Student Worldview and Satisfaction Alignment in Postsecondary Education by David C. Martin Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University 2016 © Copyright David C. Martin, 2016 All rights reserved. APPROVAL OF THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE This dissertation has been duly read, reviewed, and critiqued by the Committee listed below, which hereby approves the manuscript of David C. Martin as fulfilling the scope and quality requirements for meriting the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Education. Mary Poplin, Committee Co-Chair Claremont Graduate University Professor Cristian Aquino-Sterling, Committee Co-Chair San Diego State University Assistant Professor David Drew, Committee Member Claremont Graduate University Professor Lisa Clement-Lamb, Committee Member San Diego State University Professor ABSTRACT Student Worldview and Satisfaction Alignment in Postsecondary Education by David C. Martin Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University 2016 An individual’s worldview represents their cultural, ideological, and theological conceptions. A worldview encases personal belief and value systems. Moreover, these values precipitate an individual’s actions. The Worldview Satisfaction Measure is a new valid and reliable survey instrument which assesses a student’s worldviews. The distribution resulted in a sample of 410 sophomore and junior level students from a Southern California secular university. Quantitative analysis shows that there is no apparent alignment between postsecondary sophomore and junior student worldviews and university satisfaction or with a student’s choice of major. Student overall satisfaction is moderate to very high at the examined institution. A path analysis reflects that 40% of the variation in overall satisfaction is accounted for when considering the following variables: (a) the degree to which a student perceives that their ideas were taken seriously; (b) when students recognize that their family economic status is upper-middle class; satisfaction with (c) opportunity to reflect spiritually and religiously; (d) amount of interaction with other students; (e) relevance of coursework to the future; (f) coursework in relation to life; and (g) with university counseling and advising services. Development of satisfaction is not necessarily an indication of a quality education. Categorical analysis reveals noteworthy variations between a student’s religious or secular identity and their corresponding worldviews. Recommendations include the development of curriculum, which assesses the coherence of thought, along with a neo-classical general education program with evidence captured in capstone evaluations, minors, or other certifications. Faculty and student development should be based in reflection of worldviews and personal values within broader scientific, ideological, and theological frames. Keywords: Worldviews, Student Satisfaction, Higher Education, Student Engagement, Student Choice of Major, Religion, Spirituality, Social Constructionism. DEDICATION For Barbara ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I first need to offer special thanks and acknowledgment to Mary Poplin. It is Mary’s fault that I discovered worldviews. Through her generosity and sharing her unique understanding of worldviews, I found a direction for my life’s study. Mary graciously shepherded me through this journey with care and patience. I owe her more than I can could ever repay. Cristian Aquino-Sterling showed me a commitment to justice and human thriving. You contributed so much to me in terms of your own understanding of philosophy, social linguistics, and social justice. Your being a sounding board and treatment as a colleague were equally valuable. I owe another special thanks to David Drew for suggesting Astin’s Input- Environment-Output (I-E-O) model. The I-E-O is basis for the analytical framework, and you provided directive critiques of the methodology used in the study. David’s guidance in quantitative methods enlivened me and allowed me to engage with worldviews in a very different way. Lisa Clement Lamb kept me going with support when back spasms and my father’s illness brought me low. I owe you a special debt of thanks for your encouragement, not only in my study, but also for the gift of cataloging research questions. Through your research, you showed me what scholarly study could be like. For my family and friends who listened to me insistently ramble on about worldviews, it could not have been easy. Thank you. Lastly, to Barbara, you were my emotional and home support. You are the love of my life. I love our life together. Thank you for honoring me by being my help and my wife. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Statement of Problem................................................. 1 Introduction. ............................................................. 1 Purpose of Study. ......................................................... 1 Theoretical Rationale....................................................... 2 Definition of Terms. ....................................................... 2 Chapter 2: Literature Review.................................................... 6 Student Inputs. ........................................................... 9 Worldview Analysis..................................................... 9 Roman Catholic Theistic Worldview........................................ 13 Scientific Materialism. .................................................. 25 Secular Humanism...................................................... 37 Marxism and Critical Theory........................................... 48 Posstructuralism and postmodern thought................................. 56 Religiousness in Unitarianism.......................................... 59 Eastern Pantheism. ..................................................... 60 Spiritualism. .......................................................... 66 African spirituality................................................... 68 Native American spiritualism. ......................................... 71 New Age spiritualism. ............................................... 75 Spiritism........................................................... 80 Student Beliefs and Values. .............................................. 83 Personal Religious Identification........................................... 86 viii Environmental Variables.................................................... 86 Race and Ethnicity...................................................... 87 Social Class. .......................................................... 90 Gender. .............................................................. 92 Student Outputs. .......................................................... 98 Student Satisfaction..................................................... 98 Retention Rates. ....................................................... 98 Major Choice.......................................................... 99 Literature Summary........................................................101 Research Questions. .......................................................102 Chapter 3: Method............................................................103 Research Design...........................................................103 Description of Variables. ................................................103 Study Population and Data Collection.......................................104 Soundness of the Analytical Approach. .....................................105 Path analysis........................................................105 Factor analysis. .....................................................105 Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). ...................................105 Discriminant function analysis..........................................106 Decomposition of bivariate co-variation..................................106 Correlation analysis. .................................................106 Worldview Satisfaction Survey Construction. ...................................106 Outputs and Demographic Categories.......................................107 ix Measurable Dimensions of Worldviews. ....................................108 Reality. ...........................................................109 The universe and origins. .............................................109 Miracles. ..........................................................110 The philosophy of the human person.....................................110 Teleology (Life’s Final Purpose)........................................111 Morals and ethics....................................................111 Epistemology.......................................................111 Suffering. .........................................................112 Human history. .....................................................112 College Environments. ..................................................113 Social Actions. ........................................................113 Overall Scoring Strategy. ................................................113 Respondent major. ..................................................113 Race. .............................................................113 Religious affiliation..................................................114 Worldview Scoring. ....................................................114 Chapter 4: Presentation of Findings...............................................118 Reliability and Validity. ....................................................118 Missing Data. .........................................................119 Demographics. ........................................................119 Religious Identification and Respondent Worldviews.................... . . . . . . . 120 Theist worldview....................................................120 x