Teaching and Learning > DISCOURSE

Teaching and Assessing Spirituality

Author: Dominic Corrywright and Nick Swarbrick

Journal Title: Discourse

ISSN: 1741-4164

ISSN-L: 1741-4164

Volume: 9

Number: 2

Start page: 29

End page: 48

Return to vol. 9 no. 2 index page

Introduction

This paper is an examination of the ways in which Spirituality is taught in two programmes, Early Childhood Studies and Religion, Culture and Ethics, at Oxford Brookes University. It is also a study which provides indicative evidence of the varied contemporary approaches to the study of spirituality in UK Higher Education institutions. The focus of the paper is the teaching and assessment of students within these two different programmes. Both undergraduate programmes have modules that examine different ideas of spirituality, how it is practiced and understood within the academy and by practitioners in the field. Equally, both have discourse specific conceptions of the spiritual. Both employ innovative teaching to meet learning outcomes.

The paper will first examine the literature and discourse specific conception and purposes of Religion and Early Childhood studies including teaching spirituality in their programmes. Secondly, the paper will summarise how concepts are developed in the structure and activities of the modules relating to spirituality. Thirdly the paper will engage with assessment methods. The role of formative and nonassessed components of student writing and feedback using Virtual Learning Environments will illuminate some perceptions of the students taking these modules. Equally the role of journey in student learning and as a trope in spiritual narratives will be explored both as pedagogic technique and assessment assignment in the form of learning journals. The paper is a reflective examination of theories and themes in teaching spirituality in HEIs that uses two modules taught in 2009 to examine and exemplify these themes.

Differing discourses? Early Childhood Studies and Study of Religions

The rising interest in spirituality in popular discourse has been one of the key themes in the development of novel forms of religiosity in postindustrial secular society. It has been described by some social commentators, such as Steve Bruce1, as evidence of a declining interest in religion—indicating a Weberian brief charismatic revival in the face of overwhelming rationalising and secularising forces. Other studies indicate the gradual establishment of systems and practices that are developing secure foundations in the social and economic structures of modernity.2 Secondary analysis of spirituality has grown quickly in the last twenty years in academic texts, research programmes and, increasingly, in higher education modules and courses. One important element of this development in the 21st century is the creation of teaching courses outside programmes in Theology and the Study of Religions. Three significant examples provide evidence of this expansion of interest in the 21st century: The creation by academics outside Theology and Religion departments of a network in 2009 called the British Association for the Study of Spirituality, that has its inaugural event in May 2010; the conference organised by the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, on 'Teaching Spirituality in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges' in January 2010; and the high incidence of academic articles on Spirituality in journals for academics and practitioners outside traditional TRS—the highest incidence of these being in health and social care related subjects.3

It is worth recognising another impetus in this cross-disciplinary interest in spirituality that derives from trends in academic pedagogy and forces in academic management that increasingly emphasise interdisciplinarity in teaching, especially undergraduate programmes. In UK universities that operate modular systems this is accomplished by validation and approval of modules that are creditable towards awards in varied disciplines. The two modules and the two disciplines that form the foci of this paper are examples of this cross-disciplinarity. While the multiple programmes that use modules towards their accredited awards is pedagogically justifiable and provides efficiencies, as this paper will show, there remain some tensions that exist in disciplinary specific interests and benchmarking.

One of the challenges for educators from different disciplines is balancing issues of heterogeneity against those of homogeneity. Just as multiplicity and differentiation are evident in the many voices within religious traditions that necessitate plural expressions of Christianities, Buddhisms and Islams, so it is important to counteract a homogenised or univocal expression of spirituality. In many ways the study of spiritualities is a second order response to developments that are happening 'out there' in the field of popular discourse and practice; and spiritual practitioners are not limited by disciplinary boundaries. Thus varied ways of teaching and constructing the notion of spirituality by HE educators reflect the varied meanings in the field. However, there is equally some requirement to consider the range and uses of spirituality in HE teaching itself. For this is an emergent aspect of the field also.

The conceptual role of the word spirituality as an umbrella term is generally accepted, but unless it is to become a container-concept without intrinsic meaning, there need to be core definitional boundaries. This paper argues that the current state of teaching spirituality in higher education is evidence of a heterogeneous expression with differing disciplinary discourses, constructing varied definitions, some of which are complementary while some others may be contradictory. Students taking modules that include the term spirituality from different disciplines may be understandably confused. The challenge for HE educators is to accurately reflect differentiation of meaning and use while avoiding incoherence.

