Incorporating Contemplative Practices into the Classroom: An Auto/ethnographic Inquiry

Abstract

Contemplative practices are vital for socio-emotional wellbeing by integrating compassion, self-awareness, and ethical values to nurture life-oriented competencies. This autoethnographic study explores the alignment between personal experience, pedagogy, and contemplative practice. Emphasizing critical self-reflexivity, the study integrates autobiography and ethnography to bridge self and collective consciousness in the classroom. Through autoethnographic reflection, four key themes arose: emotional tensions in instructional delivery, masking of authentic ways of teaching, restoration of classroom dignity and shared vulnerability. Integrating mindfulness, reflective journaling, and somatic practices helped recognize emotional triggers and personal biases. This helped transform holistic learning spaces while enhancing students emotional resiliency and classroom engagement. The findings suggest that teachers' practices in somatic and emotional awareness aids students’ holistic wellbeing noting teachers’ presence, compassion, and relational growth.