International Journal of Children’s Spirituality

Vol. 16, No. 1, February 2011, 19–35

‘I saw the universe and I saw the world’: exploring spiritual literacy
with young children in a primary classroom
Marni J. Binder*

School of Early Childhood Education, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

(Received 26 July 2010; final version received 14 November 2010)
Taylor
CIJC_A_542132.sgm
and Francis

International
10.1080/1364436X.2010.542132
1364-436X
Taylor
2011
10Article
16
Dr
[email protected]
00000February
MarniBinder
& Francis
(print)/1469-8455
Journal
2011of Children’s
(online)
Spirituality

This paper explores the concept of promoting spiritual literacy as viewed through
the eyes of a holistic educator of young children in an inner-city primary
classroom. Similar to discussions of spirituality in education, the idea of spiritual
literacy is often elusive and can create discomfort and tensions. Drawing on stories
of experience, the complexities of what defines spiritual literacy and how it
translates into classroom practice are examined. Three recurring themes emerge:
story, relationships and mindful spaces. An alternative perspective of what is
significant in creating a learning environment is presented as a milieu that
reconceptualises what is important and often missing in the mainstream discourse
in child development: the spirituality of the child. It is argued that through spiritual
literacy practices, teaching and learning can be transformed and, most
significantly, an empowering encounter engages all participants in the learning
environment.
Keywords: young children; spiritual literacy; holistic education; lived experience

Introduction
On a class trip to a nearby conservation area, I observed children’s responses to being
in a natural environment. Some had been to this area before, the majority had not. For
most this was the first time they had left the concrete environment of the city in which
they lived. It was one of those beautiful autumn days. The air still possessed warmth,
the leaves were displaying a rainbow of colours and the smell of fir trees delighted the
senses. It was a delicious and sensual experience for the children and the parents who
accompanied us. The children’s excitement in exploring nature was a wondrous sight.
Many commented on how fresh the air smelled. Others observed the quiet as we
paused to observe different trees and plants along the trail. I had the children lie down
under some spruce trees. They were asked to look up into the sky, through the
branches. After a time of stillness and silence, they shared what they saw, felt, heard
and smelled. Many talked about the sun shining through the trees and seeing the
clouds. Some shared the sounds they heard the birds make and seeing them high in
the sky. One child in particular said, ‘I saw the universe and I saw the world!’ I asked
him what the universe was. He replied that it was all the stars, planets and black holes.
This child was six years old.

*Email: [email protected]

ISSN 1364-436X print/ISSN 1469-8455 online

© 2011 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/1364436X.2010.542132
http://www.informaworld.com
20 M.J. Binder

This story illustrates one of many that reflect my conceptual exploration of

spiritual literacy with young children in an inner city school in Toronto, Canada.
Parker J. Palmer (1999) asks the question of how might we evoke the spiritual
dimension of public education. He starts from the perspective that the spiritual is
intrinsic to the entire curriculum and not something separate. Parker also positions
himself within a secular frame for understanding spirituality in education. Similarly,
I situate myself within a secular place of knowing, yet acknowledging and
considering the complexities and challenges presented when discussing spirituality
within a public education sphere and as part of everyday practice (Bone, Cullen, and
Loveridge 2007).
The purpose of this paper is to explore the pedagogical shifts that occurred through
my work with a grade 1/2 class (ages six to eight) and the specific stories of experi-
ences that contributed to a deeper understanding of bringing the spiritual to education
in meaningful ways. While the discourse around children and spirituality is a fairly
new field of study (Hyde 2008), the concept of children’s spirituality is not frequently
discussed in the public school domain. My exploration, informed by research, contrib-
utes to the growing body of literature on spirituality in classroom and offers
approaches to nurturing spiritual literacy. Several questions occurred throughout my
educational practice in the inner city: What is meant by spiritual literacy? How does
spiritual literacy contribute to spiritually appropriate practices in the learning
environment? Placing this discussion in the public school domain in a culturally and
linguistically diverse inner-city classroom presents opportunities for alternative and
creative approaches to learning and curriculum development.

The search for spiritual literacy in education

Paralleling similar difficulties in defining spirituality (Eaude 2005; Harris 2007; Hay
and Nye 2006; Palmer 1993; White 1996) and that which is spiritual in education
(Kessler 2005; Miller and Drake 1997) the very idea of spiritual literacy is often
elusive, non-existent and one that can generate discomfort and apprehension for
educators in the public school system. Lantieri (2001) discusses the difficulty in bring-
ing a spiritual discourse to schools in ways that honour family beliefs. She speaks of
the profound necessity of giving permission to educators to explore their own spiritual
understandings in order to nurture the spirituality of the children they teach through a
connectedness to themselves, others and the world.
This confusion between religion and spirituality causes much debate and often
creates misunderstanding in curriculum implementation. In Ontario, Canada’s public
school system there is no mandate to teach religion, but there exists an understanding
that the public education system reflects a myriad of different faiths. A pluralistic
approach to belief systems is taken. The Ministry of Education in Ontario acknowl-
edges that religion means different things to different people (Ontario Ministry of
Education 1994) but is not a responsibility in the public system. Any discussion
around religion is usually connected to the social studies curriculum. For example in
the primary grades, differences and similarities are explored through themes such as
local community, traditions and celebrations and community features at a global level
(Ontario Ministry of Education 2004). The teacher makes the decision on the
approach taken to these topics. Specific religious studies are undertaken in the
Catholic School Boards and private schools of faith. The idea of spiritual literacy is
not part of any educational discussions.
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 21