The national benchmark statements for undergraduate Honours programmes in the UK might be expected to clarify some of these issues, but merely indicate a lacuna in the framework. Thus, a search for the term spirituality elicits only three incidences: TRS, Healthcare programmes: Nursing and Paramedic Science. Afurther examination of the TRS statement shows that neither the term 'spirituality' nor the discipline Early Childhood Studies are to be found under lists of contiguous disciplines or social movements.4 The single entry for spirituality is to be found under 'Appendix A - The current range of possible subject matters for theology and religious studies':

cross-religious themes, eg mysticism/meditation/spirituality, devotion/liturgy, religious experience, myth, pilgrimage, rites of passage, concepts of the sacred, monasticism, fundamentalism, violence, death; ethics in/and religion: nature of religious ethics, key values, and issues, such as the environment, war, economics, politics, bioethics (QAA, 2007)

Structure of the modules—purposes, content and pedagogical principles

The module taught in the programme of Religion, Culture and Ethics at OBU is called, 'Spiritualities and Human Identity'. It is a 'Stage 2' module available for level 5 and level 6 students that was validated for this programme in 2005 and is acceptable for credit towards awards in the host programme as well as Education Studies and Social Work. It may also be taken by students constructing their own degree pathways through Combined Studies, and on occasion by associate students interested in taking modules for personal interest without award aims. Students from all of these fields have taken the module, though the primary uptake is from Religion, Culture and Ethics.

There are multiple purposes in the creation and design of modules that form the building blocks of an Honours degree. Issues of progression and coherence dominate programme construction. Spiritualities and Human Identity was designed to meet specific interests of research active staff and requests by students from the previous Religious Studies programme. Moreover, while meeting the University directive to link teaching and research in the design of programmes, it also met the University's strategic priority of incorporating and promoting reflective independent learning, and, in the process of teaching the module toward an assessment based on a learning journal it also met the strategic priority defined as 'innovative teaching learning and assessment'. Furthermore, it was designed without prerequisites or corequisites so that students from outside the field could access this module easily, thereby supporting the ethos, current at the time at Oxford Brookes, of a modular undergraduate framework with multiple combinations across fields.

Thus, the existence of Spiritualities and Human Identity has its own history, specific identity and purpose, as an option in various programme toolboxes. Its primary identity is within the combined degree programme Religion Culture and Ethics and beyond that to the Quality Assurance Agency benchmarks for Theology and Religious Studies.5 While the learning objectives for an approved module remain from one year to another, each 'run' of the module is adapted by the module tutor. The core content and delivery of the module in 2009-10 run is defined in detail in the module handbook.

The focus of this module is upon human identities that are constructed within the discourses of spiritualities. Thus the emphasis is upon the phenomenology of spiritualities, rather than sociology of human identity, and the elements of how these varied forms of spirituality create an idea of what it is to be human.

Modules in the programme of Religion Culture and Ethics rarely identify a single source as a core text for a whole module but in this case the recent publication of Ursula King's, The Search of Spirituality: Our Global Quest for Meaning and Fulfilment (2009) provided both a secure introduction to the breadth of spiritualities appropriate for the varied students, and a spine of central themes and ideas that supported the broader structure of the module. The content was defined in ten group taught lecture and seminar sessions and individual meetings on writing the learning journal:

Week One: Module introduction: Key themes, reading and how to write a learning journal
Week Two: Two S's – Secularism and Spirituality
Week Three: Childhood Spirituality
Week Four: Mysticism, Experience and Spirituality
Week Five: Christian Spiritualities
Week Six: Reading and Writing Week – individual sessions with course tutor
Week Seven: Death, Dying and Spirituality
Week Eight: Health, Well-Being and Spirituality
Week Nine: Alternative Spiritualities
Week Ten: Pagan Spiritualities
Week Eleven: Creative Spiritualities

Lectures and seminars were delivered by varied colleagues with spe- cialist knowledge: Dr Martin Groves, a theologian, for Christian Spiritualities; Reverend Dr Robert Bates, a theologian and chaplain with experience working in hospices, for Death, Dying and Spirituality; Dr Andy Letcher, a specialist in pagan studies, for Pagan Spiritualities. The weekly topics, readings and lecture notes, made available on the VLE structured class discussion, while a common thread in each session led by the module tutor was the development of a learning journal. The purpose of this design was to provide breadth in the range of expressions and experiences of spirituality and depth in the contemporary context of spiritualities. Thus there are necessary lacunae in historical contexts and traditional religious sources. The parallel depth for the students was the development of reflexivity in their own understanding.

