Tag: Jesuit Education

Enshrined in Georgetown University’s mission is a dedication to “creating and communicating knowledge” through education “in the Jesuit tradition for the glory of God and the well-being of humankind.” This aspiration anchors the excellent undergraduate, graduate, and professional education offered across the University. At SCS, learning experiences are designed to maximize impact on the common good by cultivating professional skills that can be brought to bear on the pressing needs facing communities around the world. The Doctor of Liberal Studies (DLS) program demonstrates this commitment by encouraging students to frame issues in ways that cut across traditional disciplines, engaging in interdisciplinary reflection and analysis rooted in Georgetown’s Jesuit values. 

In this week’s Mission in Motion, we sit down with DLS student Jennifer Sherman, who reflects on her learning journey at Georgetown and a research study published this week, “Called to Contribute: Findings from an In-Depth Interview Study of US Catholic Women and the Diaconate,” which she contributed to on a research team with Cella Masso-Rivetti and the study’s primary author, Dr. Tricia C. Bruce. This sociological study relies on in-depth interviews with women in the U.S. Catholic Church whose call or ministry bears similarities to that of ordained male deacons. The motivation for this systematic, social science research arises from the Catholic Church’s growing exploration, evident in the recent appointment of commissions by Pope Francis, about questions surrounding women and the diaconate. In the interview, Jennifer, who is also an alumna of Georgetown’s Bachelor of Liberal Studies program, reflects on her SCS curriculum, what led her to take on this project, and what this experience means for her professional future.

(MiM) Did you ever expect to be involved in a research project like this? Tell us more about the journey that led to your participation in this study. 

(JS) Not at all; it still feels more like a happy surprise or a dream come true than an expectation met. This despite the fact that my coursework and connections at Georgetown not only led me to this work but also helped prepare me for it. 

My involvement in the study began with a directed reading I did with Jamie Kralovec on women’s ordination. One of the readings he suggested that semester was a reflection by Casey Stanton on the Amazon synod. When Jamie and I discussed the article, he encouraged me to reach out to Casey, considering our shared interest in women and the diaconate. When she and I spoke, her Discerning Deacons project was just launching. Casey introduced me to Tricia, who was leading the sociological arm of that project, and the rest is history.

(MiM) In the course of your work on the research team, in what ways did you rely on the skills, knowledge, and values of your Georgetown education? 

(JS) I could provide many examples, but instead I’ll touch briefly on each category. In terms of skills, there were the research philosophy course with James Giordano, the quantitative studies on women’s ordination with Mark Gray, and courses on gender and religion with Lauve Steenhuisen. On the knowledge front, there was the historical study of women’s roles in the Church with JoAnn Moran Cruz. When it comes to values, Jamie Kralovec’s Jesuit Values in Professional Practice course was quite influential in that it allowed me to consider how I might align my values with my professional goals. It may sound cliché, but it’s because of experiences such as these that I was ready when the opportunity arose to work on this study.

(MiM) Can you reflect on how this experience is informing your own ongoing professional discernment?  

(JS) It certainly reinforces my desire to do further sociological work on women’s ordination and other topics in religion. But my interests are broad, and this experience reminds me that what’s important to me is working with others toward goals that support shared values such as those in Georgetown’s mission statement, including cura personalis, justice, and “people for others.” These values come into play in various other projects I’m involved in.

(MiM) Anything else you would like to share? 

(JS) Yes. For anyone who wants to discuss this or another project, or otherwise communicate with me, please contact me at jms354@georgetown.edu. I look forward to hearing from you!

The style and approach of teaching and learning in Jesuit education is known as Ignatian Pedagogy. Mission in Motion has previously covered Ignatian Pedagogy in the context of the University’s research about student learning habits during the pandemic and a faculty workshop at the School of Continuing Studies about how the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP) is interpreted and enacted across the SCS curriculum. 

The dynamic interplay of context-experience-reflection-action-evaluation occurs in a continuous learning cycle which, inspired by the orientation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, invites students to consider how best to apply their holistic knowledge in the service of truth and the common good. 

The IPP attends to the whole person and counters a narrow assumption that content knowledge and technical skills alone represent the highest value of formal education. Rather, teaching and learning in the Jesuit style is a constant invitation to consider the various and diverse ways that learners, in their unique contexts, bring their lived experiences into the classroom as part of the shared educational endeavor. 

