Education Commons^™

Global Best Practices In Education: A Conceptual Definition And Criticisms, Vincent Chidindu Asogwa

Journal of Research Initiatives

The "Global Best Practices" concept is subjective and varies from many perspectives based on the indicators used. As such, there needs to be a standardized and universally accepted definition of global best practices in education, which hinders the effective identification, adoption, and benchmarking of these practices across countries and educational institutions. This ambiguity challenges teachers, students, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to understand and apply global educational best practices. Hence, this explorative study investigated the conceptual definition and criticisms surrounding the concept of global best practices in education. A narrative literature review methodology was employed to systematically search, select, and …

Using “Slow” To Reframe Failure: Fusing Wisdom From The Slow Movement With Self-Compassion Principles To Transform Communication Failures, Christine E. Crouse-Dick

Feminist Pedagogy

This pedagogical approach invites students to critically examine conventional conceptions of failure. Informed by principles of the Slow Movement and self-compassion, this teaching activity prompts recurring reflection on who has power to define failure and how our responses to perceived failures shape our identities, relationships, and trajectories. Through reflective writing, speaking, and listening exercises, students are encouraged to reframe evaluations of communication failures with a lens that prioritizes contemplation, holistic context, self-companionship, and openness. By challenging masculinized notions of failure that lack self-compassion, this approach cultivates a growth mindset and helps students find more equitable, collectively compassionate interpretations of perceived …

Health Of Indigenous Orphans And Carers In Perú: A Mixed Methods Case Study Of Hogar De Niñas Virgen De Fatima, Lee Fergusson, Javier Ortiz Cabrejos, Anna Bonshek, Aparna Datey

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a devastating blow to the social fabric of Perú, with the highest orphans per death (OPD) ratio of any country in Latin America. Therefore, 260,000 orphans now require care because of 216,000 parent, custodial grandparent, and caregiver deaths between 2020 and 2022. The purpose of this research is to examine whether the practice of Transcendental Meditation, an established technique for improving the mental and physical health of children, can reasonably be expected to alleviate the symptoms of trauma associated with this surge in orphanhood.

Adolescent indigenous female orphans and their carers at Hogar de Niñas Virgen …

Preservice Teachers Learning To Teach In An Anti-Racist/Climate-Justice Program: Challenges And Promises, Richard Sawyer

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The global climate crisis represents the most urgent problem facing the planet, impacting social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental dimensions of life. Alarmingly, it has impacted communities of color in disproportionate ways (Goddell, 2023; Pellow, 2013). The climate crisis, along with the intertwined context of racism, places a profound responsibility on social justice teacher educators to prioritize addressing these issues in teacher preparation. The intent of the following two case studies is to explore the impact of a project based teacher preparation program focused on cultural and environmental justice on the pedagogical knowledge and practice of teaching interns at the …

Book Review: Meditation In The College Classroom By Steve Haberlin, Jing Lin

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Book Review: Meditation in the College Classroom by Steve Haberlin

Reviewed by Jing Lin

A Pragmatic Approach To Investigating The Digital Existence Of Food Bank Users, Yaprak Dalat Ward Dr., James Ward Dr., Li-Jen Lester Dr.

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

This study investigated the digital existence of the food bank users in a university town in Texas, and subsequently, aligned with the research's pragmatic focus, the researchers designed a training model for these food bank users. Two research questions guided the study: 1) What are the digital existence levels of the food bank users; and 2) what training model would best serve these food bank users? Data were collected by means of a survey from 230 individual food bank users representing households. Additional data included observations and conversations with food bank staff, and documents and materials from the site which …

Educational Evaluation As Hermes, Ying Ma Dr.

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Since the 1980s, educational evaluation has prominently been interwoven with the concepts of measurement and accountability. The reduction of educational evaluation to technical and instrumental processes, ignoring its underlying normative ethical claims and values, is not only undesirable but also detrimental to pursuing educational endeavors. I attempt at a Kuhnian paradigm shift from the measurement and calculation discourse to reframing educational evaluation as Hermes. Educational evaluation as Hermes attends to the messy ground of teaching with ethical dimensions, dwelling in human relationships. I understand educational evaluation as Hermes with three salient dimensions, namely the content of recognizing the divine …

الأنساق المُضمرة في مجموعة (لا بواكي لي) لعمَّار الجنيدي, محمد غريز, إيمان ربيع

Jerash for Research and Studies Journal مجلة جرش للبحوث والدراسات

The implicit format is one of the concepts on which cultural criticism is based, and the descriptive-analytical approach was the critical approach used in analyzing the texts of the anecdotal group (Do not cry for me) by Ammar al-Juneidi as a procedural mechanism in critical theory, by embracing the group’s concept and investing in the concept of it. Its texts and the upgrading of its rhetorical language, which necessitated, within methodological steps, the introduction of the concept of the implicit system Then a cultural systemic reading of the implicit patterns that show the behaviors of individuals and groups related to …