Spirituality
The complexity and ambiguity of defining spirituality is discussed in much of the
literature (Bone 2008; Crossman 2003; Hyde 2008). Crossman (2003) suggests that
‘from a constructivist and postmodern perspective, no generalised definition of
spirituality, as a personally and socially constructed reality, can be definitive so inter-
pretative permutations are to be expected’ (504). Spirituality can be conceptualised as
a personal search for deep inner understanding and purpose (Lin 2006), connecting to
that which is bigger (Palmer 1998) and about wisdom and compassion (Miller 2006).
It can be understood as a transformative shift towards humanistic knowledge and
sense of identity within one’s community and the world (Miller 2007; White 1996).
Champagne (as cited in Hyde, 2008) supports Hart’s (2003) work on the spirituality
of children that suggests their capacity for more abstract conceptions of wonder and
relational connections between self and others. Champagne argues that ‘spiritual
experience is human experience’ (as cited in Hyde 2008, 53). It is the ongoing pursuit
for a sense of one’s place in the universe. This enables the children’s capacity for more
abstract conceptions of wonder, and relational connections between self and others,
extending to something bigger than ourselves. It is here that I situate my understand-
ing and connection.
Bone (2005) suggests that by connecting spirituality to holistic education we
contextualise intent and meaning. Benson and Roehlkepartain’s (2008) conceptual
model for spiritual development supports a more holistic understanding. They view
spiritual development as a continuum of three core interactive and dynamic processes.
At the centre of the framework are ‘awareness or awakening’, ‘interconnecting and
belonging’ and ‘a way of living’ (22). Other dimensions are suggested within the
context of other developmental domains (physical, emotional and social, for
example). Also viewed contextually and weaving in and out of their continuum are
social context, culture and meta-narrative.

Holistic education
J.P. Miller (2007) defines holistic education as ‘the relationship between linear think-
ing and intuition, the relationship between mind and body, the relationships among the
various domains of knowledge, the relationship between the individual and commu-
nity, the relationship to the earth, and our relationship to our souls’ (13). Holistic
education also has been defined as integral education (O’Sullivan 1999) and partner-
ship education (Eisler 2000). It is not a new concept. The natural learning theories of
Froebel (in Brosterman 1997), Steiner (1923/1996), Montessori (1966) and Swimme
and Berry (1992) present holistic perspectives on how children learn and develop. The
writings of J.P. Miller (2000, 2006), R. Miller (1997, 2006), Noddings (1992), Palmer
(1993, 1998) and Sardello (1994) further validate the importance of holistic education
through discussions of an education for inner life. Nakagawa (2000) offers a contem-
porary approach that deals with alternative worldviews that challenge a dominant and
fragmented worldview in education. He advocates for a ‘connection-oriented educa-
tion’ (72) that also connects to ecological, indigenous and feminist worldviews.
The scholarship of holistic theorists offers a well-researched theory and perspec-
tive that is translatable into pedagogical experiences. A transformative pedagogy
creates a powerful and alternative paradigm for the ‘what’ and ‘how’ we teach, with-
out negating skills or transactional knowing. Through reconceptualising a transforma-
tive curriculum, attention to the innate and spiritual potentials of every child alters the
22 M.J. Binder

focus of a child-centred classroom to one that is life-centred (Palmer 1993). It is

within this context that spirituality in education and spiritual literacy can be explored.

