Denford-Wood, Gaylene (Flinders University, S.A.)
Meditating mindfully: teachers who go within to ensure the students don’t go without
How we know is seminal to what we know. Yet contemporary teacher education ignores an extant way of knowing–contemplation–as antithetical to the hegemony of rationalism. Despite a spike of mindfulness-in-schools literature, for example, few initial teacher education programmes contain mindfulness, meditation or other contemplative practices that complement analytical thinking. However, evidence shows that–just as physical exercise builds muscle fitness–regular meditation builds cognitive capacity for inner knowing. Would, then, experienced teachers who have sustained their meditative practices over years be able to shed light on personal-professional ways of knowing and being? This paper focuses on findings from part of a doctoral study investigating the meditative practices and experiences of 22 exemplary teachers and educational leaders across education sectors and a range of institutions in New Zealand and Australia. A case-study approach to the fieldwork used a phenomenological lens to define the boundaries. ‘Microscopically’ each participant was considered a case in their own right and ‘telescopically’, participants constituted one case of a particular phenomenon–experienced teachers who meditate. Results show remarkable variation in, firstly, what originally drew participants to meditate; secondly, their types of practice; thirdly, influences that sustain their contemplative discipline and fourthly, the effects these teachers report meditation has on the way they feel about themselves and their work. Hitherto unspoken epistemological and ontological elements were openly shared in a spirit of trust that they may be of service to others. This paper concludes with key points which could critically inform the literature on teacher education.
Meditating mindfully: teachers who go within to ensure the students don’t go without
How we know is seminal to what we know. Yet contemporary teacher education ignores an extant way of knowing–contemplation–as antithetical to the hegemony of rationalism. Despite a spike of mindfulness-in-schools literature, for example, few initial teacher education programmes contain mindfulness, meditation or other contemplative practices that complement analytical thinking. However, evidence shows that–just as physical exercise builds muscle fitness–regular meditation builds cognitive capacity for inner knowing. Would, then, experienced teachers who have sustained their meditative practices over years be able to shed light on personal-professional ways of knowing and being? This paper focuses on findings from part of a doctoral study investigating the meditative practices and experiences of 22 exemplary teachers and educational leaders across education sectors and a range of institutions in New Zealand and Australia. A case-study approach to the fieldwork used a phenomenological lens to define the boundaries. ‘Microscopically’ each participant was considered a case in their own right and ‘telescopically’, participants constituted one case of a particular phenomenon–experienced teachers who meditate. Results show remarkable variation in, firstly, what originally drew participants to meditate; secondly, their types of practice; thirdly, influences that sustain their contemplative discipline and fourthly, the effects these teachers report meditation has on the way they feel about themselves and their work. Hitherto unspoken epistemological and ontological elements were openly shared in a spirit of trust that they may be of service to others. This paper concludes with key points which could critically inform the literature on teacher education.