ERIC Number: EJ1155137
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Oct
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1541-3446
EISSN: N/A
McDonaldizing Spirituality: Mindfulness, Education, and Consumerism
Hyland, Terry
Journal of Transformative Education, v15 n4 p334-356 Oct 2017
The exponential growth of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in recent years has resulted in a marketisation and commodification of practice--popularly labeled "McMindfulness"--which divorces mindfulness from its spiritual and ethical origins in Buddhist traditions. Such commodification is criticized by utilising ideas and insights drawn from work in educational philosophy and policy analysis. The "McDonaldization" process is applied to the emerging populist versions of mindfulness and analysed in some detail, alongside the capitalization and marketisation of MBIs on the McMindfulness model. The central argument is that the crucial educational function of MBIs needs to be informed by the moral virtues which are at the heart of Buddhist mindfulness. Without such an ethical and educational foundation--actively connected with engaged Buddhist foundations aimed at individual and social transformation--mindfulness becomes just another fashionable self-help gimmick that is unlikely to be of any lasting individual or social benefit.
Descriptors: Metacognition, Spiritual Development, Marketing, Commercialization, Buddhism, Intervention, Ethics, Criticism, Educational Philosophy, Policy Analysis, Moral Values, Teaching Methods, Ethical Instruction, Transformative Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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