ABSTRACT
In this brave new educational world of ‘management-speak’, the notion of spiritual education seems to sit uncomfortably alongside the current sacred cows of quality control, performance indicators and school league tables. Yet Adrian Thatcher (1999: 1) has recently highlighted ‘an upsurge of interest in spirituality’ and the fact that ‘the spiritual and moral development of children has received unparalleled attention among teachers, lecturers, curriculum-makers and theorists in the 1990s throughout the English-speaking world.’ Moreover, although spiritual education may sound far removed from the present hard-nosed concerns of educational policy and practice, the fact remains that our schools are today being inspected and assessed on their ability to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.
