背景：「小班教學」已於2009年9月開始分階段實施。 有教育同工反對這項改革，認為「小班教學」只會製造一種假像。亦有社會人士期望老師可以有多些時間，照顧學生的個別差異和成長；而學生家長也會期望老師可以有多些時間照顧學生的需要。學生、家長及其他社會人士對老師的期望提高了。但老師是否真的可以有多些時間去照顧學生的需要和成長呢？本文作者嘗試跟進教育同工們的關注，提出有關教育目的及關顧「心靈教育」的討論，特別是近年大陸學者所關注的「生命化教育」、「回歸生命教育」等，盼望能拋磚引玉，擦出進深探究教育使命的火花來。
討論焦點：本文嘗試從教育理念入手，闡釋小班教學計劃推行的主要精神應是在於「教學以學生為本，照顧個別學生的需要」。作者跟著提出兩個重要的課題去思考，即是：(一) 心靈教育是甚麼？ 及 (二) 如何推行心靈教育？。在跟進的討論中，作者進一步闡釋三個基本的問題，分別是：(一) 心靈是甚麼？；(二) 心靈成長需要怎樣的空間？；(三) 心靈成長需要甚麼元素？。
建議： 盼望教育當局在推行小班教學的同時能加強關注及投放更多資源去推動關顧學生心靈的教育；從事教育工作者今後亦應更多地關注學生的心靈、並能更有效地推動關顧學生心靈的教育。
總結：教育工作者的重要任務之一是要關注學生心靈的成長，小班教學的推行正是一個大好機會提醒前線教育工作者照顧個別學生的需要、包括幫助他們心靈的成長。心靈教育也就是生命化教育，須幫助學生認識自己、肯定生命的價值、發揮自我的潛能，建立更正面、更積極的人生觀。
Background: Hong Kong Education Bureau has been promoting small-class teaching in primary schools, reducing the number of pupils per class from 30 to 25. However, education frontiers were complaining that it would only create a mirage. While the society and the parents are expecting teachers to have more time and space to care for the students' individual needs in small class, the teachers in fact do not have much time for their students. It is indeed the proper time for us to re-think our educational mission underlying the small class provision and the present paper is doing precisely this fine job. Hence, it is proposed that alongside with the implementation of small class policy, more effort should be made for the concern of spirituality education in schools of Hong Kong today.
Aims or focus of discussion: It is made clear that the educational mission of small class teaching would be aimed at the caring for the students' individual needs and spiritual growth. Two issues will be raised and discussed in this paper, namely: (a) what is spirituality education?; and (b) how to promote spirituality education in schools today? The author moves on to elaborate three basic concerns for the promotion of spirituality education in schools, namely: (a) what is meant by 'spirituality'? ; (b) the kind of space needed
