Towards an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and nurturing spirituality and the whole child

The summer of 2016 saw 75 delegates from 15 countries converge at Bishop Grosseteste University, in the Roman city of Lincoln, UK for the 15th conference of the International Association for Children’s Spirituality (IACS). The four-day event was titled Spirituality and the Whole Child: Interdisciplinary Approaches and reflected the concerns of many in different countries about systems which seem to be negating the importance of the whole child in general, and their spirituality in particular. This situation appears to be particularly prevalent in societies which have seen increasing levels of performance management, with its culture of targets and accountability, in arenas which support children (Adams 2014). Furthermore, in societies which have become individualistic and materialistic, the spiritual dimension of childhood is simultaneously being undermined, particularly evident in education systems in the UK, Australia and the USA (Hyde, Watson, and Yust 2016). Arguably, these negative trends are occurring at a time when we most need to value spirituality, given the rises in young people’s mental ill-health and obesity which are being reported in many economically advanced countries.

The conference was a means of bringing together academics, research students and practitioners from various disciplines and professions who engage in nurturing children. A key aim in doing so was to explore how spirituality is conceived in and across cultures, and how more connections between different disciplines can be made to advance understanding in academia and professional practice. This conference’s focus on interdisciplinary approaches was important in order to help break down the silos which are endemic in many areas of academia. The notion of silos was identified decades ago by Snow ([1959] 2012) and remains a concern to the present day (Roser and Merson 2009); but in addition, there is also apprehension about the apparent disconnect that often occurs between academics and practitioners. Hence, if we seek to prioritise the whole child, then we need to do so with a holistic approach, by bringing adults together from their diverse backgrounds so that they can work collaboratively.

The use of the phrase ‘interdisciplinary approaches’ recognises that children’s spirituality is not a discipline, but a field, albeit one which draws on a wide range of disciplines and fields. The underpinning proposition for the conference was to bring the knowledge, skills, concepts and methodologies from our own respective backgrounds together to learn from each other, with the shared aim of enhancing academic and professional knowledge for the benefit of children.

The papers in this volume reflect key themes which emerged from the call for conference submissions. Within that broader remit, those appearing in this issue fall into two broad categories. The first set focuses on theoretical considerations and the second details empirical studies on different topics related to children’s experience, which also cover various age groups and geographical settings.

As with any academic subject, one of the most fundamental issues is that of definition of terms and the first two papers address the ongoing debates about what spirituality is, approached from different perspectives. The first is by Jacqueline Watson who gave one of our keynote speeches. Watson argues that an interdisciplinary approach can only be successful if we have a shared consensus over the meaning of spirituality. The lack of consensus has, of course, been a long standing issue in the field. As Watson acknowledges, spirituality is understood differently by different people, but she also expresses her frustration at academics’ consistent reiteration that defining it is difficult. Watson proposes ways forward which include incorporating a set of values: values which are also independently expressed by other authors in this edition including children’s rights, the whole child and the child’s voice.

Mark Plater, in the subsequent paper, also addresses the issue of definition, doing so within the context of the English school system where the definition of ‘spiritual development’ is highly pertinent to teachers and school inspectors. Plater approaches the topic from a different perspective to Watson, arguing that we need an alternative model from the spirit–body binary which permeates western thinking. Instead, Plater draws on Christian theology and etymology, the social sciences and personal development studies to argue that a more appropriate model emerging from this interdisciplinary approach could be based on a spirit–soul framework which, he argues, is more appropriate for use in schools. Although writing separately, both Watson and Plater offer new and interesting insights into the matter of definition which may challenge some readers and should lead to good levels of debate around this enduring issue.

Sturla Sagberg follows, writing on children’s spirituality from the stance of children’s rights. He offers an important historical perspective on the development of children’s rights, drawing on moral philosophy and legal perspectives and applying them to children’s education. Sagberg’s theoretical contribution is a pertinent one, providing a useful focus on contextual information which we might otherwise overlook, arguing that taking a children’s rights perspective in the field is both the responsibility of states as well as a moral obligation.

The remaining four papers focus on different elements of children’s spiritual experiences from interdisciplinary perspectives. Together, these articles add new contributions to the relatively small but growing literature of systematic studies on children’s experiences, with three gathering data with children directly and one, for ethical reasons, from adults.

Much of my own research over the last 18 years has been concerned with children’s spiritual experiences and their understanding of them. I therefore very much welcomed the opportunity to co-author a paper with Pauline Lovelock, based on her research with 8–11-year-old children in England exploring their encounters with the divine. Lovelock worked with four schools, and spoke to children about their understandings of the sacred which involved a school trip to a sacred space. Lovelock was struck by the narratives of the children pertaining to divine encounters, even though that had not been a topic of direct questioning. Importantly, whilst many actual encounters had brought comfort, other encounters (both reported or anticipated) had engendered fear and the paper considers the importance of addressing the darker side of spirituality, drawing on different disciplines - particularly theology, psychoanalysis, psychology and neuroscience - to analyse the data.

The next paper takes us to Ireland. Noel Keating worked with a similar age group, of 7–11-year olds, using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to discover and describe how children experience meditation in schools. Keating uses different fields to inform his work including contemplative psychology, Christian mysticism and integral theory and argues that meditation has positive benefits for children. He offers a heuristic model which exemplifies how, according to his findings, meditation gives rise to spiritual fruits, i.e., the capacity to nurture and deepen spirituality.

Eva Natsis subsequently offers the perspective of older children’s spiritual lived experiences, based on a sample of secondary pupils in Australian government schools. As with Keating’s work, Natsis’ research was also underpinned by a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, adding to the growing tradition of using this methodology in the field. Natsis’ study offers interesting insights into how these young people understand, experience and express spirituality in their daily lives, adding helpful information to both the ‘definition’ debate highlighted in the first two papers of this volume, and also to the experiences of young people which is the focus of this latter section.

In the final paper, Maria Andrade raises our awareness of a very important group of children who may otherwise fall from view with regards to their spirituality: displaced children. Andrade focuses on migrant children in Central America and through discussions with adults, she highlights the role of spirituality for these children and its place in building their resilience. Andrade highlights the importance of using intercultural and interreligious perspectives to support their spirituality in both secular and faith settings.

Finally, we publish our traditional conference report which provides a summary of personal perspectives by its authors. I am delighted that this year we were able to offer a collaborative opportunity to four doctoral students at Bishop Grosseteste University – Susan Allison, Stephanie Gilluly, Mary-Louise Maynes and Richard Simpkins. All four were first-time presenters at an IACS conference, and for some this is their first publication, so it is interesting to learn of their impressions. Allison, Gilluly, Maynes and Simpkins were part of an international group of students who attended the conference, all of whom are undertaking pioneering work in the field, and IACS very much supports the development and publication of all students’ work. After all, these are our potential research leaders of the future, who are essential to the continuation of the field.

Of course, the papers in this edition can only reflect a fraction of the ideas and themes covered during the conference but they certainly offer a strong flavour of it. Other papers which were presented in Lincoln have been submitted to the journal and we hope to publish some of them in future editions. Furthermore, this special issue is not intended to be the last word on the conference. On the contrary, I hope that the research presented here, in future issues of the journal and at the 2018 conference in Quebec, Canada will continue to generate much debate and serve to bring academics and practitioners from a range of disciplines together. Whilst people will inevitably hold different views on issues in the field, all are united in aiming to raise awareness and understanding of children’s spirituality in all its forms so that it is more widely recognised and respected.

Kate Adams
[email protected]