“There for the right reasons”: New Zealand early childhood professionals’ sense of calling, life goals, personal and spiritual values

Zhang, K. C. (2022) “There for the right reasons”: New Zealand early childhood professionals’ sense of calling, life goals, personal and spiritual values. Journal of Religion and Health, (doi: 10.1007/s10943-022-01642-1) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Using a mixed-method approach, this present study examined the roles of calling and the relation between life goals and spiritual values among early childhood professionals in New Zealand. Among the 102 participants who completed the surveys, 24 participated in the follow-up individual interviews. In line with previous research, results showed that the five spiritual values—conformity, universalism, tradition, benevolence, and security—positively correlated with at least three intrinsic life goals, but showed a negative correlation with at least three of the four extrinsic goals. In addition, all non-spiritual values—self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, and power—correlated negatively with at least three of the intrinsic life goals. A similar pattern was found between the correlation between all non-spiritual values and extrinsic life goals. Interview data showed that participants who self-identified as having experienced a call to work with young children actively engaged with their calling. They also affirmed that their calling was experienced at a deeply personal and emotional level. Participants also recognized the important impact of life goals, personal and spiritual values on their work. This paper concludes with implications for future research and practice.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Zhang, Dr Kaili
• Authors: Zhang, K. C.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: Journal of Religion and Health
• Publisher: Springer
• ISSN: 0022-4197
• ISSN (Online): 1573-6571
• Published Online: 24 August 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022
• First Published: First published in Journal of Religion and Health 2022
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy