The Role of Spirituality in Schools

¶ … role that spirituality can have on the development of young children the classroom in terms of character, moral fiber, decision making, sense of self-worth, sense of respect for others, sense of giving to the community, and expectations for growing in maturity. It aims to address the problem of children not developing to their fullest capacity in these terms. It examines the question of whether spirituality if taught within the classroom can have a positive impact on childhood development and act as means of closing gaps that are left by modern curricula which does not focus explicitly or directly on spirituality or its role in customs, cultures and societies throughout history other than in an indirect or merely academic capacity. This study aims to explore the role of spirituality in a pragmatic or practical sense and whether it can be effectively utilized in the classrooms in America without creating situations that are negatively impactful on students, families and teachers. The problems that are expected to arise are related to cultural and religious sensitivities as well as issues related to ideas about religion in public schools. One important distinction will be to separate or draw distinctions between the concepts of religion and spirituality, though this too may serve as a challenge as the two may be defined separately but remain related. The study takes a phenomenological approach to the issue by employing observational methods in the classroom, as well as interviews with students, families and teachers.

Section 1a.

The challenge that will be addressed in the paper is how to incorporate cultural and spiritual cues into the classroom so that school children can be better rounded as they develop.

Section 1a.