Jennifer Mata-Mcmahon
Biographic Data
| ID | 4609647 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jennifer Mata-Mcmahon |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jennifer |
| FAMILY NAME | Mata-Mcmahon |
| SIGNATURE | MATA-MCMAHON J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9222-0817 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Becoming a scholar of children’s spirituality
Expanding the framework
This paper reports on an ongoing study examining children’s spirituality in secular contexts. Utilizing the Early Childhood Educators’ Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument (Mata-McMahon, Haslip, and Kruse 2023), responses to the question, ‘What do you understand children's spirituality to be?’ were analyzed. In the first phase, 365 educators from 36 U.S. states working with children aged zero to eight responded, with 318 answ…
Understanding children’s spirituality
This study examines how Chilean in-service early childhood educators conceptualise children’s spirituality building on a larger U.S. mixed-methods project. It analyzes the responses of 87 educators to Q7 of the Early Childhood Educator’s Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument, utilising NVivo 14 for coding. Three key dimensions of children’s spirituality emerged: Personal, Interpersonal, and Intangible-Immaterial. The Personal …
Sustainability of a dual language program during and beyond Covid-19 challenges
Validation study of the Early Childhood Educators’ Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument using Rasch
Three validity evidence sources (test content, internal structure, and relationships to other variables) from the responses of 365 educators, purposely sampled from 36 US states, are presented to explore the use of the instrument, Early Childhood Educators' Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC). Findings show expert panel agreed items accurately represented the desired construct and recommendations for revising multidimensional items wer…
Finding connections between spirituality and play for early childhood education
In an attempt to provide holistic education and care, expand the view of young children’s development to include the spiritual, and make connections with the found benefits of play for all areas of development, this article looks at 33 surveyed U.S. early childhood educators’ perceptions on nurturing spirituality through open-ended and free play. Data collected from the open-ended questions of an online survey were analyzed looking at 22 mentions…
Spirituality and humour
In looking at the relations between children's spirituality and children's expressions of humour, this paper explores the connections between the findings and theoretical implications and contributions of two separate empirical studies carried out with children between the ages of 5 and 6, in Cyprus and the US. Findings from the phenomenological study in the US point to joy (joyfulness and delight), concern for others (kindness, compassion and ca…
Sharing my journey and opening spaces
Drawing on past experiences and understandings of children's spirituality, as well as research regarding in-service teacher's views on facilitating spirituality in the classroom, this article explores teacher candidates' thoughts on spirituality, their position as it having a place or not in the classroom and how, if so, would they incorporate it to facilitate spirituality for the children they teach. Methods for gathering data include exposing t…
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Sharing my journey and opening spaces
Drawing on past experiences and understandings of children's spirituality, as well as research regarding in-service teacher's views on facilitating spirituality in the classroom, this article explores teacher candidates' thoughts on spirituality, their position as it having a place or not in the classroom and how, if so, would they incorporate it to facilitate spirituality for the children they teach. Methods for gathering data include exposing t…
Spirituality and humour
In looking at the relations between children's spirituality and children's expressions of humour, this paper explores the connections between the findings and theoretical implications and contributions of two separate empirical studies carried out with children between the ages of 5 and 6, in Cyprus and the US. Findings from the phenomenological study in the US point to joy (joyfulness and delight), concern for others (kindness, compassion and ca…
Finding connections between spirituality and play for early childhood education
In an attempt to provide holistic education and care, expand the view of young children’s development to include the spiritual, and make connections with the found benefits of play for all areas of development, this article looks at 33 surveyed U.S. early childhood educators’ perceptions on nurturing spirituality through open-ended and free play. Data collected from the open-ended questions of an online survey were analyzed looking at 22 mentions…
Validation study of the Early Childhood Educators’ Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument using Rasch
Three validity evidence sources (test content, internal structure, and relationships to other variables) from the responses of 365 educators, purposely sampled from 36 US states, are presented to explore the use of the instrument, Early Childhood Educators' Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC). Findings show expert panel agreed items accurately represented the desired construct and recommendations for revising multidimensional items wer…
Understanding children’s spirituality
This study examines how Chilean in-service early childhood educators conceptualise children’s spirituality building on a larger U.S. mixed-methods project. It analyzes the responses of 87 educators to Q7 of the Early Childhood Educator’s Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument, utilising NVivo 14 for coding. Three key dimensions of children’s spirituality emerged: Personal, Interpersonal, and Intangible-Immaterial. The Personal …
Sustainability of a dual language program during and beyond Covid-19 challenges
Becoming a scholar of children’s spirituality
Expanding the framework
This paper reports on an ongoing study examining children’s spirituality in secular contexts. Utilizing the Early Childhood Educators’ Spiritual Practices in the Classroom (ECE-SPC) instrument (Mata-McMahon, Haslip, and Kruse 2023), responses to the question, ‘What do you understand children's spirituality to be?’ were analyzed. In the first phase, 365 educators from 36 U.S. states working with children aged zero to eight responded, with 318 answ…
Medicine (5 works) · Psychology (5 works) · Spirituality (5 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Developmental psychology (3 works) · Early childhood (3 works) · Early childhood education (3 works) · Early Childhood Education and Development (3 works) · Nature versus nurture (3 works) · Pedagogy (3 works)