CLAIMING A SACRED FACE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE ROLE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE IN CLAIMING A POSITIVE CULTURAL IDENTITY

Abstract

This paper discusses the results of a qualitative study where the purpose was to examine the role of spirituality in developing a positive cultural identity among a multicultural group of 31 adult educators, and then considers what the finding suggest for the further development of culturally relevant teaching practices within adult and higher education settings. In recent years, there has been much discussion about dealing with culture, race, gender, class, sexual orientation in teaching for social change and greater equity in society (Guy, 1999; Hayes & Colin, 1994; Hayes & Flannery, 2000; Johnson-Bailey, 2001). There has also been some discussion of the role of spirituality in adult development and learning (English & Gillen, 2000; Tisdell, 2000), and some limited discussion on the connection between spirituality and teaching for social justice related to cultural issues ( Hart & Holton, 1993; Tisdell, Tolliver, and Villa, 2001; Tolliver & Tisdell, 2002). Most of these discussions have been conceptual in nature, and there has been only limited discussion of the role of spirituality in developing a positive cultural identity from a data-based research perspective. Thus, the purpose of this paper is (1) to discuss the results of a qualitative study where the purpose was to examine the role of spirituality in developing a positive cultural identity among a multicultural group of 31 adult educators; and (2) to discuss the implications the findings of the study have for the further development of culturally relevant teaching practices within adult and higher education settings.