Spiritual literacy
The exploration of spiritual literacy arose from the desire to deepen my holistic prac-
tice through arts-based education in inner city classrooms. I had observed that through
the provision of alternative forms of expression and experiences, such as visualisation,
drawing and painting, young children found the spaces that revealed a deep under-
standing of their inner landscapes and the world around them. The children I taught
came from many different countries with cultural, linguistic and religious back-
grounds. There was communal respect fostered for the different faiths in the
classroom. While religion was an important part of their identities, I noticed that there
were universal stories beginning to emerge: awe and wonder and questions about the
world, their different beliefs. I began to observe and listen to their interpretations and
how they read their world and explored their pictorial representations. It was here I
was reminded of how children see the ‘unusualness’ of things, transforming the
everyday into something special, and how they venture out to make sense of their
world and give it definition. Spiritual expression was embedded in this sense of
ownership that they developed while exploring their inner lives.
Frederick and Mary Brussat’s (1996) definition of spiritual literacy as ‘the ability
to read the signs written in the texts of our experiences’ (1), offered an opening into
bringing spiritual practices to the classroom. Recognising these ‘signs’ through an
understanding of inner self and making thoughts public enhances the connecting
experiences to the outer world. The expression of one’s spirituality is through a deep
awareness of personal identity, compassion and the authenticity of how this intercon-
nects to others and the world (Palmer 1998). Spiritual literacy is about making meaning
at a profound level through personal narrative and the teacher being able to listen and
to read the texts of children’s experiences. It is about providing these spaces for children
to ask ‘bigger’ questions and enabling them to respond and reflect upon their learning.
The current approach to literacy is predominantly print-driven, with a focus on
decoding as a dominant concern. Literacy is defined within a narrow traditional domi-
nant paradigm where meaning-making often takes a secondary place. This linear
approach is reflected in what can be determined as developmentally appropriate prac-
tice (DAP) and consequently invariant in nature. It is important to make a distinction
in the use of the term literacy here. It is not about conventional reading and writing
practices, which can be described as ‘educationally anemic’ (Eisner 1998, 16). Multi-
ple forms of literacy broaden and extend the traditional use of the term literacy to
include any form where meaning is conveyed (Eisner 1998). The New London Group
(1996) re-conceptualised and transformed the traditional concept of literacy to
embrace a ‘multiplicity of discourses’ (61). I propose that spiritual literacy can be situ-
ated within this pedagogy of thought.
The signs of experience by children can be conceptualised in several ways: as
identity texts revealed through talk or images, drawn or painted, and how these
different modes interrelate to and with each other. Each child has his or her own
unique signature that provides teachers with a socially constructed lens of understand-
ing, but also enables reflection and potential for transforming educational practices
(Hay and Nye 2006). Reading these signs is a process embedded in an act of under-
standing the inner life that we all possess. The concept of external and inner speech
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 23

connects to Bakhtin’s (1986) insights into ‘the actualizing of consciousness’ (110),

which he viewed as dialogic in nature and at the core of human thought. The transfor-
mative quality is the ability to draw from this well of wisdom and meaning, concep-
tualising these internal forces and allowing them to become visible in meaningful
ways. ‘Spiritual literacy enables us to define our place at a local, global and universal
level’ (Binder 2005, 138). If educators allow spiritual literacy to emerge, children can
‘recognize these signs, explore them through the inner self and connect the experi-
ences to the outer world’ (Binder 1998, 41).
Connecting the classroom space to natural world experiences, such as the trip to
the conservation area described earlier, nurtures spiritual literacy. Louv (2008), in
Last child in the woods, talks about what he calls ‘de-natured childhood’ (31) and our
responsibility to ‘re-nature’ (53) children. He describes the critical need for returning
experiences within the natural world to understand the realities of our place in it. Louv
affirms that ‘children need nature for the healthy development of their senses, and
therefore for learning and creativity’ (55) and that there is a spiritual essential in
nature for young children. The natural world allows the physical self and the under-
standing of the inner self to connect through the sensual experiences of being in and
with the environment and opening the spaces for awe and wonder about the everyday.
In the present public educational system in Ontario, Canada, rarely, if at all, is the
spirituality of the child discussed. I believe, however, that it is critical to view the
environment of the classroom as an extension of the child’s personal world. Within
the classroom community, the complex identities of children come together, wanting
to have their voices heard. The children’s stories become an essential lens to see the
world, not only through their eyes, but through the unique spirituality they bring to the
learning environment. Often referred to as personal worldviews, I often call these
stories personal cosmologies – the innate wisdom that emerges from spiritual literacy.

Spiritual literacy practices

Classroom rituals
Palmer (1993) discusses three major characteristics of an authentic learning space:
openings, boundaries and an air of hospitality. Openings are the moments where the
teacher can provide stillness. Boundaries are the external structures in the setting of
the classroom, the quality of the environment. It is creating a learning space that
defines and embraces risk-taking and trust. Boundaries are a way that teachers can
provide openness with care and firmness. ‘Hospitality means receiving each other, our
struggles, our newborn ideas with openness and care’ (73). This is the honouring of
individual and group voices.
Providing meaningful classroom rituals that embody these characteristics enables
young children to form bonds, bridge interpersonal and intrapersonal issues and co-
create an environment of respect. Fostering spiritual literacy through ongoing rituals
provides spaces for children to engage in meaningful learning. Emerging from this
interweaving of Palmer’s authentic learning characteristics with classroom rituals,
three themes became evident: stories of experience, mindful spaces and relationships.

Stories of experience
In my teaching experience, meditative practice through visualisation was one of the
most significant methods in developing and nurturing spiritual literacy in children. By
24 M.J. Binder

