Spiritual Development as an Educational Goal

Purpose: To inform current international debates about educating for wholeness and purpose, this article gives a critical analysis of spiritual development as a goal of state-funded schooling in England and Wales. Design/Approach/Methods: The analysis follows a history of ideas approach. Relevant te...

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Main Author: Daniel Moulin-Stożek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-09-01
Series:ECNU Review of Education
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120935128
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author Daniel Moulin-Stożek
author_facet Daniel Moulin-Stożek
author_sort Daniel Moulin-Stożek
collection DOAJ
description Purpose: To inform current international debates about educating for wholeness and purpose, this article gives a critical analysis of spiritual development as a goal of state-funded schooling in England and Wales. Design/Approach/Methods: The analysis follows a history of ideas approach. Relevant texts are examined to understand how notions of “spiritual” and “development” were first combined and introduced into mass education, and how they have changed over time. Findings: The concept of spiritual development blends scientific conceptions of human development with a holistic, but ambiguous formative principle. This expedient, even paradoxical ideal, has resulted in confusion among practitioners and allowed for some considerable shift in policy. Originality/Value: Spiritual development in the English context provides a paradigmatic case by which to explore the integration of formative goals in the curriculum. While in some respects the English tradition of spiritual development represents something of its time and its unique cultural context, its underlying assumptions resonate with renewed international interest for educating for meaning and purpose.
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spelling doaj.art-99b708062f6c4de9a8859fada8950f3d2022-12-21T17:13:23ZengSAGE PublishingECNU Review of Education2096-53112632-17422020-09-01310.1177/2096531120935128Spiritual Development as an Educational GoalDaniel Moulin-StożekPurpose: To inform current international debates about educating for wholeness and purpose, this article gives a critical analysis of spiritual development as a goal of state-funded schooling in England and Wales. Design/Approach/Methods: The analysis follows a history of ideas approach. Relevant texts are examined to understand how notions of “spiritual” and “development” were first combined and introduced into mass education, and how they have changed over time. Findings: The concept of spiritual development blends scientific conceptions of human development with a holistic, but ambiguous formative principle. This expedient, even paradoxical ideal, has resulted in confusion among practitioners and allowed for some considerable shift in policy. Originality/Value: Spiritual development in the English context provides a paradigmatic case by which to explore the integration of formative goals in the curriculum. While in some respects the English tradition of spiritual development represents something of its time and its unique cultural context, its underlying assumptions resonate with renewed international interest for educating for meaning and purpose.https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120935128
spellingShingle Daniel Moulin-Stożek
Spiritual Development as an Educational Goal
ECNU Review of Education
title Spiritual Development as an Educational Goal
title_full Spiritual Development as an Educational Goal
title_fullStr Spiritual Development as an Educational Goal
title_full_unstemmed Spiritual Development as an Educational Goal
title_short Spiritual Development as an Educational Goal
title_sort spiritual development as an educational goal
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120935128
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