This book brings together educationalists from around the globe, who share a common interest in nurturing the spiritual lives of children and young people, to explore how approaches to spirituality and education have been shaped by the historical, cultural, religious and political contexts of different geographic regions.

Preface Jacqueline Watson, Marian de Souza and Ann Trousdale Part 1: Spirituality and Education in Europe and Israel Introduction Jacqueline Watson 1. Spirituality, Faith and Education: Some Reflections From a UK Perspective Ron Best 2. Spiritual Development in Schools with No Faith Affiliation: the Cultural Ambivalence towards Children's Spirituality in England Kate Adams 3. The Custody of Spiritual Education in Ireland James O'Higgins Norman and Caroline Renehan 4. The Complex Flavour of Children's Spirituality in Flanders: Fostering an Open Catholic Spirituality Annemie Dillen 5. An Emerging Approach to Spiritual Development through Religious Education in Maltese Schools Adrian-Mario Gellel 6. Spirituality and Education in Finland: Meeting the Socio-Demographic Changes with Empirical Research Kirsi Tirri and Martin Ubani 7. Spirituality in Israeli State Jewish Education: Possible Guidelines for National Education Systems Yaacov Katz Part 2: Spirituality and Education in the Australasian Region Introduction Marian de Souza 8. Taha Wairua: The Spiritual in State Education in Aotearoa New Zealand Deborah Fraser 9. Spirituality and Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia: Past, Present and Future Jane Bone 10. Nurturing Spirituality through a Dispositional Framework in Early Years Contexts Brendan Hyde 11. A Perspective on Spiritual Education in Australian Schools: The Emergence of Non-Religious, Personal Development Approaches Graham Rossiter 12. Buddhism in Bhutanese Education Noa Jones 13. Life Education in Contemporary Chinese societies Ngar-sze Elsa Lau 14. The Japanese Way of Spiritual Cultivation Yoshiharu Nakagawa 15. Spiritual Education in Singapore and Hong Kong: Issues, Challenges and Prospects Charlene Tan and Kaili Zhang 16. Buddha's Beacon and the Long Shadow of Thai Culture: Spirituality and Education in Thailand Michael Earnest Jones Part 3: Spirituality and Education in the Americas Introduction Ann Trousdale 17. Spirituality in Canadian Education Michael Dallaire 18. Pluralism and Polarity: Spirituality and Education in the United States Ann Trousdale 19. Presence, Resonance, Transcendence: Education, Spirituality and the Contemplative Mind Tobin Hart 20. Transformative Approaches to Teacher Education Robert London 21. Research as Transformative Learning: A Longitudinal Study of Spirituality, Cultural Identity, and Unfolding Wisdom in the Lives of US Educators Elizabeth Tisdell 22. Spiritual Education in Brazil: Debates, Trends, Proposals and Experiments Dora Incontri 23. Global Perspectives and Contexts for Spirituality in Education Jacqueline Watson, Marian de Souza and Ann Trousdale