allowing children the openings to get in touch with themselves through moments of
stillness, entering a place where they could explore their inner selves, integrate mind
and body and articulate their thoughts to others, I found a door was opened that
allowed children to make meaning in a unique way.
Visualisation sessions were a weekly ritual. Each time more and more children
revealed inner stories through the discussions. As an alternative to discussion, the
children began to draw and write in journals. I found the magic and meaning that arose
orally unfolded in their pictorial representations and writing. Each child had a
personal and unique style of depicting images in pictures that explored imaginary
worlds, yet drew on their inner landscape. Their stories of experience were reflected
in their talk, image and text.
The visualisation sessions were taken from the work of Maureen Garth (1991,
1994). She provided a powerful image of a worry tree as a way for children to enter
imagining through meditation. The children put anything that bothered them on this
tree. In the journals each child personalised their tree and what it represented to them.
This tree became a symbol of significance for many of the children, as they used the
image outside of the weekly sessions to help them deal with social interactions and
issues. As one child aptly said, ‘I used the worry tree at recess. I put my friend on the
worry tree so I wouldn’t get into a fight with him.’
Though the dialogue that followed the sessions was important, not everyone
spoke. The journals provided the space and time for everyone to express their voice,
privately or publicly. Sanders (1994) states that ‘stories spring from emotional roots
that grow as large underground as the stories we hear above. Every time a child rattles
one off, he taps deep into those emotional roots, for the stories get told from the inner
senses out’ (46).
The following story is an interpretation of one session:
Quiet music was playing. The children sat in a circle, eyes closed. On this day the
journey took them to the land of the Rainbow People. The intensity of the faces, body
movement and smiles showed an internalisation of the story. After the session, the
children went to a table with their journals. They began to draw, to create. Music filled
the air. A variety of images emerged on the pages. One child depicted the land of the
Rainbow People and was very clear in his story. The Rainbow People lived on top of
a rainbow and were depicted in an array of bright colours. This child always put a star
in his journal drawings, symbolising the star at the beginning of the visualisation
sessions. It was a happy drawing, reflecting this child’s sense of inner-self. All his
drawings had a sense of joy and peace to them. He writes: ‘This is my rainbow and
my star and my worry tree and the rainbow people. They are nice. And they are differ-
ent. And they are my friends now. But they has no hair because they are the rainbow
people’ (see Figure 1).
Here we observe a sense of self-confidence and comfort in this child. We get a
Figure 1.

sense of his imaginative capacity, how he sees his place in the world and in the possi-
bility of his conception of community (Greene 1995). This example reflects so many
similar illustrations I have observed of joyful experiences.
The next example of spiritual literacy provides an opportunity for observing the
depth and abstraction young children are capable of. M1 always put stars in his journal
drawings. He was inspired by the concept of God, angels and heaven. He frequently
used these icons when expressing himself in his journal. In this particular drawing (see
Figure 2), he named the stars after his classmates and a family member and had put
me in the picture as well. There was a powerful imaginative quality to this work with
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 25

Figure 1. The Rainbow People.

this interconnection of the stars to those he viewed important in his life. While it has
been my experience that children of this age frequently place their friends or family
members names in their pictures, the depth of his images and the visual metaphor of
the stars as people of significance moved the work into an abstract realm. There were
two house-like structures at the bottom of the picture with a bridge joining them. One
house was the home and the other structure was the school. The symbolic meaning in
this drawing was quite profound. The images were ethereal. M had integrated his
home world with his school world.
These examples further extend an understanding of spiritual literacy. Through
Figure 2.

providing the ritual of inner expression through visualisation, non-judgmental

26 M.J. Binder

Figure 2. World of Home and School.

boundaries and moments of stillness, with the accompanying discussions and jour-
nal-writing activities, these children navigated in and out of each other’s personal
domains and negotiated the lived space through a universal relationality that
embraced their everyday experiences in meaningful ways. When these children
came to school, they brought with them many cultural and linguistic frameworks.
While personal religious beliefs and practices were honoured, the visualisation
sessions drew upon issues of personal significance, often moving between the imag-
inary and the real. This is supported by Lantieri’s (2001) reinforcement of the
importance of nurturing the spiritual without necessarily adhering to a particular
religion.
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 27

The meditative ritual enabled the children to venture outside of external spiritual
notions and experience big questions and issues. Hart (2003) talks about children as
‘natural philosophers’ (91) who explore their sense of wonder and natural curiosity
about big things. It is that capacity to see the extraordinary in everyday life. ‘Mean-
ingful learning often begins in wonder’ (Van Manen 2001, 19).
In classrooms children are frequently silenced, unable to ask questions of signifi-
cance, particularly about spiritual issues. Children need the spaces in their learning
environments to search for meaning and purpose (Kessler 2005). Nurturing spiritual
literacy allows for ‘an awareness that there is something other, something greater than
the course of everyday events’ (Hay and Nye 2006, 60).

