How U.S. Early Childhood Educators Understand Children’s Spirituality - A Framework of Essence, Origin, and Action

Sep 11, 2026

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This study explores how in-service U.S. early childhood educators understand children’s spirituality within secular classroom contexts. Using the validated Early Childhood Educators’ Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument, 318 educators (ages zero to eight; 36 states) answered an open-ended prompt defining children’s spirituality. Grounded theory analysis organizes perceptions into a multilayer framework: spirituality as essence, spirituality’s origin, and spirituality expressed through actions with others. The framework supports shared understanding for intentionally nurturing children’s spiritual domain.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction and Purpose

Theoretical Framework

How U.S. Early Childhood Educators Understand Children’s Spirituality: A Framework of Essence, Origin, and Action Jennifer Mata‑McMahon1 · Michael J. Haslip2 · Shahin Hossain3 Accepted: 1 February 2024 © The Author(s) 2024 Abstract This study explores in-service early childhood educators’ understanding of children’s spirituality. Utilizing the recently validated instrument, Early Childhood Educators’ Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC), responses to the question,“What do you understand children’s spirituality to be?” were analyzed. Participants included 318 educators working in secular educational settings with children ages zero to eight years across 36 U.S. states. Findings reveal a multilayered understanding of children’s spirituality. Through a grounded theory approach to data analysis using in-vivo codes in initial and axial coding, participants’ responses were organized in a response framework comprised of three main categories of understanding spirituality: (1) as Essence in itself (f 208),(2) as its place of Origin (f 122), and (3) as Actions in relation to others or as ways in which it is practiced (f 86) . This framework contributes to constructing a shared understanding of children’s spirituality to build efforts toward promoting holistic development and intentionally nurturing the spiritual domain. Keywords Early childhood educators · Children’s spirituality · Educator perceptions · Secular settings · Definition of children’s spirituality Introduction and Purpose The early childhood classroom offers children numerous opportunities to make meaning of the world by engaging in inquiry-based explorations (Katz et al. , 2014 ; Masterson, 2021) . Young children constantly follow their curious minds, searching for answers to make sense of the world and themselves physically and spiritually (Mata-McMahon * Jennifer Mata-McMahon [jmatamcm@umbc.edu](jmatamcm@umbc.edu) [Michael J. Haslip](Michael J. Haslip) [haslip@drexel.edu](haslip@drexel.edu) Shahin Hossain [shahinh1@umbc.edu](shahinh1@umbc.edu) 1 Early Childhood Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Fine Arts Building, Suite 017, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA 2 Early Childhood Education, School of Education, Drexel University, 3401 Market St, 3rd Floor, Office 3225, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA 3 Literacy, and Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Fine Arts Building, Suite 017, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA et al. , 2018) . Early childhood educators, as influential figures in children’s lives, are uniquely positioned to support children’s sense-making of the world. This study exploreshow early childhood educators understand children’s spirituality, as well as their thoughts on how to nurture children spiritually in secular classrooms. A broader goal of this line of inquiry is to investigate how the spiritual flourishment of children may relate to outcomes including self-discovery and emotional and mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore early childhood educators’ understandings of children’s spirituality by analyzing 318 qualitative responses to an open-ended question, part of a more extensive mixed methods study. Preliminary findings from 33 participants indicated that educators understand children’s spirituality as related to building connections with self and others, practicing virtues such as love, forgiveness, and compassion, and making meaning of the world through questioning and curiosity. Other common yet less frequent themes about children’s spirituality were God and religion, self-awareness, mindfulness and presence, humanness, and inner feelings (Mata-McMahon et al. , 2020) . By analyzing data from 318 participants from 36 states, the present study significantly expands the understanding of early childhood educators’ conceptions of children’s spirituality in the United States. Theoretical Framework Maria Montessori described children’s s

FAQs

What question guided the educators’ responses in this study?

Participants responded to an open-ended question asking what they understand children’s spirituality to be.

How many educators and states were included in the analysis?

The study analyzed qualitative responses from 318 educators across 36 U.S. states.

What three-part framework describes educators’ understanding of children’s spirituality?

Educators’ understandings were organized as spirituality as essence, as origin, and as actions practiced in relation to others.

Sep 11, 2026

Upload by Aran