The influence of Kirtan in Early Years Education on the foundation of spirituality in a Sikh Nursery

Spiritualty has been explored through different types of creativity; in this research, the medium of a Sikh traditional, devotional form of music known as Kirtan has been used to discover children’s awareness of spirituality. Exploring Kirtan through collective worship allowed insight on whether it can be described as a foundational method of expressing the emergence of spirituality in Early Years (EY). Spiritual development has become crucial for children if they are to be more fulfilled and achieve a lifelong love for learning (Lunn, 2015). As a recognised and essential part of holistic development (Watson, 2006), intrinsic to all aspects of learning and crucial in a deeper understanding of self, everyday spirituality (Bone, 2007) emphasises all experiences to be of a spiritual nature as a foundation for identity, meaning and hope.

To achieve the above, I reviewed literature considering current legislation, policy and practice relating to the emergence of spirituality and spiritual growth followed by a review on child development, research with children and the Early Years. This research study followed five children over the course of one academic year in their journey of spiritual development; to explore this, I undertook an ethnographic case study design which included video-based observations, coding schedule, sampling methods, researcher immersion, reflexivity, intuitive thinking, participant observation as well as video-recorded interviews using play and artbased research with careful consideration of ethical challenges of researching young children.

The new knowledge that emerged from this research demonstrated links against a model of spirituality in music education which van der Merwe and Habron (2015) suggested may be of use to researchers. It was essential, for this research, to also represent Van Manen’s four lifeworld existential (lived experiences; 1990): where the children’s experiences were analysed against four existential themes (corporeality, relationality, spatiality, and temporality) described as structures that pervade the lifeworld of all human beings, regardless of their historical, cultural, or social situatedness (Hyde, 2016). Drawing on a critical and reflective triangulation of all the data collected and subsequently analysed, I explored features of a new and inclusive understanding of faith-based spiritual experiences which is relational, gives purpose to the child’s voice and identity as well as the sacred. The implications, in terms of policy, professional and practice within Early Years, draws on everyday spirituality and the wider workforce to recognise the spirituality in everyday routines and practices. To conclude, the opportunity to represent the real ‘voice’ of Sikh children regarding their spirituality, both verbal and non-verbal, is a priority for the community to support the improvement of Early Years practice.