The rise of the child's voice; the silencing of the spiritual voice
In recent years the notion of the child's voice has gained prominence, particularly influenced by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989 which outlined rights for children on an international scale. Many countries, including the UK, subsequently legislated
for the child's voice to be heard in a variety of arenas including the education system. Despite the concept of the child's voice now being firmly established within schools in England, this paper argues that one aspect of their voice is not being heard: their spiritual voice. Drawing on evidence
from research, this paper proposes that a variety of factors have culminated in a tendency towards a silencing of the child's spiritual voice. It argues that this silencing is an important one which should be acknowledged and rectified if educators in all schools are to treat the concept of
the whole child seriously, and fully value their well-being.
Keywords: child's voice; children's spirituality; pupil voice; spiritual development; well-being; whole child
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Department of Education Studies, Bishop Grosseteste University College, Lincoln, UK
Publication date: 01 August 2009
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