Re-Enchanting Education and Spiritual Wellbeing

Dr Marian de Souza has spent more than twenty years researching contemporary understandings of spirituality and the implications for education and wellbeing of children and young people. Her recent publications include Spirituality in Education in a Global, Pluralised World (Routledge).Dr Anna Halafoff is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Religion at Deakin University and a Research Associate of the UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific at Monash University. Her most recent publications with Routledge are a co-edited book, Education about Religions and Worldviews: Promoting Intercultural and Interreligious Understanding in Secular Societies (with Elisabeth Arweck and Donald Boisvert), and a co-authored book, Religion and Development in the Asia-Pacific: Sacred Places as Development Spaces (with Matthew Clarke).

• Globalization, Mediatization and (Post-)secular Societies1. Introduction Marian de Souza and Anna Halafof2. Spiritual Wellbeing in Education Marian de Souza and Anna Halafof3. Beyond Faith? Recent Trends in Religion and Spirituality Among Teenagers Andrew Singleton4. Spirituality in Australian Education: A Legacy of Confusion, Omission and Obstruction Terence Lovat5. Building the Foundations of Global Citizenship in Young Children Tony Eaude6. Worldview Education as a Viable Perspective for Educating Global Citizens Dzintra IliškoTheoretical, psychological and philosophical approaches7. Being Spiritually Educated R. Scott Webster8. Life-Education and Religious Education in National, Prefectural and other Public Schools in Japan Fumiaki Iwata9. Music and Spirit: Exploring a Creative Spiritual Pedagogy Ruth Wills10. Seeing What is True and Holy in Others Rev. Dr. John DupuchReflections on Policy, Pedagogy and Programs11. Childhoods Past and Present: A Reflexive Approach to Enhancing Children’s Spiritual Wellbeing Kate Adam12. Educational Reforms in Japan: Are they Contributing to a Sense of Wellbeing and Happiness among Young People? Dorothea Filus13. Reflections on Gender Discrimination in the Spiritual Life of a Muslim Community: Gender in Elementary and Middle School Religion Textbooks in Turkey Mualla Yildiz14. Yingadi Aboriginal Immersion: A Program to Nurture Spirituality Olga Buttigieg15. Spiritual Wellbeing and the National Schools Chaplaincy Program in Australia Avril Howard16. Fostering a Sense of Belonging and Identity through Sound and Spirituality Dawn Joseph17. Nurturing the Spiritual Child: Recognising, Addressing and Nurturing Spirituality in Early Years’ Classrooms through a Dispositional Framework Brendan Hyde

This book provides a very well grounded approach to the issues regarding religious education in schools. The sociological, psychological and philosophical underpinnings are not only impressive, but made in very helpful and approachable ways. The book moves well beyond ‘should there be education about/into religion’ to a consideration of what is the fundamentally critical aim of education and the role of ‘spirituality’, worldviews, even ‘religion’ in delivering on this aim. A major strength is the thorough care with which the themes are developed, exemplified and made real in practice.Professor Gary D Bouma, UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific, Monash UniversityThis book makes an explicit contribution to exploring the significance of spiritual wellbeing within the context of education. It is well organised and allows for the conceptualisation of spirituality and spiritual wellbeing to flow in the direction of spiritual education. It offers creative ways of fostering the inclusion of spiritual wellbeing within educational contexts. The writing style is straightforward and would be easily accessible to educators, academics, as well as parents and carers and those with a general interest in spiritual wellbeing in the context of education.Michael T Buchanan, Associate Professor of Religious Education, Australian Catholic University, Australia