mindfulness in education

Posted 26/10/2019

I am pleased to share the following research on «Programs and Interventions in Education» offering a wide range of Mindfulness practices carried out in schools, beginning with PINEP, «The Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Program» carried out by the University of Málaga where this training is taking place. This entry today is an essential component of my Master’s thesis presented last evening in poster format at the University of Málaga. An outstanding act brilliantly organised by UMA and magnificently performed by all participants.

I have to say watching my classmates make a detailed description of their work this year with the support of very creative posters displayed all around the Aulario Professor J.A. Ramírez made the evening very very special.

programs and interventions worldwide

1. MBWE Mindfulness Based Wellness Education is an 8-week program for teachers based on MBSR. The program teaches formal mindfulness practices as a foundation for cultivating an awareness of one’s health or ill-health in the physical, social, mental or emotional domains of human existence. It is designed as a health promotion intervention for individuals who are at risk of developing stress related problems or the like, such as burnout. The interventions have proven effective in reducing psychological distress and augmenting satisfaction with life.

2. CARE Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education helps teachers handle their stress and rediscover the joys of teaching. The program offers teachers and administrators tools and resources for reducing stress, preventing burnout, enlivening teaching and helping students thrive socially, emotionally and academically. Participants learn how to

recognise and regulate their own emotions and other’s
build up awareness
be more present and engaged
active-listen to others and become more compassionate in order to optimize opportunities of healthy emotional contact and understanding of others

3. SMART Stress Management and Relaxation Techniques in Education supports participants in:

re-connecting to personal/professional meaning and purpose
finding balance and cultivating emotional intelligence
improving mental and physical health

Research results show that participants who complete the program experience:

More focused attention
Increased working memory capacity
Reduced occupational stress and burnout
Reduced feelings of anxiety and depression
Greater mindfulness
Higher levels of self-compassion

The program focuses on teachers and is also complemented with MindUp [below]. It involves experiential activities in mindfulness including:

meditation,
emotional awareness
movement
presentations and
group discussions.

4. Mindfulness Matters well-known as The Eline Snel method (2013) addressed to Education and Health environments. Participants learn to stabilise, focus and shift their attention based on kind, attentive approaches. They become familiar with their inner-world, without having to make any immediate judgements about what they (or others) think, feel or experience. They learn to deal with calm and turmoil when these present themselves. And to acknowledge troublesome thoughts and feelings without burying them away, or getting carried away by them, but simply giving them some kind of attention. Last but not least, they learn to be kind to themselves and others.

5. ABC Attention, Balance and Compassion: the Inner Kids Program trains participants on

– Mindfulness of Body – bringing awareness, attention, or focus to breathing and bodily sensation

– Mindfulness of Feeling – noticing the affect tone, such as pleasure or displeasure, that comes with every sense object, whether a sensation or a thought

– Mindfulness of Mind – noticing when there is attachment (greed, judgement, wanting) present in the mind and when there is not attachment present

– Mindfulness of Mental Objects/Phenomena – being mindful and attentive to any thought that arises and allowing it to pass away unobstructed, and eventually directing this observance through a much more in depth exploration of the true origins of that thought.

6. IRP Inner Resilience Programme focuses on integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) with contemplative (mindfulness) practice. Founded by Linda Lantieri in 2002 in response to the effects of the September 11 attacks on New York City, the program was designed

to provide school staff and parents with the skills and support needed to rebuild their inner strength and resilience,
and in doing so be better able to support the children in their care.

IRP includes professional development workshops on topics such as

anger management,
conflict resolution,
self-care,
and stress reduction.

Results of research study show decreased stress and increased mindfulness in teachers, and decreased frustration and increased autonomy in students as a result of the IRP program.

7. Learning to breathe is a secular program which integrates certain themes of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, into a program that is shorter, more accessible to students, and compatible with school curricula. It tailors the teaching of mindfulness to the developmental needs of students to help them understand their thoughts and feelings and manage distressing emotions. By learning important mindfulness skills students will learn to

improve emotion regulation,
reduce stress,
improve overall performance, and
most importantly, develop their attention.

8. MiSP Mindfulness in Schools Project is a national charity aiming at helping a generation of young people and children grow up with stronger foundations on mental health. By doing quality face-to-face teaching in the classroom teachers get trained in Mindfulness practices and given the opportunity to

reconnect with why they began teaching in the first place
step back from all those issues taking so much mental space and energy
and reconnect with all those things that people go into teaching for and really enjoy like being creative in the classroom and with student.

The practices include variations of “The Three-minute breathing space”, Bodyscan, Mindful eating, Mindful movements, Mindful texting, Thoughts and Sounds.

9. MS Mindful Schools works on research and resources to help school administrators, staff and parents understand the impact of Mindfulness practices. The following benefits of Mindfulness practice have been found by scholarly research:

improved attention: numerous studies show improved attention including better performance on objective tasks that require extensive concentration span
emotional regulation: mindfulness is associated with emotion regulation across a number of studies, mindfulness creates changes in the brain that correspond to less reactivity, and better ability to engage in tasks even when emotions are activated
greater compassion: people randomly assigned to mindfulness training are more likely to help someone in need and have greater self-compassion
reduction of stress and anxiety: mindfulness reduces feelings of stress and improves anxiety and distress skills when placed in a stressful social situation

10. MindUp by The Goldie Hawn Foundation is a simple to implement program and evidence-based that is built upon four pillars to promote positive mental health and well-being:

neuroscience: students learn about the concept of neuroplasticity and how their brain regulates emotions
positive psychology: the program infuses evidence-based strategies from the field of positive discipline to help students thrive and bolster their well-being
mindful awareness: students learn and practice mindful awareness to develop focused attention, emotional balance and well-being
social emotional learning: students are offered opportunities to practice developing SEL skills, referring to how individuals acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours needed to develop self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making.

11. Staf Hakeshev program uses Mindfulness practices to teach school staff, students and their families how to

value the importance of pausing to improve cognitive learning skills
develop emotional skills
pay attention to the inner world

12. Still Quiet Place is a place of peace that is alive inside all of us and can be found by just closing our eyes and breathing. The eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction [MBSR] program teaches stress management skills early in life that will help kids and adolescents grow into healthy adults by developing their natural capacities for emotional fluency, respectful communication, and compassionate action. It has helped countless participants achieve improvements in attention, resiliency and reduce anxiety by showing them how to pay attention to life experience here and now with kindness and curiosity, and to experience the natural quietness that can be found within.

13. Wellness Works in Schools believes that mindfulness fortifies our natural human capacity for awareness and self-care. Being able to pay attention, self-regulate and learn leads to success, no matter our past experiences. Mindfulness fosters health:

mental health: attention, learning, problem-solving, initiating and inhibiting, flexibility and following instructions
emotional health: self-awareness, self-efficacy, self-calming, self-regulation, emotional intelligence, resilience
somatic health: connecting behaviour to consequences, multisensory experiences, balance, body control and conscious movement, interoception, stability
social health: social cognition, relating and connecting, detecting cues (verbal and non-verbal) understanding eye-contact, situational awareness.

INTERESTING LINKS

BBC World news (2013) Mindfulness in Schools.

Butler, J (2018) When is a time Mindfulness helped you.

GOV.UK (2019) Mindfulness in 370 British schools.

Harper, A (2019) How teachers can help students reduce test anxiety

Miller, CJ (2018) Testing a quick mindfulness intervention in the university classroom.

MiSP (n.d.) Mindfulness in Education project.

Ramos, N. (2019) The Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Program.

Vollrath, D (2019) Encouraging Students to Develop Resilience.