Journal of Contemplative Education and Psychological Wellbeing

Journal of Contemplative Education and Psychological Wellbeing, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2025, 7-27, https://doi.org/10.51474/jcepw.v1i2.748

Publication date: Dec 31, 2025

Views: 1 | Downloads: 0

This paper introduces the concept of ‘Global Spiritual Citizenship Education’ as a response to ‘spiritual bankruptcy’ within contemporary educational paradigms, which prioritise mechanistic outcomes over relational development. Synthesising universal human values with culturally responsive pedagogies, the framework seeks to cultivate compassion, moral imagination, and interconnectedness within secular contexts. Through an integrative literature review and comparative analysis of post-pandemic recovery, conflict-affected environments, and contemplative educational innovations, the study identifies evidence-based strategies that transcend religious boundaries while honouring local cultural epistemologies. Case analyses from Rwanda, Finland, and Nepal reveal convergent success factors, positioning schools as sanctuaries of human connection aligned with the UN’s SDG 4.

spiritual education global citizenship post-conflict recovery contemplative pedagogy educational transformation SDG-4

1. Arter, J. A., & Spandel, V. (1992). Using portfolios of student work in instruction and assessment. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 11(1), 36-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3992.1992.tb00230.x
2. Barbezat, D., & Bush, M. (2014). Contemplative practices in higher education: Powerful methods to transform teaching and learning. Jossey-Bass.
3. Blackie, L. E. R., & Hitchcott, N. (2018). I am Rwandan: Unity and reconciliation in postgenocide Rwanda. Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal, 12(1), 24-37. https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.12.1.1480
4. Cajete, G. (2000). Native science: Natural laws of interdependence. Clear Light Publishers.
5. Coburn, T., Grace, F., Klein, A. C., Komjathy, L., Roth, H., & Simmer-Brown, J. (2011). Contemplative pedagogy: Frequently asked questions. Teaching Theology & Religion, 14(2), 167-174. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9647.2011.00695.x
6. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL]. (2020). What is the CASEL framework? CASEL. https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-caselframework/
7. Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. Macmillan.
8. Dhakal, S. (2024). Promoting equity and inclusivity: Exploring equitable leadership practices in diverse Nepali schools. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 9(2), 268-294. https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1427917
9. Dhakal, S., Panta, C. N., Wagle, S. K., & Dhungana, S. (2024a). Decolonising educational leadership in Nepal: An advocacy for revisiting Eurocentric legacy and promoting epistemic indigeneity. In A. E. Lopez & H. Singh (Eds.), Decolonising educational knowledge: International perspectives and contestations (pp. 95-112). Palgrave MacMillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55688-3_6
10. Dhakal, S., Lummis, G. W., & Jones, A. (2024). Continuous professional development strategies of Nepali secondary principals: Navigating challenges in changing times. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 56(3), 335-353. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220620.2023.2298322
11. Donnelly, C. (2004). What is price harmony? Teachers' methods of delivering an ethos of tolerance and respect for diversity in an integrated school in Northern Ireland. Educational Research, 46(1), 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013188042000178782
12. Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of school‐based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
13. Esposito, J. L. (2011). What everyone needs to know about Islam (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
14. Eyler, J., & Giles, D. E. (1999). Where's the learning in service-learning? Jossey-Bass.
15. Finnish National Agency for Education. (2015). Learning in, about and for development partnerships. Finnish National Agency for Education. https://shorturl.at/qpXkG
16. Finnish National Board of Education. (2016). National core curriculum for basic education 2014. Finnish National Board of Education.
17. Freedman, S. W., Weinstein, H. M., Murphy, K., & Longman, T. (2008). Teaching history after identity-based conflicts: The Rwanda experience. Comparative Education Review, 52(4), 663-690. https://doi.org/10.1086/591302
18. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum International Publishing Group.
19. Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
20. Global Partnership for Education. (2022). GPE 2025 strategic plan. Global Partnership for Education. https://shorturl.at/dFHSu
21. Habermas, J. (1971). Knowledge and human interests. Beacon Press.
22. Haidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychological Review, 108(4), 814-834. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.4.814
23. hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. Routledge.
24. Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2015). Emotions, learning, and the brain: Exploring the educational implications of affective neuroscience. W. W. Norton & Company.
25. International Baccalaureate. (2019). Assessment principles and practices—Quality assessments in a digital age. International Baccalaureate Organisation. https://shorturl.at/XsLOQ
26. Kanu, Y. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal perspectives into the school curriculum: Purposes, possibilities, and challenges. University of Toronto Press.
27. Khalifa, M. A. (2018). Culturally responsive school leadership. Harvard Education Press.
28. Khalifa, M. A., Gooden, M. A., & Davis, J. E. (2016). Culturally responsive school leadership: A synthesis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1272-1311.
29. King, E. (2014). From classrooms to conflict in Rwanda: How education shaped processes of identity formation and social division before and after genocide. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139600217
30. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465-491. https://doi.org/10.2307/1163320
31. Lee, L., & Markey, A. (2014). A study of learners' perceptions of online intercultural exchange through Web 2.0 technologies. ReCALL, 26(3), 281-297. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344014000111
32. Lopes Cardozo, M. T. A. (2008). Sri Lanka: In peace or in pieces? A critical approach to peace education in Sri Lanka. Research in Comparative and International Education, 3(1), 19-35. https://doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2008.3.1.19
33. Mindfulness in Schools Project. (2020). MiSP impact report 19/20. Mindfulness in Schools Project. https://shorturl.at/5Fubc
34. Ministry of Education, Nepal. (2009). School sector reform plan 2009-2015. Ministry of Education. https://shorturl.at/1dgux
35. Mitchell, T. D. (2008). Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 14(2), 50-65. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3239521.0014.205
36. Montessori, M. (1988). The absorbent mind. Clio Press.
37. Noddings, N. (2005). The challenge to care in schools: An alternative approach to education (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.
38. Nussbaum, M. C. (2010). Not for profit: Why democracy needs the humanities. Princeton University Press.
39. Oberle, E., & Schonert-Reichl, K. A. (2017). Social and emotional learning: Recent research and practical strategies for promoting children's social and emotional competence in schools. In J. L. Matson (Ed.), Handbook of social behaviour and skills in children (pp. 175-197). Springer International Publishing/Springer Nature.
40. O'Dowd, R. (2018). From telecollaboration to virtual exchange: State-of-the-art and the role of UNICollaboration in moving forward. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 1, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2018.jve.1
41. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2018). Future of education and skills 2030: Conceptual learning framework. OECD Publishing.
42. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2019). PISA 2018 results: What students know and can do (vol. 1). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5f07c754-en
43. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2021). The state of school education: One year into the COVID pandemic. OECD Publishing.
44. Palmer, P. J. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life. Jossey-Bass.
45. Palmer, P. J., & Zajonc, A. (2010). The heart of higher education: A call to renewal. Jossey-Bass.
46. Pashby, K. (2018). Global citizenship education as a UNESCO key theme: More of the same or opportunities for thinking ‘otherwise’? In Global citizenship, common wealth and uncommon citizenships (pp. 159-173). Brill.
47. Pring, R. (2004). Philosophy of educational research (2nd ed.). Continuum.
48. Ramose, M. B. (2003). The philosophy of Ubuntu and Ubuntu as a philosophy. In P. H. Coetzee & A. P. J. Roux (Eds.), Philosophy from Africa: A text with readings (pp. 230-238). Oxford University Press.
49. Reich, J. (2020). Failure to disrupt: Why technology alone can't transform education. Harvard University Press.
50. Roeser, R. W., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Jha, A., Cullen, M., Wallace, L., Wilensky, R., Oberle, E., Thomson, K., Taylor, C., & Harrison, J. (2013). Mindfulness training and reductions in teacher stress and burnout: Results from two randomised, waitlistcontrol field trials. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 787-804. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032093
51. Sahlberg, P. (2014). Finnish lessons 2.0: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.
52. Schön, D. A. (1992). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Routledge.
53. Simmer-Brown, J., & Grace, F. (Eds.). (2011). Meditation and the classroom: Contemplative pedagogy for religious studies. SUNY Press.
54. Thapa, A. (2013). Does private school competition improve public school performance? The case of Nepal. International Journal of Educational Development, 33(4), 358-366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2012.07.004
55. Twenge, J. M. (2017). iGen: Why today's super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy—and completely unprepared for adulthood. Atria Books.
56. UNESCO. (2010). Education under attack. UNESCO. https://tinyurl.com/ydpeyb7t
57. UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. UNESCO.https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247444
58. UNESCO. (2018). Global citizenship education: Taking it local. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265456
59. UNESCO. (2019). Artificial intelligence for sustainable development: Synthesis report, mobile learning week 2019. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370308
60. UNESCO. (2020). Education: From COVID-19 school closures to recovery. UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/covid-19/education-response
61. UNESCO. (2021). When schools shut: Gendered impacts of COVID-19 school closures. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379270
62. UNICEF. (2022). Education under attack: Attacks on schools, students and educators are attacks on children’s right to an education – and on their futures. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/education-under-attack
63. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/publications/transforming-ourworld-2030-agenda-sustainable-development-17981
64. World Bank. (2018). World development report 2018: Learning to realise education's promise. World Bank.https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2018
65. World Bank. (2021). The state of the global education crisis: A path to recovery. World Bank.
66. World Health Organisation. (2025). Mental health of adolescents. World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mentalhealth
67. Zenner, C., Herrnleben-Kurz, S., & Walach, H. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions in schools—A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article e603. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00603

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.