Values in Public Education: Dialogue within Diversity

Heie, Harold. “Values in Public Education: Dialogue within Diversity.” Christian Scholar’s Review XXII:2 (December 1992): 131-143. In the context of current debates relative to public vs. private education and the values, if any, that publicly supported education should exemplify and inculcate, this essay proposes a model in which a diversity of publicly supported schools, each proclaiming and promoting its own value and worldview commitments, will engage in a continuous “public dialogue on alternative viewpoints on issues affecting the public good.”

 

“The Postmodern Opportunity: Christians in the Academy”

Heie, Harold. “The Postmodern Opportunity: Christians in the Academy.” Christian Scholar’s Review XXVI: 2 (Winter 1996): 138-157. * * * This essay argues that the postmodern epistemological turn toward perspectivalism, the view that our claims to knowledge unavoidably reflect our particularities and social location, provides a window of opportunity for Christian voices to gain a hearing in the academy. Concrete suggestions are then made for how Christian colleges can model communities of conversation and then invite non-Christian scholars to join the conversation.

 

“What can the Evangelical/Interdenominational Tradition Contribute…”

Heie, Harold. “What Can the Evangelical/Interdenominational Tradition Contribute to Christian Higher Education?” In Models for Christian Higher Education: Strategies for Survival and Success in the Twenty-First Century. Eds. Richard T. Hughes and William B. Adrian. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997, pp. 245-260. – Reprinted by permission of the publisher, all rights reserved   eerdmans.com – academic resources * * * This book of essays provides historical narratives of how fourteen Christian colleges representing seven major faith traditions are “integrating faith and learning” on their campuses. These narratives are preceded by introductory essays that define the worldview and theological heritage of each faith tradition. In this introductory essay on the Evangelical/Interdenominational tradition, it is argued that since colleges in this tradition attract faculty and students representing a wide diversity of Christian faith traditions, these colleges are in an ideal position to create vibrant “communities of conversation” where similarities and differences in various Christian perspectives can be discussed.

 

“Dialogic Discourse: Christian Scholars Engaging the Larger Academy”

Heie, Harold. “Dialogic Discourse: Christian Scholars Engaging the Larger Academy.” Christian Scholar’s Review XXXVII:3 (Spring 2008): 347-356. * * * While commending the current primary means for Christian scholars to engage members of the larger academy through publications and conference presentations, the author proposes the increased use of dialogic discourse that starts with Christian scholars seeking to develop personal relationships of mutual trust with other scholars. He provides a number of examples where this interpersonal approach has enabled Christian perspectives to gain a fair hearing in the larger academy.