Early childhood educators’ perceptions of nurturing spirituality in secular settings

Abstract

In-service early childhood educators (n = 33) completed a survey describing their perceptions towards: (a) how educators draw on personal spirituality to support their role in the classroom, (b) what curricular activities, interactions or experiences educators believe relate to nourishing children’s spirituality, (c) how the classroom environment or schedule may support children’s spirituality, and (d) how school culture may be related to supporting children’s spirituality. Findings suggest that educators believe opportunities for creative expression and free play, engagement with nature, contemplative practices (e.g. mindfulness), relationship building and moral/character development are related to nourishing children’s spirituality. Expressions of personal spirituality for the surveyed educators include treating colleagues and children well, intentionally providing a good example for children, use of contemplative practices and connecting with nature. There was substantial overlap found between developmentally appropriate practice and the activities educators reported as nurturing a child’s spirit. Findings suggest that discussing the spiritual nature of child development may help educators protect and enhance high-quality early learning environments in secular settings.