Cindy Miller-Perrin. Don Thompson. Elizabeth Krumrei. Emil

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The Development of Vocation as Calling
Research Sponsored by the Lilly Endowment

• Cindy Miller-Perrin
• Don Thompson
• Elizabeth Krumrei
• Emily Andrews
• Marisa Sessions
• Faculty Conference
• Pepperdine University
• October 8, 2004

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Voyage Project Research Overview

• Student Vocational Development
• Web Surveys
• Personal Interviews
• Faculty Vocational Discernment Action
• Surveys
• Autobiographies

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Student Web Survey

• Measures faith attitudes, faith behaviors,
  identity development, vocation definitions,
  vocational discernment, and vocational barriers.
   
• Longitudinal administered each fall as well as
  prior to initial enrollment 
• Entering Freshmen July 2002, 300 surveyed, 113
  completed
• Freshmen March 2003, 300 surveyed, 191 completed
• Sophomores March 2004, 174 surveyed, 111
  completed

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Student Personal Interview

• Students complete 30-minute personal interview in
  fall of each 4 years at Pepperdine (2002-2005)
•  
• 2002 Freshman Sample 105 students from the 150
  who completed the Web survey
•  
• 2003 Sophomore Sample 65 students from the 105
  who previously participated
•  
• Students to be interviewed fall 2004, 2005

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Faculty Survey

• Measures faculty members concepts of vocation,
  personal experiences of discerning vocation, and
  personal barriers experienced while pursuing
  vocation 
• Pre/post-test design
• Pre-test fall 2003 144 Seaver tenure track
  faculty invited, 75 completed
• Approximately one-third of these expressed
  interest in further vocational discernment
  activity
• Post-test will be administered in the fall of
  2006

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Faculty Autobiographies

• Florence, Italy New Faculty Faith, Learning
  Vocation Seminar and summer Faith and Learning
  Seminars participants write self-reflective
  essays about vocational journeys - highlighting
  major turning points, crises, experiences of
  clarity, affirmations, and tensions 
• Data accumulated from December 2002, Summer 2003,
  and December 2003, Summer 2004.

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Analysis Dissemination

• Faith, Vocation, and Identity Western
  Psychological Association, April 2004 Krumrei,
  Miller-Perrin, Thompson 
• Faculty Conference Presentation, October 2004
• Vocational Discernment and Action Among
  University Professors Faith In the Academy
  Conference, October 2004 Thompson
  Miller-Perrin

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Analysis Dissemination

• The Relationship between Status of Identity
  Development and Maturity of Faith A Quantitative
  Study of College Students - International Journal
  of Psychology of Religion, Spring 2005 - Krumrei,
  Miller-Perrin, Thompson
• Gender and Vocational Discernment Conference on
  Psychology of Religion, April 2005
  Miller-Perrin Thompson

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Analysis Dissemination

• Identity and Faith The Role of Crisis and
  Commitment Conference on Psychology of
  Religion, April 2005 Krumrei, Miller-Perrin
  Thompson
• A Life Dedicated to Service College Students
  Commitment to Service and the Role of Faith
  Attitudes, Faith Behaviors, and Personal Sense of
  Vocation Western Psychological Association,
  April 2005 Andrews, Sessions, Miller-Perrin

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The Relationship between Status of Identity
Development and Maturity of Faith

• Elizabeth Krumrei
• Bowling Green State University

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Questions Commonly Asked by College Students

• Who am I?
• What should I do?
• What is the meaning of life?

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Purpose of Study
Identity
Faith
Hypothesis Students level of identity
development will be directly related to their
faith maturity.
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Research Hypothesis
Identity
Faith Convictions Behavior
Students with a stronger sense of identity will
have deeper faith convictions which will be lived
out in concrete behavioral terms.
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Past Research

• The college years are the critical years in
  development (Parks, 2000).
• The college years are an important time of change
  for the individual self and the religious self
  (Lee, 2002).
• Both healthy and unhealthy forms of development
  occur during the college years (Love and Talbot,
  2002).

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Lack of Research

• Theories of spiritual development have existed at
  the margins of student development theory for 20
  years but have not been given serious
  consideration (Love, 2002).
• Spirituality and spiritual development have been
  conspicuously absent from student development
  theories and ignored by many student affairs
  professionals (Love Talbot, 1999).

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Importance of Research

• Scientific study of faith and identity is
  necessary for the design, implementation, and
  evaluation of specific efforts for change and
  growth among college students.
• As an issue of integrity and responsible
  stewardship, Christians in positions of
  leadership should be concerned with efforts to
  promote movement towards greater spiritual and
  identity maturity (Butman, 1990).

