Embedding spirituality in young children: an inter-generational challenge

Allana, Anila Rafiq; Tennant, Geoff; Petrucka, Pammla

doi:10.1080/1364436x.2017.1357537

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Yet, it appears as humans, we have the potential to become spiritual within and outside religious contexts. Several authors (Myers and Myers 1999;Miller 2000;Hart 2003;Cameron and Ruddock 2010;Alana, Tennant, and Petrucka 2017), perceive spirituality within the context of education as a human feature that enables us to draw closer to a transcendent or a superior power which is beyond comprehension in order to become part of something greater than ourselves. As a human feature, it can be argued that spirituality is a universal phenomenon lived and experienced in all cultures, thus, it cannot be a preserve of any religious group (McCreeny 1994;Hart 2003;Daly 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a human feature, it can be argued that spirituality is a universal phenomenon lived and experienced in all cultures, thus, it cannot be a preserve of any religious group (McCreeny 1994;Hart 2003;Daly 2004). Alana, Tennant, and Petrucka (2017) posits that spirituality is an inward search for meaning in life which enables humankind to understand what really matters in terms of developing high-order quality values which is defined by proper balance between ones outer and inner world. It is the search for true meaning and the essence of life in terms of love, care and concern for others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Retracted article: Lived and Expressed Spirituality of Children: Insights from a Kindergarten Setting

Thompson

2018

International Journal of Children's Spirituality

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Children's spirituality is often neglected in scholarly literature. To address this gap in literature, a qualitative study into how four kindergarten children lived and expressed their spirituality was carried over a six-month period in a kindergarten classroom in Tata school. This study sought to find out how children lived and expressed their spirituality; and what evokes spiritual experiences within the classroom. The sources of data comprised semi-structured individual activity, semi-structured-group activity, informal conversation and focused observation. From, a grounded theoretical standpoint, the study suggests that spirituality of a child is any experience that is either inwardly or outwardly activated. Which invariably makes a child experience joy and wonder. The study's findings unearthed diversity among the children regarding how they lived and expressed their spirituality. Their lived spirituality was expressed through movement, relating to others and imaginative play.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retracted article: Lived and Expressed Spirituality of Children: Insights from a Kindergarten Setting

Thompson

2018

International Journal of Children's Spirituality

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“…Alongside this, at both local and national level, the resourcing of Christian grandparents is minimal, and does not seem to meet the needs of contemporary Christian grandparents. Allana (2017) reflected that at the mesosystem level there are often facilitative arrangements to support parents in their role as nurturers of their child's faith, but this rarely occurs for grandparents. This limited resourcing perpetuates the underlying discourse of grandparents having a nominal role and value, both within local churches and individual families.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Grandparents often desire to impart wisdom and pass on their own faith for their grandchild (Allen, 2008), concurring with the notion of grandparents as keepers of wisdom (Rempel, 2012). Such passing on of faith may occur through participation, reflection, rituals and storytelling (Allana, 2017). King et al (2008) observed that such faith transmission could occur through religious instruction, religious modelling, intercessory prayer, and promoting religious values in family relationships, whilst Simmons (1997) identified a grandparent's role in family religious life as companionship, spiritual authority, and the need to pass on faith.…”

Section: Christian Grandparentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excluded or Part of the Team? Investigating of the Role of Grandparents in Christian Faith Nurture, Using Discourse Analysis

Holmes

2022

Review of Religious Research

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Background Existing literature emphasised the spiritual value of grandparents in a child’s faith nurture, but this was not reflected in contemporary understandings or practices of the Christian community. Purpose The discourses surrounding the perceptions and practices of grandparents themselves, the local church and wider Christian society were investigated; uncovering the dynamics of cross-generational relationships and interactions with a child’s spiritual journey. Methods Data was gathered from Christian media, resourcing organisations, denominational websites and focus group interviews with grandparents and church representatives, to reveal the discourses conveyed by individuals, institutions and the wider Christian community. Critical discourse analysis was used to investigate perceptions and implications. Results Grandparents unanimously reported collective worth and purpose in their grandparent-grandchild relations. However, church representatives observed barriers and tensions regarding their involvement in faith nurture, citing a culture of privacy surrounding faith. Denominational websites and Christian media indicated that grandparents were not integral to church strategies, being rarely mentioned, resourced or empowered. The dominant discourses were of grandparents being passive agents with background involvement. Resourcing primarily conveyed romanticism and nostalgia rather than addressing contemporary family life. For some, these relationships facilitated discussions about faith, whilst others said their family’s faith identity was unspoken. The grandparents were primarily motivated personally and independently of external bodies, often adopting a ‘trial and error’ mentality, suggesting a highly individual rather than collective approach to faith nurture of grandchildren. The local church rarely championed grandparents in this role, leading to grandparents being passive and feeling excluded. Many lacked confidence and were disengaged with faith nurture. Conclusions and Implications The value of grandparents needs better communicating, moving them from being minor contributors at the periphery of the team to being more actively and intentionally involved. This requires enhanced understanding at institutional and societal levels of grandparents’ role, and improvement in the functionality and efficacy of interactions between grandparents and their grandchildren. Redressing of the power dynamics at play within congregations and society is required to bring grandparents more equally into the equation. A paradigm shift is required at all levels to equip, empower and include grandparents more fully. This would lead to improved Christian faith transmission.

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“…Nevertheless, we cannot deny the role of teachers, environment, or even the child itself in the children's religious development. Children learn about religion either directly or indirectly from adult or more experienced peers (Nazar F. 2003;Trovao 2017;Ter Avest et al 2017;Allana et al 2017). In Religiosity in Diversity: Aku Anak Sholeh, a short documentary film published by CRCS in 2006 there is a scene when a seven year old boy says: "All religions are true; God had blessed us with a religion since we were born.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of Religious Concepts among Muslim Student in Yogyakarta

Maizida¹

2017

Dinika

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This study aims to examine the religious development of Muslim children through their opinions about religion as well as their experience. It is intended to explore their understanding of some religious concepts and the factors influencing their understanding. The main participants of this study are six children in one of the religious private modernist schools in Yogyakarta from the first until the sixth grades (their ages are around 7-12 year old). The researcher expects that the children religious concept develops in accordance with the cognitive development theory. Moreover, since all participants are Muslim, it is expected that there is a different nuance from the previous research which particularly discusses the concept of God. If social environment takes an account of children religious concept, the researcher expects to find out which aspect is more dominant: the aspect of family or the aspect of the school. The results showed that the children’s religious concept grows as something inseparable from the rest of the children’s development, from concrete to more abstract knowledge, from simple to more complicated view. The social environment, particularly religious instruction at school, plays a central role in the children’s religious concept. KeywordsChildren, Religious concept, Cognitive development, Islamic school

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Embedding spirituality in young children: an inter-generational challenge

Cited by 6 publications

References 19 publications

Retracted article: Lived and Expressed Spirituality of Children: Insights from a Kindergarten Setting

Retracted article: Lived and Expressed Spirituality of Children: Insights from a Kindergarten Setting

Excluded or Part of the Team? Investigating of the Role of Grandparents in Christian Faith Nurture, Using Discourse Analysis

The Development of Religious Concepts among Muslim Student in Yogyakarta

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