New Zealand children’s spirituality in Catholic schools: teachers’ perspectives

Abstract

This article discusses the findings of a small‐scale study undertaken with a sample of 10 teachers in Catholic schools in New Zealand. Spirituality is recognised as an important dimension of Catholic schools and this study explored the teachers’ perspectives of their own understanding of spirituality, of children’s spirituality and the influence of context on children’s spiritual lives. The findings demonstrated the significance of the teachers’ own awareness of spirituality and the importance of the teacher–child relationship in acknowledging, responding to and supporting child spirituality.

Keywords:

• Catholic classrooms
• Classroom climate
• Curriculum
• Relationships
• Spirituality
• Teachers' perspectives

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge the teachers who participated in the study, for their time and willingness to share their experiences I am most grateful. Sincere appreciation is also expressed to Dr Judith Duncan and Dr Bruce McMillan of the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand for their supervision and support throughout the this study.