New Emphasis on Spiritual Development of Children

In their article, "Supporting the Spiritual Development of Young Children" (Exchange March/April 2017) Ruth A. Wilson and Deborah L. Schein explain that, "recent studies indicate that religion and spirituality can be studied and addressed separately and that spiritual development can be nurtured apart from religious doctrines and practices." The authors suggest that paying attention to children’s spirituality "will not only promote the holistic development of students, but may also help address some of the serious problems facing education and society today."

Wilson and Schein go on to ask, "how might spirituality be defined in a broad educational sense?...We already use the term 'spirit' in an early childhood education context when we say that education should be about developing the whole child – body, mind and spirit...Spirit in this sense refers to the animating principle of our being, the non-material part of what it means to be human."

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.

© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site