Following the Inner Camino: An Autoethnographic Study

Date
2019-03-20
Authors
Bernay, R
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
New Zealand Council for Educational Research
Abstract

This article considers the experience of walking the 850-km Camino del Norte to Santiago de Compostela in Spain as a metaphor for an inner camino: an inner way of developing resilience. Suggestions are proposed about what this might mean for initial teacher education and student teachers themselves. Using an autoethnographic methodology, self-observations, alongside the author’s perceptions of the different approaches to individual coping observed in other travellers, are reviewed in stories and then examined through forms and habits of mind. After further personal reflective analysis, themes are revealed from the original observations. The discussion suggests possible innovations for teacher education, which emerged from the themes that may resonate for the reader. This autoethnographic journey provided an opportunity to rethink co-constructed learning, the use of guide posts for new innovations, and the importance of paring back to key essentials in teaching practice and in our personal and professional lives.

Description
Keywords
Autoethnography; Mindfulness; Initial teacher education; Camino de Santiago de Compostela
Source
New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 54(1), 157-178.
Rights statement
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40841-019-00134-3