ERIC Number: EJ1315304
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Sep
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1871-1502
EISSN: N/A
Reconnecting Self, Others and Nature
Wong, Yau Yan; Faikhamta, Chatree
Cultural Studies of Science Education, v16 n3 p867-880 Sep 2021
Modern lifestyle that is based on ideologies such as consumerism, individualism and materialism has led to overconsumption, mass extinction and climate change in the world and threatens the wellbeing of every member on this planet. An increasing number of studies indicate that mindfulness practice may address the socio-ecological challenges of sustainability through nurturing a non-dualistic worldview, empathy and compassion. This study adopts a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore how the philosophy and practice of mindful consumption and the insight of interbeing might contribute to a more connected and conscious community. We include the first-person narratives from a female British teacher-researcher, who used what she had learned from the Plum Village monastery to develop a mindfulness program for elementary school students, parents and teachers in a Thai public school for the past 11 years. Her story unveils the issues regarding different perspectives of mindfulness among various wisdom traditions, and the challenges in teaching and researching mindfulness practice as a foreign lay practitioner in Thailand. We concluded that embracing polysemia and respecting the existence of every human being, animal, plant and mineral of the whole ecosystem is vital for meaningful transformations at individual and societal level.
Descriptors: Metacognition, Interpersonal Relationship, Empathy, Philosophy, Sustainable Development, Foreign Countries, Elementary School Teachers, Teaching Methods, Physical Environment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom; Thailand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A