Perspectives on Children's Spirituality in Diverse and Changing Contexts

This book offers multidisciplinary and inclusive perspectives on children and young people's spirituality and its research in diverse socio-cultural contexts. It brings together a collection of select research articles that were published over a period of nearly two decades (2003-2021) in the International Journal of Children's Spirituality (IJCS), to celebrate the journal's 25th anniversary. Featuring contributions by leading international scholars from U.K., U.S., Canada, Finland, Australia, Hong Kong, and China, this edited volume focuses on different and complementary perspectives on children's spirituality in diverse and changing contexts. Chapters cover topics such as: the study of children's spirituality as a natural form of human awareness; a proposed pluricultural approach; the potential contributions of psychoanalytic tradition and cognitive psychology; possible influences of tradition(s), multidisciplinarity and perceptions on understanding children's spiritual experiences; Christian perspectives on children's spirituality in relation to living and dying in Quebec, Canada; Finnish pre-adolescents' perceptions of religion and spirituality; using technology, specifically tablets, as a component for understanding children's spirituality; and cyber spirituality. This volume will be an invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students majoring in education studies, life, and moral and spiritual education and those majoring in psychology and religious studies.

John Chi-Kin Lee is Chair Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Director of the Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education, and Director of the Academy of Educational Development and Innovation at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), Hong Kong. He has served as the Changjiang Scholar Chair Professor conferred by the Ministry of Education, the People's Republic of China. Professor Lee is also UNESCO Chair in Regional Education Development and Lifelong Learning at the EdUHK and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Research Fellow. He has served as the editor of the International Journal of Children's Spirituality, executive editor of Teaching and Teacher Education, and editorial board member or advisory editor of many local, regional and international journals. He is also a prolific writer who has edited and written more than 25 books, and published over 100 journal articles and book chapters.

Preface Introduction-Children's spirituality: personal reflections on International Journal of Children's Spirituality (IJCS) 1. Investigating children's spirituality: The need for a fruitful hypothesis 2. Reviewing the research in children's spirituality (2005-2015): proposing a pluricultural approach 3. Navigating the spaces of children's spiritual experiences: influences of tradition(s), multidisciplinarity and perceptions 4. Living and dying: a window on (Christian) children's spirituality 5. How do Finnish pre-adolescents perceive religion and spirituality? 6. The personae of the spiritual child: taking pictures of the heart using technology and tablets 7. Cyber spirituality: Facebook, Twitter, and the adolescent quest for connection 8. Cyber spirituality II: virtual reality and spiritual exploration 9. Shining Lights in Unexpected Corners: New angles on young children's spiritual development