Character formation as a focus of seminary curricula

In response to the lack of research during the 1970's and 1980's on the status of seminary curriculum development, this study addresses these questions: Is character formation currently the focus of seminary curricula? To what extent is this the focus? How do such curricula reflect this focus?; This study grew out of an interest in whether or not the curricula of contemporary seminaries were shaped so that they effectively prepared church leadership, in light of the increasingly diverse student body, preparing to be clergy, and the current demands on the seminary which are generated by church needs and societal issues. After finding in the literature a dearth of research on curriculum development and a growing dialogue concerning its problems and possible solutions, this study focuses on character formation as one possible unifier of the curriculum and documents the existence of seminaries that focus on character formation in their curricula. Using a combination of mailed surveys, created for this study, and on-site observations and informal interviews, two types of populations were investigated in a two phase study. Phase One included all Protestant seminaries in the United States that are members of ATS (The Association of Theological Schools). Out of the fifty-three responding seminaries that claimed a curricular focus on character formation, three were selected for in-depth study in Phase Two. Two hypotheses were investigated: (1) there exist seminaries whose curricula have character formation as an intentional focus and that these seminaries comprise a cross-section of seminaries, as regards characteristics related to denominational affiliation, enrollment size, and regional geographic location and (2) among such curricula there are a variety of approaches to the process of character formation, which include activities within the formal program of study and non-required activities. The purpose was to validate the claim and to identify the curricula strategies that were character forming. After concluding that there exist seminaries with this focus, attention was given to describing the settings in which the curricula approach had taken shape and was implemented in order to provide models for other seminaries with interest in focusing on character formation.