Espiritualidade e educação emocional : análise a partir da percepção dos estudantes da rede municipal de ensino da cidade de Queimadas - PB

Abstract

This study, developed within the Spirituality and Health research line of the Graduate Program in Religious Studies, engages in the discussion about the perceptions of students from the final years of Elementary School at Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Tertuliano Maciel, located in Queimadas, Paraíba, regarding to the relationship between Emotional Education and Spirituality. The subject of Emotional Education has been incorporated into the curriculum of all schools in the municipality since 2019, it has provided a privileged space to observe this interaction. The main objective of the research was to analyze students’ perceptions of the relationship between Emotional Education and Spirituality, seeking to understand how these concepts interconnect and identify educational elements capable of fostering the awakening of spirituality. This is a qualitative study aimed at understanding the subjective experiences of students in Emotional Education classes, with data collected through semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that the Emotional Education subject can be configured as a pedagogical path for the flourishing of spirituality, as it has encouraged emotional self- regulation, self-care, empathy, and respect for others. The classroom practices, although devoid of religious connotation, have promoted inner states of calmness, well-being, lightness, confidence, and peace, elements that have expressed a non-religious spirituality oriented toward the integration of human dimensions. In this context, the physical body has played an essential role, as it is through the body that emotional and spiritual experiences manifest and become perceptible, revealing the unity between body, mind, emotions, and spirit. The research draws on authors such as Bucke (1996), Weil (2017), Röhr (2011), and Possebon (2016) to understand the integrality of being and spirituality, and on Bisquerra (2003), Cassassus (2017), and Possebon & Possebon (2024) to support the theoretical framework of Emotional Education. It is concluded that Spirituality and Emotional Education are inseparable dimensions in the integral constitution of the human being, converging toward the construction of a culture of peace in which each individual is invited to recognize their own inner self and to respect the path of others. Moreover, these dimensions influence behavior and strengthen the bonds that sustain social life, showing that spiritual and emotional diversity is an essential part of the human condition.