Mindful care and compassion in higher education: Cultivating communities of practice

Abstract

Higher education settings are often a place of intense competition, striving for productivity in a world of scarcity, where the academic environment is defined by reactivity as attention is focused towards threats, and the experience of excessive stress becomes marked. The mindfulness movement in recent times may be seen as an alternative to this paradigm, attempting to provide a space for stillness, contemplation, and compassion. While mindfulness based interventions and mindful practices in academic settings may confer individual benefits, there is a need to more broadly consider how the culture in higher education contributes to and maintains the experience of stress and distress in academic communities, and how this presents opportunities to develop more mindful communities. This chapter will explore pathways, challenges and considerations in supporting communities of practice in mindful care and compassion in a range of higher education settings, with students across different disciplines, within different cultural contexts and amongst staff communities.