The module on 'Young Children's Spirituality' for the BA in Early Childhood Studies (ECS) at Oxford Brookes appears, like 'Spiritualities and Human Identity' as an optional module for second and third years. Last year 37 students registered for the module. Over 50% of course participants also had practical experience of working with children, and some were in regular employment in schools and early years settings. Initially four students self-identified as having membership of a faith community: one Roman Catholic, one Pentecostal and two Muslim. It would be interesting to conduct an enquiry into how religious affiliation might have affected the participants' attitudes, or even whether a pre-existing religious affiliation might have commended the module to those who joined, but this is outside the scope of this brief reflection.

Early Childhood Studies is a relatively new area of study. It combines practitioner perspectives with theories drawn from education, sociology and psychology. As the benchmarking statements describe it:

The interdisciplinary nature of the area of ECS takes account of the ecology of children's lives, in studying the complexities of family life and of children's development from conception onwards, thus signifying the importance of both the intricate and interactive continuum of growth and development, and the significance of early childhood across cultures and societies. (QAA 2007)

Spiritual aspects of human development are not mentioned in the subject benchmarks, and this, in some ways, reflects the ambiguity towards spiritual development in education identified by Eaude, who notes that while the term 'spiritual' is hard to define, children's spiritual development is nevertheless one aspect of government inspection of schools.6 However the benchmarks do make mention of ECS graduates being able to 'reflect upon a range of philosophical, historical, psychological, sociological, cultural, health, welfare, legal, political and economic perspectives, and consider how these underpin different understandings of children and childhood, nationally and globally' and to 'detect meaningful patterns in behaviour and experience, and evaluate their significance'.7 A case can be made, therefore, for seeing spirituality as part of the 'behaviour and experience' which is the proper study of Early Childhood. Students on this module are not theologians or students of the phenomenology of religion, but they are people with a theoretical (and often practice-based) understanding of the phenomena of childhood.

Students in ECS are used to dealing with contested concepts such as childhood and play; they were therefore invited to investigate spirituality in the same way as, earlier in their undergraduate career, they had begun to explore play, and they responded well to Eaude's assertion that spirituality is 'inherently elusive and contested.'8 They understood this tension: while the QAA benchmarks and current government thinking about early childhood curricula are bounded by developmental discourses, theorists such as Bronfenbrenner see the child as part of a complex social system, and her/his development as a 'product of interaction between the growing human organism and its environment'. 9 This is the root of the ecological language reflected in the benchmarks. (DCSF 2007)

Student engagement—VLE and e-discussions

The module required participants to enter into the reflective process, looking in particular at the place spirituality might have in a child's culture, and in the (largely adult) definitions of childhood. A 'topdown' definition of the term 'spirituality' was avoided, and models of spirituality were explored through writers such as Wright, Harris, Eaude and Champagne.10 Some of these texts were chosen explicitly in response to the students' on-line explorations of themes in spirituality described below.

By using the Virtual Learning Environment, students were encouraged to express in writing a process of reflection on how they might define the unfamiliar term spirituality. In order to allow as much range as possible in this reflective process, the module began with images, with the students exploring, in on-line discussions after the class, how three short video extracts might allow them to come towards a definition of spirituality. These were the Vigil Office from Groening's Into Great Silence, the initial testing of the boy then known as Lhamo from Scorsese's Kundun, and the 'Walking in the Air' sequence from Briggs/Jackson's The Snowman. The three were chosen to include two which depict mainstream religions and another from outside the overtly religious sphere; two were chosen because of the depiction of young children, which, given the focus of the module, was felt to be most appropriate. These were not chosen as visual representations of a major event in a community's religious history, a Heilsgeschichte, in order to allow students to explore and dissent from the narrative with less worry of offending other course participants, although Kundun comes closest to a central religious narrative. Rather, this approach was intended to generate discussion - partly as a Philosophy for Children/Communities stimulus might do, but also as might be seen in a number of approaches to enquiry in humanities in primary education.11

Responses from the students were interesting: there was a general caution, sometimes even dislike, of the 'dark,' 'weird' and 'boring' sequence from the Carthusian monks at prayer in Into Great Silence; a warmer reception, mixed with some scepticism, was given to the boy being recognised as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in Kundun; and there was a very warm response to the musical sequence from The Snowman. Of the 'Walking in the Air' clip one student responded, 'I found it easy to connect to the music and childlike sense of wonder conveyed,' and wonder is a recurrent theme in these responses. The sense of connection with the sequence is echoed in a number of answers where students referred to their own memories, e.g. 'I think that this familiarity seemed to me to be more spiritual than the abstract concepts of God and religion. Perhaps familiarity is a main part of what is spiritual to the individual?' and 'For me, it brought back many a memory of [being] sat in front of the fire at Christmas watching this with my family. For me spirituality is not about religious experiences concerned wholly with the idea of a God, but through one off experiences in life.' These responses were perhaps in some measure an indication of the pre-formed notions of spirituality that the students brought to the module, but they found particular resonance in the work of Harris whose work begins with a remembering of her childhood fascination with kaleidoscopes, and in which she comments that 'Children's spirituality involves living, exploring, and belonging by building close relationships with peers'.12

The sequence in Kundun which a young boy is tested by being presented with possessions from the previous Dalai Lama has an ambiguity which the students picked up on; is he responding to small encouragements from the visiting dignitaries as he picks up the 'right'objects? One student was of the opinion that it shows 'how it reflects the idea of predetermined destiny,' something she admitted was part of her own beliefs. This was a view echoed by other contributors, while others suggested that they 'couldn't get past that they were actors,' or that 'a child may easily choose a sequence of items when they get such positive praise from choosing the correct ones.' One student — herself an early years practitioner — brought the conversation back to the workplace: 'I wonder how this applies to young children; If my children saw the clip of the Dalai Lama, would they feel the same as if they saw The Snowman; Where would spirituality fit in then?'

As indicated earlier, the clip from Into Great Silence provoked the most debate. More than one student—even among those for whom the Carthusian life seemed difficult to understand—began to unpack the complex issues of how far spirituality, mystical experience and religious discipline are bound together: One respondent felt that it 'depicted a very religious view of spirituality,' while another commented 'the clip made me think what good can come from cutting yourself off the world, does this really bring you any closer to god or fulfilment? Is this extreme isolation supposed to enable a greater connection to the divine? Is it escapist, service, what were they searching for?' and a third suggested Into Great Silence showed 'spiritual experiences as solitary worship and prayer, with spirituality only achieved by a deeper connection with God through these activities.' Eaude likewise notes that for him, spirituality has 'the connotation of being primarily interior and individual, based within a religious tradition,' he is also looking for something that 'relates more to the individual's place within culture, to values and relationships'.13 One student came close to expressing a dichotomy between formal religion and her definition of spirituality—'You would need to be very devoted to the religion. But that may not be the same as spiritual (not to me anyway)'—but in the nature of on-line discussion, does not give any more detail to her argument, and is not challenged by her colleagues. The dissonance they felt, however, provoked some expressions of tolerance, of which this quotation is not untypical: 'The isolation and intensity it showed is not something I relate to spirituality. But then this shows how everybody's ideas of true spirituality can vary so much.'

Themes on spirituality that emerged from this activity range from the idea that spirituality is a personal thing, bringing with it all the variations that personality and personal history might encompass, to the notion that spirituality still sits at a point of connection (or perhaps disconnection) between the 'religious' and 'humanist'. It is worth noting, perhaps, that the level of reflection required was bound to produce multiple meanings of something elusive, complex and dynamic. As Craig points out 'multiple narrative truths—each based on human reflection and/or lack of it—swirl around any given narrative inquiry. In addition, because human experience is constantly in flux, reflection is never static.'14

Sheldrake suggests that reducing meaning to definitions may not be a fruitful way to progress,15 and it was not the intention of this exercise to arrive at a single definition of spirituality, but to allow the students independently to explore a variety of themes, and for these themes to help form the approach to spirituality for the rest of the module. Student engagement with the themes of the module came close, therefore, to a co-construction of the themes—again, an approach familiar to at least some of the Early Childhood students, and to an approach to Early Years pedagogy heavily influenced by socioconstructivist thinking, that allows children to explore ideas and environments with adults rather than under adult direction.16 It is worth noting that the social aspect of this exploration of ideas finds resonance in the social aspects of spirituality discussed by King where, following writers such as Thomas Merton, she describes the human condition as a dance and where spiritual exploration as individual and a group activities have historically been seen as 'closely related and interdependent'. 17 The social aspects of Early Years practice are deeply embedded in UK pedagogy—something the ECS students were already aware of —and would include effective use of formative assessment at an informal level.

