Spiritual listening: Using a little box of big questions as a tool for promoting change and reflection opportunities with young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and moderate learning difficulties.

This research aimed to ascertain the experiences and impact of using a spiritual listening tool, A Little Box of Big Questions, and follow-up questions to allow opportunities for change and reflection over four sessions with four young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and moderate learning difficulties.
The data were collected using semi-structured interviews guided by A Little Box of Big Questions with the young people, alongside a teacher focus group. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Several factors were identified that elucidated the experiences of those participating in the sessions and mechanisms were identified that suggested how A Little Box of Big Questions had an impact.
Overall, the findings suggest that the themes of relationships, education and feelings about themselves and others not only play a role in students’ lives as demonstrated in their experiences of sessions, but are areas in which the sessions had an impact. The mechanisms by which these areas were impacted are suggested to be through Researcher, Student and Tool factors.
The implications for Educational Psychologists are a greater understanding of the use and impact of A Little Box of Big Questions with those with Special Educational Needs over several sessions, a greater understanding of what aspects of their lives young people with Special Educational Needs view as important and a role for using A Little Box of Big Questions as a tool to help young people elicit future aspirations and hopes, enable goal setting and motivate behaviour change.