The teaching role of the Holy Spirit in British Pentecostal theological education

This thesis seeks to investigate how the views in Pentecostal theology on the role of the Holy Spirit as teacher, and the traditions in Pentecostal Theological Education, impact a classical Pentecostal Theological College in the UK. Having become incorporated into mainstream scholarship, Pentecostal Theological Education faces the challenge of promoting and maintaining the spirituality of its students. Pentecostal educators believe that the Spirit’s teaching is the key to realising the spirituality of students in Pentecostal higher education. However, this belief is stifled by the academic demands of higher education. With many suggestions on how Pentecostal spirituality can be promoted, it has not yet been explained how this spirituality is promoted in the teaching and learning environment in a classical Pentecostal Theological College in the UK. Having established that the story of the Spirit’s teaching role in a classical Pentecostal Theological College is yet to be told, Chapter Four of the thesis provides a critical Case Study on how the role of the Spirit as teacher and the traditions in Pentecostal education impact teaching and learning in a classical Pentecostal Theological College. Research data was collected through semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, and documents. The methodology and methods were based on a subjectivist paradigm and interpretivist perspective. The research data has shown that the concept of the Spirit’s role as a teacher exists. However, the data analysis shows that practice of the concept is yet to be implemented in the case study unit. This challenge calls for further research and creativity in educating Pentecostal theological students