The Thorns and Roses of Contemplative Curriculum: Exploring Undergraduates’ Journeys with Self-Awareness

Authors

  • Jennifer Schneider Oklahoma State University
  • Jo Flory Oklahoma State University
  • Jon Smythe Oklahoma State University

Keywords:

contemplative education, higher education, curriculum studies, curriculum design, students' experiences, self-awareness

Abstract

Peer-Reviewed

In this paper we offer a glimpse into qualitative research that explores the living nature of contemplative curriculum through the experiences of an educator and students at a university in the central United States. While the process of generating data for the project is ongoing, we share findings based on a sliver of the data, namely, what emerged through our collaborative analysis of 11 students’ writings produced during an undergraduate course dedicated to contemplative inquiry. Our analysis revealed that students’ journeys with the curriculum stimulated a heightened awareness of selfhood that enfolded tensions, epiphanies, and self-acceptances. Their writings provide insights into the potential for contemplative curriculum to nurture self-awareness and personal growth within learners. Students’ experiences also reveal how such inquiry invites the self to be sensed more fully and how beliefs constructed about selfhood can become problematized.

Author Biographies

Jennifer Schneider, Oklahoma State University

Jennifer L. Schneider is an assistant professor of Curriculum Studies at Oklahoma State University who is deeply influenced by a background studying and teaching in the arts and humanities. Her academic and creative endeavors are dedicated to exploring the art of living, with attention given to everyday curriculum experiences, aesthetics, holism, and contemplative inquiry and practices.

Jo Flory, Oklahoma State University

Jo Flory is a doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant in curriculum studies at Oklahoma State University and a high school English teacher. She is currently participating in a collaborative action research project, “Teaching and Practicing Mindfulness in the Secondary Classroom”, alongside Dr. Hongyu Wang and fellow secondary teachers. Recent publications include an article on secondary curriculum in the Oklahoma English Journal and a co-authored article, "Curriculum in a Third Space", with Dr. Wang. Jo’s research interests include the intersection of popular culture texts and political discussion in the secondary English classroom and the nexus of mindfulness and currere writing. 

Jon Smythe, Oklahoma State University

Jon L. Smythe began his educational career as an English teacher in rural part of Cameroon, Africa. Being enfolded in the beauty of nature, spirituality, creativity, multiplicity, and interrelatedness continues to inspire his work in the fields of aesthetics, arts-based curriculum, and the internationalization of curriculum studies.

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Published

2023-11-29

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2023): Contemplative Perspectives and Practices in Holistic Education

Section

Gallery Walk