Study on Sprituality in Higher Education

Beginning in 2003 at UCLA, a group began a 7-year study that focused on Spirituality in Higher Education. The goal of the study was to examine changes students make in their lives during their college experience and how their college experience shapes and develops their spiritual qualities. The study is the first national longitudinal study of students’ spiritual growth. The actual text related to the findings will not be released until later this year.

After researching and collecting data from 14,527 students at 136 colleges and universities, the researchers develop the idea that “higher education should attend more to students’ spiritual development, because spirituality is essential to students’ lives.” The study was able to provide the researchers with information to help implement programs to helping students develop spiritually. The reasoning behind their idea of colleges helping students grow spiritually is that they believe that it will create “a new generation who are more caring, more globally aware, and more committed to social justice than previous generations.”

The researchers measured each student by creating two sets of measurements for Spiritual Qualities and Religious Qualities. Under Spiritual Qualities, they measured Spiritual Quest, Equanimity, Ethic of Caring, Charitable Involvement, Ecumenical Worldview. Within Religious Qualities, they measured Religious Commitment, Religious Engagement, Religious’Social Conservatism, Religious Skepticism, Religious Struggle. Through these areas, the researchers found that even though religious engagement declines during the college years, students enhance their spiritual qualities during this time.

At the conclusion of the study, the group asked themselves three questions:

1. What college experiences are most likely to promote students’ spiritual development?

2. How does growth in spiritual qualities such as Equanimity, Ethic of Caring, and Ecumenical worldview affect traditional outcomes, such as academic achievement, leadership skills, and satisfaction with college?

3. If colleges and universities emphasized activities and practices that promote spiritual development, how would traditional outcomes such as academic performance and leadership development be affected?

The researchers were able to conclude that by engaging in inner work (self-reflection, meditation, contemplation), students were able to improve their spiritual qualities. In terms of spiritual questing, students showed an increase when faculty encouraged them to explore questions of meaning and purpose.

As a whole, this is a very interesting study. I think once the results are “physically” published, colleges and universities will be able utilize the research. Of course, the students will benefit the most if the findings are actually realistic and institutions are able to create programs that enhance spirituality. One of the main reasons I like the study is because it focuses more so on student spirituality and not necessarily religious beliefs.

http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/