Learning & Development - Well-Being: Part 4 - Spiritual growth

At a time when many churches face diminished congregations, interest in a spiritual dimension to life has strengthened in recent years. As the moral doctrines set down by organised religion appear to have less impact on people, many are struggling to find new meanings and guidance to ways in which they can conduct their lives.

Despite this, there have been very few studies of young children's spiritual development, few insights as to what it comprises and little guidance on how it should be fostered. Although there is a reference to spiritual development in the section on health and well-being in the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is no guidance about how to promote it.

The Welsh framework for the Foundation Stage has done better. It has a section on spiritual and moral development, which includes requirements for children to have scope to reflect and experience quiet and creative times.

Reflection and quietness don't come naturally to young children; they are so full of life and vitality. Yet during the early years of life, children are not naturally weighted down by materialism (although some are in danger of being so, as described below) and are very open to new ideas and thoughts. Clearly, this is a good basis for beginning to recognise the things of quality and significance in life.

There is also a tendency to confuse the spiritual with the religious. Although all religions share a sense of the sacred, which is surely something worthwhile and precious to pass on to young children, in this article I suggest that spiritual values can stand by themselves.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The term 'spiritual' is elusive and hard to pin down. Elaine McCreery, head of Primary Initial Teacher Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, defines it is as an awareness that there is something 'other, something greater than the course of everyday events'. Trying to narrow down the meaning, I suggest that spirituality is about appreciating the journey through life in the deepest sense, particularly special rites of passage, and coming to understand our own inner resources to help us cope with the journey.

This is a tall order for young children and probably the most challenging aspect of development to nurture when working with them. However, it is one of the most important, given that they are growing up in a society lacking in spiritual values.

Consumerism and greed

The current financial crisis around the world has focused us on the avarice and self-indulgence of some people in power and has impacted sharply on those with fewer financial resources. Even in this climate there continues to be a huge emphasis on consumerism, which can distract children from recognising and enjoying the less tangible aspects of life. We still judge people by what they have rather than what they are, by the amount of money they earn and the things with which they surround themselves.

Those parents fortunate enough to be in work seem to work longer and harder to provide children with more and more luxuries. Many of those unemployed struggle desperately with money to provide the same. By giving children so much and making it so easy to replace and replenish things, we are denying them the need to cherish and value what they have.

Relentless attainment

The Archbishop of Canterbury points an accusing finger at the priorities of our early education system. He suggests that the current idea about the purpose of childhood education is to give children the skills to survive and succeed in a competitive and even dangerously cut-throat world.

The emphasis on the need for progress, on targets and outcomes, pushes practitioners into rushing children to climb on to the next step of the ladder of progress, rather than having time to savour moments of new discovery.

The loss of childhood

We hear a great deal nowadays about the 'loss of childhood'. In the premature rush into the adult world, children are 'growing up' too quickly and become too knowing at too early an age about the ways of the world. The media are quick to exploit this, particularly for small girls, at whom make-up, jewellery and 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 the adult world.

This grim picture is highlighted in the Good Childhood Inquiry, commissioned by the Children's Society, which added that a culture of individualism is causing a range of problems for children.

The report suggests that the over-riding belief that you need to take care of yourself first is flawed, as evidence shows that unselfish people are happier. There is also a clear message in the final report for parents, who are urged to help their children to develop spiritual qualities. These messages indicate some important factors that we should face. The following headings suggest ways to protect and strengthen children's inner lives.

AWARENESS

Although young babies rapidly recognise their mother's milk, her voice and her smell, for the most part they live in the moment, with no sense of past or future. Margaret Donaldson suggests that this 'living in the moment' which she calls 'the point mode', is also apparent in older children.

David Hay describes a vivid, immediate experience in his family. 'One morning when he was very young, our son Simon called excitedly for me to run to the window. When I hurried over he pointed triumphantly out of the window and ecstatically cried out, "Grass!" One only has to think of how frequently small children are transfixed by the moment in this way, to realize how natural and universal the point mode is to childhood.'

As parents and practitioners we all recognise this, as we amble along with a toddler and make slow progress in order for them to examine closely a seemingly very ordinary stone or worm. Young children use their bodies and sensory experiences to focus deeply and sense situations. They find it difficult to describe what they experience, but their awareness springs from listening to messages that lie within them.

Truly absorbed awareness is described by the social psychologist Mihaly Cskszentmhalyi as 'flow'. He suggests that this occurs when you are totally immersed in something that interests you and experience a liberating feeling of mastery. Young children's lives are filled with physical and mental challenges to conquer, most of which require their undivided attention. Some joyous experiences of achievement, such as taking a first step or completing a carefully constructed model, may be linked to inner satisfaction and spirituality.

Question: How well do we provide for babies and young children to live in the moment?

BELONGING

Any developing personality has to start with growth of self-knowledge and self-esteem. The stable family plays an important role in helping a child gain a sense of personal continuity. At ages three and four, children love to hear stories of when they were babies and share memories of past family events.

