Adding lemon juice to poison: examining the oxymoronic nature of mindfulness in education and its future direction

This article seeks to amplify a debate initiated in this journal by Hyland (2016)by deepening a number of conceptual, methodological and implementationalissues concerning the application of mindfulness based interventions (MBIs) toschools and other places of learning. It argues that the pursuit of the by-products of mindfulness, enhanced focus and well-being, serve a neoliberalagenda for education. This is lemon-juice to poison as it encourages students toaccept and cope with oppressive structures partially responsible for suffering insociety rather than develop the deepened awareness necessary to challenge andtransform them. Reconnecting mindfulness with its original meaning ofremembrance and discernment is highlighted as a means for engaging studentswith more agentic possibilities. The article begins to make the case formindfulnessaseducation, rather than mindfulnessineducation, realised as anembodied approach rather than psychological intervention with key roles forcontemplative pedagogy and mindful inter-personal relationships