Educators’ Perceptions and Realizations of Leading Lives of Meaning and Purpose.

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Investigations of Teaching Contexts in the Lives of Teachers (Table 3)

Abstract

This study explores the sense of meaning and purpose in life of 60 urban Catholic school teachers. Utilizing a modified version of the Revised Youth Purpose Interview (Andrews, Damon, Bundick, Jones, Bronk, & Mariano, 2006), the research aims to establish profiles of these educators enrolled in a graduate teacher preparation program while teaching full-time in urban Catholic schools. The study investigates how these educators define “meaning” and “purpose,” and examines the issues most important to them. Findings highlight the significance of purpose in promoting positive mental health and optimal human development. The study underscores the role of Catholic education in fostering a commitment to purpose, contributing to the holistic development of educators and possibly by extension, students.

Authors

• Audrey A. Friedman, Boston College

• Myra Rosen-Reynoso, Boston College

• Charles T Cownie, Boston College

• Maria A. Moreno Vera, Boston College

• Cristina Joan Hunter, Boston College