Mindful spaces
Through playing in, through and with their worlds, children begin to develop a
wisdom that emerges from the inside out. If allowed to make their thoughts public,
children will have opportunities to articulate their relational understanding of self and
become one with the world around them. Children do make integral associations to
meaningful experiences and reflect on them if educators present the opportunities to
do so. Indeed, it is critical to provide these openings or still spaces.
Miller (2006) articulates the necessity for mindfulness practices in education and
the importance of being fully present. He stresses the importance of focusing on one
thing at a time. In this 24/7 world of multitasking, I have experienced that children
appear to be having more difficulty attending for longer periods of time and in mean-
ingful ways. Through visualisation, the children were given permission to enter into
mindful practice. I, as the teacher, was given permission to be fully present with this
ritual. This approach became embedded in other areas of learning in the classroom.
The next story embodies what occurs when spiritual literacy emerges through self-
directed play experiences. It has been shown (Elkind 2007; Paley 2005) that play is
how young children construct, deconstruct and co-construct their world. Play is the
way they enter into and engage in real and imaginary enactments of what is seen
around them. Play enables children to articulate and experiment with the lived world.
They are not passive receptacles (Freire 1970). This constructivist approach to learn-
ing and understanding allows children to become active contributors to their learning.
Gordon (2008) explains the significance between constructivism and connectedness.
It is through interaction with the world that children can discover ways to transform
understanding. Play is one way that children are allowed to manipulate and sculpt this
connection. It is an example of how spiritual literacy can emerge, making thought
public (Vygotsky 1978).
One afternoon, the children were building structures during a Math/Science/Inves-
tigation session.2 They were able to choose their building materials and use additional
props if desired. The children built in pairs. V (boy) and S (girl) called me (T) over to
see their structure (see Figure 3). They had created a very powerful image. Looking
down on their construction, I could see coloured sticks forming a platform that framed
their representation. Strewn across this platform were small plastic people in different
colours lying in various positions. Each person had been placed thoughtfully and the
arrangement showed a sense of purpose. Two of the structures had not been disman-
tled, one in particular had a person lying on top of a building and one hanging out from
its side. What had originally intended to be just a building session had evolved into so
much more.
28 M.J. Binder

Figure 3. The War.

What follows is the discussion I had with these two children:3

Figure 3.

S: We build a war where everyone dies and some of the house get knocked down by
bombs. And some of the people get knocked down by bombs too.
V: Some of the people didn’t die, but most of them did. Some stepped on mines.
[I asked if he knew what mines were]
V: I heard someone talking about it. I think it was my brother talking about army
camp. Someone went to get help and they didn’t make it and some of them did get
help. And then some of the people risked their lives for other people.
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 29

T: What does it mean to risk your life for theirs?

V: It means to save other people.
S: Some of the people helped the little kids and some of the big kids and adults.
T: Where is this war?
S: Africa. Because you were talking about fighting in Africa a long time ago.

This related to a discussion about images of war the children were seeing on TV. As
a class we talked about wars occurring in different countries at different times. We
also had discussed why people fought:

V: Germany. You talked about World War I and II. This was discussed on Remem-
brance Day.
T: Is this war coming from a particular place?
V: Vietnamese. One of the children talked about his uncle in Vietnam and being in
the war.
T: There is nothing we discussed that could give you an image like this. Where did
this come from?
S: I sawed it on TV. I didn’t like what war was doing. I thought when we had
building, I could build it.
T: What does it do to build it?
S: It tells me like what war is like right now. People are dying and stuff.
T: How does building it make you feel? Does it help to build it?
Both: No!
S: It just tells us what is happening in the world.
V: If you asked me, when I see it on TV, I don’t like what they are showing us and I
thought of building it.
T: How did you decide to build this?
S: We talked it out. We had a problem and solved it. We couldn’t decide what to
build. We talked and talked and talked.
V: You thought of it S. But if you ask me, it is really bad.
T: What can we do about it?
S: We can pray.
V: We could tell how we feel to everybody.
T: Does it scare you to see it on TV?
Both: It scares me!
S: If it was my family, I would be really sad and I would be crying.
V: And if it was my family, I would be crying for a very, very, very, very long time.

This was a powerful moment. Two children disclosed their feelings about an issue of
concern. Instead of drawing or painting their concern, they chose to build it. Their
storytelling revealed an honest and realistic depiction of a problem. Stories like these
are waiting to come out of all children.
This narrative illustrates the significance in allowing children to question and
articulate their world view and reinforces the significance of what Hart (2004) calls
the ‘children’s world-presence, their way of being in the world; not about a worldview
that is imposed upon them’ (39). Here lies the authenticity of spiritual literacy practice
and understanding. The teacher is not imposing his/her interpretation on the experi-
ence. The children are empowered through their creation and narrative to express their
vision of understanding. Noddings (2004) argues that such experiences are crucial for
children to develop critical thinking and an understanding of self and the world around
them. These children revealed the texts of their experiences through a process of co-
creating, negotiation and dialogue.
Also essential to this experience was the allowance for spontaneity in the class-
room. This enabled children to move in a different direction, honouring their learning
30 M.J. Binder

process – one that is shaped by the active engagement of a community of learners as

they move in and out of each other’s spaces. Most significant were the mindful spaces
the children had stepped into, where they were present in the moment, in an activity
wholeheartedly. Their thoughts and voices were respected, not only by each other but
also by the teacher. My classroom was not an institutional box where children were
merely receptacles of skills. Fostering the children’s unique signatures in the class-
room reflected my strong concern to build a community where there was reciprocity
of being and sharing.
Giving children time to cultivate and engage in deep meaning-making is essential
for development and learning. Personal cosmologies can emerge when everyone has
a voice in this larger story. To create is to transform, and the children’s building activ-
ity embodied that. Accepting alternative perspectives and representational expressions
through the opening of spaces can lead to a continuous movement of reconnection to
significant relational experiences and awareness in the classroom community
(Ambrose 2005). Reconceptualising curriculum through a transformative conceptual
frame focuses attention on the innate and spiritual potential of every child. In this way
not just the children gain insight, but also the teacher.
So often when teachers deal with sensitive issues, they feel discomfort in navigat-
ing the discourse that evolves from enabling children to have voice in the classroom.
Children have big ideas and questions waiting to be explored. In our world today,
visual images of war are commonplace. Young children need the learning spaces that
allow them to negotiate their experiences and understandings of uncomfortable issues,
facilitated by educators who provide these openings while nurturing concepts of peace
in the classroom (Lin 2006).