Moving Forward In The Wake Of The Pandemic: Shifting From Schools Acting Alone To Engaged Partnerships With Families And Communities, Sheri S. Williams

The William & Mary Educational Review

Workplace shortages are a top concern for schools in times of calm and even more troubling in times of stress. Burnout is especially widespread in stressful situations of disrupted learning, trauma, and discord (e.g., Diliberti & Schwartz, 2022; Thomas et al., 2019). In the wake of the pandemic, educators struggled to deal with the stressors on their own (IES, 2022). It became clear that schools could no longer work in isolation. Moving forward in the wake of the pandemic required an intentional shift in purpose from isolated classrooms to interconnected partnerships with families and communities. In the path to recovery, …

Well-Being In Response To Gratitude Interventions: A Student Elicitation Approach, Erin A. Hopkins

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Various methods exist to invoke gratitude, such as gratitude lists, acts directed towards others, and gratitude contemplation (Rash, Matsuba, and Prkachin, 2011). This study, through student perception elicitation, examines a gratitude list intervention in a professional development undergraduate class which tests the gratitude and enhanced well-being connection theory.

Results suggest various reasons why students perceive a connection between gratitude lists and mental and physical well-being, although there was an overall belief among participants that gratitude lists help more with mental health than physical health. Also, the gratitude and enhanced well-being connection theory was not fully supported as overall respondent sentiment …

Your Story, Your Life, Your Learning: Autobiography Reveals Basis For Supporting Personalized, Holistic Pedagogy, Michael Maser

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Each person ongoingly experiences the world uniquely through vital processes shaping their subjectivity, personhood and sense of self. Learning, an innate characteristic or modality of each human life, of living, likewise arises subjectively or idiosyncratically. In this paper, a phenomenological lens is applied to auto/biographical excerpts concerned with various learning experiences to help reveal essential, subjective characteristics of emergent learning. The insights help establish a basis for challenging the primacy of objectivist learning evaluations. The insights also confirm the importance of personalizing learning as a pedagogical gesture nurturing and enfranchising student learning in significant ways beyond conventional educational approaches …

Transformative Visions Of Qualitative Inquiry: Performative, Philosophical, And Artistic Transformations, Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

I am writing this review, Transformative Visions for Qualitative Inquiry, considering performative, philosophical, and artistic transformations as an essential reading for faculty and students—novice and veteran. It inspires readers, writers, and novice and veteran researchers in various social sciences disciplines and educational landscapes to envision innovative approaches to healing from crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and/or earthquakes. These processes encourage resisting, recovering, connecting, finding joy, and embracing life. Likewise, Transformative Visions for Qualitative Inquiry centers on the concept of transformation and its potential for the future of qualitative research amidst a world grappling with the multifaceted implications of COVID-19, …

Effects Of Screen Time On Children's Brain Development: A Scoping Review, Niloofar Jannesar, Todd E. Davenport, Lindsay Gietzen

Pacific Journal of Health

In this scoping review, the effects of screen time on cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional development in children were studied by examining peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2023. A total of 17 peer-reviewed articles were used in the study. The research reported that screen media provide a learning avenue, though it could be detrimental when children spend their time watching more than appropriate screen media. Furthermore, the study indicated that excessive screen media use may harm children’s executive function, which affects academic performance and language development. Related studies have also shown a correlation between excess screen use and problems like …

Re-Thinking Education For Sustainable Development: Key Learning Insights From The Sdsn Usa Transformative Education Summit 2023, Radhika Iyengar, Sumie Song, Deepak Sridhar, Wendy M. Purcell, Ann Nielsen, Iveta Silova, Matthew A. Witenstein, Wen-Wen Tung

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper summarizes key learning insights from the 2023 U.S. Summit on Transformative Education organized by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network USA. Over 400 members from higher education institutions, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, students, and teachers, joined the online event held February 23-25. The Summit created a bridge between social justice issues with an historical lens and sustainable development. Learning insights include those shared by session speakers, dialogue among participants during thematic conversations and regional networking forums, comments made by attendees on session Jamboards and the Zoom Chat function, and post-Summit feedback. A high-level thematic review was undertaken to cluster …

“A Joyous And Frightening Shock”, David W. Jardine

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper uses several photographs to focus on a hermeneutic exploration of several terms that have become used in contemplative or holistic education circles: mystery, elusiveness, miracles, energy, and aliveness. It ends with brief thoughts on the presence of my 22-month-old grandson on various ventures -- gardening, seeing and hearing birds nearby, feeling captivated by the Earth -- that his grandfather knows well.

