Seventh-day Adventist Clergy: Understanding Stressors and Coping Mechanisms

This article examines the extent and types of clergy stress, the strategies used in coping with stressors, and the relationship between stressors and coping mechanisms in a sample of 261 Seventh-day Adventist pastors in North America. The results indicate that the most commonly reported stressors in order are: (1) lack of social support, (2) financial stress, and (3) time and workload stress. In terms of coping strategies, pastors sought relief most often through: (1) reflective growth/internal change; (2) social/emotional coping; (3) passive coping; and lastly (4) action-oriented coping. Significant correlational relationships existed between passive coping and financial stress, relocating stress, and congregational stress. In addition, we found significant inverse correlations between coping through reflective growth or internal change and relocating stress and congregational stress. There were no significant relationships with action coping or social/emotional coping and any stressor. Multi-regression analysis reveals that passive coping strategies were significantly related to financial stress. Thus, the greater the financial stress, the more likely pastors were to engage in passive coping strategies. Other coping strategies showed no significant relationships when included in multi-regression analysis. We conclude with recommendations for Church administrators to address structures and practices in place for pastors including an expansion of coping mechanisms to help pastors address their stress.     

Perceived Effectiveness of Principals of Seventh-day Adventist Boarding Schools

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of principals in Seventh-day Adventist boarding high schools in North America as perceived by school staff, superintendents, and the principals themselves. Responses to the standardized assessment instrument were received from 201 staff, 23 principals, and 17 superintendents. The instrument assessed effectiveness in terms of four constructs related to the principal's work: maintenance, adaptation, goal attainment, and integration. Results indicated that principals were perceived to be highly effective in maintenance and integration and moderately effective in adaptation and goal attainment. When compared to national norms, respondent's perceptions of the effectiveness of principals in Adventist boarding high schools were equal to or higher than those for their public-school counterparts.     

Academic Workload Typologies and Burnout Among Faculty in Seventh-day Adventist Colleges and Universities in North America

The focus of this investigation was to determine the possible relationship of workload typologies and other selected demographic variables to levels of burnout among full-time faculty in Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities in North America. Four typologies of academic workload emerged from the study of the data. The results revealed that there was a significant relationship between academic workload typologies and other selected demographic variables in levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. No relationship was found between the variables studied and levels of personal accomplishment.     

Intellectual Freedom and Editorial Responsibilities Within the Context of Controversial Research

Researchers studying depression often encounter research participants in serious preexisting distress. Examining investigators' ethical responsibilities to these subjects, Stanton and New (1988) found that depression researchers reported actions that ranged from doing nothing to contacting both the distressed subject and a significant other. By experimentally manipulating consent form information regarding potential treatment referral, we examined whether subjects (n = 357) adjusted their responses on depression measures as a function of the level of follow-up they expected to receive. Results reveal that subjects who potentially could receive the most intrusive intervention (i.e., experimenter contact with the subject and a significant other) were less likely to report depressive symptoms than were subjects who anticipated less intrusive follow-up. Willingness to report depressive symptoms in particular conditions varied in part as a function of subject sex. Thus, ethical safeguards used in studies with subjects in preexisting distress may have consequences for the validity of self-report depression measures.     

Conversation analysis and religion: Practices of talking about Bible texts in Seventh-day Adventist Bible study

The purpose of this article is to show what ethnomethodology and, especially, conversation analysis as methods have to offer to the study of Bible reading. The methodology of conversation analysis is compared with the methods of the ethnography of reading. The conversation analytical perspective is demonstrated through examining some recurrent practices of talking about Bible texts in Seventh-day Adventist Bible study, namely, recontextualizing words and expressions, and inferences about the characters and events in the texts. The article shows how interactional practices are analyzed as both situated and recurrent. In the concluding section a suggestion is made for how the perspectives of ethnography and conversation analysis can be combined. The data consists of audio-recordings of actual Bible study sessions in a Seventh-day Adventist church in Finland.     

Instructional Practices in Fifth-through Eighth-grade Science Classrooms of a Selected Seventh-day Adventist Conference

This investigation focused on instructional practices within fifth- through eighth-grade science classes of selected Seventh-day Adventist schools. Teachers reported regular use of discussion, student projects, and tests or quizzes. Most respondents said they did not feel prepared or had “never heard of” inquiry, the learning cycle, or constructivism. Over half the respondents felt discussion, student-projects, and hands-on laboratory work were effective instructional practices in science classrooms. Learning cycle and constructivism were described by most respondents as “not at all” effective; many respondents had “never heard of” these same two instructional approaches.     

