2025 Educational Anthropology Final Workshop

The “Educational Anthropology” final workshop was held in two sessions at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, led by Associate Professor Fang Yi-Chieh and attended by twenty students—most of whom are in-service teachers or education practitioners. Participants shared first-hand field observations from their school environments, focusing on the often unnoticed yet difficult life transitions that students struggle to navigate alone. The workshop examined students’ experiences of anxiety, responsibility, identity uncertainty, fear of change, and confusion about life direction within highly institutionalized educational settings. Through anthropological thick description and participant observation, presenters brought the audience into their respective school contexts, making students’ emotions and challenges visible and understood.

A key outcome of the workshop was the application of “rites of passage” as a framework for meaning repair in educational settings. Students designed symbolic ritual processes and objects to help young people receive acknowledgment and support during phases of separation, liminality, and reintegration. Some presenters also turned the lens toward teachers themselves, reflecting on administrative pressures, emotional burdens, and role transitions, and proposing “rites of passage for teachers” to affirm that educators, too, need spaces of support and recognition. By the workshop’s conclusion, participants realized that “crossing thresholds” is not only a challenge for students but an ongoing task shared by the entire educational community. The event ended in a warm and joyful atmosphere, marking a meaningful close to the semester