The research reported here addressed the questions 'what is spirituality?' and 'how should spiritual development be provided in education?'. The literature reviewed indicated confusion and uncertainty over the meaning of the concept spirituality, and the only guidance as to how spiritual development should be facilitated, was mainly from a religious perspective. This however, proved to be problematic for adoption into state-run educational institutions, where religious education is not provided for. As spiritual development is an aspect of the overall educative development of individuals, attention was given to what is meant by both 'education' and the 'educated person'. This initial research provided the context by which spiritual development could be understood and grounded in accepted and well argued notions of what interventions into the development of the individual are to count as educational. This also clarified the context for which the formulated framework of spirituality was to have implications. The major approach of this research was philosophical, in that an existential perspective was sought to develop a framework of spirituality that was able to embrace both religious and secular contexts of education. The major works examined were those written by Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, because these were argued to have most relevance for spirituality and spiritual development of the educated person. While these works were analysed one philosopher at a time, the existential perspective that was relevant for spirituality was developed using common themes found in their writings. Consequently this approach produced a rather eclectic view of Existentialism that down-plays the many differences that exist between these philosophers. An existential framework of spirituality was then formulated using the philosophy of these contributors as the foundation. This framework is argued to be more effective than the other frameworks of spirituality that were identified in the literature reviewed. Its implications for education practice were developed and argued. The evaluative applicability of the framework was then illustrated and tested through a critique of an educational project in Queensland. It was beyond the scope of this thesis to test the framework any further than this particular case. However, further research is recognised as being required to test other aspects of the framework.

This research study deals with educators' experiences and daily encounters within two diverse school settings. Educators from both schools are from diverse religious, racial and cultural backgrounds. The study focuses on issues of social groups based on religious affiliations and was guided by theories of oppression and social justice. The following questions were the focus of the study: 1. What have been the experiences of non-Christian educators in a predominantly Christian school around religion? 2. What caused these experiences to be constructed in a way they did? 3. To what extent have the experiences of non-Christians at the school been similar to earlier experiences in relationship to religion in their lives? 4. To what extent are the experiences of non-Christians evidence for describing their situation as one of 'religious oppression'? A qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at one school and questionnaires were completed at the second school, as the researcher was unable to interview educators because of time constraints. The results of the research indicated that educator experiences differed from one school to the next. Although it is not possible to make a judgement about religious oppression based on such limited contexts, there is significant evidence of social exclusion based on religion at the one school. At times these issues are caught up in racial and gender issues, or issues between non-Christian religions. However, at the second school educators experienced a high degree of inclusion. The research raises questions about the ways in which schools in South Africa are addressing the constitutional and policy requirements concerning the acceptance of religious diversity. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This thesis examines Luke-Acts to explore if, how, and in what ways Jesus and early church leaders intentionally shaped the culture of their followers. In Luke, table fellowship was the primary means Jesus used to shape the culture of his followers, as demonstrated through the prominence of eleven meal scenes. In Acts, teaching was the primary means early church leaders used to shape the organizational culture of the early church, as demonstrated through five paraenetic sermons addressed to the church. Table fellowship and teaching affected the behavior, values, and underlying beliefs of the early church related to Jew/Gentile relations (Acts 11; Acts 15), who should be considered as insiders/outsiders (Luke 5:29-39; Luke 7:36-50, Luke 19:1-10), hypocrisy (Luke 11:37-54), Sabbath regulations (Luke 6:1-5), status and humility (Luke 14:1-24; Luke 22:14-34), Jesus' identity (Luke 9:10-17; Luke 24:13-43); the disciples' obedience (Luke 9:10-17; Luke 10:38-42), and leadership (Acts 1:15-26; Acts 20:17-38).

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This project involved the development of a training manual for religious small group leaders to become competent communicators of support, and to understand the nature and role of crisis groups for the purpose of supporting members in crisis.

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