A critical review of Spiritual Knowing and Transformative Learning.

Spiritual Knowing and Transformative Learning by Dei provides an approachable discourse on spirituality and its role in education. George J. Sefa Dei is a critical learner and pedagogue and brings an anti-colonial perspective to the role that intuition and spirituality hold in transformative education. His view is that education should, “resist oppression and domination by strengthening the individual self and the collective souls to deal with the continued reproduction of colonial and recolonial relations in the academy.” (P.121). He advocates for learning from Indigenous knowledge, which originates from the local peoples who have the lived experiences and whose authority exists in the places, history, and ancestry, and this knowledge should exist free from colonial imposition.

The work by Dei brings to the forefront the fragmentation of the self through the current North American educational structure. There is a conflict between the need for students to achieve a standardized and transferable diploma or degree to make them employable in a globalized economy and the “radical critique and countervisions of different social, economic, and ecological relationships” (p.124). The current system continues to drive students into a structure that reinforces systemic colonial and imperial beliefs and separates the individual from their spiritual self and their community. Dei clarifies the important distinction between religion and spirituality to avoid the debate on the separation of Church and State. He explains that the goal of including spirituality and intuition in formal education is to acknowledge that they are important sources of learning and knowledge.

Dei discusses how spirituality in transformative education may be included in the current structure: what it is, what it isn’t and the challenges that exist surrounding its inclusion. He explores the concept of a holistic approach to education and the importance of recognizing the many layers that a learner brings with them into the educational experience. However, spirituality cannot be included without an awareness of the power structures inherent in conversations surrounding spirituality. Recognizing the debate of and supporting multiple viewpoints regarding one belief structure over another and supporting the discovery of the range of perspectives that exist globally. Educators must appreciate the distinctive views about spirituality, reality, and community. Valuing the importance of emotion, intuition, spirituality, and lived experiences as valid sources of knowledge and information. They are an inseparable part of one's knowing, learning, and being (p.125).

There are eight areas that Dei introduces as key to developing knowledge for change and the role of educators in that process. They are not detailed action items, but rather guidelines for consideration and awareness upon which to build a foundation for integration into practice (pp. 127-130).

• History, Place, and Culture: This is the source of fundamental knowledge based upon specific cultural contexts and values.

• Acknowledging difference: Identity is linked to education and learners cannot separate themselves from their race, class, gender, language, culture, or ethnicity.

• Beyond Particularities: There must be an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all people and communities. Learning should reflect an appreciation of differences and uniqueness but remain rooted in connection.

• Creating Relevant Knowledge: Teaching should be both a method and a means to build relevant knowledge that is rooted in the local people’s aspirations, concerns, and needs.

• Collaborative Teaching: Use an interdisciplinary approach to engaging students, teachers, and the community in developing context surrounding knowledge and experience.

• Telling Success Stories: Sharing successes as well as failures and seeking out stories of resistance, resourcefulness, and creativity so that we can learn from local people and their experiences and empowerment.

• The Dangers, Perils and Seduction of Romanticism, Overmythicization, and the Claim to Authenticity: Recognizing that all history is tainted and as we understand and demystify the stories of the past, we must seek to re-examine and recreate history to establish an uncolonized present.

• The Sociopolitical Contexts of Knowledge Production: We must be aware of the constant social and political context and consequences of knowledge.

Dei summarizes his position by calling for a discursive prism upon which to base critical education practices and seeking systems that foster “spiritual and political emancipation” (p.

130). Decolonization must not simply challenge current thoughts and structures but also resist the hegemonizing of cultural, political, and spiritual significances, beliefs, and practices.

I agree with the essay on Spiritual Knowledge and Transformative Learning in that we cannot separate ourselves from our beliefs, our experiences, and our communities. Learning and educational institutions exist within the context of social and political structures and therefore are directly influenced by these factors. I agree that we must shift our thinking from the reinforcement of the victim mentality and respect communities as creators and participants in their stories. To continue to believe that knowledge is owned by the holder and strictly factual rather than acknowledging the importance and validity of sources of learning that include spiritual, emotional, and intuition is egocentric. We think, feel, and know about the world around us therefore the teaching and learning process should include different ways of knowing, learning, challenging, and exploring. People cannot separate themselves from their emotional, psychological, and cultural experiences therefore education should acknowledge the relevance and importance of these aspects in their learning. When we take a holistic approach and incorporate a spiritual lens into educational structures, then we can expand our opportunity for learning beyond a predetermined finite body of knowledge painted by a Eurocentric brush to further a commercialized social structure.

Questions:

1. Knowing the level of colonial influence on current formal education, how can spirituality become an integral component in North American educational structures without it becoming about religion?

2. In what ways have intuition, emotion, and spirituality been variables in your educational experience?

Reference:

Dei, G. J. S. (2002). Chapter 10: Spiritual Knowing and Transformative Learning. In Expanding the boundaries of transformative learning: Essays on theory and praxis (pp. 121-133). New York, N.Y: Palgrave.