Parent, teacher and pre-adolescent lived experiences of wellbeing and spirituality: A hermeneutic phenomenological study

This thesis questions the vague positioning of spirituality in the context of education, particularly as it is situated in relation to wellbeing. Interviews were conducted with teachers, parents and pre-adolescent students from two Victorian schools and the interviews were analysed using a hermeneutic phenomenological method. Findings from this research posit that wellbeing and spirituality are essentially relational phenomena. This study draws on the ontological philosophy of Heidegger and Gadamer to offer an ontological interpretation of wellbeing and spirituality. In doing so, this study offers responsive and emancipatory conditions to support pre-adolescent students, in particular, in relation to the phenomena.