Undeniably, schools emphasize academic success, measured by students’ achievement, test scores, graduation, or college going. While these outcomes are essential, Christian education is called for a purpose beyond that. In a world increasingly focused on academic achievement and standardized test scores, sometimes it is easy for Christian educators to lose sight of the true purpose of Christian education.
Undeniably, Christian education has a distinctive purpose: not only is it called to prepare students academically, but it should also cultivate students’ spiritual formation. Recently, there have been extensive studies on students’ spiritual development in Christian education (Lee et al., 2024; Lee & Djita, 2024a, 2024b; Smith et al., 2021). However, we must acknowledge that most research evidence comes only from the Western world. While all these studies contribute significantly to our understanding of how better to cultivate students’ spiritual formation in Christian schools, they also call for more replication studies from other global contexts outside the U.S. (Johnson et al., 2023, 2024; Lee et al., 2024). This study seeks to bridge this gap that we still observe in the literature by providing empirical evidence on the same topic from the global context of Indonesia.
Using a regression framework from cross-sectional data from over 2,500 teachers, administrators, and parents in Christian schools, we found that they agreed that spiritual development is their highest goal. However, the results differ by postsecondary type. There is a strong consensus among all Christian schools’ constituents about the goal of Christian education. This insight underscores the unique mission of Christian schools worldwide in shaping not just minds but souls.
Understanding the Priorities
The study aimed to identify the highest goal of Christian education among various stakeholders. We found that more than half of parents, teachers, and administrators (56%) believe that spiritual development is the highest goal in Christian education, followed by shaping students’ calling (27%) and developing students’ basic skills in education (5%).
Figure 1
The proportion of Administrators, Teachers, and Parents who Believe that the Following is the Highest Purpose of Christian Education (N = 1672)
- Spiritual development (56%): By role, we observe about 53% of parents, 61% of administrators, and an impressive 64% of teachers echoing this sentiment that spiritual development is the highest purpose of education.
- Shaping Students’ Calling (27%): This goal ranked second, reflecting the importance of guiding students to discern their paths in life.
These results paint a compelling picture: while academic skills are essential, the community overwhelmingly agrees that nurturing students’ faith and purpose should take precedence.
Variations in Perspective: The Importance of Christian Higher Education Institutions
Delving deeper into the demographics, we noticed intriguing variations based on respondents’ educational backgrounds. Those who graduated from Christian universities were significantly more likely to prioritize spiritual development and shaping students’ callings compared to their non-Christian counterparts. This suggests that the values instilled during their formative years significantly influence their perspectives on education.
- Statistically Significant Findings: Christian university graduates were six percentage points more likely to view spiritual development as the highest goal and less likely to prioritize basic skills development.
This highlights the impact of educational environments on beliefs about educational priorities—a vital consideration for educators in Christian settings.
Implication for Practice
First, since parents, teachers, and administrators agree that spiritual formation is the highest priority of educational goals in Christian education, some intentional strategies to cultivate and maintain students’ spiritual development should be prioritized in school. This strategy could be accomplished through the implementation of a curriculum that highlights spiritual development (Beesley, 1993; Meehan, 2002; Smith et al., 2021), or opportunities to worship and serve one another, or consistent modeling of the Christian faith at school and home (Schwartz, 2006; Strommen & Hardel, 2000).
Second, Christian school principals must be more intentional in their recruiting practices. Given the critical role that Christian postsecondary institutions play, some intentional collaboration between Christian schools and Christian colleges and universities might be another avenue that both entities should maintain.
Third, spiritual development is the goal that Christian schools aim to achieve. In that case, Christian school administrators must effectively influence the whole school community with the same shared values and goals (Swaner et al., 2021). Administrators must show a solid commitment to pursuing the school’s priority goals and intentionally manage and invest time and space for Christian school communities to actively engage in spiritual development programs (Swaner et al., 2021).
Lastly, in our analyses, we consistently observe the unique role of Christian postsecondary institutions in shaping students’ spiritual development. These findings suggest several implications for a more intentional collaboration between Christian schools, universities, and colleges. Those intentional strategies may include alignment in the curriculum development, especially in the teacher training program that focuses on the pedagogical aspect and the emphasis on the spiritual formation component. This could involve theological studies, ethical discussions, and practical ministry experiences in all programs, particularly teacher preparation. Recruitment strategies should also be an avenue where these two entities actively and intentionally prioritize. Christian schools might prioritize hiring teachers from Christian postsecondary institutions, recognizing that these educators bring a robust understanding of integrating faith and learning. By embracing these strategies, Christian universities and colleges can work alongside Christian schools to support a more integrated faith-learning approach.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
As Christian educators, the findings of this study serve as both an affirmation and a challenge. They affirm that we are part of a larger community that values spiritual growth as a core educational goal. They also challenge us to reflect on our practices: Are we doing enough to integrate spiritual development into our daily curricula and activities?
We have a unique opportunity to shape knowledgeable students and spiritually mature individuals equipped to fulfill their callings. Let us commit to fostering an environment where spiritual growth is not just a goal but a lived experience in every classroom.
The full report on this study can be accessed here: https://www.acsi.org/docs/default-source/website-publishing/research/wp2023-04.pdf
About the Author
Rian R. Djita, Ph.D., ACSI’s Director of Research, serves as managing director of Research in Brief. Rian is a Fulbright scholar from Indonesia and the author of peer-reviewed research articles on the topics of Christian education, international education, and immigrant students and their postsecondary outcomes. He is also one of the Emerging Education Policy Scholars (EEPS) 2022–2023 from The Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).