Relationships
Palmer’s (1993) three conditions for learning manifested in the classroom in many
different ways. The concept of hospitality, in particular, emerged in a profound
manner. The following story reflects this unique quality and is a powerful example of
spiritual literacy:
D had been with me since kindergarten and, at the time of this story, was in
Grade 2. He had experienced some intense emotional times. D had been having prob-
lems controlling his feelings, which often manifested in aggression and defiance.
Usually he responded to me, but for reasons I was only beginning to understand, the
connection had been broken. Consequently, I had to put limits and consequences on
certain behaviours. Although I had discussed these issues, D’s anger had not diffused.
D was a very special child with a cosmic understanding of the world unlike any I had
seen before in one so young. He was continually surprising me with questions about
the universe and his understanding of the world. These sophisticated aspects of his
growth often conflicted with his emotional development.
The day before our weekly class visualisation session, I had met with D and his
mother to discuss my concerns and develop ways to support him. After the visualisa-
tion session, D handed me his imagining journal without any reservations. It was
something he wanted me to see. I must confess that at first I was quite taken aback. D
felt safe to express his pain and to lash out at me, the one person he trusted at school.
He wrote, ‘There was a war and me and T were fighting and T died and I didn’t care
because she is the suckyist teacher.’ The picture that accompanied the writing initially
had been a response to the visualisation session. I could see an outline of the world as
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 31

if viewed from space. D had scribbled over this initial drawing in black crayon. I went
home thinking about what had transpired. D must have felt tremendous anger about
the meeting from the previous day and wanted me to know. Most important was D’s
trust in me. D knew that he could show me how he felt through his drawing and writ-
ing. His journal provided a place where he could unconditionally express himself,
with no repercussions. The context of his expression was powerful. D had read the
signs in the texts of his experiences. The next day in class D found an opening to speak
to me. We discussed his drawing and writing. D told me that he really didn’t want me
dead, but he was just sad and mad, although unable to say why. Years later, when he
was in Grade 6, D’s teacher called to share an interesting story. The class was telling
stories about what they had learned from their primary grade teachers. D said, ‘Ms. T.
taught me self-control.’ I believe that this child’s progress and strength was a result of
an environment that fostered spiritual literacy through the concept of hospitality.
Although this may be a disturbing story for some educators in the field, and may
have been interpreted differently in terms of the child’s behaviour and how the situa-
tion was addressed, I chose to respond differently. The journals were a place where
the children could express themselves unconditionally, without judgment. Even
though showing their pictorial interpretations or writings from the sessions was not a
requirement, the children usually shared what they had done. If I wanted to maintain
integrity in the learning environment and allow for authentic spaces for expression
within boundaries of trust and hospitality, I had to accept what D had presented to me.
At times there are places, as Palmer (1998) states, ‘where the human soul does not
want to go’ (81).
There were obvious tensions and risks involved for D when he presented his
drawing and writing to me. He was angry but unable to articulate his anger, or perhaps
unsure whether he could say what he felt. He wanted and needed attention. In my
interpretation, the non-judgmental learning environment allowed this child to stretch
the classroom boundaries. This was essential to his spiritual literacy growth and a
profound teaching and learning experience for me. In her explorations of spiritual
intelligence, Sisk (2002) argues that such growth ‘urges us to search for wholeness, a
sense of community and sense of relationship to create an identity and to search for
meaning; and out of this search for meaning will come a sense of empowerment’
(210). Spiritual literacy can then emerge out of and embody this multilayered inter-
connection of mind, body and soul. The story of D illustrates this insightful reflection
of both teacher and student reading the texts of their experiences.

Discussion
From my conceptual exploration, the three themes that emerged illustrated the impli-
cations for spiritual literacy practice. The first acknowledges the significance of how
personal cosmologies are defined by stories of experience, visual or textual. Through
self-understanding, voice and identity expression, children are empowered to explore
and discuss bigger questions, enabling awe and wonder to enter into the classroom.
The second embraces the need for mindful spaces to allow for reading the texts of
experience. Spiritual literacy learning environments need to be created to foster a life-
centred approach through situating the children in experiences that offer such possi-
bilities. The children’s real world experiences, relational connections to others and
interactions with alternative ways of expression allow for a process to unfold that
respects these areas.
32 M.J. Binder

The third is the development of relationships between teacher and child. Based on
Palmer’s (1993) criteria for authentic learning spaces, trust, risk-taking and self-
defined boundaries are crucial to nurturing the interconnectedness between teacher
and learner. It is what Van Manen (2006) defines as ‘pedagogy of thoughtfulness’ (1).
It is important to consider how these three themes interconnect and are not to be
seen in isolation. It is the interweaving of stories, relationships and spaces that creates
the authenticity for spiritual literacy practices. As Robert Coles (1990) states:

