Статья 'РЕЦЕНЗИЯ на книгу С.Ю. Егорова, А.Ю. Егорова Инструменты оценки программ богословского образования. Москва: Национальный институт управления, 2020. – 207 с. ' - журнал 'Современное образование' - NotaBene.ru
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Modern Education
Reference:

REVIEW of the book by S.Y. Egorov, A.Y. Egorov Tools for evaluating Theological Education programs. Moscow: National Institute of Management, 2020. – 207 p.

Bartov Viacheslav

ORCID: 0000-0003-4723-0383

ThD, Head of the Magistracy, Eurasian Theological Seminary

109652, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Porechnaya, 15, of. 115

bartov-vp@yandex.ru

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8736.2022.2.37745

EDN:

WRJNCP

Received:

26-03-2022


Published:

05-07-2022


Abstract: The review is written for a book offering analytical tools for evaluating theological programs used by theological educational institutions. The object of the review is education in religious educational institutions. The subject of the review is the quality of the theological programs used in these educational institutions. In his review, the author examines the main sections of the book, giving a brief description of each of them, thereby informing the reader about the contents of the book. Particular attention is paid to the source base of the publication, which allows us to conclude that the researchers have carefully studied the issues under discussion. The review focuses on the accessibility of the material presented in the book not only for academic circles, but also for a wide audience of readers. The main conclusion of this review is the conclusion about the originality of the proposed methodology, which allows assessing the quality of theological programs. The author of the review emphasizes the significant contribution of the developers of the new methodology to improving the quality of graduates of theological educational institutions. The novelty of the reviewed book is the proposal to the providers of theological education to move from a subjective and intuitive understanding of the programs used in educational institutions to programs that have confirmed the right to exist thanks to the analytical tools proposed in the work under consideration. The book is of an applied nature, it is recommended for reading and practical use by the heads of religious educational institutions, developers of educational programs, persons interested in improving the quality of graduates.


Keywords:

educational programs, theological education, evaluation of programs, assessment tools, competencies, academism, quality, higher education, education management, sample study

This article is automatically translated. You can find original text of the article here.

     This book is devoted to an urgent problem of modern theological education related to the possibility of a qualitative assessment of theological programs used by theological educational institutions. The need to write a book on this issue is due to the state of modern spiritual education, when education providers often face the need for professional evaluation and qualitative adjustment of curricula used in religious educational institutions.

The purpose of the authors of the book is to provide the reader with "evaluation tools suitable for direct use in theological education" [p. 15]. Using the existing experience of Russian and foreign studies in the field of education, the authors, while maintaining continuity, offer a new approach to achieve this goal. The opportunity to learn how to use the proposed "assessment tools" is offered through the sequential passage of three stages: the stage of preparation for the assessment, the stage of developing questions for the assessment, the stage of interpretation and application of the results obtained. The corresponding sections of the book are devoted to each of the listed stages.

At the first stage (section 1), the authors convincingly prove the importance of preparatory work for the evaluation of educational programs. Careful study of all aspects of the upcoming work at this stage will allow taking into account the specifics of the evaluation of theological educational programs, will affect the accuracy of the results obtained and the adequacy of the conclusions drawn at the end of the study. The authors propose specific actions that allow performing the work of the preparatory stage at a high level.

The second stage (sections 2 and 3) is devoted to the development of questions for questionnaires and interviews, on the basis of which the analysis and conclusions of the evaluated program will be carried out. The authors propose "the most effective tool for creating survey tools" [p. 56].  through matching matrices. Each category of evaluation questions is designed in the form of a table with questions that can be illustrative examples that set the direction for the compiler of the questionnaires. The system of codification of questions proposed by the authors of the book [p. 46].  it will help to facilitate work with a large array of received data. In the third section of the book, the authors offer an approximate list of questions and answers for the assessment, which clearly demonstrates the possibility of applying the proposed assessment methodology.  The proposed specific questions and answers set the direction when compiling questionnaires necessary for evaluating the curricula of a particular education provider.

At the last stage (in section 4), the authors of the book consistently explain the possibilities of interpreting and using the data obtained at the previous stage. A separate paragraph is devoted to ensuring the safety of participants in the evaluation of the program, which focuses on the need to comply with the moral and legal aspects of the work being carried out.

