Facilitation as an act of love: a self-study of how a facilitator’s pedagogy changed over time in the process of supporting a community of learners

Purpose: This study aims to understand how a facilitator’s pedagogy changed over time in the process of supporting a community of learners to teach using an activist sport approach. Methods: Self-study framed this four-semester research project. Participants included the lead author, two critical friends, 10 preservice teachers, and 110 youth. Data collected included lead researcher’s field notes and debriefing meetings between the lead author and the two critical friends. Results: Findings identified the facilitator’s: (a) struggles to create a democratic learning space in a university context, (b) discomfort with giving up control and allowing for various degrees of preservice teachers’ engagement, and (c) negotiation of feeling of saudade (the love that remains after someone is gone) while creating a group identity. Discussion/Conclusion: A pedagogy of facilitation as an act of love offers genuine possibilities for decolonizing and reinventing reality by naming, critiquing, and challenging/negotiating forms of oppression.