The child’s ‘house has many mansions’ – including a spiritual life that grows, changes,
and responds constantly to the other lives that, in their sum, make up the individual we
call by name and know by a story that is all his, all hers. (308)

Conclusion
Early childhood education is often too focused on mainstream conceptions of devel-
opmentally appropriate practice (DAP). I argue that educators need to embrace also
what I consider as spiritually appropriate practice (SAP) through fostering spiritual
literacy. While other domains of development are important, including spirituality
deepens growth at levels not often discussed or embraced in the classroom: children’s
interconnectedness to self, others and the world. Nurturing the core of children’s inner
landscapes provides the still spaces needed to connect to their experiences, the non-
judgmental breadth to explore their feelings and the mindful presence to understand
what is meaningful. The texts of children’s experiences can only unfold if educators
offer, as Iannone (1999) suggests, a spiritual curriculum ‘where flexibility, creativity,
newness, engagement, reflectiveness, and teacher and student stories of meaning are
honoured. … A spiritual curriculum needs to be a process where communication leads
to communion, to union, and identity’ (741).
Spiritual literacy is about transformation, changing not only classroom practice
but shifting pedagogy at a philosophical level that enables teachers and children to
co-enact change in the learning environment. The teaching and learning landscape is
a place where time can stand still. Children and teacher move back in time to
explore who they are in relation to the world. They move forward to shape what lies
ahead. In the present, they interpret, connect and attend to the capacities of becom-
ing one with their being. Lin (2006) advocates for the elimination of spiritual illiter-
acy. This enables students to open up to self-understanding. The transformation
occurs when there is a relational understanding of inner wisdom to the outside world
and to others.
The stories presented provide insight into the importance of spiritual literacy
growth for young children. The children’s footprints of meaning-making are revealed
and the interpretations that build cohesion in their worlds, opening up multiple
potential ways of knowing and being. The narratives exemplify a collaborative learn-
ing environment where teacher and learners interdependently (re)define inner and
outer relationships.
Attending to the spiritual literacy needs of children is a transformative and
empowering encounter that engages all participants in an experiential journey. Spiri-
tuality unfolds as children interpret phenomena of importance to them, allowing their
personal cosmologies to emerge. This furthers a reconceptualising of young children’s
learning (Harris 2007). Spiritual literacy embodies the holistic lived world, reflecting
authentic learning through interconnectedness and wholeness.
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 33

Notes
1. Initials are used to protect children’s identity.
2. Math/science investigation is a hands-on and inquiry approach to learning that involves
children building with a variety of materials. It is used to teach concepts of number, spatial
relations and geometry for example. Children usually are required to build on their own and
are given specific tasks to do once the building is completed (e.g. counting the number of
blocks by 1s, 2s etc.) looking at the height of the construction and the problems solved
during building. I preferred letting children build in pairs as it promoted collaboration in
problem-solving and decision-making. Added props could be smaller items such as
coloured popsicle sticks, plastic bears, dinosaurs and people.
3. The transcribed dialogue has not been changed to allow the authenticity of the children’s
voices to be heard.

Notes on contributor
Marni J. Binder, EdD is an assistant professor in the School of Early Childhood Education and
Graduate Studies at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. Her research interests include holis-
tic education, alternative early childhood pedagogies, art education, storytelling and visual
narratives and multimodal and multiple literacies.

References
Ambrose, R. 2005. Relational spirituality and the lived experiences of classroom community.
Journal of Curriculum Pedagogy 2, no. 2: 93–5.
Binder, M. 1998. My dream catcher is tired: Visualization as a meditative practice for young
children. Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice 11, no. 4: 41–4.
Binder, M. 2005. Remembering the past, celebrating the present and imagining the future:
The storytelling project at Lord Dufferin Public School. In Holistic learning and spiritual-
ity in education, ed. J.P. Miller, S. Karsten, D. Denton, D. Orr, and I.C. Kates, 137–44.
New York: State University of New York Press.
Bakhtin, M.M. 1986. Speech genres and other essays. Trans. V.W. McGee. Austin, TX:
University of Texas Press.
Benson, P.L., and E.C. Roehlkepartain. 2008. Spiritual development: A missing priority in
youth development. In New directions for youth development: Spiritual development, ed.
P.L. Benson, E.C. Roehlkepartain, and K. L. Hong, 13–28. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bone, J. 2005. Breaking bread: Spirituality, food and early childhood education. International
Journal of Children’s Spirituality 10, no. 3: 307–17.
Bone, J. 2008. Creating relational spaces: Everyday spirituality in early childhood settings.
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 16, no. 3: 343–56.
Bone, J., J. Cullen, and J. Loveridge. 2007. Everyday spirituality: An aspect of the holistic
curriculum in action. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 8, no. 4: 344–53.
Brosterman, N. 1997. Inventing kindergarten. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Brussat, F., and M.A. Brussat. 1996. Spiritual literacy: Reading the sacred in everyday life.
New York: Scribner.
Crossman, J. 2003. Secular spiritual development in education from international and global
perspectives. Oxford Review of Education 29, no. 4: 503–26.
Coles, R. 1990. The spiritual life of children. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company
Eaude, T. 2005. Strangely familiar? Teachers making sense of young children’s spiritual
development. Early Years 25, no. 3: 237–48.
Elkind, D. 2007. The power of play. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press.
Eisler, R. 2000. Tomorrow’s children. Cambridge, MA: Westview Press.
Eisner, E.W. 1998. The kind of schools we need: Personal essays. Portsmouth, NJ: Heine-
mann.
Freire, P. 1970. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.
Garth, M. 1991. Starbright. New York: HarperCollins.
Garth, M. 1994. Sunshine. North Blackburn, Australia: Collins Dove.
34 M.J. Binder

