Gratitude Journaling Practice: A Reflective Currere

Abstract

In this work, I reflect on the concept of gratitude within the academic setting. Through the
practice of journaling, I explore the past, present, and future using the currere method as a
framework. I inquired into life events that influenced the development of gratitude. To begin, I
asked, “How do I practice gratitude? How do I know if I am grateful? When I practice gratitude,
do I feel, think, and behave differently as an educator?” To frame this work, I leaned into the
work of Pinar (1975) who developed the currere method. Pinar (2012) states that the method is
for teachers and academics who aim to grow personally and those who seek to constantly
reconceptualize and understand the impact social change has on our lives. He states,
The method of currere—the Latin infinitive form of curriculum meaning to run the
course, or in the gerund form, the running of the course—provides a strategy for
students of curriculum to study relations between academic knowledge and life history
in the interests of self-understanding and social reconstruction. (p. 44)
To practice currere, there are four moments to consider “the regressive, the progressive, the
analytical, and the synthetical” (Pinar, 2012, p. 45). Together, they frame opportunities to
reflect and wonder about one’s autobiographical presence in the experience of education. As
well, it is a time to heed the interrelationships of our practice and life events (Pinar, 1978). An
individual can quietly move in and about the four moments of currere with the goal of growing
self-knowledge and gaining insight into issues. One can pause longer in some moments,
reflecting deeply