Global Perspectives on Spirituality and Education (Routledge Research in Education)

In recent decades, and around the world, much attention has been given to the role of spirituality in the education of children and young people. While educationalists share many common goals and values in nurturing the spiritual lives of children and young people, national and regional cultures, religions and politics have impacted on the approaches scholars and practitioners have adopted in their investigations and practices. The different contexts across nations and regions mean that educators face quite distinct conditions in which to frame their approaches to spiritual education and research, and the nature and impact of these differences is not yet understood.

This book brings together thinkers from around the globe and sets them the task of explaining how their research on children’s spirituality and education has been shaped by the historical, cultural, religious and political contexts of the geographic region in which they work. The book presents contributions in three sections – Europe and Israel, Australasia, and The Americas– and concludes with a chapter highlighting what is common and what is contextually unique about global approaches to spirituality and education.

Jacqueline Watson is Lecturer in Educational Research at the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia.

Marian de Souza is Senior Lecturer at the School of Religious Education at Australian Catholic University.

Ann Trousdale is Associate Professor of Children’s Literature at Louisiana State University.