Choosing to place the reflective element for the ECS module outside the assessment gave the students 'room' to shape a definition of the term 'spirituality' without attempting to reach an orthodoxy that the course tutor had, in any case, not intended. Such an approach also allowed students to engage positively with the process of coming to a definition themselves, through on-line discussion of key imagery and themes arising from it. However, there was a clear purpose in this; the assignment gave the barebones title 'A report on children's spirituality' as the major part of the final assessment, and since the module assessment required the ECS students to seek approval for their final assignment focus in week 5 of 12, they needed to come to some view as to what aspect of spirituality they might wish to look at in their final essay. This, in turn, required some beginnings of a definition of spirituality in order for this thinking to take place. That is not to say that students were asked to produce a definition in order to progress in the module, but that the personal reflection required in the opening sessions (in class and via VLE discussions) would be allowed to enrich the more formally assessed work towards the end of the semester.

Learning journals and reflexive learners

As an optional module, rather than core or required, only students whose interests were raised by the title, content summary, details from the handbook or on the Virtual Learning Environment or who had been inspired by presentations on their programme options, selected the module. Thus the experience of these students was mediated by their own specific purposes and interests, and by those of their colleagues. The nature and 'flavour' of the module are dependent on student engagement and their diverse interests shape the discussions in class as much as they shape the responses they provide in assessment. Students taking the module Spiritualities and Human Identity amply illustrated the intentions of the QAA subject benchmark statement:

1.13 Whatever the subject, the acquisition of knowledge and understanding is usually transformative at some level, changing a person's perspectives and often their attitudes.The nature of TRS means that studying the subject may have a profound impact on the student's life and outlook. The experience of studying this subject may contribute to a student's personal development, transforming horizons by engaging with cultures and societies other than their own, whether ancient or modern. It may foster a lifelong quest for wisdom, respect for one's own integrity and that of others, selfexamination in terms of the beliefs and values adopted for one's own life, a better understanding of its role in geo-political conflict and, not least, the challenging of prejudices. (QAA, 2007)

The assessment for the module was structured to bring elements of formative discussion and development into a summative final paper. The module guide specified:

You will write a Learning Journal that engages critically with the material you read and discuss in the course. This will allow you to reflect on the course content and the key concepts that have impacted upon your perceptions of how spirituality is used by spiritual practitioners.

The purpose of this assessment was for students to reflect on their changing notions of spirituality through a diary of developing ideas. The learning journal as a tool within the assessment armaments of HE educators has grown significantly in the 21st century as issues of student-focused teaching and student experience through formative assessment have been highlighted in HE pedagogy—a point affirmed by Chris Park; 'Previous writers have emphasised the ways in which journals, by focusing on the process of learning rather than the product of learning, provide valuable educational benefits'.18

Moreover, it was more than intellectual conceit to recognise that the tropes of 'journey' and 'progress' in literatures of spirituality are mirrored in the progress and journey involved in learning about these tropes. It was in part a pedagogical principle that students should reflexively engage with the development of their ideas and in part a recognition of the fact that the body of students would be largely composed of individuals with intrinsic interests in spirituality that the learning journal was so appropriate as the assessment for this module.

The learning journal is much more than just a log of what was being covered in the course, because producing it is a learning experience in itself. As one student (E) thoughtfully suggested, it is 'a learning journey more than a learning journal'. Like much of life, it is about the journey perhaps as much as the destination—the very act of writing the journal is much more important (certainly to the writer) than the finished product. Some of the more interesting journals made a virtue out of this, by documenting how the student's thoughts and understandings changed through time. (Park, 2003:190)

There are easily recognisable values in using learning journals. However, this researchers' previous experience of them (across OBU and as external for a number of programmes in other HEIs) raised flags of warning. First the students are not accustomed to this mode of writing and extensive explanation of the format is required. Second, even with a clear rationale for the use of learning journals students find it challenging to construct an extended piece of writing that is both personal and academic. Moreover, their attempts to provide the narrative of their learning can disadvantage them in achieving academic and critical learning outcomes. Third, it is equally challenging for markers to assess the quality of personal reflection, especially when the learning journal may be written in the form of a personal diary—there is a kind of discourse disjuncture that makes ascribing a specific mark and grade worryingly impressionistic.

