The rise of the child's voice; the silencing of the spiritual voice

The narratives of children in armed conflict: an inference to spirituality and implication to psychological intervention

“…There have been varied attempts that link spirituality in human development and psychological processes such as counselling and psychotherapy (Anderson 1999;Ansley 2001;Astin and Astin 1999;Benner 2005;Berne and Savary 1988;Clinebell 1995;Cohen 2000;Elkins 2005;Frankl 1954;Grant, Thompson, and Clarke 1983;Griffith and Griffith 2002;Jung 1964;Lovinger 1990;Lukoff and Lu 2005;Martin and Booth 1999;Miller and Thoreseen 2003;Sanderson and Linehan 2003;Tan and Johnson 2005). In a similar manner, spirituality has been used to understand and respond to diverse psychological needs of children (Adams 2009;Andrews and Marotta 2005;Bhagwan 2009;Broadbent 2004;Fisher 2009;Gigantone 2000;Holder, Coleman, and Wallace 2010;Hyde 2008;McCreery 2001;Ojalehto and Wang 2008;Sewell 2009;Thomas 2000;Watson 2000).…”

“…Beyond the immerging interest to explain the meaning, nature and dynamics of spirituality and the consequent positive empirical outcome in integrating spirituality to psychological elements such as cognition, emotion, behaviour, motivation and social relationship, the relationship between psychology and spirituality is still a novel and a promising avenue for scientific inquiry (Adams 2009;Levine 1999;Mcreery 2001;Noguera 2003;Sewell 2009). The area of research becomes even broader when spirituality is explored in the lives of children.…”

Children, schools and Hallowe’en

“…Children's voice has been an integral part of this development, and, although in the 1990s LeCompte and Preissle's review of educational research concluded that there was 'a remarkably small percentage of studies [which] specifically address what children do, feel, or think about in school' (LeCompte and Preissle 1992, 819), today there is a growing expertise in this field (Tangen 2008;Adams 2009). Indeed, schools are required to consult pupils on a range of issues, and the OFSTED framework explicitly explores how schools collate the views of learners and use this information for school improvement (Office for Standards in Education 2005).…”

“…Even in the primary school context, an action research study by Alison Peacock (Bragg 2001) indicates that teachers are becoming wary of the fact that 'pupil voice undoubtedly troubles existing relationships and identities ' (517), to the extent that they may resist some aspects of it. Adams (2009) argues that the spiritual voice of children (referring to issues and values which relate to every human being, not just those from religious backgrounds) is being particularly neglected. She laments,…”

How Children Describe the Fruits of Meditation

“…Yet, until recent decades, it was commonly accepted that spirituality required a well-developed cognitive capacity and hence lay beyond the reach of young children (Nye 2009). However, it is now widely accepted within the field of children's spirituality that children do have an innate capacity for spirituality which manifests itself in spiritual experiences in the course of their ordinary, everyday lives (Hay and Nye 1998; Adams et al 2008;Adams 2009;Adams et al 2015), even if they may lack the ability to adequately verbalise their experience. Rahner argues that children's spirituality arises from within, from their own existence and experience, and is enlivened by their capacity for 'infinite openness' (Hinsdale 2001).…”