“The Soul of Education is a powerful reminder that education is never just about knowledge but about shaping attention, values, and purpose. This book courageously restores depth, compassion, and meaning to schooling, offering a vision of learning that helps young people become not just successful, but whole.”Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author & Host of Award-Winning Podcast ON Purpose“As AI threatens to erase out of schools both humanity and caring human relationships, it is refreshing to read this inspirational volume.”Sir Anthony Seldon, Educationalist author“A scholarly, deeply conceived and landmark contribution to the field of education! Biddulph and Gor open the heart of education by drawing on the deepest wisdom of the Vedic Tradition. Profound educational transformation here lives at the crossroads of guiding children in a value driven, enlivening, foundationally ethical life within the existing challenges of our global community. Presenting an elegant framework for implementation, there is no appeal for a simplistic leap of change, but rather a grounded, clear actionable stepwise ladder towards the ascension of spiritually centered education.”Lisa Miller, Ph.D, NYT Bestselling Author of The Spirituality Child, Past-President The Collaborative for Spirituality in Education, and Professor, Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Columbia University, Teachers College“The Soul of Education bridges ancient Vedic wisdom with modern pedagogy. It challenges us to consider that the intellect without an inner life is half an education. Biddulph and Gor invite us to recalibrate and to teach not just minds, but souls. The wonderful case studies show that it’s possible to awaken wisdom, wonder, and human flourishing. A luminous manifesto for the future of learning.”Mary Myatt, Education writer and speaker“James and Nitesh restore that sense of soul to our classrooms, our communities, and our leadership, so that we may yet raise a generation capable not just of succeeding, but of healing, of building a world where the mind, the heart, and the spirit move together in harmony.”Lord Krish Raval OBE, Member of the House of Lords“This book is a hugely welcome yet profoundly unusual education text. Most treatises set out to improve the current system, this book, however, seeks to help us rediscover core purposes and philosophy of education.”Professor Dame Alison Peacock DBE DL, CEO The Chartered College of Teaching“This is a deeply considered, courageous book that draws on both new and ancient philosophical thinking to propose a radically different foundation for education - one framed by equality, diversity and love, rather than academic, political and socio-economic priorities. James Biddulph and Nitesh Gor present a carefully-argued, discursive journey in which they adopt a transdisciplinary lens to consider cultural, psychological, philosophical and spiritual understandings of the concept of the human soul. They also offer moving examples of classroom practice to illustrate how an education that…"honours the boundless potential of every child” (Biddulph and Gor, conclusion) can transform children’s lives, communities and futures. Whilst much attention is currently being given to technocratic visions of humanity’s future, Biddulph and Gor’s timely contribution invites us to return to the fundamental questions of what it means to be human, to be compassionate, to be wise.”Dr Julia Flutter, Author and Academic Founding Director, Practical Wisdom Network“As we live through precarious ecological, economic and geopolitical times, we need an education that empowers agency, and guides young people towards more hopeful futures. The Soul of Education inspires and challenges - it’s a manifesto of hope and possibility.”Professor Emily Shuckburgh CBE, Director of Cambridge Zero, Cambridge University“The Soul of Education is a thought-provoking ‘must-read’ which is spiritually informed by Vedic philosophical traditions that light the life of education for human flourishing. This unique and insightful reframing of soul-led education is a call for integrating relational and spiritual dimensions of learning by attuning to the agentic forces that nurture human compassion and empathy, love and belonging. This inspiring and life-giving book will be read and re-read for decades to come for its holistic soul-led educational vision of schools as homes of human flourishing.”Professor Pamela Burnard, Professor of Arts, Creativities and Educations, University of Cambridge“I’ve worked with James for many years. The words in this book align with a practice that he has showed time and time again – bold, innovative and inclusive and there are numerous wonderful examples of values in practice throughout the book. The Soul of Education provides a new pathway to enable every child to be valued and included. This isn’t a religious book - it’s more. It’s about the human spirit and how we can develop it. As a member of the teaching assistant community, I see how such a philosophy could engage us in asking even better questions for and about children. The book is challenging in places, but I recommend that you go on the journey - it’s one of self-discovery!”Aimee Durning MBE, Director of Inclusion University of Cambridge Primary School“The Soul of Education speaks powerfully to a truth I see daily in my work: that human beings do not thrive in cultures shaped by shame, blame, and fear, but in environments that guide, inspire, and awaken a deeper sense of worth and purpose. James (a Hoffman graduate himself) with Nitesh offers a compelling and compassionate reimagining of education as an inner as well as outer journey, one that honours the emotional, moral, and spiritual dimensions of being human. This book challenges the damaging narratives of performance and deficiency that so often dominate schooling, and instead invites educators to cultivate attention, relationship, reflection, and meaning. It resonates strongly with the Hoffman Process understanding that healing, growth, and learning happen when people feel seen, supported, and encouraged to live from their authentic selves.”Serena Gordon, Managing Director, The Hoffman Process UK“Having Chaired the Learned Society in Educational Leadership for the past three years - where I have had the privilege to work with scholars from all around the world - I had become downhearted that our education system in England had become overly performative, behaviourist and reductionist. This Soul of Education book does exactly as it is entitled, it offers the soul back to education, so we can learn and move forward generationally together… a must-read for anyone who has had qualms about the direction in which we were going, as this text shows us that there is real hope inside our education system. This should give us all the faith to help enact the changes that are needed - it is a thoroughly beautiful read.”Dr Deb Outhwaite FCCT, Chair, BELMAS 2023-2026
