Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Urban Education

Advisor

Kenneth Tobin

Subject Categories

Science and Mathematics Education

Keywords

Authentic Inquiry, Emotions, Mindfulness, Science Education, Sociocultural Frameworks, Wellness

Abstract

The central idea of this dissertation is mindfulness framed as a sociocultural, secular, and multidimensional construct involving attention that is purposeful, in the present moment, and non-judgmental. Mindfulness represents a unification of century-old contemplative Eastern traditions (including Buddhism) and the recent developments of modern, Western science. Hence, supported by the emerging scientific evidence, I argue that mindfulness practices have a potential to offer a wide range of benefits related to wellness. In particular, I report on our hermeneutic-phenomenological studies investigating the centrality of emotions in teaching and learning. Our findings confirm that when adopted in education, mindfulness may mediate positive socio-emotional and cognitive changes stretching beyond the immediate school environments and their narrowly defined outcomes. In my discussion of methods and methodologies used in our research, I highlight theory and practical applications of mindfulness-based interventions. I specifically address two such interventions-breathing meditation and reflexivity-boosting heuristics-that were developed and enacted in our studies. Considered in ontological terms, the interventions are meant to afford shifts towards enactments saturated with focus, open awareness, and the ability to detach from thoughts and emotions. Axiological considerations point to compassion towards all sentient beings and the non-animate world as a highly valued component of a mindful disposition. The principles of authentic inquiry we practice stipulate that research participants benefit from the study. Accordingly, my engagement in this research afforded ontological changes towards more mindful ways of being. In addition, I was able to witness and contribute to similar transformations in people occupying different fields of my social life. When viewed through an epistemological lens, wellness-mediating mindful enactments constitute knowledge that is profoundly desirable and distinct from a canonical tradition that continues to be privileged in education. As a researcher, I consider it an ethical obligation to persist in mindfulness-promoting activism towards achievement of ontological, educative, catalytic, and tactical authenticity. The relationships with like-minded scholars that emerged in the course of my research open up new possibilities for the collaborative work to continue.

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