Higher Education
Seonaigh MacPherson, Patricia Rockman
January 30, 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9781003182467-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that mindfulness in higher education has grown through extracurricular and curriculum-integrated routes linked to contemplative studies, and that recognizing mindfulness and MBTL as distinctive ways of knowing can deepen personal, psychological, and socio-cultural transformation. Contends that mindfulness directly challenges simplistic interpretations of "student success" that dominate higher education discourse. |
Abstract
This chapter reviews the slow but steady uptake of mindfulness in modern higher education contexts, where mindfulness has tended to follow two predominant routes: As less formal extra-curricular or small-dose programmes, similar to community-based initiatives; or as integrated programmes within the formal curricula of disciplines and professional programmes. With respect to the latter route, that is, integrating mindfulness in the formal curriculum, this has been intertwined within the broader initiative for contemplative studies in higher education. This chapter considers the incremental growth of contemplative studies in higher education and the place of mindfulness within that broader mandate. This paved the way for recognizing mindfulness and MBTL as distinctive ways of knowing with implications for deepening the personal, psychological, and socio-cultural transformation associated with higher educational studies. Finally, the lens is turned on the holy grail of higher education – “student success” – which for decades has continued to dominate discourse around the purposes of formal institutional learning in higher education. Mindfulness, and the varied concerns that it is proposed to correct or address, pose a direct challenge to simplistic interpretations of “student success” in the context of higher education.