A Holistic Educational Philosophy Embodying Conscious Citizenship: Transforming Mindsets From Action to Being

A Holistic Educational Philosophy Embodying Conscious Citizenship: Transforming Mindsets From Action to Being

Peggy Pelonis
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7760-8.ch011
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Abstract

The chapter outlines a philosophy of education that is holistic and embodies conscious citizenship. Students educated with this philosophy in mind are resilient, internationally minded, and interested in improving life and living on the planet. Institutions which aim to mold such citizens consider that educating mind, body, and spirit are essential, as well as providing opportunities for students to develop on a continuum of social awareness, social engagement, social commitment, and social initiative. Transforming mindsets in educational institutions necessitates faculty to be reflective practitioners and requires the designing of programs that empower purposeful living. Ultimately such institutions are transformative; they move beyond success to empowering continuous transformation. Such institutions can lead to the development of citizens who not only work (action) towards the common good but contribute to the common good in the way that they live life (being).
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Holistic Education

Developing internationally minded students who are ‘comfortable’ anywhere in the world and who take their rightful place as global citizens; confident in their ability to use knowledge affectively and able to make ethical and moral, political, social, aesthetic and economic choices, is the aim of international education. Though international mindedness, which, according to the UNESCO declaration, considers certain universal values, among them “freedom, intercultural understanding, and non-violent conflict resolution” (Hill as cited in Hayden, Thompson & Walker 2002, p. 21) is something to strive for, the contextual influence of cultural and social environment factors on human behavior is not to be ignored. Individuals are socially embedded; survival depends to a large degree on cooperating with others and usually others with whom similar values, principles and beliefs are shared (Nicoll, 2020). Yet, even individuals and families who now live, work and develop locally are under a global influence. Furthermore, succeeding in today’s world is synonymous with continuous competition and competition pre supposes a winner and a loser; diametrically opposed to the idea that man is social and needs others to survive thus requiring cooperation.

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