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| Don Ratcliff |
Price-LeBar Professor
of Christian Education
On faculty since 2006
Phone: (630) 752-5282
E-Mail: Don.Ratcliff@wheaton.edu
Personal website: www.don.ratcliffs.net |
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Education
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Ph.D., The University of Georgia
Ed.S., The University of Georgia
M.A., Michigan State University
B.A., Spring Arbor University
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Professional and Personal Interests
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I
was born in a small town on the Ohio River to a Methodist minister
and his wife. My father also did farming in Southeastern Ohio.
At age three, my family moved to Spring Arbor, Michigan where
I spent most of my childhood and adolescent years.
Interested in electronics since early childhood, I began working
at a Christian radio station at 14. Upon graduation from high
school, I enrolled in the missionary radio technology program
at Moody Bible Institute. Perhaps because of all the Bible classes
required, I became convinced I should enter the ministry. An
inquiry sent to a Methodist district superintendent brought
an invitation to pastor a small church! At age 19, I felt I
needed more theological education, and thus enrolled at Spring
Arbor College. There I essentially completed the preparation
program to be a Free Methodist pastor.
I planned to attend Asbury Theological Seminary the fall after
receiving my B.A., but received an invitation to teach part
time at a tiny college in northwestern Michigan. Choosing the
latter, I found I loved teaching and enrolled in a Masters program
in educational psychology at Michigan State University. While
attending Michigan State, I continued to work at the Christian
radio station where I had been employed part time throughout
my college years. I was offered the manager’s position
at age 23, but turned it down in favor of teaching at a small
Bible college in Ohio. There I met my wife, Brenda.
Immediately after getting married, Brenda and I served as missionary
teachers on a small island in the West Indies for a year, and
after a hurricane demolished the school, I took a position as
a teacher/psychology assistant at a developmental center for
mentally challenged adults during the next three years. I served
as the Christian education director at an American Baptist church
in Ohio during that time, and received another call to pastor
a church. I was then offered a teaching position in psychology
and sociology at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia, where I spent
the next 19 years. During part of this time I was the interim
pastor of a Southern Baptist church. After completing two degrees
in educational psychology and research at The University of
Georgia, I was asked to teach graduate and undergraduate education
classes at Biola University. During my three years at Biola
I also served as a consultant and/or doctoral committee for
several students in the intercultural studies and Christian
education departments. Meanwhile, I volunteered part time at
an inner city mission in Los Angeles. I then taught psychology
for two years at Vanguard University, while teaching doctoral
level statistics classes for Christian education and intercultural
studies students at Talbot School of Theology. During the five
years in California, I served on the planning team for the first
and second conferences on children’s spirituality held
in Chicago.
We moved to the Wheaton area during the summer of 2006. Brenda
is also employed at Wheaton College, working with the Billy
Graham Center scholarship and Prison Ministry programs. Two
of our three children are on their own, while our third is in
high school. I enjoy video production in my spare time, and
continue to keep my ham radio license current.
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Membership in Professional Societies
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- North American Professors of Christian Education
- The Christian Association for Psychological Studies
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Research
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Most of my research has involved children either in school or
church contexts. I am particularly interested in family nurture
of children’s spiritual experiences and development.
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Papers Published and/or Presented
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Select Publications:
- Spirituality: Christian Perspectives, Research, and Applications
- Raising Your Child from Birth to Age Twelve (with Paul Meier)
- Handbook of Family Religious Education (with Blake Neff)
- Complete
Guide to Volunteers in Religious Education (with
Blake Neff)
- Bruised
and Broken: Understanding and Healing Psychological Problems
(with Paul Meier and Frank Minirth)
- Handbook
of Children’s Religious Education
- Introduction
to Psychology and Counseling (with Paul Meier, Frank
Minirth, and Frank Wichern)
- Handbook of Youth Ministry (with James Davies)
- Handbook of Preschool Religious Education
- Using Psychology in the Church
Select Academic Presentations:
- "A long and short history of children's spiritual
development," at the North American Professors
of Christian Education annual conference, Rochester,
Minnesota, October, 2005. [A revised version of this
presentation was given at the Children's Spirituality
Conference: Christian Perspectives, June, 2006].
- "The spiritual development of children,"
at the Wilson Institute for Pentecostal Studies, Costa
Mesa, California, October, 2005.
- "Numinous research with children: Topic and method,"
and "Roundtable on children's spirituality research
methods," at the first Children's Spirituality
Conference: Christian Perspectives, River Forest, Illinois,
June, 2003. [The first session was also presented at
the North American Professors of Christian Education
annual conference, Boston, Massachusetts, October 2003.
- "Children's spiritual development," at the
Association of Christian Schools International regional
conference, Anaheim, California, November, 2002.
- "Qualitative research in Christian education,"
primary presenter with Ted Ward, at the North American
Professors of Christian Education annual conference,
San Diego, California, October, 2002.
- Guest speaker for a session titled “Emergent
spirituality in elementary-aged children” for
a graduate level course in psychology of religion at
the Psychological Studies Institute, Atlanta, Georgia,
January, 2001.
- Presented papers titled "Ceremony and Ritual
in a School Hallway," and "Child-Assisted
Data Analysis in Children's Spirituality Research,"
First International Conference on Children's Spirituality,
University College Chichester, West Sussex, UK, July,
2000. [The first presentation was later elaborated and
presented at the Annual Conference on Interdisciplinary
Qualitative Studies, Athens, Georgia, January, 2001.
The content eventually became an ERIC document.]
- Contributed regularly on issues related to research
methodology in a think tank for an ongoing study of
children in worship, sponsored by the Center for the
Study of Children's Ethical Development, Concordia University,
River Forest, IL, October 13-15, 1999.
- "Qualitative Research Methods in Religious Education,"
faculty development session at the School of Educational
Ministries of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,
Fort Worth, TX, April 23-24, 1999. This workshop was
followed by a session with doctoral faculty on guidelines
for proposing and evaluating qualitative research. In
addition I provided extensive consultation on a qualitative
research proposal related to Russian-American church
cross-cultural understanding and cooperative efforts,
and presented an overview of qualitative methodology
for graduate students.
- "Peer Culture and School Culture Theory: Implications
for Educational Ministry with Children" (with appendage
on children's spiritual experience), North American
Professors of Christian Education annual conference,
Nashville, TN, October, 1998.
- "Qualitative Research Methods," [Audio
available online: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4] a
four-hour pre-conference session at the international
convention of the Christian Association for Psychological
Studies (CAPS), Chattanooga, TN, March, 1998.
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