Academic Literature on Spirituality & Education

Academic Books

Astin, A. W., Helen S. Astin, H. S., & Jennifer A. Lindholm, J. A. (2011). Cultivating the spirit: How college can enhance students’ inner lives. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cohen, A. (2009). Gateway to the Dao-field: Essays for the awakening educator. Vancouver, BC: Writeroom.

Dillard, C., & Okpalaoka, C. (Eds.). (2013). Engaging culture, race, and spirituality: New visions. New York: Peter Lang.

Academic Journal Articles 

Ammerman, N. (2013). Spiritual but not religious? Beyond binary choices in the study of religion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 52(2), 258–278.

Augustine, T., & Zurmehly, D. (2013). Conversations about Race: How Embracing Spirituality Opens Space for Dialogues in Teacher Education. Counterpoints, 454, 10-31.

Boone, M., Fite, K., & Reardon, R. (2010). The Spiritual Dispositions of Emerging Teachers: A Preliminary Study. Journal of Thought, 45(3-4), 43-58.

Durant, T. J. (2017). “Can I talk about that?” Factors influencing spiritual and religious identity exploration in public higher education. Journal of College and Character, 18(2), 136-141. doi: 10.1080/2194587X.2017.1300094

Gehrke, S., & Cole, D. (2017). A multi-level examination of the relationship between student-centered faculty teaching culture and spiritual development in college. Journal of College and Character, 18(4), 225-245.

Higher Education Research Institute. (2005). The spiritual life of college students: A national study of college students’ search for meaning and purpose. Los Angeles, CA: University of California. Retrieved from http://spirituality.ucla.edu/docs/reports/Spiritual_Life_College_Students_Full_Report.pdf

Militz-Frielink, Sarah. (2014). Toward a Liberatory Pedagogy: A Genealogy of Black Feminist Spirituality. Black History Bulletin,77(2), 16-21. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.sandiego.idm.oclc.org/stable/10.5323/blachistbull.77.2.0016

Hyland, T. (2017). McDonaldizing spirituality: Mindfulness, education and consumerism. Journal of Transformative Education, 15(4), 334–356. doi:10.1177/1541344617696972

Lin, J., Oxford, R., & Brantmeier, E. (Eds.). (2013). Re-envisioning higher education: Embodied pathways to wisdom and social transformation. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Lindholm, J. A. & Astin, H. S. (2008). Spirituality and pedagogy: Faculty’s spirituality and use of student-centered approaches to undergraduate teaching. The Review of Higher Education, 31(2), 185-207.

Musial, J. (2011). Engaged pedagogy in the feminist classroom and yoga studio. Feminist Teacher: A Journal of the Practices, Theories, and Scholarship of Feminist Teaching, 21(3), 212-228.

Shahjahan, R., Wagner, A., & Wane, N. (2009). Rekindling the Sacred: Toward a Decolonizing Pedagogy in Higher Education. Journal of Thought, 44(1-2), 59-75. doi:10.2307/jthought.44.1-2.59

Waggoner, M. D. (2016). Spirituality and contemporary higher education. Journal of College and Character, 17(3), 147-156.

Walsh, S., Bickel, B., & Leggo, C. (2015). Arts-based and contemplative practices in research and teaching: Honouring presence. New York, NY: Routledge.

Webb, J., Toussaint, L., & Dula, C. (2014). Ritualistic, Theistic, and Existential Spirituality: Initial Psychometric Qualities of the RTE Measure of Spirituality. Journal of Religion and Health,53(4), 972-985. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.sandiego.idm.oclc.org/stable/24485152

Berila, B. (2014). Contemplating the effects of oppression: Integrating mindfulness into diversity classrooms. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 1(1), 55-68. Retrieved from https://journal.contemplativeinquiry.org/index.php/joci/article/view/5

Berila, B. (2016). Integrating mindfulness into anti-oppression pedagogy: Social justice in higher education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Bhattacharya, K., & Cochrane, M. (2017). Assessing the authentic knower through contemplative arts-based pedagogies in qualitative inquiry. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 4(1), 47-70. Retrieved from https://journal.contemplativeinquiry.org/index.php/joci/article/view/76

Bhattacharya, K., & Payne, R. (2016). Mixing mediums, mixing selves: Arts-based contemplative approaches to border crossings. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 29(9), 1100-1117.

Coutant, L., & Caldwell, K. (2017). The mindful campus: Organizational structure and culture. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry 4(1).229-249. Retrieved from https://journal.contemplativeinquiry.org/index.php/joci/article/view/124

Decety, J., & Yoder, K. J. (2016). Empathy and motivation for justice: Cognitive empathy and concern, but not emotional empathy, predict sensitivity to injustice for others. Social Neuroscience, 11(1), 1-14.

Dillard, C., & Okpalaoka, C. (Eds.). (2013). Engaging culture, race, and spirituality: New visions. New York: Peter Lang.

