‘Heartware’ for the Compassionate Teacher: Humanizing the academy through mindsight, attentive love, and storytelling

Abstract

To counter the implications of fast academia, recent discourse has conceptualized the slow movement as a catalyst for humanizing the academy. Concurrently, there have been increased advocacy for pedagogical kindness within educational settings. This paper focuses on the human(e) elements of learning and teaching, such as empathy, kindness, and compassion. Whilst emphasis in educational discourse have frequently been placed on the hardware and software of teaching and learning practice, the focus on the virtues of 'heartware' and compassion have been limited. Specifically, there has been no study in which the thematic dimensions of: (1) mindsight and mindfulness, (2) attentive love and pedagogical kindness, and (3) storytelling in education is amalgamated to support learning. Within this context, the compassionate teacher aims to not only inspire learning journeys that are positive, engaging and fulfilling, but to also foster learning environments that are more equitable, supportive, and conducive for learners of all capabilities. This paper is conceptual in nature and proposes an approach to humanize the academy through the coaction of mindsight, attentive love, and the teacher storyteller. A conceptual framework illustrating the human(e) dimensions of 'heartware' for the compassionate teacher is also proposed.

Narrating future(s) with others: teaching strategic sustainability management in a relational key

“…Instead of making sustainability an exclusive subject of expert knowledge to be delivered, asking students to develop narratives of sustainable futures and to reflect on for whom this future is actually desirable aims at transformational learning experiences that are at the core of ecopedagogical approaches (Michel, 2020). Yet, transformational learning experiences are difficult and demanding as they are usually involved not only with changes in perspective but changes in identity (Tan, 2022;Hoffman-Bergholm, 2022).…”

Embedded tutors: Enhancing student success and academic integrity with a pedagogy of kindness in first-year university

“…Kindness is a human value that has been identified as being important in education for student well-being and effective learning (Mackay, 2021;Tan, 2022). A pedagogy of kindness is a teaching philosophy that is increasingly valued in education literature (Gorny-Wegrzyn, 2021;Stephens, 2021) as it fosters a supportive learning environment and enhances student wellbeing and success.…”

“…The pedagogy of kindness in student interactions can mitigate these feelings and support students' wellbeing (Amerstorfer & Freiin von Münster-Kistner, 2021). Mindfulness and cognitive presence help students to feel connected and promote meaningful learning, as humanisation in education promotes student well-being (Tan, 2022).…”

‘Just get them over the line’: Neoliberalism and the execution of ‘excellence’

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“…When a colleague suggested compassion had a role to play in our interactions with learners and colleagues, he was severely laughed down. I stood with Tan (2022): "To be a compassionate, inclusive, and mindful educator, it is important for us to be authentic in the positioning of our teaching values and interactions" (p. 157). This dissing of compassion was, for me what led to the critical moment, the realisation of mediocracy, I mentioned at the start.…”