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Current Study

• The intimate and intricate faith-identity linkage
  makes intuitive psychological and theological
  sense, however, there is limited research
  examining this relationship (Bussema, 1999).
• The current study was designed to better
  understand the relationship between faith and
  identity among college students.

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Identity

• Domains of Life
• Politics
• Religion
• Philosophy
• Occupation
• Morality
• Sexuality
• Relationships
• Purpose

• Dimensions
• Exploration
• Commitment

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Identity

• The extent of an individuals exploration of, and
  commitment to, particular beliefs, roles, and
  ideologies within the domains of politics,
  religion, philosophy, occupation, morality,
  sexuality, relationships, and purpose.

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Faith

• Faith Attitudes
• Importance of faith
• Strength of belief
• Life application of faith
• Understanding of calling

• Faith Behaviors
• Public religious activity
• Private religious activity
• Experience of spiritual feelings.

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Method

• Participants 189 first-year students.
• Measures
• two measures of identity
• two measures of faith

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Measures

• Identity
• Faith

Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status
Self-Perceptions of Identity Strength Survey
Faith Attitudes Survey
Faith Behavior Survey
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Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status
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OMEIS Sample Items
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Self-Perceptions of Identity Strength Survey

• Overall identity scores based on contemplation
  of, and confidence in career, religion,
  morality, politics, sexuality, relationships, and
  purpose.
• Sample items
• I am confident in knowing what I should major in
  at Pepperdine.
• My parents have taught me to have a good sense of
  right and wrong
• I have thought a lot about my political beliefs.
• I am not completely comfortable with my
  sexuality.
• I have a well-developed understanding of what my
  gifts and talents are.

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Faith Attitudes Survey
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Faith Behavior Survey
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Results
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Self-Perceived Identity Strength and Faith
Faith Attitudes and Behaviors

• Identity
• Strength

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Comparison Between Identity Status and Faith

• For faith attitudes
• Diffusion lt Foreclosure, Moratorium, Achievement
• For faith behaviors
• Diffusion lt Moratorium, Achievement
• For faith attitudes and behaviors
• Achievement Moratorium, Foreclosure

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Comparison Between Identity Status Scores and
Faith
Diffusion Moratorium
Faith Attitudes and Behavior
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Comparison Between Identity Status Scores and
Faith
Faith Attitudes and Behavior
Commitment to Ideologies
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Identity Status Scores and Faith
Foreclosure Achievement Scores

• Faith
• Attitudes
• Behaviors

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Summary of Findings

• Self-Perceptions of Identity Strength Survey
• High identity is related to high faith
• Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status
• Low identity (diffusion status) is related to low
  faith
• Lack of ideological commitments (diffusion and
  moratorium scores) is related to low faith
• High identity (achievement status) is unrelated
  to faith
• Presence of ideological commitments (foreclosure
  and achievement scores) is unrelated to faith

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Necessary-But-Not-Sufficient Theory

• Not having a strong sense of identity is an
  impediment to faith formation.
• Having a strong sense of identity does not impact
  faith in either direction.
• Summary Individuals must be at a mature stage of
  identity development in order to develop mature
  faith, but identity development itself is not the
  cause of higher levels of faith maturity.

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Implications

• In order to make it possible for students to
  mature in their faith, students must be
  encouraged to move beyond the immature stages of
  identity.
• In order to encourage a growth in faith attitudes
  and behaviors, one must move beyond a focus on
  identity and find practical ways of fostering
  spiritual development directly.

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Encouraging a Shift away from Immature Identity
(Parks, 2000)

• Network of belonging
• Support and challenge in successes and failures
• Atmosphere of inquiry
• Genuine dialogue, contemplation, awareness, and
  critical thought
• Images of truth, transformation and
  interrelatedness
• Encouragement to aspire to new possibilities.

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Ways Faculty and Staff can Encourage Faith
Maturity (Love Talbot, 1999)

• Recognize the importance of faith
• Gain understanding of personal spiritual
  development
• Open attitude towards issues of faith among
  students
• Education and training regarding faith
  development
• Recognition for the spiritual underpinnings of
  emotional crises

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A Life Dedicated to Service Faith and Commitment
to Service in College Students

• Emily Andrews
• Marisa Sessions

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Creating Lives of Purpose

• Pepperdine affirms that, knowledge calls,
  ultimately, for a life of service
• The college years represent a formative period
  that determines an individuals attitudes and
  behaviors toward service

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Characteristics of College Students Service
Activity

• 46 of students participated in some form of
  community service while in college
• 20 of students reported they served 1 to 5
  community service hours per week
• 28 of students were involved in service
  activities that lasted more than 12 months
• College students most often direct their service
  toward education, human needs, and environmental
  groups