Eppert, C. (2013). Awakening education: Toward a rich tapestry of mindful and contemplative engagement for social/environmental transformation. In J. Ling, E. Brantmeier, & R. Oxford (Eds.), Embodied pathways to wisdom and transformation. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

Godbee, B., Ozias, M., & Tang, J. (2015). Body Power Justice: Movement-Based Workshops for Critical Tutor Education. The Writing Center Journal, 34(2), 61-112. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.sandiego.idm.oclc.org/stable/43442806

Gorski, P. (2015). Relieving burnout and the “martyr syndrome” among social justice education activists: The implications and effects of mindfulness. The Urban Review, 47, 696–716.

Helmer, K. (2014). Disruptive practices: Enacting critical pedagogy through meditation, community building, and explorative spaces in a graduate course for pre-service teachers. The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 49(2), 33-40. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.sandiego.idm.oclc.org/stable/44735702

Hick, S. F. & Furlotte, C. (2009). Mindfulness and social justice approaches: Bridging the mind and society in social work practice. Canadian Social Work Review, 26(1), 5-24.

Kahane, D. (2009). Learning about obligation, compassion, and global justice: The place of contemplative pedagogy. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 118, 49-60.

Kwah, H. (2018). Buddhist and arts-based practices for addressing racial oppression: Building upon Cleveland and Tobin’s mindfulness in education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 12. 

Napora, L. (2017). A contemplative look at social change: Awareness and community as foundations for leading. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 4(1), 187-205. Retrieved from https://journal.contemplativeinquiry.org/index.php/joci/article/view/132

Wapner, P. (2018). Environmentalism and the politics of contemplative inquiry. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 5(1), 159-170. Retrieved from https://journal.contemplativeinquiry.org/index.php/joci/article/view/178

Yang, F., Lin, J., & Culham, T. (2019). From intimidation to love: Taoist philosophy and love-based environmental education. Educational Philosophy and Theory. Advance Online Publication.

Contemplative Practices and Environmentalism

Eaton, M., Davies, K. Gillespie, M., Harding, K., & Daloz Parks, S. (2013). Living the questions: Contemplative and reflective practices in sustainability education. In P. F. Barlett, & G. W. Chase (Eds.), Sustainability in higher education: Stories and strategies for transformation (pp. 261-278). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Carmi, N., Arnon, S., & Orion, N. (2015). Transforming environmental knowledge into behavior: The mediating role of environmental emotions. The Journal of Environmental Education, 46(3), 183-201.

Eppert, C. (2013). Awakening education: Toward a rich tapestry of mindful and contemplative engagement for social/environmental transformation. In J. Ling, E. Brantmeier, & R. Oxford (Eds.), Embodied pathways to wisdom and transformation. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

Litfin, K. (2016). Person/Planet politics: Contemplative pedagogies for a new earth. In S. Nicholson & S. Jinnah (Eds.), New earth politics: Essays from the Anthropocene (pp. 115-134). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Pfattheicher, S., Sassenrath, C., & Schindler, S. (2016). Feelings for the suffering of others and the environment: Compassion fosters proenvironmental tendencies. Environment and Behavior, 48(7), 929-945.

Pulkki, J., Dahlin, B., & Värri, V. (2017). Environmental Education as a Lived-Body Practice? A Contemplative Pedagogy Perspective. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 51(1), 214-229.

Vargas-Madrazo, E. (2018). Contemplative dialogue as the basis for a transdisciplinary attitude: Ecoliteracy toward an education for human sustainability. World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research, 74(4), 224-245. doi: 10.1080/02604027.2018.1444833

Wapner, P. (2016). Contemplative environmental studies: Pedagogy for self and planet. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 3(1), 67-83. Retrieved from https://journal.contemplativeinquiry.org/index.php/joci/article/view/113

Wapner, P. (2018). Environmentalism and the Politics of Contemplative Inquiry. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 5(1), 159-170. Retrieved from https://journal.contemplativeinquiry.org/index.php/joci/article/view/178

Yang, F., Lin, J., & Culham, T. (2019). From intimidation to love: Taoist philosophy and love-based environmental education. Educational Philosophy and Theory. Advance Online Publication. doi: 10.1080/00131857.2018.1564659

Helpful Edited Volumes

Cohan, A., & Honigsfeld, A. (Eds.). (2011). Breaking the mold of pre-service and in-service teacher education: Innovative and successful practices for the twenty-first century. Lanham: R&L Education.

Eaton, M., Hughes, H. J., & MacGregor, J. (2017). Contemplative approaches to sustainability in higher education: Theory and practice. New York: Routledge.

Gunnlaugson, O., Sarath, E. W., Scott, C., & Bai, H. (Eds.). (2014). Contemplative learning and inquiry across disciplines. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Owen-Smith, P. (2017). The contemplative mind in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Schoenert-Reichl, K. A., & Roeser, R. W. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of mindfulness in education: Integrating theory into practice. New York, NY: Springer.

Taylor, E. W., & Cranton, P. (Eds.). (2012). The handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

By Dr. Gabriella F. Buttarazzi (Uma Shakti Devi)

Teacher Teacher Trainer Educational Researcher Writer Wildling Mother Mushroom Avocate

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