Learning That Meets Life: the Lived Experience Of

LEARNING THAT MEETS LIFE: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF TEACHING WITH SECULAR SPIRITUAL PEDAGOGY by Renee Lee Owen Dissertation Committee: Professor Lyle Yorks, Sponsor Professor Elizabeth Kasl Approved by the Committee on the Degree of Doctor of Education Date May 22, 2019 . Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in Teachers College, Columbia University 2019 ABSTRACT LEARNING THAT MEETS LIFE: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF TEACHING WITH SECULAR SPIRITUAL PEDAGOGY Renee Lee Owen Spirituality is an elusive, hard-to-define quality that is impossible to measure. Spirituality is often conflated with religion, even though the two have different definitions and purposes. For these reasons and more, spirituality is regularly an overlooked or taboo topic in K-12 education. Likewise, spiritual pedagogy, which considers spirituality a central aspect of education, is often ignored. Yet empirical research is revealing that humans, at our core, are spiritual beings. Studies indicate that when education affirms the animating life force of humans and focuses on the development of people’s inner lives, humans thrive. Thus, the phenomenon of teaching with secular spiritual pedagogy is well worth investigating. First, however, the phenomenon needs to be understood. Therefore, this study explored the following research question: What is the lived experience of teaching with secular spiritual pedagogy? The research employed a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology to illuminate the essence of the lived experience of teaching with secular spiritual pedagogy. I conducted two in-depth interviews with each of seven K-12 teachers who employ secular spiritual pedagogical practices. Interviews were conducted as open-ended guided conversations, asking teachers to describe what spirituality looks and feels like in their classrooms and to reflect on how they make meaning of their experience. In addition, four of the teachers participated in a focus group to reflect on the early findings. The findings indicated that teaching with spiritual pedagogy is an extra-ordinary spiritual learning opportunity that some teachers consider to be a spiritual path. Findings are organized into The Path of Spiritual Learning, a conceptual map with six essential themes. The Path is framed by the theme of Meaning and Purpose, has Connection as a foundation, and moves toward Authenticity. The themes on The Path are synthesized with transformative learning theory, Heron’s theory of personhood, whole person learning, and the developing theoretical understanding of authenticity within the field of adult learning. Recommendations for K-12 and adult education are to evolve toward a participatory, or relational, epistemology, where the interconnectedness of life is the guiding ontological framework – one that values the flourishing of all human life as the central goal of education. © Copyright Renee Lee Owen 2019 All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION To unconditional love. To my husband. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to first and second readers and mentors, Dr. Lyle Yorks and Dr. Elizabeth Kasl. I will miss our meetings. The gentle and sound advice, the stories, the encouragement, enthusiasm, and creativity I received were precious, and always “just right.” One piece of advice I received was to choose a first and second reader who work well together, and I found treasure. You truly embodied the notion of “team,” and I enjoyed the rhythm of our collaboration together. I also want to thank third reader, Dr. Lisa Miller, for her courage in forging a path toward making schools spiritually supportive environments. Thank you to Rainbow Community School, our founders, our faculty, staff, board, and families for your incredible vision and daily practice in the spiritual domain of education. I learn so much from you every day. You are the change I wish to see in the world. Thank you for supporting me on this journey. Thank you to my patient and supportive family, especially for all the cups of tea, smoothies, and fried eggs my husband brought me, and for the enthusiasm and support of my children. We are each other’s inspiration. Thank you to Pamela Booth Rosati and Debbie Sutherland for being deeply caring and diligent peer reviewers. You are so smart! Thank you to all the members of AEGIS Cohort 25 for our shared help in crossing the finish line. Most of all, I am grateful to the wise and hard-working teachers who generously participated in this study with candor, grace, vulnerability, and wisdom. You are hope for the world. R. L. O. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I – INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 The Phenomenon – Its Context, Aspects, and Importance as a Research Problem .................................................................................................... 2 The Gap in Phenomenological Research on Secular Spiritual Pedagogy ........... 4 Purpose of the Study and the Approach .............................................................. 6 Hermeneutical Phenomenological Research Method .......................................... 7 The Rationale and Significance of the Study ...................................................... 8 The Researcher .................................................................................................... 9 Assumptions ........................................................................................................ 12 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 14 Definitions ........................................................................................................... 15 Chapter II – REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................. 18 Aspects of Secular Spiritual Pedagogy ................................................................ 18 Connection ............................................................................................... 18 Ethics and Service ................................................................................... 19 Social Emotional Learning and the Quest for Wholeness ....................... 20 Meaning Making, or Existential Practice ................................................ 20 Mindfulness ............................................................................................. 21 Non-Rational Ways of Knowing ............................................................. 21 Mystical Ways of Knowing ..................................................................... 22 Clarity About Secularity .......................................................................... 22 Clarity About the Relationship Between Spiritual Pedagogy and Mindfulness ................................................................................. 24 The Importance of Spirituality on K-12 Education ............................................. 25 A Crisis of Materiality in K-12 Education .............................................. 25 Redefining Education as a Soulful Endeavor .......................................... 26 Studies Find Spiritualty to Be Inherent in Humanity .............................. 28 As a Core Human Trait, Spirituality Is at the Core of Healthy Human Development ................................................................... 29 When Spirituality Is Denied in Education… ........................................... 30 The Positive Impact of Spiritually Supportive Educational Environments ............................................................................... 32 The Effect of Spiritual Pedagogy on Teacher Well-Being ...................... 33 The Potential Impact of Spiritual Pedagogy for Society ......................... 34 Understanding Hermeneutic Phenomenology ..................................................... 36 Introduction to Phenomenology .............................................................. 36 Core Features, Techniques, and Processes of Phenomenology ............... 38 Epoché ......................................................................................... 38 Bracketing .................................................................................... 38 Reduction ..................................................................................... 39 Eidetic themes ............................................................................. 39 What Is Hermeneutic Phenomenology? .................................................. 39 Historical background of phenomenology .................................. 40 v Chapter II (continued) Van Manen’s strand of hermeneutic phenomenology ................. 41 Clarity around what hermeneutic phenomenology is not ............ 43 Summary and Conclusion .................................................................................... 44 Chapter III – METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 46 Hermeneutic Phenomenology as a Research Methodology ................................ 46 The Participatory Paradigm ..................................................................... 47 A Methodless Method ............................................................................. 53 Rationale for Employing Hermeneutic Phenomenology ..................................... 56 Alignment of Hermeneutic Phenomenology With the Study of Spiritual Pedagogy ......................................................................

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