Mindfulness as self-confirmation? An exploratory intervention study on potentials and limitations of mindfulness-based interventions in the context of environmental and sustainability education

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Over the past two decades, mindfulness meditation has received increasing attention in academia and various fields of practice. More recently, it has also been introduced into environmental and sustainability education (ESE) settings. This study offers a first exploratory investigation of learner experiences with consumption-specific mindfulness training. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 training participants. Data analysis was undertaken applying a pluralistic qualitative methods approach. Our results draw an ambivalent picture. On the one hand, we found that mindfulness training can connect individuals with inner states and processes that are also relevant to their consumer behavior, thus providing valuable impulses for ESE. On the other hand, however, these generic learning outcomes do not easily translate to consumptive acts. One explanation for this is that mindfulness practice can sometimes serve as a self-confirmation process that reinforces prevailing values, expectations, and intentions. This indicates important challenges mindfulness practice poses in ESE.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Environmental Education
Volume52
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)417-444
Number of pages28
ISSN0095-8964
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 02.11.2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Explorations in social spaces
  2. Transgressive Use of Technology
  3. A switching model predictive control for overcoming a hysteresis effect in a hybrid actuator for camless internal combustion engines
  4. Putting inquiry-based learning into practice
  5. Organizing for innovation through accelerators: An introduction
  6. Sustainability in Business: Integrated Management of Value Creation and Disvalue Mitigation
  7. Pathways towards sustainable and just futures with and for disabled populations
  8. Who wants to take an intelligence test? Personality and achievement motivation in the context of ability testing
  9. Diversity and specificity of host-natural enemy interactions in an urban-rural interface
  10. CSR communication on corporate websites compared across continents
  11. A new and benign hegemon on the horizon?
  12. High temperature deformation mechanisms and processing map for hot working of cast-homogenized Mg-3Sn-2Ca alloy
  13. Incremental analysis of springback and kinematic hardening by the variation of tension during deep drawing
  14. Impact of prescribed burning on the nutrient balance of heathlands with particular reference to nitrogen and phosphorus
  15. Advancing Decision-Visualization Environments—Empirically informed Design Recommendations
  16. A single PD plus gravity compensation control for global asymptotic regulation of robot manipulators with actuator constraints
  17. Enhancing SME Production Efficiency
  18. Augmented space
  19. Credit Constraints, Foreign Ownership, and Foreign Takeovers in Germany
  20. Weisheit
  21. Notting Hill Gate 3 Basic
  22. Precipitation Kinetics of AA6082: An Experimental and Numerical Investigation
  23. Implementation intentions and the willful pursuit of prosocial goals in negotiations
  24. Developing European conservation and mitigation tools for pollination services: approaches of the STEP (Status and Trends of European Pollinators) project
  25. Insights into the accuracy of social scientists’ forecasts of societal change
  26. Self-regulated learning and self assessment in online mathematics bridging courses
  27. Glen Mills Schools
  28. Implications of Material Flow Cost Accounting for Life Cycle Engineering
  29. Unpacking the Personal Initiative-Performance Relationship
  30. EEG 2014
  31. A Motion-Sensorless Control for Intake Valves in Combustion Engines

Press / Media

  1. Ice binds workpieces