The main emphasis of the book's "Conclusion" is on making a difficult decision - "to conduct the very first study" [p. 158]. The lack of experience in evaluating educational programs, the complexity of the task, and other difficulties associated with the uncertainty of introducing new practices into the educational process should not be a reason to abandon the "introduction of a culture of constructive evaluation" [p. 159]. According to the authors, positive results from the work carried out on the evaluation of educational programs can be obtained within a year.

  The undoubted advantage of the book is the extensive list of sources and literature used in this work. This is not only evidence of a deep study of the problem posed, but also provides an opportunity for the reader to turn to a particular source or book and get acquainted in more detail with the aspect of the issue under consideration that interests him.

The book has a clear logic of presentation of the material. Each of the four main sections of the book consists of seven paragraphs. The headings of paragraphs attract attention. They are formulated in the form of questions, which immediately denote the problems of the paragraph to which it is devoted. This organization of the text makes it easier to focus attention on the main idea in the paragraph, which contributes to the process of perception of the material. The text is very informative, so a small amount of paragraphs justifiably helps to avoid congestion and fatigue when reading. 

Special attention should be paid to the fact that the book, designed primarily for an audience with an academic education, is written in an accessible language, which makes it relevant for a wider range of people involved in the educational process. To avoid an ambiguous understanding of specific terms, the authors define these terms, clearly indicating the meaning they put into the term in this context. For example, the authors explain what is meant by its "representativeness" in the context of the sample description [p. 42].  or, considering the requirements for the wording of assessment questions, they explain what meaning the term "validity" carries [p. 82].

The significance of this book is undeniable for education providers, as well as for all those involved in the process of spiritual education, since the constant maintenance of the effectiveness of existing programs of theological educational institutions directly affects the level of training of ministers of religious organizations. In turn, the degree of intellectual and spiritual development of the leaders of church communities is directly interdependent with the parishioners of churches and the secular society in the context of which the communities are located. Therefore, the positive effect of this research can extend not only to the academic environment of theological educational institutions, but also to society as a whole.

The wish of the authors of the book to the reprinted version, and I believe it will definitely be, is to devote a separate section of the book to describing the results of the evaluation of programs by those educational institutions that have used the methodology proposed in this publication or, having made sure of its effectiveness, continue to apply it systematically.

 

References
1.

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Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The subject of the research in the article "REVIEW of the book by S.Y. Egorov, A.Y. Egorov "Tools for evaluating theological education programs". Moscow: National Institute of Management, 2020. – 207 c" is the analysis of the book, which reveals aspects of evaluating theological education programs. The author reveals in sufficient detail the structure of the reviewed work and indicates its main focus. The relevance of the work is associated with the need to carry out a professional assessment and qualitative adjustment of curricula used in religious educational institutions. The purpose of the work, as noted in the review, is to develop assessment tools that would be relevant for direct application in theological education. Since the article is a review in its style, its purpose is to introduce the reader to the main content of the book so that the potential reader has a primary idea of the book. Based on the analysis of the content of the book, the author of the review systematized the main provisions, which, of course, is very important for a potential reader so that he can make an informed choice to use this book in his work. The central place of the article is given to the specifics of the implementation of three stages in the evaluation of theological education programs: "the stage of preparation for the evaluation, the stage of developing questions for the evaluation, the stage of interpretation and application of the results obtained." The review notes that the designated stages are consistently disclosed in the relevant sections of the book. The article in the form of a review is written in scientific language. The introductory part of the article is devoted to the analysis of the problems of the implementation of theological education, the features of such educational practice are indicated. The main part of the article presents in detail the content of the reviewed work. In the final part, it is noted that the process of spiritual education needs constant adjustment and coordination with the requests of real educational practice, while noting that "maintaining the effectiveness of existing programs of theological educational institutions directly affects the level of training of ministers of religious organizations." We agree with the author of the article that any educational program (including the theological orientation) needs constant adjustment in accordance with the real demands of both consumers of educational services and the conditions available in the educational organization for its implementation. The bibliography contains the book under review. The source should be issued according to GOST: Egorov S. Yu., Egorov A.Yu. Tools for evaluating theological education programs. Moscow: National Institute of Management, 2020. – 207 p. Note that the text of the review contains page-by-page links to the work. In general, the review is written in sufficient detail and it consistently reveals the subject of the book's research. This will allow the potential reader to form a primary idea of her. The analysis of the book presented in the article will be useful to specialists dealing with the implementation of theological education in order to adapt programs to modern conditions.
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