Jennifer Moon, author of the influential text, Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Professional Development, recognises that there are issues of quality and depth in student learning journals and prescribes exercises 'to encourage the deepening of reflection'. 19 However, this leads to a tension in the time allocated to the ostensible object of the module, viz spirituality, and teaching students about techniques for the assessment of their learning. While it is a valid pedagogical principle that assessment drives learning, there is an equal principle, outmoded in current pedagogies, that there are intrinsic values in providing learning opportunities that are not merely vehicles towards completing assignments. Indeed there is a common complaint in HEIs about 'instrumentalism' amongst students, where assignment success overrides the intrinsic elements of learning about the subject.

Wary of these possibilities the assignment for 'Spiritualities and Human Identity' was clearly defined around a broad 'frame'. The frame included a compulsory single specified coursework title with three subsections: A. Critical Reflections on the Variety of Meanings and Uses of Spirituality; B. Attractions of Spirituality in Modern Society; C. Personal Reflections on Spirituality as a Part of Human Identity. The process of student reflexivity was therefore both intrinsic to the design of the module and the student experience within the module. Moreover, the assessment both drove the learning experience and was aligned to achievement of the learning outcomes. From a pedagogical perspective this necessitated an explicit examination of each of these features, (reflexivity in learning, learning outcomes and the purposes of assessment) from the beginning of the module. Thus students were asked to discuss the nature of the assignment and their reactions to it.

To begin to assess the potential for reflective thinking as a practice engendered in the use of learning journals, one can begin by assessing student perceptions and uses of the vehicle itself.What students feel about the required assignment can affect their performance in fulfilling the aim of achieving critical reflection. (Langer 2002:349)

Students stated that they were 'excited' and 'nervous' about the form of assessment—becoming more influenced by the latter as the deadline approached. As the module progressed their engagement with the learning journal from which they would derive the personal reflection was mixed. Some adopted a rigorous diary approach, examining their changing perspectives and reflecting on their individual perceptions, sometimes at the expense of the more academic critical reflections on other's uses and meanings of spiritualities. Other students chose a more formal approach emphasising the more traditional academic skills of summarising the literature and effacing the 'I' that the learning journal encouraged. Discussion about the nature and content of these journals was a preface to each taught session to further encourage the reflective process. The summative assessment then grew out of this continuous formative engagement. From this single run of the module it is impossible to derive significant conclusions, though three observations provide some indicative points for further reflection on the use of learning journals, and which suggest a relative success for this mode of assessment: all the students passed the module, some with high grades, with an average mark above the whole course average; one student explicitly stated her personal reflections on spirituality were private and adopted the second formal mode, summarising key literature and concepts following the chronological sequence of the module; one student adopted the learning journal and three-part writing frame as the template for an independent study on the topic of contemporary funerary sites and rites.

Conclusions

It is perhaps worth noting that the authors, like many colleagues, bring to their work in Higher Education experiences from teaching Early Years, Primary and Secondary children in the maintained sector. Thus they bring to their teaching an understanding of the contexts in which their students have been situated previously, or to which they are professionally linked. Dominic is alert to how students are 'not accustomed' to the reflective mode the assessment demands, and Nick is aware of how 'multiple definitions' can exist for Early Years practitioners. Both of us from different discourses have accepted the fluid nature of the concept and practices related to spirituality—and accordingly set up learning and assessment opportunities that reflect that fluidity. We have paid attention to programme learning outcomes, benchmarks and sector requirements in order to facilitate a 'constructive alignment' of learning objectives.20

A key principle has been to foster graduate skills of critical and reflexive thinking. In 'Young Children's Spirituality' students engaged in discussion on the VLE to reflect on the film extracts. In 'Spiritualities and Human Identity' the learning journal culminated in reflections on the concepts and personal journey undertaken by students through the module. These understandings inform their practice. There is room for a struggle for meaning, an ambiguity, for example in the spaces between organised religion and a more secular view of spiritual development. There is room too for a challenge to the notion of an orthodoxy (not necessarily in ecclesial terms) to which the student should subscribe to succeed. Perhaps most important of all, the notion that there can be learning—even a product from that learning—that arises from reflection but is not the subject of immediate scrutiny by assessors/markers suggests a belief that there remains space for personal reflection in Higher Education.

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Sheldrake, P., Spirituality and History, (London: SPCK, 1995).