In a context like SCS, whose vision is to “transform the lives and careers of diverse lifelong learners by providing access to engaged and personalized liberal and professional education for all,” the lived experience of adult professionals becomes an invaluable basis for deeper learning. In this way, professional practice itself shapes student learning goals and provides a foundation for deeper reflection about academic content. In addition to its critical significance in Ignatian Pedagogy, reflection is an important element of effective professional education. 

Donald Schon’s 1983 book, “The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action,” helped bring attention to the need for greater awareness about the ways that professionals reflect, consciously and unconsciously, about their activities. The book is an important part of the curriculum of “The Reflective Professional,” the community-based learning course I teach at SCS every fall about the relationship between Jesuit mission and values and professional leadership development. 

I would like to make some basic connections between Schon’s ideas and the reflection stage in the IPP. My hope is that articulating the close relationship helps illustrate the congruity between the learning styles of adults involved in professional and continuing education at SCS and the mission of Jesuit education. 

Building off of the learning theories of John Dewey and others, Schon lifts up the importance of life experience in the educational process. By closely examining how professionals solve problems, Schon makes clear that professionals utilize their intuition, common sense, and habits in a range of situations including those of “uncertainty, instability, uniqueness, and value conflict.” Technical reason is not enough to address such situations. The “epistemology of practice” comes from daily experience: 

“When we go about the spontaneous, intuitive performance of actions of everyday life, we show ourselves to be knowledgeable in a special way. Often we cannot say what it is that we know. When we try to describe it we find ourselves at a loss, or we produce descriptions that are obviously inappropriate. Our knowing is ordinarily tacit, implicit in our patterns of action and in our feel for the stuff with which we are dealing. It seems right to say that our knowing is in our action.” 

The notion that knowledge is gained in the midst of action resonates clearly with Contemplation in Action, a core value in the Spirit of Georgetown. The founding Jesuits were clear that their approach to spirituality would be broadly inclusive, paying special attention to busy professionals involved in civic affairs who could not afford to take significant time  away from their duties for prayer.

While research-based theories are necessary, Schon goes on to say that the professionals will depend ultimately on “tacit recognitions, judgments, and skillful performances” in the learning process. This theory of professional reflection closely relates to a Jesuit understanding of reflection. In the IPP, reflection is understood in this way: 

“We use the term reflection to mean a thoughtful reconsideration of some subject matter, experience, idea, purpose or spontaneous reaction, in order to grasp its significance more fully. Thus, reflection is the process by which meaning surfaces in human experience.”

The layers of understanding that occur in reflection include the “truth being studied more clearly,” “the sources of the sensations or reactions I experience,” “the implications of what I have grasped for myself and for others,” “personal insights into events, ideas, truth, or the distortion of truth,” and “some understanding of who I am (What moves me, and why?) and who I might be in relation to others.” This act of reflection connects up with Schon’s learning theories about reflective practitioners because of the way that daily human experience, including work, is at the root of the education experience. True to the Ignatian tradition, the act of reflection should always implicate a decision or action that magnifies the learner’s gifts and talents and capacity for generous service with others. 

Professional life continues to adapt during the ongoing pandemic. Continuous reflection is called for as organizations, governments, and other entities adapt to changing trends and uncertain circumstances. At SCS, we are fortunate to be guided by and grounded in the tradition of Ignatian Pedagogy and the resources that it offers for forming civic-minded, well-informed, and globally aware students.  

With the fall semester already underway, students, faculty, and staff have begun to settle into the rhythms of return. New members of the Georgetown community, especially students in their very first semester, ask lots of questions in these early weeks that range from the quotidian to the existential. A common question that I hear, which animates our work of mission integration at SCS and across the university, goes something like this: So what exactly are the Jesuit values that I hear so much about? What do these Jesuit values mean and how will they influence my Georgetown experience? 

Mission in Motion regularly shines a light on the diverse ways that SCS articulates the meaning of the Spirit of Georgetown and puts these characteristics of a Jesuit education into practice throughout our community. Whether in classroom activities, spiritual programs like meditation and retreats, or community-engaged service and justice opportunities, Jesuit values manifest at SCS in ways that are unique to our context as a dynamic center of professional and continuing education. One of the most essential components of living out the Spirit of Georgetown is through service and a commitment to social justice. This commitment, which is crystallized in the University’s mission statement, is evident in the work done by Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service (CSJ). 

