Beyond Metrics in Christian Education: A Conceptual-Hermeneutic Study of Reflective Evaluation and Kierkegaardian Selfhood in the Indonesian Context

Sugiyanto Sugiyanto

doi:10.62775/edukasia.v5i2.2131

Authors

Sugiyanto Sugiyanto Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Palangka Raya https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9114-3872

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62775/edukasia.v5i2.2131

Keywords:

Holistic Education, Ignatian Examen, Integrative Evaluation, Kierkegaardian Selfhood, Reflective Assessment

Abstract

Contemporary evaluation practices in Christian education are increasingly shaped by standardized metrics and outcome-driven assessment, reducing faith-based learning to measurable performance while neglecting spiritual formation, vocation, and relational life before God. Although existing studies acknowledge the role of spirituality, they often remain descriptive and lack a theologically grounded evaluative framework. This study develops an integrative model of evaluation rooted in Christian spiritual formation, reorienting assessment from external achievement toward reflective, Christ-centered transformation. Adopting a qualitative conceptual and hermeneutic approach, the study engages Ignatian spirituality—particularly the Examen—and Søren Kierkegaard’s account of selfhood to construct a normative framework. The findings suggest that the Examen, interpreted through Kierkegaardian inwardness and authenticity, offers a structured mode of reflective assessment centered on discernment, gratitude, repentance, and vocational becoming before God. Moving beyond approaches that treat spirituality as supplementary or rely on quantitative proxies, this study advances a novel synthesis that formalizes spiritual discernment as evaluative practice. It concludes that evaluation in Christian education should shift from measuring achievement to discerning faithful becoming, thereby advancing a transformative paradigm for pedagogy and practice.

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