Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.

Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.

Dissertations that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0446-9565

AccessType

Campus-Only Access for Five (5) Years

Document Type

dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Program

Education

Year Degree Awarded

2021

Month Degree Awarded

May

First Advisor

Kysa Nygreen

Second Advisor

Denise Ives

Third Advisor

Miliann Kang

Fourth Advisor

Claudio Moreira

Subject Categories

Curriculum and Instruction

Abstract

The following dissertation offers a contribution to the growing field of Critical Mindfulness Studies by expanding the critique of neoliberal mindfulness through antiracist, feminist and decolonial analytical frameworks. Three separate papers explore mindfulness in different educational contexts: Teacher Education, K-12 Education, and Curriculum Studies. Mindfulness education is situated within a sociopolitical critique of neoliberalism, white supremacy and colonialism. Critical theory is used to engage issues of power and privilege, oppression, injustice, agency and accountability within mindfulness education. Driven by competing ideologies and values, the universal benefits of mindfulness are contested. The papers pose questions about cultural appropriation, representation, white saviorism and the hegemony of western mindfulness discourse. By bridging pedagogical traditions and integrating critical and contemplative epistemologies, the author proposes emancipatory frameworks for mindfulness educators. This work is interdisciplinary and may be of interest in the following fields: Mindfulness Education, Social Justice Education, Teacher Education, Contemplative Studies, Public Health, and Social Work, among others.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/22484743.0

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Share

COinS