Spirituality in Education Alliance
We are a newly forming group of leaders and organisations in the UK who have come together in the call for educational models that better respond to the growing global call for systems that better nurture human wellbeing and potential within the context of a sustainable world.
https://www.sieallianceuk.org/about.html
Key people
- Wendy Ellyat, Chair of Development Team
Theory of Change
They set out the context for their work as:
There is growing global understanding that success and well-being require a ‘whole child’ approach to learning and development and that current education systems are failing to provide this. Instead, international data reveals disturbing levels of personal distress and pathology in young students. The members of the alliance feel that there is currently an urgent need to assist policymakers in better understanding and promoting the need to move away from the less informed systems of the past, to ones that strengthen and nurture all aspects of student wellbeing. This includes a sense of meaning and purpose, care and responsibility for others, and a deep connection with, and concern for, the natural world.
What is being proposed is the creation of a blueprint for transformative school cultures, along with internal practices and processes, that will support children in becoming thoughtful and caring citizens, in touch with themselves, others and the natural world.
They propose a need for "aligning the inner with the outer":
For thousands of years mankind has been on a quest to understand the nature of the universe and our place within it. It has always been understood that there is both an outer quest (for rational, mental understanding) and an inner quest (for intuitive, emotional understanding), but ultimately it is the balance between the two that really matters. Science is now increasingly showing us that there is an innate interconnectedness, multidimensionality and unified nature to reality and that human beings are an expression of this process.
To feel truly whole, students need to be able to 1) integrate both the inner and outer aspects of their lives 2) maintain a sense of personal meaning and purpose and 3) recognise their contribution to something larger than themselves. To this end:
Spirituality is understood as an innate human quality, that pre-exists cultural or religious differences, that stems from a unified reality and that is grounded in connection and love. As such, it is an essential element for human flourishing.
Moral development should explore the core values and ethical narratives that we want to see in the world
Social development is about celebrating and promoting human diversity within an essential unity, and
Cultural development should foster an understanding of what shapes identity and belonging within an appreciation of interconnectedness and service to others.
https://www.sieallianceuk.org/about.html
Key Learning Resources
- Reports on topics related to spirituality and inner development within in education: https://www.sieallianceuk.org/resources.html, e.g.
- Spiritualise: Cultivating spiritual sensibility to address 21st century challenges by Jonathan Rowson (Perspectiva and RSA, 2019)