Contemplation as a Quintessential Educational Project for our Times

Authors

Keywords:

contemplation, subjectivity, intersubjectivity, contemplative education, awareness, lines of development, arts-based research, contemplative writing, graduate contemplative education program, awareness journal, iChange project

Abstract

The authors mount an argument in which an etiological link is made between contemporary existential malaise and marginalization of human subjectivity/intersubjectivity and prioritization of the modernist science-driven value of objectivity. We make a case that the failure to validate the inherent value of subjectivity in education has created an imbalanced, incomplete approach to education, resulting in the tide of loneliness, anomie, and disconnection washing over so many people today, especially young people. Going beyond the etiological argument, this work then showcases an educational program that honors and centralizes the subjective and intersubjective, powered by contemplative practices. Contemplative education seeks to correct that imbalance and provides students with a balanced and grounded base from which to grow. The four legs of the stool—mind, body, spirit, and heart—are cultivated and valued as equally important parts of the whole experience of living and learning.

Author Biographies

Heesoon Bai, Simon Fraser University

I am a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. Along with Laurie Anderson and Charles Scott, I am a co-coordinator in the Master’s program in Contemplative Inquiry and Approaches in Education. Following Raimon Panikkar’s (1918-2010) lead, I understand philosophy’s task for today’s troubled world to be “to know, to love, and to heal.” I bring this three-fold task of philosophy into my teaching and research.

My current research interests cluster around examining and deconstructing ontological and epistemological assumptions that underlie our cultural practices, our ethics and aesthetics. In my work I call for reanimation of our selves within all spheres of human beingness in the service of living ethically and in beauty. Ethics and aesthetics are one. Through contemplative inquiry and practices, such as Zen, I offer ways to experiment with replenishing, nourishing, and animating our being.

Laurie Anderson, Simon Fraser University

I am the Executive Director of Simon Fraser University, Vancouver and an Adjunct professor in the Faculty of Education, an Associate at SFU's Centre for Dialogue, and the co-developer of SFU's popular Master’s in Contemplative Inquiry and Approaches to Education. Earlier, I spent 30 years in the public education system, as a teacher, principal, Director of Curriculum, Associate Superintendent and Interim Superintendent of Schools for the Vancouver Board of Education. I have held various consultancy positions over the past 20 years, including on program reform strategies for the BC Ministry of Education, assessment and evaluation frameworks for the Education Bureau of Hong Kong, facilitating leadership development and student evaluation programs in China, Thailand, Chile, Cambodia, Mexico, Vietnam and Taiwan, and mentoring novice school leaders throughout BC.

Charles Scott, Simon Fraser University

I am an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University where I am co-coordinator of and teach in a Master’s program in Contemplative Inquiry and Approaches in Education. I am also an Associate Professor at City University in Canada, where I teach courses in the M.Ed. School Counselling program. My research interests are in contemplative inquiry, spirituality in education, dialogue in education, holistic education, and the considerations and intersections of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. 

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Published

2023-11-29

Issue

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

Section

Gallery Walk