Purpose of the Network
- to bring together scholars and practitioners engaged in diverse formal and non-formal educational settings
- to support members in engaging in contemplative practices and related dialogue in building communities of practice within Canadian educational contexts.
- to support members in engaging in research on contemplative inquiry and, through this research, support communities of practice.
- to engage different politicized realities confronting scholars/practitioners in educational contexts of contemplative theories, policies, practices, and ways of being.
- to engage in contemplative practices and related dialogue with manifold communities.
- to engage with and learn from Indigenous knowledges and practices.
- to engage with and learn from local and global contemplative wisdom traditions, texts, and practices.
- to engage with and learn from traditions that embrace more-than-human beings and ecological systems.
- to engage intersectional issues such as race, class, gender and sexuality, neurodiversity, and ability as they impact the opportunities to experience contemplative education.
Activities
- to regularly publish a newsletter for Network members.
- to organize regular events to bring members of the Network together (e.g., conferences, symposia, celebrations, retreats, webinars).
- to provide opportunities for joint scholarship in relation to contemplative education.
- to secure funding to support the Network and its activities and the development of opportunities for research and teaching in the domain of contemplative inquiry and practice.
- to build interdisciplinary connections to contemplative studies.
Organizational Structure
- A Service Group takes on the responsibilities for the organizational aspects of the Network. The Service Group is open to all members that are willing to share in the responsibilities.
- An aim is to have a diverse range of voices and perspectives on contemplative teachings and practices on the Service Group.
- Funding of the organizational aspects of the Network will be reliant on the ongoing efforts of members to leverage opportunities through their universities and networks.
Canadian Education Network for Contemplative Educational Scholarship (CENCES)
We are very excited about the founding of the Canadian Education Network for Contemplative Educational Scholarship (CENCES) as a Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Canadian Association for the Foundations of Education (CAFE), which is a constitutive association of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE). CENCES serves to enhance dialogue and networking among contemplative scholars interested in the conceptual and empirical study and practice of contemplative education in formal and non-formal educational settings
The main opportunity for CENCES members to come together will be a CENCES program at the annual CSSE conference each year. CSSE will be sending out the Call for Proposals (CFP) shortly with a proposal deadline of 7th October 2026. Stay tuned for more.
CENCES Executive Team
President: Thomas Falkenberg (University of Manitoba)
Vice-President: Heesoon Bai (Simon Fraser University)
Secretary/Treasurer: Jeannie Kerr (Simon Fraser University)
Student Representative: Anna Rumjahn (Simon Fraser University)
CENCE Organizing Team
Heesoon Bai (Simon Fraser University)
Claudia Eppert (University of Alberta)
Thomas Falkenberg (University of Manitoba)
Jeannie Kerr (Simon Fraser University)
Michael Link (University of Winnipeg)
Frank Deer (University of Manitoba)
Daniel Vokey (Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia)
Charles Scott (Simon Fraser University)