Integrating Mindfulness in Education and The Underlying Issues

Abstract

In the last few years, the effects of mindfulness on students have been of the highest interest for educators and various researchers. There have been multiple studies that suggest the different benefits that mindfulness has on children and how this helps them to overcome the level of stress they face in their day to day routine. Since mindfulness is no longer a new phenomenon, this paper hopes to shed lights on some Issues on Mindfulness practice in Education and provide approaches that have been adopted for incorporating mindfulness into curriculum. The paper looks forth to understand the benefits of mindfulness that can influence the behavior and academics of the children, those benefits that are derived by the teachers from mindfulness, with findings that suggest the positive impacts mindfulness has on the children as well as teachers.

Introduction

In recent years, there have been a growing number of studies on mindfulness practice in education. Williams and Kabat-Zinn (2011) bring to light the increasing number of mindfulness studies across disciplines and some instances of its implementation in healthcare and educational settings. The widespread use of the practice has helped students learn how to slow their thoughts, listen, communicate, focus, and become better students. Many students now practice mindfulness at home and share it with their friends and families. We have come to think of mindfulness meditation as a practice that we should all engage in, because it will do us all good, and very few people are discussing the problems it may cause, and whether it is the best approach for everyone. Only a few attempts have been made to examine whether these school-based mindfulness interventions (treatments) work when compared to another treatment that is known to work – which is the primary means by which clinical science can show added value of new treatments. It is time to draw attention to what else can contribute to cultivating focus, resilience, and well--being for academic success aside from mindfulness (or mindfulness in collaboration).

Background

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness has been defined as the ‘’awareness that emerges from paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, as cited in Schonert-Reichl & Roeser, 2016, p. 6). Mindfulness is that state or quality of being aware and conscious of something, having focused awareness of the moment that is present. When asked what mindfulness means to me as a student, my response would be something that helps me to be fully cognizant, such as the simple sensation of the interplay between my feelings and thoughts and physical sensations such as warmth, like that of the sunlight.

Mindfulness is an ancient practice that was primarily founded on various Eastern Philosophies that include Taoism, Buddhism, and Yoga. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn (2003), it is essential to pay attention in a specific way at the moment that is present, and not to become judgmental. Various mindfulness activities include meditation, and these activities have the potential to assist the staff, the students, and the faculty in dealing with the pressures of daily life in a more silent way. Various researchers have suggested that practicing mindfulness can help improve academic performance by developing concentration, upgrading memory, and increasing attention that can further assist in managing one’s level of stress (Schonert-Reichl, 2010).

Why Mindfulness in Education?

It has been observed that academic life is not that easy; instead it is very tough, where students face many challenges in day-to-day activities. Consequently, for balancing the struggles in academic life, it is important to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is mainly concerned with bringing awareness to the present moment and experiencing what we are doing presently. If we look at the mindfulness activities from a level that is a bit broader, it would suggest that mindfulness helps in developing the whole person, which allows us to consider the more general purpose of education, and the transformational role in the development of human beings.

Mindfulness as a practice is becoming recognized by schools as a beneficial practice for students, residents, and faculties, and it is cultivated to promote educator self-care, self-awareness, and empathy, with the ultimate aim of mutually improving educator well-being and the quality of student care. Mindfulness is believed to increase test scores and academic achievement due to the fact that it allows students to calm themselves down and focus on the task at hand. Greenberg et al. (2003, cited in Koch, 2016, p. 44) stated that mindfulness can provide a foundation for improved social and emotional adjustment, as well as academic performance, as demonstrated by more positive social behaviors, fewer conduct problems, less emotional distress, and improved test scores and grades.

Some of the benefits of mindfulness, as described by researchers Wisner, (2010), Bergen-Cico, (2013), and Wisdom Commons, (2015), are discussed in table 1. These include the physical, social and psychological benefits of mindfulness.

Table 1 - Physical, social and psychological benefits of mindfulness

Introducing Mindfulness to Classrooms

The interest in introducing mindfulness training at higher education institutions is increasing, as there are various opportunities to expand, which go beyond short courses and workshops to explore and integration the mindfulness strategies into the classrooms, communities of practice, and curriculum. Mindfulness helps in fostering a positive classroom environment, which allows its introduction to serve a very import need (Berkovitch-Ohana, 2014). The benefits of mindfulness training or meditation for adults includes improvement in psychological functioning, and development in immune functioning, as well as brain functioning. It has been found by various researchers that meditation has a high potential to provide health benefits, especially in the case of stress reduction. In school-based settings, mindfulness and meditation help in improving the academic performance of the adolescents that have learning disabilities.

