Contemplative Pedagogy in Higher Education: Growing Confidence, Creativity and Community

In September 2023, The Contemplative Pedagogy Network (CPN) is hosting a symposium in Devon, UK. This international event reflects the growing interest in the field of Contemplative Pedagogy, and is the latest in a series of conversations hosted by the CPN. The network aims to inspire, inform and connect people interested in developing more contemplative practices in their teaching.

JUICE is excited and honoured to be supporting the CPN in the promotion of the symposium. The journal is creating a special issue to curate and disseminate the conference proceedings.

This 3-day residential symposium is an opportunity for HE educators to discover, further and share understandings and experiences of contemplative pedagogy (Barbezat & Bush, 2014) and its more spacious and transformative ways of knowing and being. We will come together in the beautiful surroundings of Dartington Hall in Devon, South-West England, to connect, replenish and create possibilities for a higher education beyond ‘accountability, standardisation and performativity’ (Ergas, 2017), one that contributes to feeling alive, ‘animate’, intrinsically fulfilled and interconnected, with self, others, and the more-than-human world (Bai, 2020).

The symposium will weave workshops with invited speakers and open sessions for inquiry, sharing experiences and discussion, kindness, rest and conviviality. Confirmed guest speakers are Dr. Karolyn Kinane (University of Virginia), Dr. Jo Trelfa (Principle of Iron Mill College) and Dr. Louise Livingstone (Heart Sense Research Institute).

Guest Editor

The JUICE team is very pleased to welcome Rosie Holmes and Mike Wride as the guest editors for this special issue, who are both members of the Contemplative Pedagogy Network’s steering group. 

Rosie is an experienced educator and has worked in Higher Education and Further Education for 18 years, currently at the University of Chichester, UK. As well as regularly using walking to support her own creative work, she is also a fully trained teacher of Mindfulness practices. She offers courses, workshops and often incorporates mindfulness into the work she does with students on a one to one basis.

Mike is currently Transformative Pedagogies Lead in the Centre for Transformative Learning at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Mike’s teaching and research interests are in the areas of contemplative, creative and transformative learning. Mike’s PhD in Developmental Biology makes him uniquely placed to think in terms of systems and organisational complexity. He is a former guest lecturer on the MSc in Holistic Science at Schumacher College.

Guidance for submissions

JUICE welcomes articles in a range of formats including video, audio, text and images. The key criterion for an article is that it must be critically reflective and be informed by relevant academic literature. All reflections will be reviewed for consideration by the editors and the deadline for submissions is 31st December 2023

Text articles should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words in length, and video and audio submissions should be up to 15 minutes in duration. Submissions can include a mixture of formats, see this example.

Please include a list of references with your submission in text format. References should be in the Harvard style, please look at any previous JUICE article for examples of our approach to Harvard referencing.

Please submit your article as a Google Doc – here is guidance on how to do this

If you’d like to attend

The symposium will take place on the 4th, 5th and 6th September 2023 at Dartington Hall, Devon, UK.

Cost: £334 (this includes all food, accommodation and the event)

Early Bird Price: £314 for the first 18 places booked.

To book please call Dartington Hall on 01803 847121 quoting “Contemplative Pedagogy Network” – full payment will be required in order to confirm your place. Please book early as places are limited. 

References

Bai, H. (2020). ‘A Critical Reflection on Environmental Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic’. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 5x(x), x.

Barbezat, D. P. and Bush, M. (2014). Contemplative Practices in Higher Education: Powerful Methods to Transform Teaching and Learning. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons

Ergas, O. (2017) Reconstructing ‘Education’ through Mindful Attention – Positioning the Mind at the Centre of Curriculum and Pedagogy. London: Palgrave Macmillan

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