Welcome to
the Collaborative
for Spirituality in Education
Welcome to the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education
THE NEXT WAVE OF WHOLE CHILD EDUCATION:
DESIGNING TRANSFORMATIVE SCHOOL CULTURE
What We Do
We are working to transform public and private education by promoting spiritual and moral development within schools and by giving educators tools to build classrooms and schools that nurture the inner life of their students.
We do this work through four strategic initiatives:
1.  Research. We gather successful practices and lessons learned from master practitioners, develop our process of school change, and share these findings.
2.  The Awakened Schools Institute. We bring educational leaders and teachers from around the country to learn about and reflect together on ways that their schools can develop a more spiritually-supportive culture.
3. Public Speaking. Through conferences, social media, and outreach, we share our work with schools, universities, researchers, and the public who want to do more to support the inner spirit of our children.Â
4. The National Council on Spirituality in Education. Through our National Conference on Spirituality in Education and other events, we are continuing to build a movement begun at our National Conference in 2015. Our conferences and events gather practitioners and academics to collaborate on ideas and initiatives that will advance the field of Spirituality in Education.
NEWS UPDATE:
CSE Programs to be Integrated into Teachers College | September 5, 2024
With its major achievements over the past seven years, the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE) has gone far in laying the groundwork for advancing its mission. Assisted by our many collaborators, CSE has succeeded in creating an empirically driven system for spiritually supportive education in any school. We have developed flagship contributions toward a more spiritually aware society with the Awakened Schools Institute (ASI) where teachers and administrators learn to become leaders of school change. We have built a nationally recognized catalytic hub for educational field change with the biennial Awakened Education Conference.
We now are honored to be invited to integrate these programs into the number one ranked School of Education in the U.S., Teachers College, Columbia University, with the goal of setting a new standard in education. Alongside the pillars of the academic disciplines and physical education, now stands the pillar of spiritually grounded education as a hallmark source of training for both national and international educators.
Transferring ASI and the National Conference to Teachers College will ensure a secure institutional home for these initiatives over the long term. It also provides a unique opportunity to mainstream the ideal of spirituality in education. The CSE Board of Trustees fully supports the plan to transfer CSE’s programs to Teachers College. We anticipate the transfer will be completed this fall, and CSE will conclude its operations and close its doors as of November 27. In my capacity as Professor of Psychology and Education and head of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Teachers College, I will continue to provide oversight and direction for CSE’s programs at Teachers College.
CSE enthusiastically welcomes all educators to join in the next phase of field building for spiritually supportive education. We also pause at this exciting moment to offer our deepest gratitude to our inspired contributors, steadfast supporters, board chairs and board members, and the thousands of educational leaders working to create a more spiritually aware society. We look forward to collaboration in the years ahead!
Dr. Lisa Miller
President, CSE
Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College
NEWS UPDATE:
CSE Programs to be Integrated into Teachers College
September 5, 2024
With its major achievements over the past seven years, the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE) has gone far in laying the groundwork for advancing its mission. Assisted by our many collaborators, CSE has succeeded in creating an empirically driven system for spiritually supportive education in any school. We have developed flagship contributions toward a more spiritually aware society with the Awakened Schools Institute (ASI) where teachers and administrators learn to become leaders of school change. We have built a nationally recognized catalytic hub for educational field change with the biennial Awakened Education Conference.
We now are honored to be invited to integrate these programs into the number one ranked School of Education in the U.S., Teachers College, Columbia University, with the goal of setting a new standard in education. Alongside the pillars of the academic disciplines and physical education, now stands the pillar of spiritually grounded education as a hallmark source of training for both national and international educators.
Transferring ASI and the National Conference to Teachers College will ensure a secure institutional home for these initiatives over the long term. It also provides a unique opportunity to mainstream the ideal of spirituality in education. The CSE Board of Trustees fully supports the plan to transfer CSE’s programs to Teachers College. We anticipate the transfer will be completed this fall, and CSE will conclude its operations and close its doors as of November 27. In my capacity as Professor of Psychology and Education and head of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Teachers College, I will continue to provide oversight and direction for CSE’s programs at Teachers College.
CSE enthusiastically welcomes all educators to join in the next phase of field building for spiritually supportive education. We also pause at this exciting moment to offer our deepest gratitude to our inspired contributors, steadfast supporters, board chairs and board members, and the thousands of educational leaders working to create a more spiritually aware society. We look forward to collaboration in the years ahead!
