Although intellectual pursuits and scientific inquiry are encouraged in the Baha’i Faith, offering a harmonizing counterpart to religion, what is the role of reasoning in spiritual development? This session examines the centrality of logic and reasoning in spiritual education, drawing from past Holy Scriptures and Bahá’í Writings. Together, we will explore ways such a capacity can be developed, and will reflect on its implications on the spiritual education of children and youth, and our engagement in community and social discourse. Additionally, we will discuss how studying the logic in Baha’i Writings can facilitate meaningful and coherent contributions to ethics-based curricula.
Contemporary psychological theories of parenting, which inform scientific research and advice, rarely address spiritual education and often rely on individualistic frameworks. In contrast, the Bahá’í Teachings place spiritual education at the center of a child’s development and society’s transformation. This session will explore how the Bahá’í view of a two-fold moral purpose offers a unique conceptual framework for parenting and fostering spiritual growth in children. We will examine how this perspective interacts with current scientific knowledge and informs parenting practices, as well as how it can contribute to conversations with others about spiritual and moral development.
On most college and university campuses today, there is an evolving professional discourse on pedagogy for higher education. How are insights and experiences gained through the training institute and related educational endeavors informing the pedagogy of those who teach in higher education? What might we contribute, in this regard, to the prevalent discourse on higher educational pedagogy? Also, what are we learning about bringing Bahá’í insights and experiences to bear in the content of relevant courses? And what are the pedagogical principles that might guide and justify such efforts?
This presentation examines the role of service-learning in the moral and intellectual empowerment of students in a Baha’i-inspired secondary school. Elements our service-learning framework includes a school culture of service and moral capability development, the implementation of “The World Citizenship Curriculum”, and collaboration with the Baha’i Training Institute. Through this framework, students translate knowledge into meaningful service, nurture moral development and enhance understanding of and commitment to addressing social realities. We will discuss the impact of this framework on students, questions and challenges and its implications for the discourse on education.
