Teaching and Doing Justice Globally
SLD Program Priorities
Three priorities shape SLD programs delivered globally. Eastern University’s Christian
mission determines the purpose and objectives for learning. CCGPS focuses on adult learners
and associated delivery models. SLD, further, shapes cross-cultural learning experiences to
positively impact capacity among the poor globally.
Priority #1: Christian Theology
First, like many other Christian colleges and Universities, Eastern is committed to the
integration of faith and learning. Eastern, however, is further committed to integrating justice
into the curriculum and student life. All Eastern University educational programs are therefore
intended to develop students’ Christian faith, their capacity to reason or think critically and their
active commitment to help bring justice.
As a result, Eastern emphasizes developing theologies of practice. On one hand, a
theology of practice is rooted in a student’s own spiritual development. Students are supported
in continuing to develop a personal relationship with Christ, through prayer and opportunities for
fellowship in the context of their studies. This kind of spiritual formation provides a foundation
for shaping thinking about their roles and responsibilities in the world. On the other hand,
developing a theology of practice involves integrating a Christian perspective throughout
program curriculum to develop students’ ability to act “Christianly” in general, but also to
develop specific priorities and principles that shape their actions concerning their chosen field of
study and professions, and especially methods for engaging the world justly.
This approach is rooted in scholarship on Christian pedagogy. For instance, in Christian
Learning In and For a Pluralistic Society, Harlod Heie suggests that Christian learning needs to
be faithful learning. That is the Christian university is viewed as the place where the Christian
community does its thinking about the major social formations of contemporary society, its
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