Abstract

For Christian colleges and universities, students’ spiritual formation and character development are important outcomes. However, unlike academic outcomes of retention and graduation, systematic efforts to measure outcomes of faith and character are far from ubiquitous. The purpose of this article is to report the efforts of Baylor University to address the gap between mission and measurement. Guided by prevailing theories, an interdisciplinary research team launched the Baylor Faith and Character Study in August 2018. Data collection for the broader project involved surveys and interviews at three points in time: a student’s first semester at Baylor, a student’s final semester at Baylor, and 10 years after degree completion. Preliminary, cross-sectional findings from survey data reveal that levels of religious belief and practice were nearly equivalent for first-year students, seniors, and alumni, while seniors exhibited stronger character in several areas than first-year students. A discussion of conclusions and implications closes the article.

摘要

对于基督教学院和大学来说，学生的精神形成和品格发展是重要的成果。然而，与保留和毕业的学术成果不同，衡量信仰和品格成果的系统性努力远非无处不在。本文的目的是报告贝勒大学为解决使命与测量之间的差距所做的努力。在流行理论的指导下，一个跨学科研究团队于 2018 年 8 月启动了贝勒信仰和性格研究。更广泛项目的数据收集涉及三个时间点的调查和访谈：学生在贝勒的第一学期，学生在贝勒的最后一个学期，学位完成后10年。初步的，调查数据的横断面调查结果显示，一年级学生、高年级学生和校友的宗教信仰和实践水平几乎相同，而高年级学生在多个领域表现出比一年级学生更强的性格。结论和影响的讨论结束了这篇文章。