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Study: Christian studies not a test of faith
03 March 2008
Linden Chuang
Public relations editorial assistant
Compulsory Christian studies at Avondale College are not a test of faith, a three-year study of students and their grades has found.
The subjects, Christian Studies I and Christian Studies II, are cores for all students but those studying theology as a major. Christian Studies I has a generic focus-the dynamics and experience of salvation, the spiritual message of the Bible and the implications for Christian belief and lifestyle response. However, Christian Studies II examines what it means to be a Seventh-day Adventist in the 21st century. With more than half of the students in each subject identifying themselves as baptised Adventists, you would perhaps expect students from other faith traditions to be disadvantaged--not so.
Senior lecturer Dr Graham Stacey and data analyst Chris Thiele compared the grades in each subject over the past three years with the faith tradition of each student taking the subject. They discovered little statistical variation. "Baptised Adventists are not advantaged and those of other faith traditions are not disadvantaged," says Thiele.
In Christian Studies I, Baptists (72.08 per cent average) and baptised Adventists (68.56) marginally top the class. In Christian Studies II, Catholics (71.89) top the class with unbaptised Adventists (70.65). The study found an average grade difference of only 10 per cent between the top and bottom groups in both subjects.
Stacey, who co-lectures with Pastor John Skrzypaszek in Christian Studies II, says the results are gratifying. "We mark exams and papers blind, without knowing the names of the students." Good grades, therefore, depend on student performance and how much effort the student is willing to put in. "Students have demonstrated over three years that they are able to achieve comparable results irrespective of faith background," says Stacey. "This is how it should be."
Approximately 300 students will enrol in one of the Christian Studies subjects this year.
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