According to researchers, mindfulness-based practices and programs help with reducing stress and strengthening students’ social skills. Mindfulness acts as a preventive tool for different mental health issues and behavioral challenges that might be faced by students in their lives. There have been many forms and shapes taken by school-based mindfulness programs. Few programs have been included in the various subjects like physical education. Mindfulness programs have also been integrated into to the pre-existing plans for the socio-economic learning of the students. Many schools have brought mindfulness programs into schools in the form of stand-alone programs. In Western Canada, they implemented a ten-week mindfulness education curriculum. In this program, different weekly training sessions were based on mindful practices, focused attention, and stress reduction through attentive listening and various breathing exercises.

Mindfulness in Mainstream Science

It has been seen over the past few decades that introducing mindfulness into Psychology and neuroscience has been met with criticism (Closs, 2011). There has been some evidence and publications that are making it tough to ignore this concept. The introduction of mindfulness into mainstream science was the main idea of Jon Kabat-Zinn, and for this, he developed the MBSR program. The MBSR program is primarily built around an eight-week program that helps in teaching the importance of mindfulness in everyday life through body-scan exercises, mindfulness breathing, and yoga. The research of Kabat-Zinn has developed into a cognitive therapy that incorporates mindful thinking into our mental habits.

Ways of Incorporating Mindfulness into the Curriculum

Scholars like Meiklejohn et al. (2012), Shardlow (2015), and many more, have emphasized ways of directing one’s attention to a specific focus (such as the breath, a sensation, a feeling (e.g. lovingkindness) or other attentional media) to apply mindfulness in the academic curriculum:

Mindfulness Through Breath

When a student is anxious, often they take shallow breaths. Mindfulness through breath uses the breath as an object of concentration by focusing on the breath so as to become aware, and to be in the present moment. Students have the tendency to lose concentration easily, so breathing exercises like breathing deeply into the belly, can help calm the body as well as the brain.

Mindfulness Through Guided Imagery

This is where children often develop their imagination. Guided imagery also helps with learning. When starting a new topic, students shall be asked to close their eyes and pretend to be on a journey where they shall imagine something about the topic, and after they have done this, end the guided relaxation by taking a few deep breaths. After this, discuss each image of the students in the classroom.

Mindfulness Through Movement

Movement is significant for keeping the body in shape. A simple strategy for adding movement to the body is yoga. Students can practice yoga in their chairs, gyms, or outside.

Mindfulness Through Sensory Experiences

Sensory experiences can support focus and relaxation and through the practice of listening to music, or some calming sounds in the classrooms, or sounds of nature outside, which can help students listen and focus better while learning (Shardlow, 2015). Mindfulness can also help by targeting the self-regulatory abilities that are primarily used to respond to stress, in a very efficient and calm manner. Teachers are implementing mindfulness in classrooms by using a gentle approach where the participation of students is considered optional, and pressure is set low (or none – in cases like K-12). The goal at this stage, is to start with baby steps so that momentum can be built gradually with force. Being explicit while communicating the goals of mindfulness training is an essential component for younger children. In the MindUP program, the drivers of the program started with an introduction of the brain to ensure younger students gain an orientation and an understanding of the science of the brain.

Issues with Integrating Mindfulness Practice in Education

The practice of mindfulness, as with any other practice, comes with some holdbacks, and these are different from one context to another. Religious connotations are considered one of the most significant barriers to implementing mindfulness into student programs. Mindfulness comes from Buddhist philosophy, so there might be a few people who are reluctant to implement the same. As a Christian, I have had friends with familiar religious backgrounds question my interest in the practice of mindfulness. Poor judgement on the part of the students (older students), at the initial stage of implementation, can cause some major holdbacks, and this is the reason having a strong program introduction/implementation plan is essential. Take for instance, the MindUp program, which provides grade 6-8 students with “learning about your brain” for students to understand the connection between their brains, thinking, and feeling, guided by their behavior. Learning to be mindful takes practice, and this lack of immediate results while practicing can cause holdback. It is possible that the mindfulness activities may not have positive results immediately; however, it is also worth noting that if practiced on a continuous basis (case by case, may not be the case in every situation), the results can be positive in a fairly short span of time. The aspect of time can also lie with teachers, who might not be able to take enough time from their busy schedules to implement the mindfulness strategies in the class. For instance, the current teachers’ shortage issue in BC can present a time barrier for those teachers wanting train or implement mindfulness in their classrooms.

