How to cite this work:
Selvam, S.G. (2015). The methodology of Indian education: An autoethnographic assessment. In J. P. Doss, S. Fernando, & M. C. Antonysamy (eds.), Empowering education in today’s India (pp. 203-222). New Delhi: Don Bosco Youth Animation – South Asia.
Abstract
There are basically three possible approaches in scientific enquiry.[1] The third-person approach in science is informed by a positivist epistemology where truth is said to be what can be objectively observed. Physical sciences and life sciences adopt this methodology and derive their conclusions by means of measurements and statistics. Numbers offer an advantage of objectivity. The second-person approach believes that objective observation is not really possible, since the observer always causes their shadow on the observed. Hence truth is actually a construction of the interaction between the observer and […]
Publications
Publications
Pastoral care of the family in the light of sound psychology
Abstract
Moral philosophers and theologians argue that the human family is governed by natural law. While philosophers might rationally argue for this, theologians resort to revelation. In theologians’ understanding human family is part of the plan of God. Can scientific psychology provide some empirical evidence for “the natural law” argument? If yes, how could psychology enhance the pastoral care of families today? The aim of the present conceptual paper is to offer some contemporary evidence from evolutionary psychology and neurobiology to suggest that, after all, the human brain may be hire-wired for the family. It will go on to reflect on the role of the family in the growth of a Christian in the light some emerging insights from psychology. The later part of the paper will focus on the association between individuals’ relationship […]
Character Strengths in the Context of Christian Contemplative Practice Facilitating Recovery from Alcohol Misuse: Two Case Studies
There is an increasing interest in studying the association between spirituality and addiction, and the effect of mindfulness on recovery. There have been some attempts at exploring the mediators of the association, but seldom in the context of Christian contemplation and rarely within a single theoretical framework of psychology. This article reports two case studies from an intervention study carried out in Nairobi, Kenya, that suggest that the Christian contemplative practice has the potential to reduce alcohol misuse while facilitating the emergence of a three-dimensional religious-spirituality model involving the character strengths of self-awareness, self-regulation, humility, and leading to forgiveness, social responsibility, and social intelligence.
Selvam, S.G. (2015). Character strengths in the context of Christian contemplative practice facilitating recovery from alcohol misuse: Two case studies. The Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 17(3),190-211. DOI: 10.1080/19349637.2015.1053302.
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Positive Psychology’s Character Strengths in Addiction-Spirituality Research: A Qualitative Systematic Literature Review
There is an increasing interest in the scientific study of the association between spirituality and recovery from addiction. While most of these studies have provided evidence for a possible relationship, others have explored the underlying mechanisms and meditators in the relationship. However, generally, many studies and reviews have not approached the issue within a specific theoretical framework of mainstream psychology. In an attempt to fill this gap, the review being reported here undertook a Qualitative Systematic Literature Review (QSLR) of addiction-spirituality literature. QSLR is an orderly manner of searching for academic literature, selecting relevant literature following a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria, qualitatively analysing the selected literature, and reporting the findings in such a way as to generate a set of hypotheses. QSLR focusses on literary data, rather than on numerical data as the tradition Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis do. […]
African Youth Today: Challenges and Prospects
The present volume celebrates the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of Youth Studies (IYS) at Tangaza University College, Catholic University of Eastern Africa. The presence of IYS suggests that we need to acknowledge that ‘youth studies’ could be a legitimate academic programme, and youth work and ministry are inevitable employable professions. IYS prepares youth workers and counsellors through its academic programmes in youth ministry, youth studies and counselling psychology. The programmes focus on three components: theories – that explain the nature and behaviour of youth; skills – in dealing with youth and their families in a variety of contexts; and research – in order to evolve home-grown models and theories in youth work and counselling.
This book is a collection of papers that report studies […]