A Perspective on Spiritual Education in Australian Schools: The Emergence of Nonreligious Personal Development Approaches

doi:10.4324/9780203085578-19

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A Perspective on Spiritual Education in Australian Schools: The Emergence of Nonreligious Personal Development Approaches

ABSTRACT

THE NEED FOR A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT BASIS TO THE DISCOURSE ON SPIRITUAL EDUCATION AND THE PIVOTAL PLACE OF THE CONSTRUCT ‘SPIRITUALITY’ IN THIS DISCOURSE

There has been a signiﬁ cant change in the landscape of contemporary spirituality which for many Australians no longer has much linkage, if

any, with organised religion (Mason, Singleton & Webber, 2007). Hence the discourse about the role of schools in promoting young people’s spiritual and moral development cannot remain a relatively exclusive prerogative of religious education; it needs to be based more on personal development constructs.