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When considering the effects of meditation on academic success, “To date, only three studies have investigated the relationship between meditation and academic performance. Two studies used differences in standardised academic tests, and the third used subjective student self-assessments of academic achievement.” Waters, L., et al. (2015) Water further contends that, insufficient evidence has yet to be accumulated to answer the question, “What is the effectiveness of meditation in mainstream schools in relation to academic achievement?” Within this article, Contemplative Education: A Systematic, Evidence-Based Review of the effect of Meditation Interventions in Schools, (2015), Waters sites various research studies of different age groups, length of studies, types of meditative practices, and frequency of meditation practices. A closer look at a relevant study by Warner (2005) that is included in the article states that kindergarten through 5th grade students who received meditation training performed at a higher level than controls on test of working memory, reflectivity, flexibility, and conservation. Results showed working memory = .45, Reflectivity= 1.12, Flexibility = .34, and Conservation = .35. And while these studies appear to highlight the benefits of mindfulness on learning as so far that it benefits the skills needed for learning, there is no evidence in this study that shows that mindfulness can in fact lead to better acheivement scores. In Mindfulness-Based Approaches with Children and Adolescents, Burke, C. (2010) reviews 15 current articles of research on the effects of mindfulness in clinical and non-clinical studies with an age range of 4 to 19 years old and sample sizes of 1 to 228 students. A look at Smalley et al.(unpublished), a study of pre-school age students that were treated with mindfulness awareness practices 2 times a week for 8 weeks showed outcomes for their social skills and temperament as Cohen’s f 2 = .37–.40a. General findings from this study show that the outcome was mostly inconclusive in that the study of mindfulness is difficult to gauge objectively by the researchers/teachers. A similar study of non-clinical students, grades 1st through 3rd, by Napoli, et al.(2005), students participated in sessions of 45 minutes in length at the Attention Academy Program. Students engaged in meditation classes 12 times over a 24 week period and the research results showed that significant improvements were reported; self rated test anxiety (p = .007), teacher rated attention (p = .001), social skills (p =.001), objective measures of selective (visual) attention (p<.001) but not sustained attention (p =.350). Again, this study shows the benefits of mindfulness but not to any academic end. In a journal article by Matt Leland, Mindfulness and Student Success (2015), he puts forth the question, "Should mindfulness instruction be incorporated into curriculum at all levels of formal education to help students be more successful in their academic pursuits?" His literature review produced studies of mindfulness implemented to address critical thinking skills, students with disabilities, job skills, bullying, athletics and social behavior. He notes that at the center of mindfulness is the improved ability to focus; focus on the lessons or tasks, and the ability to better filter out distractions. He references Broderick & Jennings (2012), to say that by maintaining a calmer view of the present, students are able to improve their study habits, planning, and organizational skills through mindfulness. While there is little to say that mindfulness practice has a direct effect on student testing, a study conducted at the University of Santa Barbara discovered that it did help raise GRE scores by 16% (Docksai, 2013). Details of the study and methodology used were not presented in this article. Docksai (2013) also contends that research has shown that mindfulness can have a positive impact on students with learning disabilities and that educators who have implemented mindfulness training for students with ADHD have seen academic improvement as well as a decrease in behavioral issues arising from impulsiveness and difficulty reading social cues. Broderick, P., & Jennings, P. (2012). Mindfulness for adolescents: A promising approach to supporting emotion regulation and preventing risky behavior. New Directions For Youth Development, 2012(136), 111-126. Warner, T. Q. (2005). Awareness and cognition: The role of awareness training in child development. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 17, 47–64. Docksai, R. (2013). A mindful approach to learning. Futurist, 47(5), 8-10
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I currently have found three research articles on the study of the effectiveness of mindfulness in the classroom. Although, I do not see that they are the most effective sources thus far, I will continue to search for research that is closer to my topic of mindfulness in the kindergarten classroom.
A common thread through out the articles and others that I have read is that they tend to see that the regular practice of mindfulness training is beneficial but that the research results were difficult to gauge. The obvious issue being that each individual comes with a varying need for the meditation and then are participating in a way that in and of itself cannot be gauged. Students may appear to be participating that may not be. Also, the outcomes were based on interviews and questionnaires that, again, may not tell the full story. In a study conducted in Dublin, Ireland with 63 students ranging from ages 11-12. Four teachers committed to teaching the mindfulness program to these students who are known to be living in poverty. Four teachers were given a CD with 25 audio meditation practices. Students kept self-reflective journals and interviews were given for students to communicate their views on the impact that the practice had on their perceived levels of stress. The results showed that students had a decrease in their perceived levels of stress. Costello, E. & Lawler, M. (2014). A study of 63 homeless middle school students, who were instructed in mindfulness training over a three month period, were trained by a mindfulness specialist and were evaluated using three methods; The Child Acceptance and Mindfulness Measure (CAMM), The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y), and the Self-Compassion Scale for Children (SCS-C). This study was conducted in order to help students to cope with their emotions, encourage compassion, and enhance their ability to focus.The outcomes of the evaluations suggest that the students benefited from the mindfulness practice. Viafora, D., Mathiesen, S., Unsworth, S. (2014). 49 college students ranging from ages 20 to 50 in New Zealand were given 28 mindfulness lessons for 5-7 minutes before each class. 7 of these students were male and 42 were female. Data was collected through informal feedback, class discussions, and questionnaires at the end of their assignments. Student responses had mixed outcomes. When asked if they would like to continue to practice mindfulness before each lesson, 7 male participants said yes, 28 women said yes, 7 were negative and 7 were uncertain. Mapel, T. (2012). While all studies tend to make a positive case for the mindfulness training, it is hard to understand to exactly what end. My driving question seeks to understand what effects mindfulness practice has on the ability to learn. Many studies seem to relay that students feel better and have a lowered sense of stress once the practice is undertaken. I am attempting to prove that this lowered stress can then have a determined outcome on achievement. Seminal Researchers that I need to now find: Germer, Siegel, Fulton, Moore, Santorelli, Meiklejohn, Schoeberlein References: Costello, E & Lawler, M (2014). An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Mindfulness on Perceived Levels of Stress Among School-Children from Lower Socioeconomic Backgrounds.Volume 6, Number 2, November 2014 pp 21-39 Educational Disadvantage Centre, St. Patrick’s College, 2073-7629 Viafora, D., Mathiesen, S., Unsworth, S. (2014) Teaching Mindfulness to Middle School Students and Homeless Youth in School Classrooms. J Child Fam Stud (2015) 24:1179-1191 DOI 10.1007/s10826-014-9926-3 Mapel, T. (2012) Mindfulness and education: Students’ experience of learning mindfulness in a tertiary classroom. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. Vol. 47, No.1, 2012 Viafora, D., Mathiesen, S., Unsworth, S. (2014) |
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