The Reformed Doctrine of the Kingdom of God As a Paradigm for Formulating and Evaluating Educational Programs

The Confessionally Orthodox Strand of the Reformed tradition has not formally developed a paradigm for the field of Christian education. This study\u27s premise is that the Reformed tradition\u27s understanding of the kingdom of God provides a valid paradigm for the discipline of Christian education. In order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed paradigm three steps are taken. First, the Reformed tradition\u27s understanding of the kingdom of God is articulated and six beliefs are offered as the basis for the paradigm. Second, a philosophy of education is presented using a model offered by Frankena. And third, the philosophy presented is used to evaluate twelve curriculums in order to determine its effectiveness as both an evaluation tool and a formulating instrument. The study concludes that (1) the Reformed tradition\u27s understanding of the kingdom of God does provide a valid paradigm for the field of Christian education. (2) That a philosophy of education can be articulated which is consistent with the proposed paradigm. (3) That the philosophy of education presented provides a means of assessing the consistency of educational materials and programs with the paradigm. (4) That the philosophy offered provides a guide for developing educational programs. (5) That the philosophy of education presented provides a means of assessing the appropriateness of instructional strategies and educational experiences. And (6) that the kingdom of God provides a valid paradigm for the discipline of education within the Confessionally Orthodox strand of the Reformed tradition. Recommendations for further research are offered