Job Satisfaction Among Teachers in Seventh-day Adventist Schools and Its Relationship to Commitment and Selected Work Conditions

A survey was conducted among teachers in Seventh-day Adventist schools to determine the degree of job satisfaction and its relationship to commitment and selected work conditions. The population for this study included teachers in Adventist schools in the Midwestern region of the United States. It was found that (1) Adventist teachers are generally satisfied with their work. They chose to work for the Adventist church because of their commitment to the church. (2) Commitment to the teaching profession was highly related to job satisfaction among male teachers; whereas, commitment to the church organization was highly related to job satisfaction among female teachers. (3) Faith dimension was the most important work-condition factor related to commitment to the church organization; whereas, personal significance was related to commitment to the teaching profession.     

Teaching Strategies and Adaptations of Teachers in Multiculturally Diverse Classrooms in Seventh-day Adventist K-8 Schools in North America

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of Adventist teachers—their training, their use of instructional strategies, and the challenges they encounter when teaching students of different cultures. Banks' multicultural paradigms was the theoretical framework from which a survey was developed and sent to all K-8 Adventist teachers in the United States and Canada. Strategies relating to the self-concept development and ethnic additive paradigms were used most frequently by Adventist teachers while those associated with the language paradigm were used the least. Almost half of the teachers subscribed to the goal that “students are individuals with distinct personalities regardless of their background” while about 10% of the teachers considered the goals relating to “protection of diverse groups” the most important. Their strategy use was not related to their most important goals (Nels) for multicultural education. Forty percent of the teachers had no training in multicultural education and the study recommends training so that Adventist teachers will have more effective strategies for relating to diverse students.     

Ethics, Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure

Universities can and have existed without academic freedom and academic tenure. But academic freedom is necessary for a university dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge in a democratic society. Both academic freedom and academic tenure are not only rights but also carry with them moral obligations. Furthermore academic tenure is the best defense of academic freedom that American universities have found. Academic tenure can be successfully defended from the many contemporary attacks to which it is being subjected only insofar as it is necessary to defend academic freedom, and only if all involved in the system of tenure observe the ethical requirements that the system demands.     

CognitiveGenesis (CG): Assessing Academic Achievement and Cognitive Ability in Adventist Schools

CognitiveGenesis collected achievement and ability test data from 2006–2009 for all students in Seventh-day Adventist schools in North America. Students were above average in achievement compared to national norms and achieved above that predicted by their ability scores. The more years students attended Adventist schools, the higher they achieved, compared to the norm group. Change in students' achievement and ability over 1–3 years was greater than the change in the norm group for both males and females and students in all ethnic groups. Change in achievement and ability for students of all ability levels was equal to or greater than the change in the norm group.     

Intellectual Freedom and Economic Sufficiency as Educational Entitlements

This paper explores the historic philosophical contributions ofMill and Marx toward a comprehensive conception of intellectual freedomas a basic educational entitlement. In a perhaps surprising confluence,Marx's theory of a material base for freedom of thought is then extendedin a discussion of contemporary freedoms including, importantly,academic freedom and its implication for teaching, the profession andits training.     

College Student Personnel and Academic Freedom for Students

The issue of academic freedom for students is frequently a source of heated controversy. In the emotionally charged atmosphere that surrounds this question the true nature and purpose of academic freedom are too often obscured. This discussion focuses attention on the philosophical and educational premises that underlie this concept and attempts to examine it from several frames of reference. A brief summary tracing the historical evolution of academic freedom for students to the present is developed and 8 common points of emphasis as interpreted from several current statements on the subject are outlined. An additional concern of some moment involving the relationship and responsibility of the college student personnel worker to these 8 significant points of common emphasis is noted.     

Data Management in Academic Settings: An Intellectual Property Perspective

Intellectual property can be an important asset for academic institutions. Good data management practices are important for capture, development and protection of intellectual property assets. Selected issues focused on the relationship between data management and intellectual property are reviewed and a thesis that academic institutions and scientists should honor their obligations to responsibly manage data.     

Foundations of Academic Freedom: Making New Sense of Some Aging Arguments

The article distinguishes between the various arguments traditionally offered as justifications for the principle of academic freedom. Four main arguments are identified, three consequentialist in nature (the argument from truth, the democratic argument, the argument from autonomy), and one nonconsequentialist (a variant of the autonomy argument). The article also concentrates on the specific form these arguments must take in order to establish academic freedom as a principle distinct from the more general principles of freedom of expression and intellectual freedom.