“They never listen”: towards a grounded theory of the role played by trusted adults in the spiritual lives of children

Abstract

This qualitative study addresses the lack of research into the role of trusted adults in the spiritual lives of children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine children from a British primary school and the data analysed using a grounded theory approach. Six categories were identified outlining the reciprocal relationship of unavailability and withholding between children and their trusted adults and how children made sense of spirituality in the absence of explicit guidance. It was found that the children had little opportunity for negotiating a shared understanding or experience of spirituality with adults and, as a result, either preserved an isolated and secret sense of spirituality or accepted what they observed to be their trusted adults' stance. The practical and theoretical implications of the children's responses in the absence of trusted adults are discussed and recommendations are made for practice and future research.

Keywords:

• children's spirituality
• religious beliefs
• spiritual development
• spiritual guidance

Notes

1. In the quotations presented throughout this section, underlining has been used to indicate words that were vocally emphasised by the participants; empty square brackets ‘[ ]’ indicate where material has been omitted for editing purposes; material within square brackets is usually clarificatory but sometimes indicates short interjections from one speaker during another speaker's turn; and three dots indicate short pauses in speech. Care has been taken not to change the meaning of the participants’ accounts.