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Jessica Reneau, Ph.D., is a 2026 graduate of the Ph.D. Program in Environmental Studies and Sustainability at Antioch University, New England.

Dissertation Committee:

Jason Rhoades, Ph.D., Committee Chair 

Meaghan Guckian, Ph.D., Committee Member

Karen Kay Gaul, Ph.D., Committee Member

Keywords

sustainability education, contemplative pedagogy, environmental justice, social justice

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

The field of sustainability studies increasingly asks students to confront ecological crises alongside considerations of power, privilege, and unequal environmental harm. This work can be emotionally challenging as well as intellectually complex. Contemplative practices, such as meditation and yoga, may offer meaningful pedagogical support, helping students cultivate the attention, reflection, and emotional capacity needed to stay engaged with justice-centered sustainability learning. Although the use of contemplative pedagogies is growing in higher education, little research has examined how these practices shape justice-orientated learning outcomes in sustainability education. This dissertation addresses that gap by exploring how both student and instructor experience contemplative practices in sustainability coursework, and how those practices influence awareness of social and environmental justice issues. This dissertation examines how contemplative practices integrated into sustainability studies courses in higher education may influence students’ awareness of social and environmental justice. Grounded in a constructivist paradigm and informed by critical theory, the study used a multiple case study design focused on two undergraduate sustainability courses at a large U.S. public research university. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with one instructor and four students, alongside a thorough document review of course syllabi and student reflections, prompts and assignments. Findings suggest that contemplative pedagogy can strengthen justice-orientated sustainability learning by deepening students’ awareness of social and environmental injustice, increasing compassion and empathy, strengthening connection to coursework and environmental issues, and supporting social responsibility and personal agency. The study also identified and highlighted several challenges, including barriers to initiation and legitimacy within traditional academic norms, emotional and moral overwhelm intensified by contemplative proximity to crisis, and structural limits related to diversity and representation. This dissertation concludes with recommendations for scaffolded, equity-centered implantation that supports emotional processing and sustained justice-orientated engagement. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/etd.

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ORCiD No. 0009-0008-4023-4123

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