They are also keen to share and listen to predictions of what will happen when you are a big boy. These shared experiences help young children to strengthen a sense of self and connectedness within the family group. When the child moves to a group setting they will only make a sound transition when they feel that they belong in the group. Spiritual connection shows itself in a climate of mutual trusting relationships.

Question: What rituals, songs and stories do you use to help children feel part of a family in your setting?

A SENSE OF AWE, WONDER AND MYSTERY

The roots of spirituality are founded in early experiences of awe, wonder and mystery. This is certainly the easiest aspect of spiritual development to foster, as young children are so very impressionable. They have lived for a very short time and to them, most of life is still a mystery. Young children wonder at the mundane and constantly remind us more jaundiced adults of the joy of being alive. And yet the very process growing up and experiencing more formal education can stifle the curiosity that leads to wonder and the exploration of the world. Wordsworth describes this beautifully:

'Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

Shades of the prison-house begin to close

Upon the growing boy.'

We can bombard young children with sophisticated planned experiences - elaborate outings and foreign travel - and find that these have little impact when compared with their amazement when they discover a frozen puddle or a bird's nest. The best ways of encouraging awe and wonder in children of all ages are when the adults themselves are open to the miracles and mysteries of life.

SEARCH FOR MEANING AND PURPOSE

Young children constantly search for meaning through their questions, many of which confront the big issues in life. Some of these may be related to the child's personal circumstances, like 'Where has my daddy gone?' Others may be more imponderable - 'Who is God?' It's best to keep responses simple and honest. 'God is very special to a lot of people who believe that he made the world and all the things living in it.' That may be sufficient to satisfy, and the child may move on to the next burning question - 'When is it lunch time?'

Always admit it when you do not have a ready answer. A child will be satisfied if you show that it's a very important question and that you are interested in finding out more about it with him.

Question: how well do we encourage children to value the real treasures in life-love, laughter, friendship, giving?

CREATIVITY

Conversations with young children and observations of their models, drawings, paintings and role play reveal their original thinking and creativity. During the early years these talents blossom or wither.

Young children need to be able to exercise their imaginations and have scope to draw on inspiration and on insight in their play. Like garden compost, ideas need time to mature.

People who are well-known for their creative ideas usually agree that inspiration emerges when they slow down, reflect and mull things over. This applies equally to young children who need encouragement and support to help them to develop, use and apply new ideas.

Question: How well does our environment and contacts with children inspire them to be creative and sparkly thinkers?

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

While parents try to hand down some financial inheritance to their children, practitioners need to ask in what ways parents invest in their spiritual development and how we help them.

Marion Dowling is an early years consultant.

CASE STUDY

Rose, a reception teacher, had the hard task of telling her class that five-year-old Danny had been tragically killed in a car accident the previous evening. During the next few days, in their attempt to make sense of it, the children asked many questions. 'Where is Danny now? Is he happy? And what shall we do?'

With gentle guidance from Rose, they all decided to draw pictures for Danny which were placed in a special box and given to his mother. They bought some flower seeds and planted them in part of their school garden, which they named 'Danny's Place' and which contained a framed photograph of their friend.

'Danny's Place' was marked out by a circle of stones. Each child had chosen a stone which they marked with their name. In a simple ceremony, as they placed their stone in position they said something about Danny as a person. One or two children chose to stay silent, but one little boy said, 'You are my mate, Danny, and I hope that you know that.'

BOOK OFFER

Young Children's Personal, Social and Emotional Development by Marion Dowling has just been published in a fully revised third edition to include: personal, social and emotional development in children 0-6 years; current developments impacting on children's personal development; references to the EYFS; links to EYPS; brain research and its links to children's well-being and learning; aspects of multi-agency working, and working with children from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Sage is offering a 20 per cent discount on Young Children's Personal, Social and Emotional Development plus free postage and packaging to readers of Nursery World until 10 June 2010. To order your copy of this book, please call Customer Services on 020 7324 8703, or visit www.sagepub.co.uk/education and quote the reference UK09SM012.

REFERENCES

- Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (2007) Foundation Stage: Framework for Children's Learning for 3- to 7-year-olds in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government

- McCreery, E (2006) quoted in Hay, D and Nye, R, The Spirit of the Child. London: Jessica Kingsley, p60

- Hay, D and Nye, R (2006) The Spirit of the Child. London: Jessica Kingsley, p68

- Williams, R (2000) Lost Icons. London: Continuum International Publishing Group

- Hayden, JO (ed) (1990) 'Intimations of Immortality' from Recollections of Early Childhood in William Wordsworth: The Poems. London: Penguin Books

- For information on the Good Childhood Inquiry visit: www.childrenssociety.org.uk/all_about_us/how_we_do_it/the_good_childhood _inquiry/1818.html. The final report, A Good Childhood: Searching for Values in a Competitive Age, by Richard Layard and Judy Dunn, is published by Penguin, priced £9.99.

Photographs by Jacky Chapman at Rachel Keeling nursery school, London.