Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education » (1st Edition)

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.

Spirituality is an important part of human experience. It is fundamentally about how people construct meaning, understand their life purpose, and move toward greater authenticity. But spirituality also has a cultural dimension, in that meaning-making is manifested in cultural expression and mediated by a cultural context. By making a connection with the richness of meaning-making experiences as culturally embedded, educators can draw on students' cultural backgrounds and spirituality in the educational process.

Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education is written from the unique perspective of teacher, researcher, and author Elizabeth Tisdell who has extensive experience dealing with culture, gender, and educational equity issues in secular adult and higher education classrooms, and formerly in pastoral and religious education settings on college campuses. This important book discusses how spiritual development is informed by culture and how this knowledge is relevant to teaching and learning. For educators, an understanding of how spirituality is informed by culture, and how spirituality assists in meaning-making, can aid in their efforts to help their students' educational experiences become more transformative and culturally relevant.
Throughout this informative book, Elizabeth Tisdell shows higher and adult educators how they can draw on both psychological and sociocultural aspects of spirituality to facilitate ongoing knowledge construction in their students— and themselves. For example, educators and students can use classroom activities that incorporate image, symbol, music, and art form that focus on both the commonalities and differences of human experience.

Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education offers a pathway for educators who are seeking new ways to teach in a culturally relevant way, increase the relevance of their students' educational experiences, and ultimately achieve social transformation.