Gordon, M. 2008. Between constructivism and connectedness. Journal of Teacher Education

59, no. 4: 322–31.
Greene, M. 1995. Releasing the imagination. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Harris, K.I. 2007. Re-conceptualizing spirituality in the light of educating young children.
International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 12, no. 3: 263–75.
Hart, T. 2003. The secret spiritual world of children. Makawao, HI: Inner Ocean Publishing.
Hart, T. 2004. The mystical child: Glimpsing the spiritual world of the child. Encounter:
Education for Meaning and Social Justice 17, no. 2: 38–49.
Hay, D., and R. Nye. 2006. The spirit of the child. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Hyde, B. 2008. Children and spirituality. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Iannone, R.V. 1999. Toward spirituality in curriculum and teaching. Education 119, no. 4:
737–43.
Kessler, R. 2005. Nourishing adolescent’s spirituality. In J.P. Miller, S. Karsten, D. Denton,
D. Orr, and I. C. Kates, eds. Holistic learning and spirituality in education, 101–7. New
York: State University of New York Press.
Lantieri, L. 2001. Preface. In Schools with spirit: Nurturing the inner lives of children and
teachers, ed. L. Lantieri, xi– xvii. Boston: Beacon Press.
Lin, J. 2006. Love, peace and wisdom in education: A vision for education in the twenty-first
century. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Education.
Louv, R. 2008. Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder.
New York: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
Miller, J., and S. Drake. 1997. Toward a spiritual curriculum. Curriculum Inquiry 27, no. 2:
241–5.
Miller, J.P. 2006. Educating for wisdom and compassion. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Press.
Miller, J.P. 2007. The holistic curriculum. 2nd ed. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Miller, R. 1997. What are schools for? Holistic education in American culture. Brandon, VT:
Holistic Education Press.
Miller, R. 2006. Reflecting on spirituality in education. Encounter: Education for Meaning
and Social Justice 19, no. 2: 6–9.
Montessori, M. 1966. The secret of childhood. Trans. M.J. Costelloe. New York: Ballantine
Books.
Nakagawa, Y. 2000. Education awakening. Brandon, VT: Foundations of Holistic Education.
New London Group. 1996. A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard
Educational Review 66, no. 1: 60–92.
Noddings, N. 1992. The challenge to care for schools: An alternative approach to education.
New York: Teachers College Press.
Noddings, N. 2004. War, critical understanding and self-understanding. Phi Delta Kappa 85,
no. 7: 489–95.
Ontario Ministry of Education. 1994. Education about religion in Ontario public schools.
Queen’s Printer of Ontario. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/religion/reli-
gioe.html
Ontario Ministry of Education. 2004. The Ontario curriculum social studies, grades 1 to 6.
History and geography, grades 7 and 8. Queen’s Printer of Ontario. http://
www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/sstudies18curr.pdf
O’Sullivan, E. 1999. Transformative learning: Educational vision for the twenty-first century.
Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Palmer, P.J. 1993. To know as we are known: Education as a spiritual journey. San Francisco:
HarperSanFrancisco.
Palmer, P.J. 1998. The courage to teach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Palmer, P.J. 1999. Evoking the spirit. Educational Leadership 56, no. 4: 6–11.
Paley, V.G. 2005. A child’s work: The importance of fantasy play. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Sanders, B. 1994. A is for ox. New York: Pantheon Books.
Sardello, R. 1994. Facing the world with soul: The re-imagination of modern life. New York:
Harper Perennial.
Sisk, D. 2002. Spiritual intelligence: The tenth intelligence that integrates all other intelli-
gences. Gifted Education International 16, no. 3: 208–13.
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 35

Steiner, R. 1923/1996. The child’s changing consciousness as the basis of pedagogical prac-
tice. Trans. R. Everett. Hudson, NY: Anthoposophic Press.
Swimme, B., and T. Berry. 1992. The universe story. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco.
Van Manen, M. 2006. The tact of teaching. London and Ontario, Canada: Althouse Press.
Van Manen, M. 2001. Researching lived experience. London and Ontario, Canada: Althouse
Press.
Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
White, J. 1996. Education, spirituality and the whole child: A humanist perspective. In Educa-
tion, spirituality and the whole child, ed. R. Best, 30–42. London: Cassell Wellington
House.