Re-envisioning student-centred learning with mindfulness: a dialogue between John Dewey and Buddhist philosophy
Ryotaro Kusumoto
Journal of Philosophy of Education November 3, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/jopedu/qhaf091 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that Student-Centred Learning should cultivate student agency as freedom from desires rather than freedom to act on them, drawing on Dewey's concept of 'habit' and Buddhist philosophy. Proposes mindfulness as part of this emancipatory process and offers the Buddhist 'three-fold wisdom' of study, reflection, and cultivation as a practical framework for progressive education. |
Abstract
Abstract: Student-Centred Learning (SCL) pedagogies are gaining attention as a ‘corrective’ to traditional, teacher-centred approaches to education, viewing students as ‘agents’ who co-construct knowledge and are capable of making decisions about what and how to study. However, along its educative path of self-transformation, two issues arise for SCL: what, specifically, is the ‘agent’ that needs to be cultivated and how can we do so? What is expected from teachers and students by a pedagogy aimed at cultivating students as autonomous agents? This article discusses the above issues through a dialogue between Buddhist philosophy and the American pragmatist, John Dewey (1859–1952). I will first articulate how individual autonomy is expressed in both the work of Dewey and in Buddhist philosophy. Through Dewey’s concept of ‘habit’, I will elucidate how we can understand student agency as being, not ‘free to act according to desires’, but rather free from desires, allowing us to learn and act in accordance with present-moment experiences. I will further outline a role for mindfulness in this emancipatory process. Finally, in hopes of presenting a practical framework for the form of progressive education described in this article, I will suggest the Buddhist educative conception of ‘three-fold wisdom’ (study, reflection, and cultivation), which can help to cultivate student agency by balancing and integrating conceptual and experiential learning, and deepen understanding by unwinding habits of mind that cloud genuine awareness of interests, intentions, and experiences themselves.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |