Are We Fulfilling the Promise of a Jesuit Education? A Group of Educators\u27 Reflective Examen

Abstract

Higher education is often faced with external pressures that can guide the practice and offerings of colleges and universities. Graduate professional education in the health professions is especially prone to accreditation standards and its associated professional movements. At a Jesuit university, these external pressures, along with public pressure for job-ready graduates, must be intertwined with the history and the promise of a Jesuit education — that of transformation. As educators at a Jesuit university, our roles involve more than offering this kind of education. Our responsibility is to revisit what this promise means as a way of examining our practice. This article shares the reflective practice of five colleagues working in different roles at a Jesuit university seeking answers to questions of whether they are delivering on the promise of Jesuit education. The article includes a guiding set of questions, a short reflection on each author’s experience, and a review of the external and internal influences on their programs, providing a guide for a type of practice Examen that can be used by any faculty or staff member