ABSTRACT

Presenting a collective international story, this book demonstrates the importance of compassion as an act of self-care in the face of change and disruption, providing guidance on how to cope under trying conditions in higher education settings.

Practising Compassion in Higher Education presents an opportunity to learn through story and by taking proactive action for our wellbeing. It highlights the need to protect and maintain the wellbeing of staff and students, positioning the COVID-19 pandemic as a major catalyst of disruption. The chapters connect theory with lived experience, exploring self-compassion in work and research, compassion in teaching practice and within the personal/professional blur. The book’s contributors bring a range of theoretical and personal perspectives from various global contexts, sharing their own approaches to self-care and how compassion has become a central and crucial element of this practice.

This book takes a unique approach to navigating and surviving the higher education environment and offers valuable lessons for the pandemic era and beyond. This will be an essential resource for students and professionals working in all areas of higher education.

chapter 1|11 pages

Caring for self and others through challenging times

Interrupting the pandemic with compassion and kindness in higher education

section Section 1|37 pages

Kindness to self during COVID-19

chapter 2|18 pages

“It be's that way sometime”

Mindfully recalling our time during COVID-19

chapter 3|17 pages

Generating the place of self-compassion in higher education

An academic place of belonging as a catalyst of the COVID-19 pandemic

section Section 2|49 pages

Building compassion in our teaching during a pandemic

chapter 4|14 pages

Cultivating compassion in higher education

International autoethnographic approach to online teaching during COVID-19

chapter 5|19 pages

“It's gonna be alright”

Self-compassion for us and students during COVID-19

section Section 3|58 pages

The personal and professional blur

chapter 7|17 pages

The personal and professional blur

Work-life family balance with COVID-19

chapter 8|28 pages

Spaces to care and places to share

Fostering a sense of belonging during the global pandemic through digitally mediated activity

chapter 9|11 pages

Ethical responsibility in the struggle between the public and the private space

Challenges and possibilities in teacher education during the pandemic