A Biographical-Narrative Inquiry To The Transitions Of Latin American Immigrant Students: A Collective Case Study In The Context Of Chilean Higher Education, César M. Díaz Pacheco, Juan Llanes Ordóñez, María Paz Sandín Esteban, María Leonor Conejeros Solar

The Qualitative Report

Chile has positioned itself as an important receiving nation of immigrants in Latin America, which is evidenced by the emergence of foreign students in both universities and professional institutes. The main objective of this article is to understand the inclusion-exclusion factors of a group of Latin American students immersed in Chile’s higher education system. The authors used a biographical-narrative inquiry to conduct eight in-depth interviews and a participatory group methodology in Chile’s Valparaíso Region. The findings show that factors such as the presence of an influential adult figure, institutional welcoming mechanisms, access to work, and expectations of timely graduation and …

Making Kin With Trees: Three Educators And Children Entangled With Treescapes, Stephanie Jones, Lindsey Lush, Sarah Whitaker

Occasional Paper Series

In this article, three educators from one small U.S. city draw on Donna Haraway’s feminist, posthumanist idea of making kin to explore their personal relations with trees and their work as educators to support children’s entanglements with trees. Working in three very different contexts with children: a working-class neighborhood, a public school kindergarten, and a forest kindergarten, the three authors illuminate the “magical” emergences of making kin with trees that fundamentally shifts what becomes possible to do and be. Their writing contributes to the fields of critical childhood geographies, feminist posthumanist pedagogies in early childhood education, and writing in affect …

Implementing Transformative Education With Participatory Action Research: A Review, Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

I write this review of the book, Implementing Transformative Education with Participatory Action Research, for readers, writers, and novice and veteran researchers in various social sciences disciplines and educational landscapes. The book explores using Participatory Action Research (PAR) to implement transformative education. The book argues that PAR can be used to create contextualized, sustainable, and student-centered learning environments. It offers invaluable insights from experts who have actively worked on innovative approaches to school transformation. The book also provides practical guidance and research-based strategies to help scholars effectively navigate challenges and implement transformative education. Overall, the book is a valuable …

Writing Philosophical Autoethnography: A Review, Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

As a book reviewer, I am penning down my thoughts restlessly on the book, Writing Philosophical Autoethnography, with a diverse audience in mind, encompassing readers, writers, and researchers of all levels from various disciplines in the social sciences and education. This groundbreaking work, edited by Alec Grant and published by Routledge, masterfully blends philosophy and autoethnography (Grant, 2023). The book distinguishes itself through its philosophical depth, with each chapter demonstrating a profound engagement with philosophical debates and theories rooted in Western philosophical traditions. This approach sets it apart from other autoethnographic works where philosophical concepts often appear to be …

Designing Depaul

DePaul Magazine

DePaul’s comprehensive, collaborative plan creates a road map that positions the university for monumental impact.

Internal Factor Difference That Affects University Students’ Academic Dishonesty Inside And Outside Of Jabodetabek, Hasna Hafizhah Salma, Gary Collins Brata Winardy, Eva Septiana

Psychological Research on Urban Society

Urban society shown a more heterogenous personal quality compared to rural society such as greater diversity in social status and religious pluralism. Unfortunately, structure of urban society tends to put achievement above morality in academic practices. This can be seen in academic phenomenon such as cheating, and plagiarism. Such practices are only made easier through technology. Since the emergence of Covid-19 pandemic the use of technology is increasing substantially in learning process. In urban region such as Jakarta metropolitan area, Indonesia, the use of internet and technology in university become one of many factors that facilitate academic dishonesty behaviors. This …

“A Word For Nature”: A Reflection On A Contemplative Teacher-Training Course In The Desert, Netta Baryosef-Paz, Nirit Assaf

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper reflects on an interdisciplinary, environmental, and contemplative course the authors taught at Kibbutzim College of Education in Tel Aviv. Entitled “I am in Nature,” the course was co-taught by an ecologist and a literary scholar. It included a two-day base camping and hiking experience in the Negev Desert and three on-campus meetings. The students read Nature Writing and Ecopoetry, practiced guided mindfulness meditations in the field, and kept contemplative-writing journals. In this community voices piece, we offer an innovative pedagogy for higher education that centers on the integration of the learner’s mind, body, and heart through interdisciplinary, contemplative, …