The Snowman Directed by Dianne Jackson from the book by Raymond Briggs (Norwalk, CT, USA : Weston Woods, 1982).

Tanya, R. A.,. 'Towards Clarification of the Meaning of Spirituality' Journal of Advanced Nursing, 39:5, (2002) pp. 500-509.

Wright A., Spirituality and Education (Abingdon: Routledge, 2000).

Endnotes

  1. Bruce, S., 'The New Age and Secularisation' in S. Sutcliffe and M. Bowman, eds., Beyond New Age: Exploring Alternative Spirituality, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000) pp. 220-236. and Bruce, S., God is Dead: Secularization in the West, (Oxford: Blackwell, 2002).
  2. Heelas, P., Woodhead, L., Seel, B., Szerszyinski, B. and Tusting, K., The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way to Spirituality, (Oxford: Blackwell 2005).
  3. See for example, Tanya, R. A.,. 'Towards Clarification of the Meaning of Spirituality', Journal of Advanced Nursing, 39:5, (2002) pp. 500-509.
  4. See statements 2.6 and 2.7, QAA Benchmark for Theology and Religious Studies, http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/statements/Th eology.asp (2000, revised 2007) accessed 12 Feb, 2010).
  5. Ibid.
  6. See Eaude, T., Children's Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development, 2nd ed. (Exeter: Learning Matters, 2005)
  7. Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/ benchmark/statements/EarlyChildhoodStudies07.pdf (2007) accessed March 12, 2010)
  8. Eaude, T., 'Strangely familiar? - Teachers Making Sense of Young Children's Spiritual Development', Early Years, 25: 3, (2005), p.238
  9. Bronfenbrenner, U., The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. (London: Harvard University Press 1979 p16. A discussion of the literature around the current curriculum for the Foundation Stage in England is to be found in Evangelou, M., Sylva, K., Kyriacou, M., Wild, M., and Glenny G., 'Early Years Learning and Development: Literature Review Research', DCSF -RR176. London: 2009).
  10. Wright, A., Spirituality and Education, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2000), Harris, K., 'Re-conceptualizing Spirituality in the Light of Educating Young Children', International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 12: 3, (2007), pp. 263–275, Eaude, T., 'Strangely familiar? - Teachers Making Sense of Young Children's Spiritual Development', Early Years, 25: 3, (2005), pp. 237–248, Champagne, E., 'Being a Child, a Spiritual Child', International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 8: 1 (2003).
  11. SAPERE (2010) http://www.sapere.org.uk/ accessed March 12, 2010 See also for example Eyre, G., 'Photos in Global Learning', Primary Geographer 71, (2010) pp. 20-21.
  12. Harris, K., 'Re-conceptualizing Spirituality in the Light of Educating Young Children', International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 12: 3, (2007), p. 271.
  13. Eaude, T., 'Shining Lights in Unexpected Corners: New Angles on Young Children's Spiritual Development', International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 8: 2, (2003) p.153.
  14. Craig, C., 'Learning about Reflection Through Exploring Narrative Inquiry', Reflective Practice, 10: 1, (2009) p. 112.
  15. Sheldrake, P., Spirituality and History. (London: SPCK, 1995).
  16. See, for example, Jordan, B., 'Scaffolding Learning and Co-constructing Understandings', in Anning, A., Cullen, J. and Fleer, M., Early Childhood Education 2nd ed (London: Sage, 2009) and Evangelou, M., Sylva, K., Kyriacou, M., Wild, M., and Glenny G., 'Early Years Learning and Development: Literature Review Research', DCSF -RR176. (London: 2009) p. 23.
  17. King, U., The Search for Spirituality: Our Global Quest for Meaning and Fulfilment, (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2009) p.183 and 2009:78ff.
  18. Park, C., 'Engaging Students in the Learning Process: The Learning Journal', Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 27: 2, (2003) p. 184.
  19. Moon, J., Learning Journals: A Handbook for Reflective Practice and Professional Development, 2nd Ed. (London: Routledge, 2006) p. 41.
  20. Biggs J., Teaching for Quality Learning at University 2nd Ed (Maidenhead: Oxford University Press, 2003). See also Reid-Bowen, P., and Robinson C., 'Staff Expectation and Student Experience: A Case Study of First Year Undergraduate Curriculum planning and Evaluation', Discourse: Learning and Teaching in Philosophical and Religious Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, (2008) p. 76.

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