Addressing the negative impact of consumerism on young people by (re)awakening their spirituality through sense of place

Consumerism holds the view that personal wellbeing and happiness depend largely on the material goods a person can buy (Dwyer 2007). Advertising constantly bombards our youth with images of materially seductive things. The impression given is that the right consumer goods will lead to a fulfilled life. However, the life experience of most young people is in stark contrast with what they should want as advocated by the consumption norms of society. It is often these contrasts that lead to feelings of inadequacy, lack of desirability and an inability to recognise one’s own worth. I argue that one way of addressing these feelings among young people is by (re)awakening their spirituality, starting at school. However, spirituality in education is a potentially contentious area and educators tend to shy away from it (De Klerk-Luttig 2008).  I therefore suggest a pedagogy of place with specific reference to sense of place, as an avenue for reawakening students’ spirituality. I draw on the works of spirituality by Kessler (2000) and Webster (2004) and sense of place (Ardoin, Shuh, and Gould 2012) to provide a renewed, integrated framework

The Role of Place-based Education in Developing Sustainability as a Frame of Mind

As the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) draws to an end, one could pose the  question: what might education’s response be to a deepening environmental crisis as we move beyond the decade? Sustainability as a frame of mind presents a different perspective to that of sustainable development as a policy (the focus of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development) and therefore cultivating it through education might be a response that could take us forward. In this article we argue for an expanded notion of sustainability as a frame of mind, viewed through the lens of place-based/place-conscious education  and also informed by the metaphysics of ubuntu. The aim of the article is to introduce place-based education  and sustainability as a frame of mind as conceptual avenues for challenging educators to rethink  environmental  education as we enter an era beyond the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. We  do this by conceptually exploring the concepts of place-based and place-conscious education and how these  fairly new educational notions might assist in developing sustainability as a frame of mind. We also discuss the  educational implications of practising a pedagogy of place with specific reference to sustainability

Addressing the negative impact of consumerism on young people by (re)awakening their spirituality through sense of place

CITATION: Ontong, K. 2018. Addressing the negative impact of consumerism on young people by (re)awakening their spirituality through sense of place. South African Journal of Higher Education, 32(4):199‒214, doi:10.20853/32-4-2787.The original publication is available at http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajheConsumerism holds the view that personal wellbeing and happiness depend largely on the material goods a person can buy (Dwyer 2007). Advertising constantly bombards our youth with images of materially seductive things. The impression given is that the right consumer goods will lead to a fulfilled life. However, the life experience of most young people is in stark contrast with what they should want as advocated by the consumption norms of society. It is often these contrasts that lead to feelings of inadequacy, lack of desirability and an inability to recognise one’s own worth. I argue that one way of addressing these feelings among young people is by (re)awakening their spirituality, starting at school. However, spirituality in education is a potentially contentious area and educators tend to shy away from it (De Klerk-Luttig 2008). I therefore suggest a pedagogy of place with specific reference to sense of place, as an avenue for reawakening students’ spirituality. I draw on the works of spirituality by Kessler (2000) and Webster (2004) and sense of place (Ardoin, Shuh, and Gould 2012) to provide a renewed, integrated framework.http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/view/2787Publisher's versio