A Brief History of the Current Reemergence of Contemplative Education

Abstract

This article explores the history of the current reemergence of a contemplative orientation in education. While referencing an ancient history, it primarily examines the history of contemporary contemplative education through three significant stages, focusing on the third. The first was arguably initiated by the introduction of Buddhism to the United States through Chinese immigration that started in 1840, and the second began in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the establishment of three significant tertiary institutions that engage contemplative practice and theory. The third, which began in 1995 with the founding of the Centre for Contemplative Mind in Society, is introduced through five developmental influences. Linked with this is the concurrent development and growing intersection of contemplative and transformative education. This contemporary and ancient history traces the continuing presence of the contemplative in education to counter suggestions that contemplative education may be a fleeting trend. Rather, it indicates that contemplative practice, which grounds this approach in education, is an essential aspect of who we are and how we learn.

Reflecting on Reflecting: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as a Tool to Evaluate Contemplative Pedagogies

“…(2) emerging research on the positive outcomes of contemplative practice for well-being and flourishing; and (3) scholarly studies of student learning in higher education (Morgan, 2015). While those foundations provide a firm grounding for contemplative pedagogies in general, they do not offer specific evidence that would help faculty (or others) make judgments about the use of contemplative pedagogies in particular disciplinary or institutional contexts -nor do they point the way toward effective practices for determining student learning and development linked to contemplative pedagogies.…”

Contemplative Education

“…Also explored is the relationship between contemplative education and transformative learning. I was interested in Morgan's (2015) comment that ''both take a holistic approach to education' ' (p. 15). This is my principal area of inquiry, and I also believe that holistic education provides a broad framework that incorporates contemplative education and transformational learning (Miller, 2007(Miller, , 2010.…”

“…Although two papers in this collection focus on mindfulness, as a whole, these papers deal with a diverse set of issues related to contemplative education. Morgan (2015) asserts that the recent growth in contemplative education is the third wave. The previous waves included the introduction of Buddhism through Chinese immigration to North America in the mid-19th century, while the second wave occurred in the late 1960s and early 70s with the establishment of three postsecondary institutions that included contemplative education in the curricula.…”

A Contemplative Approach to Graduate Writing Development: Reflections from Thai Writing Classrooms

“…Contemplative practices are not only increasingly popular in Thailand, they are an international phenomenon that have spread across the field of higher education in the last decade (Barbezat & Bush, 2014;Morgan, 2015;Shapiro, Brown & Astin, 2011). Indeed, in a recent article Arthur Zajonc (2013) describes contemplative pedagogy as higher education's "quiet revolution."…”

“…Pedagogies informed by contemplative approaches focus on personal reflection and integration in the learning encounter, and offer conceptual resources that exceed rationalist and cognocentric world views (Morgan, 2015). As teachers, contemplative educators aim to teach the "whole person, with an intention to go beyond the mere transfer of facts and theories" (Barbezat & Bush, 2014, p. 3).…”