Mind & Life Podcast

Rob Roeser – Transforming Education

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Sept 7, 2023

View or download a transcript of this episode

To begin our seventh season, Wendy speaks with contemplative educator and developmental psychologist Rob Roeser. Rob has been working to re-envision the educational system for decades, and has been at the forefront of understanding how we can best integrate mindfulness and compassion into school settings. This conversation covers many topics, including:

Rob Roeser, PhD
  • his initial exposure to integrative school systems;
  • educating for life, instead of just participation in the global economy;
  • focus on the body, nature, and our inherent “earthiness”;
  • studying schools in India that integrate meditation;
  • integrating science and viewing contemplative practice as building skills;
  • applying a developmental lens to contemplative education;
  • the key role of educating adults alongside children;
  • changing culture and norms;
  • how social processes drive the development of attention in children;
  • our innate tendencies towards both compassion and othering;
  • attention training as a relational practice;
  • the relevance of a secure base;
  • leveraging developmental “windows of opportunity”;
  • practices that highlight our shared humanity;
  • systems thinking in education;
  • and re-enchanting the gift of learning.

Robert Roeser is the Bennett Pierce Professor of Care, Compassion and Human Development at Penn State University. His training is in education and developmental science, and he is a thought leader in the emerging fields of contemplative education and developmental contemplative science. Rob’s research interests include adolescence and early adulthood; schooling from Pre-K to college/university as a central cultural context of students’ academic, social-emotional, and identity development; and the role of mindfulness and compassion training for teachers and students. His recent work has focused on introducing mindfulness and compassion practices in for-credit, college courses for students to help them to manage mental health challenges and pursue their own vision of a life of flourishing.

Resources

Faculty website