Children’s spirituality: epistemology and theory from various helping professions

Abstract

Children’s spirituality is a rising area of importance in research within other helping disciplines, which social work should attend to. Epistemology is an important element of research that is often difficult to discern. This article discusses the different epistemological paradigms and identifies pertinent theories in relation to some of the significant studies on spirituality in preadolescent children. There is a lack of valid and reliable scales specific to children from a postpositivist stance. Constructivism appears as a prevalent epistemology within the literature, underpinned with humanist, existential, and transpersonal theories. Current research is often grounded in James Fowler’s faith development, founded on constructivist child development theory. Research is contributing to the recognition of the unique characteristics of spirituality in children that include relational consciousness and meaning-making, and coping styles. Gender, context, and culture aspects are also identified as important concerns for children’s spirituality that are introduced within social constructionist research. There remains considerable room for expansion in research on children’s spirituality and theory development especially in social work.

Keywords:

• epistemology
• spirituality
• children
• research
• theory