The Role Expectations for the Division Director of Education of Seventh-day Adventists : As Perceived by Seven Status Groups Within the Church
Authors:   ,   Andrews University, Gorle Timothy 
Published: June 2023

Problem: One of the most important and costly services provided by the Seventh-day Adventist Church is education. With a rapidly growing membership overseas and new nations sprouting up almost overnight, the need for adapting and fitting the Adventist educational mold to church school systems in these new nations is crucial. In this context, the Division Director of Education appears to play a vital part, yet his role has not been clearly delineated. It is with a view to ascertaining what his role should be, that this study has been undertaken. Method: The respondents drawn from eight overseas divisions as well as from the world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist church were grouped under the organizational levels (sectors) of General Conference, Division, Union, and Local, and the professions (units) of principals, pastors, and teachers. A thirty statement questionnaire so designed as to be easily answered and computer scanned, and containing a five-point scale of response covering the range from I, "strongly agree," to 5, "strongly disagree," was provided. These statements were grouped under six areas, namely, communicator and coordinator; director of personnel; educational specialist and consultant; relations with management; spiritual leader; and supervisor and evaluator. This descriptive study used three statistical procedures to aid in analyzing the data. The first, the Kendall Coefficient of Concordance W, tested the reliability within groups. The second, the Cattell Coefficient of Pattern Similarity, presented a "Gestalt" view of the inter-relationships of the group responses. The third, the median and Q test, assisted in item identification. Results: The reliability was low but statistically significant. The Gestalt view indicated a negative pattern of similarity among the group responses. The views of teachers, church administrators, educational administrators, and education secretaries compared more closely than did those of pastors, Division Directors of Education, and General Conference respondents. The divergence of reaction indicated a certain independence of thought and response. The areas of the role of the Division Director of Education, according to the degree of agreement awarded them, are placed in priority as follows: specialist and consultant; spiritual leader; supervisor and evaluator; communicator and coordinator; relations with management; director of personnel. Conclusions: The priorities set by all respondents for the specific aspects of the role of the Division Director of Education were to: (1) propagate the philosophy of Christian education, (2) consult and advise Division administrators on educational matters, (3) ensure relevant, spiritual Bible teaching, (4) communicate with the General Conference education department, (5) encourage upgrading and in-service training for educators in all sectors, (6) ensure an Adventist emphasis in the curriculum of all schools, (7) organize division-level workshops, conferences, institutes and extension schools, (8) provide resource materials, (9) emphasize character development, (10) consult through associates, on educational planning and operation, (11) communicate with all levels of educators, (12) consult in planning and problem-evolving situations, (13) ensure the optimum balance among work, study, worship, and recreation in school programs, (14) assist in assessing the professional performance of educators, (15) uphold professional and religious standards, (16) ensure that current files are maintained on educational workers, (17) ensure that schools have current master plans of development, (18) ensure adequate supervision of schools, (19) have responsibility for professional aspects of inter-division transfers of educational personnel, (20) generally communicate with church members, and (21) advise in the selection of union education secretaries.