Much of the research on mindfulness practices in education has demonstrated that mindfulness can help promote emotional regulation in children (Durlak, Dymnicki, Taylor, Dymnicki, & Schellinger, 2011; Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor, 2010, cited in Koch, 2016, p. 41). However, there are, to a degree, some uncertainties that surround the practice of mindfulness in education. Although many educators are introducing mindfulness into the classroom as a means of improving student attention and emotional regulation, the limited research brings people to realize that many questions are still unanswered:

1. What are some of the barriers to implementing mindfulness in education?
2. What constitutes “valid research” that is currently being paraded in schools?
3. Why is so much research done on the programs before being implemented in education systems?
4. Are there reports to support the rate of applications in schools?
5. What are some of the programs that have found good results and what are the factors to support that?

The questions are many, and yet they remain unanswered: how can studies be carried out to check what the outcome of mindfulness practice is? Can the answer be having a controlling body that governs the practice and implementation of mindfulness practices in education? There is a need, so practices shouldn't remain the stronghold of the affluent; those who have the time and resources to invest in cultivating stronger mental wellness. In addition, I will suggest that mindfulness practitioners and researchers should be held accountable for not just documenting and reporting findings on mindfulness-based interventions, but to also ensure a follow-up measure is carried out to cultivate focus, resilience, empathy, connection, and well-being as the basis for academic and personal success.

To answer the questions above, a profound change is needed; a shift of mindset; one that can and will be welcomed and embraced by all mindfulness practitioners, scholars, researchers, school authorities, and teachers. Following the literature review in this paper, it seems that there is a general believe that there is a gap in between the hype on mindfulness and research to support the claims associated with the practice. The limited research is a necessary step towards developing solutions and ensuring the of gap in research is one held by every person in the field.

There are many international institutes and associations like; CASEL (Mindful Schools, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning), CMC (Consciousness. Mindfulness, Compassion), and the Canadian Mindfulness Institute, sharing research findings on mindful practices particularly relevant to emotion regulations, caring, attention, compassion, calming and many more with specific benefits to students and teachers. In the bid to promoting mindful education, it would be worth holding these leading bodies responsible for pushing for uniformity and consistency in the practice by inducing means of furthering methods of closing the gap between hype and research. Furthermore, as mindfulness practitioners, we are also to be held accountable for promoting relevant bearing on the future scientific understanding of mindfulness in education.

Although there has been limited research on the practical aspects of bringing mindfulness into education, there is also a question of deficiencies in the empirical research that is conducted on the practice (Greenberg & Harris, 2012). Creating a rigorous approach towards carrying out sound experimental studies in contemplative practices has been suggested by Greenberg and Harris (2012) in the recent article on ‘Nurturing Mindfulness in Children and Youth: Current State of Research’, which outlines the steps to strengthen the evidence-based practices. This is an important issue that needs addressing, and I believe that having control entities dedicated to the strengthening of contemplative practices to set the criteria and scope of programs should be considered for implementation in schools.

Having unsound research on mindfulness practice in education can be of high risk and can raise health concerns from public; this is due to the developmental plasticity of school-aged children, and other natural hazards that such research may pose. This is especially true when it is clear that reasons like omissions, lack of suitable resources (fostering publications of inconclusive research), and unfamiliarity with the traditional concept of contemplative practice, are some causes of deficiencies in current research (Greenberg & Harris, 2012).

One method of control will be the creation of certification for mindfulness practitioners – granted by the appropriate health authorities to attest the level of knowledge/proficiency of the practitioner in the practice. There are several mindfulness training like MindUp and Mindfulness Training Institutes across the world; there are also several other centers for mindfulness training, designed for teachers who choose to implement mindfulness practices in their classrooms. The gap here however, is the means to check the application, the outcome, the issues encountered (if any), and to identify many more possible issues arising from the implementation of such programs. Then it ends there; there are no methods of checking the integrity of mindfulness in these classes; there are no reports/listings of lessons learnt or analysis of the applicability in different contexts; and more importantly, no measures of the mindfulness of both students and teachers. How can anyone be reassured that what is being taught by teachers has depth and integrity?

