U.S. Early Childhood Educators' Understanding of Spirituality: Connections, Virtues, and Meaning-Making

• In Event: AERA Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual Poster Session: SIG-Spirituality & Education Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

The Early Childhood Educators’ Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument was distributed to 365 in-service early childhood educators from across 36 U.S. states, to determine how children’s spirituality is nurtured in educational settings. The ECE-SPC is comprised of 34 rating-scale items and five open-ended questions. Findings presented stem from 318 responses to question, “What do you understand children’s spirituality to be?” Preliminary findings for 33 responses showed that most educators have a multilayered understanding of children’s spirituality including building connections, practicing virtues, and making meaning (Mata-McMahon et al., 2020). Using a grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2006) data analysis of the remaining 285 responses will further add and extend the original findings, providing a baseline framework for teacher preparation programs.

Authors

• Jennifer Mata-McMahon, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
  Presenting Author

• Michael J. Haslip, Drexel University
  Presenting Author

• Shahin Hossain, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
  Presenting Author