This chapter argues that today's dominant forms of education are insufficient for today's world because they ignore the vast and conventionally untapped resource that lies in the disciplined inwardness that is contemplative life. It then surveys a range of transformative examples that are emerging in the educational movement known as…

This chapter recounts the development of faculty and student groups whose purposes are to promote mindfulness and contemplative pedagogy on the California State University-Chico campus through work both on the campus and in the greater Chico community. The "Mindful Campus" a student organization formed in 2011, merged with the "Faculty Initiative…

This article suggests that institutional attitude toward faculty learning initiatives, which is determined by its belief constructs, influences how faculty learning initiatives will be interpreted and applied. A construct is the organizing framework where an institution demonstrates its belief and values regarding faculty learning initiatives.…

The advent of faculty development centers that focus on the improvement of teaching skills and better understanding of student learning concepts dates back to the 1960s. These centers were initiated from a realization that the effectiveness of a faculty member resulted from growth and maturity over time and that certain support systems were…

Typically viewed as an academic issue, faculty development discussions too often take place between academic interests. The vice president for academics encourages deans or department heads to make their plans for enhancing the abilities in their areas. Funds are made available, and committees composed of representative faculty members decide who…

During the past few decades, faculty developers within the United States and internationally have steadily become more aware of the need to do a better job of assessing their programs. They are part of institutions of higher education that are also growing more aware that they not only need to "support" learning by professors and students but they…

During the past four decades, researchers have studied many of the factors contributing to higher education's efforts to provide opportunities of continued professional development for its most important asset: the college and university faculty. This article examines three research projects, detailing their methodology, highlighting selected…

This article describes selected movements within higher education that communicate one essential point: Faculty must be prepared to lead their institutions through veritable seismic shifts of the very ground on which their institutions are built. To meet these academic and administrative challenges will require the faculty to engage in ongoing…

Faculty development has been evolving in focus and form over the past five decades. Originally organized around sabbatical leaves, faculty development now offers a wide array of programs and involves a growing body of highly professional, deeply dedicated professionals. As both faculty members and faculty developers with over fifty collective…

Mississippi's community and junior colleges comprise the nation's oldest two-year system. Throughout history, Mississippi has prided itself on bridging the gap between dreams and reality through increased access to higher education. In the early 1990s, through advancements made possible through telecommunications systems, educators and leaders…

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a synchronistic set of events and relationships generated a new kind of experiential learning in communities across Mississippi. Educators based at the University of Mississippi, community-based educators, social justice advocates, and funders collaborated to provide the resources and opportunities for…

What is transformative professional development for educators? Ideally, teachers and school leaders are given multiple opportunities to revisit schemas about themselves and their learning communities, with the intent to transform practice, the school environment, and even themselves. In practice, three cohorts of teachers and school leaders…

In his 2004 book "A Hidden Wholeness," Parker Palmer makes explicit the unique qualities of the transformational "circle of trust." He describes a group of people embracing the paradox of "being alone together," where the only goal of the group is to invite the emergence of the soul of each individual, through journaling and carefully constructed…

Since the first Circle of Trust retreat was offered in 2005, the Center for Courage & Renewal (CCR) and other individual facilitators across the United States, Canada, and Australia have continued to offer many cross-professional retreats, as they have proven extremely popular. They are designed for people from any profession who want to deepen…

Through the Center for Courage & Renewal, the authors offer personal and professional retreats and programs designed to explore vocational and life questions, offer renewal and encouragement, and deepen engagement in professional practice. Using what they call the Circle of Trust[R] approach, they invite groups into a communal process based upon a…