Faculty-Student Mentorship Effects on Faith-Learning Integration: A Comparative Study of Residential and Open and Distance Learning Programs in Selected Christian Universities in Kenya
Keywords:
Faith-learning integration, Christian worldview, faculty, attachment, mentorship, Christian higher education.Abstract
Being the organizing paradigm and the unique hallmark for the life and mission of Christian higher educational institutions, faith-learning integration (FLI) has dominated educational research for several decades, whilst, a limited body of empirical studies that focus on faculty and students’ perspectives on its implementation currently exists. What is more, most researches on FLI are skewed toward students in traditional residential studies programs (RSP). This situation exists against the backdrop of the phenomenal growth of Christian higher educational institutions offering their academic programs via open and distance learning programs (ODLP). Based on these issues, the present study was poised to investigate the extent to which faculty-student mentorship affects FLI in RSP compared to the effects of ODLP in selected Christian universities in Kenya. This comparison was analyzed based on Randall Lehmann Sorenson’s attachment theory with the view to addressing the problem of whether or not the extent of faculty-student mentorship effects on FLI in the two programs were similar. This study employed a cross-sectional survey research design. Three Christian universities in Kenya were purposely selected to participate in the study, namely: Africa Nazarene University, (ANU), Daystar University (DU), and Kenya Methodist University (KeMU). The target population was students enrolled in the Bachelor of Education Secondary Option (BEd SO) program and faculty members teaching in the program. A total of 613 residential and 113 ODL students were randomly sampled, whereas, 12 full-time faculty members were purposely selected to participate in the study. Mailed and self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. Validation of the instruments was carried out before they were tested using the split-half technique for reliability. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics aided by contingency tables, percentages, and a Chi-square test of independence with the view to responding to two research questions. One null hypothesis was tested using a Chi-square test of independence at 0.05 level of significance with 2 degrees of freedom. The result of this analysis revealed that faculty mentorship effects on students’ learning integration in RSP are significantly different from students’ learning integration in ODLP. Major recommendations included the need for faculty in the selected Christian universities to develop close and dynamic mentoring relationships with students both in RSP and ODLP equally. There was also a need for faculty to creatively adopt effective FLI strategies to have a positive and transformative impact on students’ learning integration in the ODLP.
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