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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/195563 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Webster, Robert Scott, n/a |
| Publisher | Griffith University. School of Vocational, Technology and Arts Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.gu.edu.au/disclaimer.html), Copyright Robert Scott Webster |
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