Practice and Profile: Christian Formation for Vocation

Too many students are disappointed. They want to make a difference in their chosen professions. They are inspired by successful visionaries but they have little idea how to follow in their oversized footsteps. Their colleges and universities promise more professional development than they can possibly deliver especially in terms of moral development for the professions. Experts coming from a range of perspectives in higher education agree that moral formation for the professions must increasingly take place in higher education. Tragically the recent evolution of teaching has stripped educators of much of the rationale for moral formation. The recent record of moral lapses by managers testifies to this crisis of moral education. The authors call for a revival of moral formation in higher education for the professions. They supply the needed resources to redesign classic as well as cutting-edge teaching and learning toward practical moral education in the professions. This book is carefully designed to apply traditional Christian principles appropriately to evolving professional practices. The authors strategies address the problems surrounding calling vocation and the growing need for virtue training in the professions. In particular the authors provide clear direction for how to meet the need for professional profiles that meet the standards of the marketplace. Practice and Profile provides the reader with a tested and proven model of faith formation appropriate to the professions. It also goes into specific useful detail as to how the model mobilizes learning in classroom and professional settings. It aids institutions of higher learning in their struggle with demands for new learning environments and new moral competencies. Foremost it gives students a grasp of how to become dedicated professionals who make a difference. This is a very special book about the relationship between persons and vocations. It bridges old gaps between the technical side of professions and worldviews. Remarkable also is that it allows educators to bridge gaps between those modules treating worldviews spirituality and ethics and those oriented toward practice and skills. Commonly such courses appear not to touch each other. The result is that the student may fail to integrate these different types of knowledge in practice. Anyone unwilling to accept this situation does well to read this book. It takes some effort but this effort pays off. --Peter Blokhuis Professor of Philosophy Chair of the Department of Journalism Christelijke Hogeschool Ede University of Applied Science Ede the Netherlands It is my express wish that many colleagues in higher education will become acquainted with this book so that our young generation may increasingly become more proficient in maintaining their posture as Christians in the often complex professional context. --Kees Boele President Christelijke Hogeschool Ede University of Applied Science Ede the Netherlands Bridging the gap between aspiration and application Practice and Profile provides a very useful model for designing implementing and assessing a worldview and values-driven model of professional conduct and competency. Centered around the core question of how we can help students become fully committed faithful persons in a specific professional moral practice the PISA model is comprehensive in scope and draws from a broad range of tested ideas in educational theory vocational development spiritual formation and ethics. Thoughtful encouraging and challenging this model is worthy of careful consideration. --Ken Bussema Vice President for Student Programs Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Washington DC Johan Hegeman is Senior Professor of Ethics and Social Sciences in the Academy of Theology at Christelijke Hogeschool Ede in The Netherlands. Margaret Edgell is Associate Professor of Business at Calvin College Grand Rapids Michigan. Henk Joch