Spirituality in Education: Becoming an Awakened School

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Each person is born a spiritual being (Miller, 2015). While there is an understanding that success and well-being require a “whole-child” approach to education, often this does not include support for the child’s innate capacity for spirituality (Authors, 2021). Through extensive qualitative research, we identified how schools intentionally design an awakened school culture which supports students’ innate spirituality. This research with “awakened schools” provided a blueprint for other schools to redesign their cultures to cultivate the inner core of each student. During this session, researchers, heads of schools, and teachers who were part of our study will discuss our research questions, research design, initial findings, and ways in which spirituality is supported in public and private schools.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Spirituality & Education

Chair

• Amy Lynn Chapman, Arizona State University

Papers

• Living Our Core Values: Respect, Integrity, Service, Stewardship of the Natural World, and Curiosity - Cameron Hardy, Millbrook School

• The Power of the Circle in Creating a Spiritually Supportive School Culture - Renee Owen, Southern Oregon University

• Fostering Spiritual and Ethical Identities Through Civic Engagement and Nature in a K–8 School - Daniel Glass, Brandeis School of San Francisco

• Public Schools, Spirituality, and Leadership - David Bellard

• Spiritually Supportive Online Pedagogy: Awakened Virtual Schools - Julian Bull, Campbell Hall

• Starting Our Spiritual Journey: Community and Belonging - Robert Macrae; James McGuire, Louisville Collegiate