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The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not freshmen living in the residence halls were encouraged to develop faith, as defined by James W. Fowler's faith development theory, based on Fall 2000 - Spring 2001 residence hall programming, activities and staff training.James W. Fowler defines faith as a person's way of giving meaning to the "forces and relations that make up our lives." Although Fowler does not rule out faith as being made up of a religion, he does explain that under his definition faith is not always religious in content or context. In his published works, Fowler most often explains faith as a way of "knowing," (self, the world, circumstances, etc.) and always refers to it as a verb. This is the definition of faith that was used throughout this study.While the intent was to evaluate whether or not freshmen were encouraged to develop faith, those people who were sources of this information were Ball State University Residence Hall Directors. There were 12 Residence Hall Directors during the Spring semester of 2001 that had freshmen living in their residence halls. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted and audio recorded with each of these Residence Hall Directors. Participating directors were presented with an outline of Fowler's faith development theory prior to the interviews. During the interview, they responded to ten questions.All 12 directors interviewed indicated that the majority of freshmen come to college with an established religion that is primarily based on the faith and beliefs of their parents or guardians. The majority of the directors also observed the freshmen rarely want to be challenged in what they believe and have a difficult time reflecting on why they hold to particular values or beliefs. As the year progresses this does occasionally change. Students' values are most often influenced by peers: friends, roommates, and classmates who have new ideas and perspectives. Directors mentioned that values commonly challenged during the freshmen year are ones related to drinking, drugs, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, and race.Freshmen struggling with faith or religion are not likely to find answers within their residence halls. While all directors indicated that freshmen are searching for meaning in a variety of ways, there are few programs or activities within the residence halls that allow dialogue or reflection about values and beliefs. The only training that any residence hall staff received was an optional training session about different religions represented on campus. The findings of the study indicate that during the 2000 - 2001 academic year, the residence halls did not support or encourage the faith development of freshmen through residence hall activities, programming or the training of residence hall staff. |
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