A Metatheory of Spiritual Formation Through Service-Learning in Higher Education

This article presents a hybrid metatheory of spiritual formation that can be applied to understanding college students' spiritual development through service-learning experiences. A definition and overview of spirituality is presented and contrasted with religion, followed by a review of various theoretical models from developmental psychology and spiritual development. Salient features from these models have been identified as a common thread to generate a hybrid metatheory of spiritual formation. A description of the spaces that comprise the spiritual formation process is provided, followed by an example. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications and application of the model for students, faculty members, and directors of centers involved with service-learning.