Ethical Considerations of Teaching Spirituality in the Academy

Abstract

Despite evidence in college students indicating a hunger for spiritual insight and spirituality's application in health care, there continues to be guardedness within the academy towards inclusion of curricula that address spirituality. The purpose of this article is to examine the ethical considerations of teaching spirituality in the academy by describing current trends, issues relevant to nursing education and practice, legitimate concerns of the academy, and the importance of an ethical instructional response when teaching about spirituality. Data supporting the interest and desire by students to explore meaning and purpose in the context of spirituality will be presented. Challenges and barriers inherent in teaching this topic will be described, including the affective response, the lack of a universally accepted definition of spirituality, and spirituality's relationship to religion. Pedagogical strategies consistent with an ethical instructional response will be discussed as the key to eliciting trust within the academy. A model of teaching spirituality and health will be offered to illustrate these possibilities.

Spirituality in the Undergraduate Curricula of Nursing Schools in Portugal and São Paulo-Brazil

“…Once educated via a self-study program, nurses and nursing students revealed changes in their attitude towards spiritual care, but nursing students were more willing to communicate with patients in spiritual distress than nurses [48]. Nursing students expect teachers to help them develop the skills to provide spiritual care [49,50], and no doubts should remain whether spirituality should be taught [12,48]. Indeed, a significant difference in the knowledge and attitudes toward spirituality of nursing students was reported as a result of the integration of spirituality into the undergraduate nursing curriculum [51].…”

Evaluating the Use of Standardized Patients in Teaching Spiritual Care at the End of Life

“…With the exception of private faith-based colleges and universities, many nursing programs do not have a religious education requirement. According to Becker (2009), academies of higher education struggle to teach courses in spirituality with the prevailing thought that religion is a topic that should be taught privately in church or home.…”

Faith Boxes: A Training Activity for Educators and Human Service Professionals

“…However, Annettte Becker (2009) provides a different slant on the issue. She contends that what actually make these topics challenging is not the subjects themselves but rather the affective response to them and the emotionally charged debates they engender (Becker, 2009).…”

“…However, Annettte Becker (2009) provides a different slant on the issue. She contends that what actually make these topics challenging is not the subjects themselves but rather the affective response to them and the emotionally charged debates they engender (Becker, 2009). Implied in this concept is the proposal that if there could be reciprocity, mutual recognition, and respect proffered, the affective defensiveness might give way to increased understanding.…”

“…Within the realm of higher education there is a reluctance to include or integrate spiritual or religious curricula or diversity content into the training of professional and allied health professionals (Becker, 2009;Hage, Hopson, Siegel, Payton, & Defanti, 2006). Secular programs do little to attend to education and training regarding religious or spiritual diversity (Post & Wade, 2009;Watkins van Asselt & Baldo Senstock, 2009).…”