Young children's spiritual development is probably one of the most difficult aspects of a child's life to grasp and promote, and yet, as early years practitioners, we are given little help on how to do it.
There has been almost no study of young children's spiritual development, few insights as to what it comprises and little guidance on how it should be fostered. There are no explicit references to spiritual development in the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage.
Ofsted inspections for maintained, private and voluntary provision require a judgement on spiritual development. However, inspectors are given scant help about what evidence they should look for. They are advised that there are links to spirituality in aspects of the areas of learning that relate to children's self-confidence and self-esteem and understanding of cultures and beliefs.1 Although this might well be the case, this guidance fails to get to the core of spirituality (admittedly a difficult task and one that that I can only claim to touch on).
However, Wales has made a brave attempt to deal with the topic. The new Welsh framework for the Foundation Stage, which is being piloted over four years, has a section on spiritual and moral development.2 Moreover, in individual settings practitioners show wonderful examples of practices that invite spirituality. These are worth sharing.
Definitions
The term 'spiritual' is fuzzy. It is difficult to be clear about what it means, and there is sometimes a tendency to confuse it with religious development. But the two aspects are different, even though most religions include some reference to the spirit.
Ofsted offers a definition: 'Spiritual development is the development of the non-material element of a human being, which animates and sustains us and depending on our point of view, either declines or continues in some form when we die. It is about the development of a sense of identity, self-worth, meaning and purpose. It is about the development of a pupil's "spirit". Some people may call it the development of a pupil's "soul", others as the development of "personality" or "character".'3 Trying to simplify and make this definition more concrete, I suggest that spirituality is about appreciating the journey through life in the deepest sense, particularly special moments, and recognising our own inner resources to help us cope with the journey. It is also helpful to think about some of the terms which we might associate with spirituality - searching, thoughtful, calm, serenity, holy, joyful, peaceful, sacred.
Initially, these definitions and terms seem very remote when applied to early years. But in practice and when given the opportunity, young children demonstrate many spiritual dimensions. During the early years of life, children are not naturally weighed down by materialism (although some are in danger of being so) and are very receptive to thoughts and ideas.
Clearly, this is a wonderful basis for beginning to recognise the things of quality and significance in life. As practitioners we can understand that it is critical to give attention to children's spiritual lives, given that they are growing up in an increasingly soulless society.
Limits
Within our society, there are various factors that limit young children's spiritual growth today.
Consumerism
The huge emphasis on material goods can massively distract children from appreciating and enjoying the less tangible aspects of life. Mother Teresa noted this when visiting North America, where she observed that the whole society seemed to have an abundance of possessions.4 The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, backs up this view. In his powerful book Lost Icons, Williams attacks the Disney empire which, he claims, is turning children into consumers by its marketing strategies.5 Despite some obvious exceptions of real poverty in every country, there is no doubt that most young children in western Europe and the United States have far more things than they need. Parents seem to work longer and harder to provide children with more and more luxuries. This reaches a peak at birthday and Christmas celebrations.
Amanda Craig, a journalist and parent, describes vividly the orgy of pre-Christmas spending. 'Going into any high street now is like walking into 'Toy Story' - shiny boxes piled high with Barbies in fluffy tinsel-pink, or Smash and Crush Hulks in flak-jacket khaki. There are multi-coloured buttons, buzzers, clashing lights and remote-controlled flights; there are bells, yells, singing fish and howling owls. Crazed by greed and ignorance, children race about in a frenzy of indiscriminate desperation or log on to websites such as iwantoneofthose.com. The whole enterprise is a vision of hell.'6 But as we know too well, material wealth does not necessarily feed the spirit. Having witnessed affluent lifestyles in America, Mother Teresa offered a stark message. She commented that she also had never seen 'such a poverty of the spirit, of loneliness and of being unwanted, that is the worst disease in the world today, not tuberculosis or leprosy. It is a poverty born of a lack of love.'7 Some young children suffer when their busy parents, feeling guilty because they are unable to provide their children with the gift of time, compensate by buying them toys and luxuries. In reality, by giving children so much and making it so easy to replace and replenish things, we are denying them the need to really cherish and value what they have.
The focus on attainment
Rowan Williams also points the finger at the priorities of our early education system. He suggests that current ideas about the purpose of childhood education imply it is to give children the skills that they will need to survive and succeed in a competitive and even dangerously cut-throat world.8 According to the Archbishop, this means an emphasis on a relentless programme designed to improve children rather than one that understands and gently steers and strengthens their natural development.
Thankfully, the Primary National Strategy is supporting a relaxed, play-based curriculum in the Foundation Stage. But nevertheless, many practitioners still feel under pressure to provide children with a heavy diet of literacy and numeracy too soon, and some parents become easily caught up with the need for their children to achieve as much as possible as early as possible.
If young children get caught up in a hurry-along curriculum, which places priority on formal skills, they will always be striving to get on to the next step of the ladder of progress, rather than having time to savour the moments of new discovery and learning.
The erosion of childhood
This emphasis for children to acquire formal skills early is a small part of a move to rush them prematurely into the adult world. We hear a great deal nowadays about the 'loss of childhood' and this reflects a view that inevitably children are 'growing up' too quickly and become too knowing about the ways of the world at an early age.
The media are quick to exploit this, particularly for young girls, and make-up, jewellery and sexually provocative clothes are heavily marketed.
This perception of children as miniature adults becomes a vicious circle, as it can affect the ways in which they are treated by parents and carers.
The move has been slow and insidious. Twenty years ago Marie Winn identified this in her book Children without Childhood. 'As today's children impress adults with their sophisticated ways, adults begin to change their ideas about children and their needs; that is, they form new ideas about childhood as adults act less protectively and as they expose children to the underside of their lives - adult sexuality, suffering, fear of death. These former innocents grow tougher perforce, less playful and trusting, more sceptical - in short, more like adults.'9 Question to consider
* What are the main features that limit the spiritual development of the children in your setting?
References
1 Ofsted (2004) Training for Section 10 Inspectors, handouts, 2, 5.
London, Ofsted
2 Hofkins, D (2004) The play's the thing in Wales, Times Educational Supplement 'Primary Forum', 1 October, p24
3 Ofsted (2001) Inspecting Pupils' Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development: Guidance for Inspectors. London, Ofsted
4 de Bertodano, T (ed) (1993) Daily Readings with Mother Teresa. London, Harper Collins, pp62-3
5 Williams, R (2000) Lost Icons. London, Continuum International Publishing Group
6 Craig, A (2003) 'What children really need', Sunday Times, News Review, 30 November, p5
7 de Bertondano, T (1993) op cit, (note 4), pp62-3
8 Williams, R (2000) op cit (note 5)
9 Winn, M (1984) Children without Childhoods, New York, Penguin, p6
