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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.
Service-learning has historically been viewed and used as a theoretically based form of experiential education focused on academic growth and, more recently, promoting civic engagement. In either context, service-learning allows students, faculty, and community partners a way to cocreate new knowledge and apply that knowledge in ways that are mutually beneficial. At the surface of this process, it appears that learning can and does take place through service-learning. But over time, it is becoming increasingly apparent to both students and faculty that a deeper kind of learning may also occur. Recent research by Astin, Astin, and Lindholm (2011) suggests that service-learning plays a major role in college students' spiritual development. Beyond assimilation of facts, evidence of cognitive growth, application of skills, and impact on the community, some participants of service-learning often articulate a greater sense of meaning and purpose in their personal lives. It is common to hear participants (both students and faculty) share that "something significant happened," reflecting on an event not limited to an academic attainment. As students and instructors grapple with articulating this phenomenon, the nature of their descriptions often suggests both personal transformation and a transcendence of the self. These individuals become aware of "something bigger"-not only bigger than earning a grade or meeting the instructional objectives of a course-but something bigger than their sense of self. What ensues is an attempt to make meaning of this experience. The general tenor of this type of language reflects basic aspects of spirituality, suggesting that service- learning has the potential of going beyond traditional academic exercise to include a holistic exploration of...
