Connecting Resilience and Spirituality: A Vocational Tertiary Education Initiative During the Pandemic

Abstract Individuals typically experience both good times and adversities in their lives, and being able to bounce back with resilience after challenges contributes to coping and personal wellbeing. Using a health-related applied epistemological approach, this paper explores linkages between resilience and spiritual themes, drawing connections to inform mental health within educational approaches and challenges such as the pandemic. Further, it outlines an innovative tertiary teaching approach focused on building resilience and spirituality for trainee allied health workers within a secular vocational approach to pastoral care. This carefully designed and integrated vocationally influenced learning initiative is explained, as is a subsequent empirical evaluation of participating alumni. Implications of the research findings of this educational initiative are reviewed and discussed in light of linkages between resilience and spirituality, mental health, and societal factors. Further discussions include the way that a vocational initiative in a secular context can cross personal and cultural boundaries to engage in communicating spiritual values of meaning and purpose, in order to support young people as they cope with challenges and transition into their field of work.