Influence of Culture on Spiritual Development of Young Children

SPIRITUALITY IN YOUNG CHILDREN'S TEMPERAMENT AND SELF-CONTROL: THE CULTURAL INFLUENCE

The objective of this study is to address the cultural contexts relating to spirituality in young children's temperament and self-control.

Child-Well Being Outcomes

Jesus grew in wisdom

Jesus grew in stature

Jesus grew in grace

Einoth's work entitled "Building Strong Foundations World Vision's Focus on Early Childhood Development and Child Well-being" published by World Vision 2010 reports that World Visions biblical bases for the definition of Child Well-Being Outcomes is found in the Bible in the Book of Luke, Chapter 2, Verse 52 which states "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor (grace) with God and with people'. (2010, p. ix) Einoth states that in the tradition of the Jewish people that the body "is the object of special care because it is God's creation and special gift of grace. Growing in stature implies growing caring for the body and for healthful nutrition, for recreation and play and healthy conditions at home." (Einoth, 2010, p. ix) In the Hebrew culture the statement of 'He grew in Wisdom" held great meani8ng and in terms of more than just academic or intellectual knowledge and meant "knowing more, living better, with virtues and character formation and the ability to make good choices for life." (Einoth, 2010, p. ix) The statement of "He grew in Grace with God and with the community" meant that Jesus received guidance from his parents in their modeling of a "coherent life, by instructing him of knowledge of scripture and in being faithful to their faith traditions." (Einoth, 2010, p. x) The result is that Jesus had a relationship with God and the community and was on the receiving end of "affection, administration, solidarity, love, sympathy and the expressions of grace form the community that is so necessary for all human development." ( p. ix) The Well-Being indicators of World Vision for children include those of: (1) enjoy good health; (2) educated for life; (3) love God and neighbors; and (4) care for, protected and participating. (Einoth, 2010, p. x) Rather than being tools that are inflexible the CWBOs are reported to be in the nature of a "dialogical tool to facilitate ongoing discussions between different stakeholders that are involved in development programming processes (including the children themselves, families, communities, churches, local governments and other organizations)." (Einoth, 2010, p. x)

II. Cultural Identity on Child Development

Nature and spirituality linked

Life linked with nature

Person develops in the context of belonging to a 'place

It is reported that family placement in the UK is typically the archetypal separation of a person from their physical environment. Yet the intersection of the person with place -- both past and present has been argued to be crucial for identity formation." (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) It is reported that research has derived from Maori social work literature that which is required in the exploration of the link between the individual's identity with place and that this has been accomplished through "an application of the concept of spirituality within western social work practice models." (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) the Maori perspective is such that holds that a deep spiritual connection exists with the physical environment in which the individual lives thereby "creating a sense of belonging and attachment to that place." (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) Maori cultural identities are reported to be connected in a direct manner to the physical location that has been shared by many generations in terms of their "history and lifestyle and coexistence, stewardship, cooperation and harmony with the natural world." (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) It is reported that both Zapf (2005a) and Spretnak (1991) relate that spiritual values from this view make the assumption that nature and people are "inextricably linked." (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) Specifically stated about the tie that people have to the land is "A people rooted in the land over time have exchanged their tears, their breath, their bones, all of their element -- oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, all the rest -- with their habitat many times over. Here nature knows us." (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) From this view the individual is not held to be a different but the same as the natural environment and as such "conceptualized as a living system that is a source of energy and knowledge." (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) The physical environment form this view "does not provide a passive backdrop to human action but is a 'sensate conscious entity suffused with spiritual powers." (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) The ancestral relationships are reported to provide the individual with "clarity about the obligations, rights, roles and practices for connecting with people within and outside the culture of the whanu (wider family grouping), iwi (tribe) and hapu (Sub-tribe). (Sharley, 2012, p. 1) From the Western view this is known as the ecological or biopsychosocial model and conceptualizes the development of the child as "being influenced by interactive relationships occurring across a number of subsystems at ontogenic-level or the level of the individual, the micro-level of the family, and the exo-level or the community and finally at the macro-level or socio-cultural in the environment of the child.