Knowing The Unknowable: Visions Of Troubled Lands, Estella C. Kuchta

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper describes the author’s clairvoyant visions of war and personal experiences of transrational knowledges. It is an account of one Westerner coming to know outside of and despite Western episteme. Transrational knowing was modelled by companion dogs in the author’s childhood and literary figures in early adulthood, and was experienced as a means of self-protection. Western culture fosters skepticism about transrational knowledges, such as psychic visions and telepathic connections. This paper asserts that transrational knowing—whether between humans, other species, or humans and other species—is a valid and readily available form of knowing that exists outside of and in spite …

Philosophical Counselling Through Meditative Inquiry: Insights For Holistic And Contemplative Educators And Practitioners, Ashwani Kumar

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper explores how meditative inquiry can contribute to philosophical counselling, and how these two perspectives together can inform the work of holistic and contemplative educators and practitioners. After outlining the definition, goals, and practices related to meditative inquiry and pointing to its transformative potential, the author draws attention to how meditative inquiry and philosophical counselling share similar goals, such as engagement in authentic inner exploration of questions of deep existential significance, and highlights the benefits of processes related to meditative inquiry, such as developing attentive listening and observation, engaging in creative and aesthetic exploration, and connecting with nature. Rather …

Against The Tide: Indigenous Knowledge And Education For Humanization, Arturo Rodriguez, Kevin Russel Magill

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Power brokers and their market economies enforce education on a global level. According to the United Nations, the effects of global neoliberal capitalism cause human rights violations in all parts of the world, yet democratic countries scoff at these findings (Pogge, 2002 & 2005). People of the world continue to believe that tying minoritized students to existing structures and ensuring enculturation is the best possible outcome for all involved (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2015). That is, minoritized children are educated to ensure first-world countries produce a minimally educated and willing labor force. In this paper we argue the following: 1) power …

Gender In Cultural History: Gender And Education, Dimitra Kalodimou, Maria Kapalika

Journal of Research Initiatives

The position of women in the oldest societies has often occupied the scientific community, which is a great reason to study it. Today's societies put tremendous effort into highlighting the importance of women's contribution. In this text, we will deal with the position of women in the recording of history, with women’s presence within the historical sources as well as the roles held in family business and education. In addition, the gradual changes regarding women's recovery in society will be presented and highlighted. The first steps to improve women's image started in Europe and continued worldwide. The critically studied articles …

Giving And Taking Care During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Secondary Teachers’ Experiences Of Social Emotional Learning, Janna Jobel, Rebecca J. Lloyd

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has been primarily researched in elementary schools, and within this context, SEL curriculum is often presented as an isolated, preplanned curriculum, with a list of curricular objectives to be delivered. A phenomenological inquiry was conducted to better understand the ways in which SEL and SEL curriculum are understood and experienced in a high school context. Data gathered from close phenomenological observations and interviews with three high school teachers in mathematics and physical education afforded the opportunity to orient, interpret, and describe the phenomenon of SEL-in-action. Rich descriptions of SEL as it is lived were generated and …

Building A Pedagogy Of Idea Generation And Embodied Inquiry, Kate Joranson

Art History Pedagogy & Practice

What futures become possible when we center questions, inquiry, and affective responses in research processes? What does it mean to support encounters with new ideas? In this article, I explore non-extractive models of teaching and learning, sharing ways of making space for idea generation, an under-described part of research and creative practice. The coming-up-with-ideas part of creative and scholarly work can be challenging to articulate, share, and teach. What if we paused and stretched this part out, making it more visible? By browsing physical collections of books in community with one another, during “curated browsing” experiences, we give ourselves — …

Editorial Introduction: Contemplative And Holistic Education As Inside-Out Work For Healing, Peace, Justice, And Equity, Heesoon Bai, Charles Scott, Cary L. Campbell, Jwalin Patel

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Inaugural Special Issue: EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

Meeting The Jche Team: A Reconstructed Interview, Heesoon Bai, Charles Scott, Cary L. Campbell, Jwalin Patel, Yifan Sun, Jing Lin, Hyeyoung Bang, Sachi Edwards, Deepa Srikantaiah, Yishin Khoo, Denise L. Mchugh

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This “reconstructed interview-conversation” involves the entire editorial team of the Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education (JCHE). Together, the team dialogues around the shared visions, aspirations, motivations, and aims we have in creating this new journal platform. With this sharing, the team sends out a welcoming invitation to colleagues from around the world to get to know our new journal and to join our work to support and promote contemplative and holistic education. We at JCHE are committed to the ideal of education as transformative integration of mind-body-heart-spirit, which we ultimately understand as a decolonizing project. Through this interview, various …