From Experience to Revelation: A Comparative Re-reading of Children’s Spiritual Education in the Approaches of John Dewey and Allameh Tabataba’i

Abstract

The present study was designed with the aim of re-reading and comparatively examining the concept and implications of “children’s spiritual education” within two distinct approaches: the experiential–educational approach of John Dewey and the philosophical–religious perspective of Allameh Tabataba’i. Research data were collected through documentary content analysis; specifically, using purposive sampling, the key works of the two thinkers (philosophical, educational, and exegetical texts) were selected as the study corpus. Data collection instruments included structured note-taking and theme-oriented coding. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis in order to extract the dimensions and components of spiritual education; subsequently, a comparative method based on a theoretical comparison model was employed to examine correspondences and divergences between the two perspectives. The findings indicate that, in Dewey’s view, children’s spirituality is formed within the context of social life, lived experience, ethical participation, and practical interaction, such that the school and classroom should provide a setting for experience, reflection, cooperation, and responsibility. In contrast, in Allameh Tabataba’i’s perspective, spiritual education is grounded in religious reason, revelation, divine nature (fitrah), and individual–moral conduct, with spiritual growth realized through self-knowledge, relationship with God, purification of the soul, and worship. Nevertheless, despite their philosophical differences, both approaches emphasize holistic education—that is, the cultivation of the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of the human being—and regard moral development, self-awareness, and human perfection as the primary aims of spiritual education. It is concluded that a logical and creative integration of these two perspectives can provide the basis for a hybrid and indigenous model of children’s spiritual education, a model that attends simultaneously to moral–spiritual needs and to contemporary social and educational realities.