Dr. Lisa Miller
President, CSE
Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College
Why CSE was Formed
All human beings are born with a natural capacity for spirituality, which is an integral dimension of full human development. Spirituality fosters a way of being that provides a foundation for a young person’s intellectual, emotional, moral, social and physical development. There is mounting empirical evidence that nurturing the spirituality of children supports their health and happiness and helps them be more engaged, higher achievers, and better citizens.
When their spirituality is not nurtured, there is a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, even violence and suicide. This proves to be the case regardless of gender, income-level, ethnic origin, or other background. By neglecting this critically important part of education of the whole child, we are putting our children at risk and leaving them without the resources to navigate the increasingly complex and challenging world they will inherit.
Spiritual and moral development not only benefits the individual child; it is critical for building a society of engaged citizens committed to the common good, the renewal of American democracy, and sustainable development. Fostering spirituality in children before it goes dormant is of critical importance if the nation is to generate the quality of future leadership so urgently needed in all sectors and institutions. The Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE) is planting the seeds of social change and nurturing spiritually aware citizens and leaders for a new generation.
Recent Publications
For more information and access to the entire book,
Spirituality and religion are often interrelated, but they are not identical. The universal innate capacity for spiritual development can be nurtured both within and outside the framework of institutional religion. The CSE recognizes that all schools—public, private, religious, charter– can and should support the healthy spiritual and moral growth of children and adolescents.
The Science of Spirituality
THE COLLABORATIVE FOR SPIRITUALITY IN EDUCATION IS HOUSED AT TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.
IT WAS LAUNCHED IN COLLABORATION WITH ROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS AND THE FETZER INSTITUTE.
THE NEXT WAVE OF WHOLE CHILD EDUCATION:
DESIGNING TRANSFORMATIVE SCHOOL CULTURE
What We Do
We are working to transform public and private education by promoting spiritual and moral development within schools and by giving educators tools to build classrooms and schools that nurture the inner life of their students.
We aim to support every interested educator in the United States and globally, with particular emphasis on educators who teach children in poverty and/or adverse societal conditions. To ensure access for all educators, all of our CSE conferences, resources, training programs and workshops are free of charge. Â
We do this work through four strategic initiatives:
1.  Research. We gather successful practices and lessons learned from master practitioners, develop our process of school change, and share these findings.
2.  The Awakened Schools Institute. We bring educational leaders and teachers from around the country to learn about and reflect together on ways that their schools can develop a more spiritually-supportive culture.
3. Public Speaking. Through conferences, social media, and outreach, we share our work with schools, universities, researchers, and the public who want to do more to support the inner spirit of our children.Â
4. The National Council on Spirituality in Education. Through our National Conference on Spirituality in Education and other events, we are continuing to build a movement begun at our National Conference in 2015. Our conferences and events gather practitioners and academics to collaborate on ideas and initiatives that will advance the field of Spirituality in Education.
Why CSE was Formed
All human beings are born with a natural capacity for spirituality, which is an integral dimension of full human development. Spirituality fosters a way of being that provides a foundation for a young person’s intellectual, emotional, moral, social and physical development. There is mounting empirical evidence that nurturing the spirituality of children supports their health and happiness and helps them be more engaged, higher achievers, and better citizens.
When their spirituality is not nurtured, there is a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, even violence and suicide. This proves to be the case regardless of gender, income-level, ethnic origin, or other background. By neglecting this critically important part of education of the whole child, we are putting our children at risk and leaving them without the resources to navigate the increasingly complex and challenging world they will inherit.
Spiritual and moral development not only benefits the individual child; it is critical for building a society of engaged citizens committed to the common good, the renewal of American democracy, and sustainable development. Fostering spirituality in children before it goes dormant is of critical importance if the nation is to generate the quality of future leadership so urgently needed in all sectors and institutions. The Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE) is planting the seeds of social change and nurturing spiritually aware citizens and leaders for a new generation.
Spirituality and religion are often interrelated, but they are not identical. The universal innate capacity for spiritual development can be nurtured both within and outside the framework of institutional religion. The CSE recognizes that all schools—public, private, religious, charter– can and should support the healthy spiritual and moral growth of children and adolescents.
The Science of Spirituality
A Special Thanks to Our Partners
A Special Thanks to Our Partners