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Areas of Change Resulting from Service Work

• Values
• Students commitment to social activism and
  promoting racial understanding are significantly
  increased
• Students who participate in service are more
  likely to feel they are empowered to bring about
  changes in society
• Behaviors
• Time spent in volunteer work during the college
  years can have a significant effect on time spent
  volunteering after college
• Students decisions to pursue careers in service
  fields are influenced by service experiences in
  college

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Personal Characteristics Associated with Service
Involvement

• Personality Trait of Agreeableness
• Commitment to an Adult Identity
• Self-Awareness and Stability in Self-Identity

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How a Commitment to Service Develops

• Initial commitment
• Feeling marginalized as a child
• Death of a loved one
• Living with a troubled family member
• Sustained commitment
• Mentor
• Relationship with those in need
• Faith

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Relationship between Gender and Service

• Female students more likely to volunteer than
  males
• Males and females differ in volunteer styles and
  types of programs for which they volunteer

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Relationship between Faith and Service

• Faith development accounts for much of the
  variability among young adults commitment to
  service
• The faith of young adults committed to service is
  defined as organized religion, as well as, a
  personal philosophy that emphasizes service

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Relationship between Vocation and Service

• The concept of vocation is an important aspect of
  faith in the context of service
• The Christian perspective defines vocation as
  cooperation in the Lords work
• Common to all forms of Christian vocation is the
  charge to love and serve others

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Limitations of Past Research

• Lacks systematic definition of faith or method of
  examining faith
• Does not expand on students attitudes concerning
  what constitutes a commitment to service work

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Present Study

• Examined the nature of college students
  commitment to service as part of their life
  purpose
• Students conceptions of a life dedicated to
  service
• The relationship between faith attitudes and
  behaviors and commitment to service
• The role of gender in service commitment

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Method

• Measures
• Interview 91 Participants
• Service Commitment Dimensions Rubric
• Service Commitment Levels
• Web Survey 65 Participants
• Faith Attitude Scale
• Faith Behavior Scale

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Vocation Interview Question

• We often hear about people who dedicate their
  lives to service. What would a life dedicated
  to service look like to you? Do you see yourself
  incorporating service to others in your future
  vocation?

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Service Commitment Dimensions
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Faith Attitude Scale
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Faith Behavior Scale
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Results

• Service Commitment Dimensions
• Service Commitment Levels
• Relationship between Service Commitment Level and
  Faith Attitudes and Behaviors
• Service Commitment and Ethnicity
• Service Commitment and Gender

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Interview Rating Rules

• Each interview rated by two researchers
• Higher dimension score used when researcher
  scores disagreed
• Highest dimension score across all five
  dimensions used to assign each student to a
  Service Commitment Level

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Percentage of Students Scores for each Service
Dimension
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Percentage of Students in Service Commitment
Levels
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Example of Service Commitment at Level Five

• My grandma dedicated her life to taking care of
  others, and to her faith shed always be caring
  and take the time to stop and listenshes always
  served them on a daily basis.
• Vocation definitely is more than your job we
  always fed people at the homeless shelter every
  Sunday As a physician I see myself serving
  others everyday through offering myself to them
  as a person, as a friend.

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Example of Service Commitment at Level Two

• To me a life dedicated to service means that the
  whole life wouldnt have to be constantly
  serving people just more like the sharing of
  ideas and more people coming together to benefit
  a group of people doesnt have to be something
  really gigantic.
• In terms of my skills I know service is
  something I want to do my life wouldnt really
  have meaning unless I did something to help other
  people benefit Im not really sure which way it
  will be right now...

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Service Commitment Level and Faith Attitude
Subscales

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Service Commitment Level and Faith Behavior
Subscales
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Other Related Factors Ethnicity
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Other Related Factors Gender
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Correlations between Faith Scoresand Service
Dimensions - Males
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Correlations between Faith Scores and Service
Dimensions - Females
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Conclusions

• Stronger commitment to service is associated with
  stronger faith attitudes and more frequent faith
  behaviors
• Personal sense of calling
• Public and private faith activities
• Service commitment is related to ethnicity as
  well as gender
• Non-Caucasian students show a stronger commitment
  to service
• Females show a stronger commitment to service

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Conclusions

• For males, service commitment was associated with
  faith behaviors only
• For females, service commitment was associated
  with both faith behaviors and faith attitudes
• Service commitment dimensions most related to
  faith
• sacrifice (females)
• ideal/actual discrepancy (both males and females)
• Service, as an important component of vocation,
  should be discussed in the context of faith
  development in order to help students in
  discerning their vocational callings