Volume 8, Issue 1 (2026) Faith, Formation, and Human Flourishing

Education has long been understood as more than the transmission of information. At its best, education shapes not only what we know, but also who we become. The articles in this issue of The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community collectively remind us that learning is never merely cognitive. It is relational, moral, cultural, and, for many, profoundly spiritual. Although the manuscripts in this issue span diverse contexts, including K-12 education, higher education, teacher preparation, nursing, leadership, disability studies, and family life, they are united by a common question: What difference does faith make in the lives of learners, educators, families, and communities? Taken together, these manuscripts challenge narrow conceptions of both education and faith. They encourage us to view education as an enterprise concerned with the formation of whole persons and faith as a dynamic influence that intersects with identity, culture, vocation, leadership, justice, and community. They also remind us that meaningful scholarship emerges when researchers attend carefully to lived experience, honoring the voices of participants while engaging questions that matter beyond any single discipline. Ultimately, these manuscripts remind us that education remains, at its heart, a profoundly human endeavor. It is our hope that the scholarship presented in this issue will encourage continued dialogue across disciplines, educational contexts, and faith traditions. More importantly, we hope it will invite readers to reflect on the enduring question that quietly weaves these contributions together: not simply what education accomplishes, but who education calls us to become.