Another issue in mindfulness-based intervention is the matter of ethics, the openness and representation of the research inquiry process. This is another responsibility that lies with every individual involved in the implementation and interventions involving mindfulness – a control body that can help in ensuring compliance to acceptable standards. As a teacher and a student working towards practicing mindfulness in my classroom, I understand that my personal awareness of experience and understanding of my practice can impact my ethical decisions; however, in the event that I am not fully aware of other circumstances surrounding the context of implementation, a reliance on a control body becomes highly essential. And as evident through discussions amongst fellow teachers, school administrators are not always in a position to provide guidance due to a lack of training. Brown (2017) explained how unethical processes can taint results, potentially resulting in more harm than good in the practice of mindfulness (p. 45).

This section is focused on programs developed through mindfulness practices for educational purposes. The integration of mindfulness, for the aid of health and wellbeing of the students, has been explored recently. It has been seen that these days the students have been experiencing the high level of stress. The stress that is experienced by the students often results in depression, anxiety, and other emotional, behavioral problems that also disrupt thinking and negatively influence school performance. One is required to calmly navigate the stress of school through self-regulation. When a student encounters a high-stress situation, it often leads to the activation of his/her reptilian brain, which controls the breathing, heart-rate, and body temperature. After this, it shuts down the various other functions of the brain that includes an area of the prefrontal cortex, which is mainly used for self-regulation and learning so that energy that is needed for fighting or fleeing can be maximized.

Meiklejohn et al. (2012), in their summary of the field of mindfulness in education, cite many advances gained in schools that were significantly beneficial for both teachers and students. This is a great illustration demonstrating that the integration of mindfulness in education can be rewarding for teachers, students, school authorities, and parents. Student engagement programs are designed by schools to provide and support transformative student experiences, enabling practical opportunities for students to explore, experiment, create, lead, and reflect, inside or outside their set classrooms. There is a need for integrating mindfulness activities in school programs because there are numerous benefits associated with the same.

Recommendation

There have been quite a few recommended strategies adopted along the way that have helped support the implementation of mindfulness programs in schools. In a recent paper DiGiovanni (2017) mentioned the benefit of creating collaborative teams (fellow classroom teachers, educational assistants and child care workers) to support teachers practicing mindfulness. This paper focused on interviews of six administrators and six teachers at five elementary schools, and can hardly pass as applicable in all contexts, but I thought it was worth mentioning in this section. It's time for public health officials and policy makers to get behind a commitment to scaling up access to mindfulness practices in education. Simple measures, like controlled certification, can provide some uniformity in the practice and serve as a means of holding teachers responsible for reporting back on their experiences and encounters for teaching and learning purposes in the field of mindfulness practice and research.

To drive this shift of mindset, a critical move to transform the mandate and scope of the control body (committee) is needed. Just as many audit committees have evolved into bodies focused on strategic systems, mindfulness practice in education must also develop a committee that is focused on the training, deployment, and development of mindfulness practices.

According to Ashe (2016), the practitioners interviewed, introduced mindfulness into their classrooms in order to support students in developing mindfulness skills, and for their personal connection to mindfulness prior to classroom implementation (p. 34). One question here will be if such connection remains throughout their years of practice, and if so, what are some things that promote healthy, sustainable connections? I asked these questions after reading the research paper by Ashe (2016), because irrespective of what an individual’s connection is to the practice of mindfulness, knowing how such a connection was cultivated, how it can be further developed, and what some of the likely reasons for losing such connection are, will be a step closer to growing a strong network of professionals practicing mindfulness.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that mindfulness interventions can be utilized in the general classroom setting, and they might have promising results in behavioral, social, and attention domains. Mindfulness practices have various opportunities to be offered that could transform people. Students can further get themselves engaged in multiple mindfulness strategies and can investigate the results of them. Teaching mindfulness is very important. People’s lives have become too busy, and we spend most of our time in worrying about the future. Mindfulness helps us to live in the present moment without worrying about the past or the future.

Mindfulness training being made accessible to interested teachers is one great way for teachers to develop their practices, and to learn more ways of making the students ready to learn (while they are mindful). Thus, it can be concluded that mindfulness is a necessity in every school or institution; to ensure the hype for mindfulness is backed up with research, a mindfulness community or governing body must be established. This community must agree to key features that are essential to mindfulness practice, and researchers should be clear about how their measures and practices include these features. Lastly, for the educational benefits and mental health of the students, it is worth considering the inclusion of mindfulness in mental health policies.

Thanks for reading!

Reference list is available on request.