}