What we do, think, say and feel as teacher is embedded in social structures that most often are invisible but no less real. The social structures of schools and classrooms are complex, layered with aspects of power, and usually taken for granted. Mindfulness is a fruitful way to unpack or come to see these structures more clearly, thereby coming to know your pupils, way of teaching, social interactions more fully.
Being in a school environment where mindfulness is encouraged can open opportunities for learning & reflecting. Focusing on critical incidents within your day in a state of mindfulness creates space for knowing through a process of stopping & reflecting.
The term ‘critical incident’ can be defined as:
- An everyday event that stands out,
- Vivid happenings that are considered significant or memorable,
- A problematic situation that presents itself as a unique case and promotes reflection,
- Highly charged moments and episodes that have enormous consequences for personal change and development.
There is a growing emphasis on integrating mindfulness into the field of teacher education. For me it has provided a rich tool for analysing critical incidents to improve my teaching practices and help me model the process of reflection on critical incidents with my pupils.
Critical incidents are not ‘things’ that exist independently of an observer and are awaiting discovery like gold nuggets or desert islands, but like all data, critical incidents are created. Incidents happen, but critical incidents are produced by the way we look at a situation. – Tripp.
As a result, its our interpretations and feelings which make an event significant and critical. In order to turn an event into a critical incident, we do more than simply label it. We investigate some of the underlying structures that produce that kind of incident.
Not all critical incidents have to be dramatic or obvious either. It is only through mindful reflection that these rather typical incidents can be unearthed for examination. Mindful reflection involves discovering underlying meaning of what is usually taken for granted and entails observation of what events constitute turning points, change in group conversations, uncovering something that had already been going on without detection or acknowledgement.
Small events, sometimes even unnoticed situations within the classroom have been turned into critical incidents. Their ‘criticality’ is based on justification, significance, and then meaning given to them in a context of inquiry and provokes a will to reflect on that particular event, thereby rendering it visible and susceptible to further analysis and change.
Questions worth reflecting on when dealing with a critical incident are:
- Whose interests are either served or denied by the actions in my ‘critical incident’?
- What conditions are sustaining this action?
- What power relationships between the school, senior staff, teachers, support staff, parents or children are being expressed?
- What structural, organizational and cultural factors are likely to prevent the school, senior staff, teachers, support staff, parents or children from engaging in alternative ways?
The Mindfulness Pedagogy 