Developing spirituality – an equal right of every child?

ABSTRACT

Children’s spiritual development is influenced by those with whom they interact and by the world around them. An important context for young children is the kindergarten, which has a high level of responsibility for their (spiritual) education. At kindergarten children encounter people with different religious and spiritual attitudes, which may be fundamental to the development of their own spirituality. Research results regarding how two kindergartens in Austria deal with this diversity and how children address it are summarized. One result of this qualitative ethnographic research project is that, depending on their religion, children have different opportunities to develop their spiritual communication and spirituality based on religious traditions and rituals. Developing kindergartens in line with the metaphor of safe spaces where diversity is recognized and discussed can contribute to the creation of equal opportunities for children’s spiritual development.

KEYWORDS:

• Developing spirituality
• religious difference
• kindergarten
• early childhood research
• organisational development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Helena Stockinger

Helena Stockinger is currently assistant professor and acting chair of the Department of Catechetics, Religious Education and Pedagogy at the Catholic Private University Linz in Austria. She was professor of Religious Education and Didactics of Religious Education at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich and Research Assistant at the University of Vienna. She is a trained kindergarten teacher, taught religion in a school for kindergarten education for several years and organized teacher training courses for educators and teachers. She studied Catholic theology, psychology, philosophy and Catholic religious education at the University of Vienna. Her main research fields are Childhood Research, Religious Diversity and Educational Justice.