SCS works closely with CSJ to facilitate opportunities for members of the community to engage deeply with Jesuit values by participating in the Center’s mission to “advance justice and the common good” and promote “community-based research, teaching, and service by collaborating with diverse partners and communities.” One of the critical ways that CSJ accomplishes this mission is through critical immersion experiences like the Alternative Breaks Program (ABP). Grounded in the Jesuit pedagogical model of context-experience-reflection-action-evaluation, CSJ ABP immersions are intended to give students, staff, and faculty the opportunity to engage with “diverse and vibrant communities through direct service, immersion, and reflection in a substance-free environment.” Fostering intersectional solidarity and inspiring lasting commitments to service and social justice, the ABP experiences are meant to return to Georgetown by living on through the witness of participants. For years, SCS community members have been participating in CSJ-sponsored immersion opportunities. I have previously reflected in Mission in Motion about my own critical immersion experience along the U.S.-Mexico border and SCS Vice Dean Shenita Ray has shared her reflections about her immersion in Peru. 

This year, there are 10 year-long ABP immersions with in-person travel over Spring Break from March 5-12, 2022. In addition to the immersive travel (which is planned for in-person at the time of this writing), the ABP experience consists of pre-trip learning and community building along with post-trip activities. You can read more about the trip descriptions, which range from exploring the legacy of slavery in Montgomery, Alabama, to rural poverty and the need for economic justice in Pulaski, Virginia. There is no cost for participants or trip leaders as ABP fully subsidizes transportation, lodging, and meals. The application for both participants and trip leaders is due before 11:59 pm ET on September 17, 2021. Questions can be directed to the ABP board at altbreaks@georgetown.edu. 

I encourage members of the SCS community to consider applying for the ABP. The experience of direct engagement with pressing social injustices can be transformative to one’s ongoing education and discernment of a professional vocation. The theory of social change at the root of the ABP experience is echoed in these words by former Jesuit Superior General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach: 

“Solidarity is learned through contact rather than concepts. When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change. Personal involvement with innocent suffering, with the injustice others suffer, is a catalyst for solidarity which then gives rise to intellectual inquiry and moral reflection.”

The inspiring message of hope from last week’s Mission in Motion was put to the test in recent days as tragic events around the globe demand our attention and response. A humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the devastating impact of Hurricane Ida on communities along the Gulf Coast point to the urgent need for action in response to human suffering. These crises also illustrate how vulnerable people and communities endure disproportionate harm and are least able to withstand the effects of environmental degradation and war. 

Events in Afghanistan and the Gulf Coast can return our attention to a cornerstone commitment of a Jesuit education. The Spirit of Georgetown calls all of us to be people for others and to live out a faith that does justice. An education that does not challenge and inspire action to support vulnerable people in times of need and address the structural conditions that create such need is not consistent with the Jesuit values that animate our work at Georgetown. In their recent proclamation of Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs), the Jesuits worldwide have made Walking with the Excluded an explicit orientation of all Jesuit and Jesuit-animated activities. According to the UAPs, walking with the excluded means: 

“To walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice. Sent as companions in a mission of reconciliation and justice, we resolve to walk with individuals and communities that are vulnerable, excluded, marginalized, and humanly impoverished…The path we seek to follow with the poor is one that promotes social justice and the change of economic, political, and social structures that generate injustice. … We confirm our commitment to care for migrants, displaced persons, refugees, and victims of war and human trafficking.” 

But how to go about this personal accompaniment when the injustices on display this week may seem distant from our daily experience? In order to live out this mission of reconciliation and justice, Georgetown has provided useful information for anyone who wants to respond to the refugee and asylum crisis arising from the conflict in Afghanistan and the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida. 

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security (GIWPS) has long worked in solidarity with Afghan women and has created protectafghanwomen.org. Through the site, you can donate to help the evacuation of at-risk Afghan women, call your representatives to urge further action, and spread the word about the conditions in Afghanistan for women, civil society, and human rights leaders. Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service (CSJ) has provided information on its website about how to support Afghan allies through Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service and the Jesuit Refugee Service. And the GU Veterans Association has provided information about how to support Afghan refugees. 

In the wake of Hurricane Ida’s destruction, many people in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast have been left with no power and few resources. To find out how you can support disaster relief efforts during this time, please visit this Disaster Response page by the CSJ.   

Responding generously, creatively, and courageously to social, environmental, and economic injustices is a characteristic of Jesuit education. You can see this demonstrated in how Spring Hill College, a Jesuit institution in Mobile, Alabama, responded by providing temporary housing for students at Loyola University New Orleans, a peer Jesuit institution directly impacted by Hurricane Ida. Actions like these are necessary to sustain hope.