Michael Hand's pithy and challenging essay (Hand, 2003) offers a neat, clear and powerful argument against "faith schools". I am in considerable sympathy with Hand's position. However, I think his argument can be strengthened, and weaknesses in it remedied or avoided. In this brief note, I offer some modest suggestions, which are intended as…

This study examines MSW students' satisfaction with the integration of spirituality content into the social work curriculum at a nationally recognized university. The results showed that, when compared with cohort sections without such content, satisfaction with inclusion of topics related to spirituality were significantly higher for two courses.…

In this article, the author narrates his life story. He describes how his father shaped his critical consciousness and how his mother influenced his spirituality and sense of Christian identity. He also describes his seminary experience at St. Patrick's College in Carlow, Ireland, where he "found" his vocation to be a religious educator.…

In this article the author looks at the image of journey and its archeform, quest, and finds two spiritual concepts: that of movement to the center followed by a return, and the concomitant understanding that all that has arisen and reached maturity must return to renew itself. Four journeys, the shamanic journey of soul, the hero's journey of…

In a 1974 essay entitled "Cloud of Smoke, Pillar of Fire," Rabbi Irving Greenberg offered the "working principle"--no statement, theological or otherwise, should be made that would not be credible in the presence of burning children--in response to Christian silence during the Holocaust and as a kind of moral plumb line by which post-Shoah…

In this article, the authors present a new interdisciplinary methods called "Story and Healing." These methods enable teachers to enter a discussion of the ills of white privilege and the epidemic of racism through the "back door" approach. First, students are asked to contemplate transpersonal experiences such as healing and suffering, second,…

I discuss philosophical and methodological difficulties in researching young children's spiritual development. I describe my research involving detailed discussions with, and observations of, 14 teachers of 4- and 5-year-olds. I highlight key issues, including what distinguishes spiritual from other sorts of development, the nature of children's…

In this reflective essay, the author considers the interpretations, perspectives, and intentions she brings to religious education, and how they become part of the curriculum, influencing not only what she teaches but how she perceives the needs of students. She asserts that instead of focusing on curriculum to solve cultural diversity issues,…

The authors examine the way in which people with intellectual disability (ID) handle death and mourning, and note that the way in which death and bereavement are being experienced depends--among other things--upon the intellectual and socio-emotional age of the individual. The authors used the theories formulated by Piaget (cognitive development),…

This study utilized a qualitative research method with a sample of 24 students at a private evangelical Christian university in the midwest. The students' developmental years had been spent growing up in mission foreign-field contexts as missionary kids (MKs). In-depth interviews were conducted and transcribed, with coding and theme analysis…

This article discusses the implications of difference in relation to religious education, multiculturalism and contemporary "terrorist" global activity. It argues that the model for religious education in England and Wales has not been sufficient in addressing children's spiritual development. Religious education has been pursued through…

This article explores the problem of discussing a spiritual dimension in education within the secular context of western society, and Australian society in particular. It explores the idea that spirituality is relational and proposes an approach to learning that nurtures and gives expression to spirituality in terms of the connectedness students…

Many reports have highlighted the vulnerability of children's rights during times of conflict, and emergency education has come into being as a way of ensuring that children's educational needs are met in crisis situations. But how far can emergency education provide meaningful values education? The first section of this article examines the…

This study explored the spiritual development of college women, to gain an understanding of what religion, spirituality, and faith mean to them. Interviews with three college women explored issues critical in their religious lives, revealing the emergence of their faith and religious identities. The three were entering their fourth year at a…

This book contains 19 personal essays on the role that fathers play in fostering connections between their children and the natural world. Written from the perspective of adult children or of fathers themselves, most essays show how outdoor activities, particularly hunting and fishing, are replicated across the generations and serve to foster…