Queering CPE in Central Pennsylvania: An Embodied Womanist Approach to Learning

Abstract

The growing awareness in clinical pastoral education is the importance of students' ability to reflect on their cultural identity. The purpose is that a student's ability to be in a relationship with another person is directly impacted by how the student is in a relationship with oneself. Spiritual care clinicians and educators are calling for a decolonized approach to learning that centers the body as the focus of learning. This type of learning invites us to pay attention to our Be-ingness in relationship to self and others. The focus is on how being a black, queer, and woman influenced my supervisory relationship with my students and the environment where I work as an educator. It demonstrates the theories utilized to engage students who don’t have the context of this style of learning.  Ultimately, discovered that certain persons and environments are on the margins of queer, and liberating thinking.  This article aims to invite certified educators and certified educator candidates to reflect on how their social location impacts their relationship with their students.