Whole Teachers: A Holistic Education Perspective on Krishnamurti‘s Educational Philosophy

The purpose of this qualitative research study, which utilizes a phenomenological inquiry method, is to inquire into the awareness of what it means to be a whole teacher from the perspective of the philosophy of Jiddu Krishnamurti, a philosopher/spiritual teacher. Four participants (teachers) were interviewed from the Oak Grove School, an alternative, holistic school founded by Krishnamurti in 1974. This inquiry probed into teachers’ thinking, teachers’ lives, teachers’ inner lives, teachers’ contemplative practices, teachers’ calling/vocation and teachers’ pedagogy. The findings of this inquiry reveal the awareness that exists among the participants with regards to their understanding of Krishnamurti’s educational philosophy and the way in which this philosophy has shaped their lives and the lives of their students (both implicit- ly and explicitly) The findings from this research further show that Krishnamurti’s philosophy has certainly had an impact on the participants’ wholeness. Krishnamurti was never interested in imposing his philosophy on the teachers to think in a narrow groove. Rather, he challenged them to arrive at wholeness or a holistic approach towards living by their own volition, by putting aside all philosophy, including his own. This research points towards the possible ways in which wholeness can be developed using: Innate wisdom (teachers’ inner life, teachers’ calling); wisdom gained through experiencing life (teachers’ life, teachers’ thinking); wisdom gained through their teaching experience (teachers’ pedagogy) and wisdom gained through practices that bring harmony to the mind, body and spirit (teachers’ contemplative approaches). An experiential model titled, The Flower Model: An Experiential Metaphor – which integrates the three stages of awareness – was developed using Krishnamurti’s approach towards wholeness. This model can be used to guide teachers with their respective psychological conditionings that reside or exist in their thinking, lives, inner lives, contemplative practices, vocation and pedagogy/curriculum design.

Keywords: Whole Teachers
Holistic Education
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Krishnamurti's Educational Philosophy
Qualitative Research
Phenomenology
Oak Grove School
Awareness
Mindfulness
Teachers' Thinking
Teachers' Lives
Teachers' Inner Lives
Teachers' Contemplative Approaches
Teachers' Calling
Teachers' Vocation
Teachers' Pedagogy
Krishnamurti's Educational Philosophy
Wholeness
The Flower Model: An Experiential Metaphor
Teacher Development
Teacher Education
Holistic Schools
Alternative Schools
Krishnamurti Schools
Spirituality
Parker Palmer
Deepak Chopra
Hidden Wholeness
Shadow Effect
The Conditioned Mind
Nature of Thinking
Nature of Attention and Concentration
Choiceless Awareness
The Observer is the Observed
Krishnamurti's Educational Aim
Religious Education
Religious Mind
Scientific Mind
Meditation
Epoche
Phenomenological Reduction
Imaginative Variation
Colaizzi
John P. Miller
Anbananthan Rathnam
Ramana Maharshi
Krishnamurti
Inquiry
Freedom to Inquire
Timeless Learning
Good Teaching
Self
Self-Knowledge
Teachers' Vulnerability
Contemplation
Pedagogy
Advisor: Miller, John P.