Exploring the Role of Spirituality in the Preparation of Student Affairs Professionals: Faculty Constructions

The purpose of this study was to explore faculty perspectives about the role spirituality plays in curriculum and pedagogy in preparing student affairs professionals to respond to undergraduates' spiritual searching. Twelve faculty from three college student personnel programs, one at a state university and two at religiously affiliated institutions, were interviewed. The results indicated that faculty were critically examining "big questions" (Parks, 2000) of meaning, purpose, and identity with their graduate students and saw this as central to their mission, but often these curricular emphases were not seen as spiritual nor were they recognized as preparing professionals to respond to undergraduates' spiritual questioning.