Different proponents of children's spirituality have argued that children of all ages can have spiritual experiences and that these may be expressed in different ways. Consequently, there are academics, researchers, policy makers and educators who argue for the inclusion of spiritual development within schools. Although there is increasing interest in research undertaken in the field of children's spirituality and spiritual development, this thesis contends that there is a gap between the recognition of the importance of spirituality, policy directives and the practicalities of developing spirituality within the classroom. Thus, an investigation was developed, which captures the experiences and learning reflections of four cohorts of key stage two, English primary school pupils (7-9 years) who have participated in a literature-derived spiritual development programme. Through phenomenographic analysis, themes or categories of descriptions were developed from the data collected (diaries - text and drawings, discussions, quasi-quantitative questionnaires and interviews). These themes highlight variations in pupils' experiences and learning. The experiential themes stemming from the analysis reinforce some constructs of children's spirituality found in literature. However, the originality of the thesis lies in its pedagogical focus, providing data that highlights pupils' and educators' (teachers' and teaching assistants') reflections on learning in the classroom. As such, pupils' and educators' reflections on learning may have potential implications for pedagogy and practice. In summation, the findings reveal that "tools" such as silence, meaning, focusing, questioning, bodily awareness, reflection, use of one's imagination, and communication and sharing could be used in the classroom to develop children's spirituality.

The thesis addresses the issue of what are primary school age children's concepts of death and life after death and explores their place in the teaching of Religious Education in the UK.A synopsis of the doctrines and death rite practices of the six major religions are reviewed. The place of those concepts in Religious Education is presented and discussed. Qualitative and quantitative research method techniques are employed using semi- structured interviews and questionnaires. Two age groups of primary school children are targeted for the purposes of the interviews and main research study questionnaire 一 7-8 (Year 3) and 10-11 (Year 6) year olds. A total of fifteen interviews was conducted as a pilot study. The main research study questionnaire involved 763 respondents from eleven schools ― 406 from a multi-faith and multi-cultural region and 357 from a culturally more homogenous region. These elements allow for age and gender demographic factors and for the environmental factors ― belonging to a faith community and living in a multi-faith and multi-cultural region to be analysed. Four hypotheses were formulated and focused on the patterns of association between children’s concepts of death and life after death and four independent variables —— age, faith, gender and location. The following hypotheses were tested for evidence of the patterns of association between the variables through a quantitative test of significance:1. Age: Younger children are as able as older children to conceptualize death and life after death2. Faith: Children with no faith-base are as able as those with a faith-base to conceptualize death and life after death3. Gender: Boys are as able as girls to conceptualize death and life after death4. Location: Children not living in a multi-faith and multi-cultural region are as able as those who do to conceptualize death and life after death The results of the analysis were as follows: Age hypothesis: there was a difference between younger and older children. Faith hypothesis: it was possible to trace differences according to faith-base. Gender hypothesis: there was only a difference between boys and girls with respect to what they think comes after death. Location hypothesis: there was a difference according to location. The tests of significance were then complemented by examining patterns in the qualitative data to explore trends and exceptions where appropriate. A range of examples of the children’s responses are used to illustrate the findings and are evaluated. This research shows that children are willing and able to express their concepts of death and life after death regardless of age, faith, gender or location. The research affirms that children are capable of considering the concepts of death and life after death and they should be given the opportunity to explore them further. School is m advantageous and universally available place where meaningful consideration of the search of these concepts should occur as school is a familiar environment for discovery, learning and understanding for children. Religious Education is the most relevant area of the school curriculum where children’s discovery and learning can be focused on the exploration of these concepts through investigating ultimate questions with the rites of passage and doctrines of the major world religions. The quantitative and qualitative data produced and analysed in this thesis provide sufficient confirmation to support the meaningful and worthwhile updating of Religious Education syllabi for implementation by teachers and those responsible for Religious Education.

Historically the fostering of children's spirituality or spiritual development has been embedded in English education legislation. The underpinning principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework (DC SF, 2008), for children from birth to five years, made explicit reference to a spiritual dimension of young children's wellbeing. Yet spirituality receives scant acknowledgement in practice and there is little research focusing on exploring young children's spirituality in pre-school contexts. Located within an interpretive paradigm, this ethnographic case study of children aged two and three years in a day nursery, explores the language(s) of spiritual expression. A socio-cultural (Vygotsky, 1978) perspective of the child underpins the study that recognizes children's agency (Dahlberg et aI., 1999) in constructing meanings about the spiritual through their relationships and participation in everyday activities and interactions. Multi-layered data collection methods for listening to young children were chosen including direct observation, participant and non-participant observation, audio recording and digital photographs. A hermeneutic approach underpins the analysis and interpretation of the data. Findings reveal the multi-dimensional nature of young children's spirirual languages expressed in relational and imaginative spaces through creativity, reflection and embodied meaning making. This thesis argues for a broader situating of spirituality in English early childhood education that recognises the cross-curricular potential for learning imbued with the spiritual. A model of the multi-dimensional language of spirituality is presented to support practitioners in recognising young children's expressions of the spiritual separate to any association with religion or a belief system.

Fostering religious commitment in schools and considering children’s cultural diversity arguably enhances pupils’ tolerance and integration, which may have the potential to reduce racism and discrimination. Faith schools are religiously and culturally diverse institutions and typically appreciated for their core values, good behaviour and academic standards. However, their impact on school culture and ethos is under explored. Although, the role of faith has gained attention both in policy and practice, relatively little is known about its impact in the context of primary education. As such, this research explores the complex influence of faith on school culture and ethos. In addition, critical analysis is undertaken to investigate the impact of faith on pupils’ behaviour and understanding in school. The main research aims are to: explore the multiple ways in which faith is manifested in two schools, determine the influence of faith on school culture and ethos, and establish the impact of faith on pupils’ behaviours and understanding in school. This research takes an ethnographic approach to explore how faith is manifested in two primary schools in the North West of England. The ethnography enabled a deeper immersion in to the school culture as data were generated through observations, interviews, focus groups and documentary analysis in two schools: A denomination school, Church of England, and a community school with an Islamic ethos. The research was conducted in the North West of England which has many diverse faith-based schools. Critical Race and Feminist Theories were used as lenses of analysis to examine faith in school. Critical Race Theory is a framework employed to examine the role of race and power in education. This research provides rich ethnographic description and analysis of faith as understood, practiced and experienced in the two schools. The findings reveal two major themes, first, a mismatch between school policy/values and its practice. Second, a lack of integration of staff and children into the school. Despite schools’ efforts to embrace diversity and encourage integration, schools policies were found to be empty rhetoric with regards to fostering religious commitment and cultural diversity. Exploring the issue of recognising cultural diversity within schools, findings indicated that both schools did not acknowledge or teach other cultural traditions, therefore, impacting on issues of integration. Poor behaviour, bullying and racism amongst children were major issues at both schools. Data analysis suggests the source of misbehaviour was due to the lack of emphasis placed on teaching about different religions, insufficient knowledge of cultural traditions and lack of visits to places of worship. This research concludes that there is a need for schools to develop awareness of religions and cultural diversity; thereby, encouraging integration, community cohesion and respect for similarities and differences.