Mindfulness in Education: What it is, How to do it, and Why every school should be doing this.

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Ashley L. BaerFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Forsyth County School District

First Presenter’s Email Address

abaer@forsyth.k12.ga.us

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Ashley has been in education for almost twenty years and is a fierce advocate for all children and believes a relationship and connection with students can be increased with mindfulness. With a Master's in Special Education, a Bachelor's in Sociology, a certification in Yoga, as well as Mindfulness and Meditation, she uses her unique history of loss, trauma, and being in the foster care system to touch, heal, and connect with students, teachers and admin through Mindfulness. She created a two-year pilot under the supervision of the Superintendent, and GA State University which focused on implementing mindful breathing, and movement strategies into the classroom to build focus and attention, while emotionally regulating students. She believes a culture of mindful breathing needs to be in every district, school and classroom across this country and practiced by every leader, teacher, and student. As one of the founding members of Georgia's first state chapter of COSEM (Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully), Ashley brings a passion and belief that Mindfulness is the foundation of all learning so that all students may feel safe, welcomed, and free to learn and be their best happiest self. In her free times, she volunteers for Persevere, a non-profit, teaching women in prison this foundational life skill of mindfulness and is a meditation teacher on the app Insight Timer.

Location

Session Seven Breakouts

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

Mindfulness is deeply aligned with "Heart" or building Social & Emotional Skills in students and teachers, and is aligned with the CASEL Core competencies self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. Creating a mindful breathing culture improves school climate, and creates a sense of community. Nothing is more powerful than a teacher who embodies mindfulness and breathes with students. Sharing this practice regulates their nervous system as well as creates connection while focusing their brains, and all that needs to happen is breathing. It is free, and available to all humans. Mindfulness is a life skill that transcends all parts of life: communication, self-esteem, decision making, empowerment, and resilience. The mental benefits of relieving stress, boosting immunity, reducing anxiety, improving focus connects mindfulness as a preventive measure for mental and physical health as well. Mindfulness helps address anxiety, and the stressors of daily life, as well as how to move through difficult emotions. I believe it is my moral obligation to offer this practice to students and teachers alike which is why we focus on teaching it to teachers first for themselves, and then how to implement in a classroom. Not only can this practice help children, but we can save the teaching profession with this life-changing self-care tool. Teachers can teach academics, but if a student does not want to live, or be here, the academics won't matter. What is more important than the emotional well-being of our most precious resource-our youth? I believe we can change education across this country by creating a mindful breathing culture across all curriculums, grade levels and schools. It starts at the top with mindful leaders.

Brief Program Description

Were you ever asked to pay attention in school? As an educator have you asked students to pay attention? Compare that to how many times you were taught or taught a student to pay attention. Most likely the answer is never. Mindfulness is explicit attention building and emotional regulation. Learn how and why you should create a mindful breathing culture.

Summary

The Mindfulness in Education presentation will teach educators what mindfulness is, how to do it with informal and formal practices designed for home and school use, and how to begin building a mindful breathing culture in your school. A brief description of the pilot program, the involvement of Ga State University, and how Forsyth County went from a pilot program to training teachers all over their district on how to implement this practice in their personal lives and in the classroom. Ashley will include a short history of her own personal story of survival and how she used mindfulness to address her anxiety, and difficult emotions from a childhood of loss, and trauma and coming out of the foster care system. In addition, Ashley will share the why behind bringing a practice of mindfulness as an attention building and executive function strategy for any classroom teacher. This session will include the science and nature of the brain, and brain waves, how stress affects the brain with a breakdown of the mental and physical benefits. Ashley will show Mindful Movement as well as Mindful breath strategies in this practical presentation using tools for implementing mindfulness in short effective ways. Using a breathing ball, and a focus bell and through the use of games and kinesthetic movements with breath Ashley will teach how simple and time-efficient these strategies can be used to address the distracted mind and frenzied nature of the mind. This session will be experiential in nature as the best way to learn mindfulness is to feel it first. This session will teach practices that educators or any audience member can walk away with to incorporate in their daily life.

Evidence

Evaluation Report: July 2021

Evaluation Report Part 1: Impact of the Mindful Breathing Program on Mental Health and Social-emotional Functioning

Evaluation Report Part 2: Perception of the Mindful Breathing Program

Table of Contents

General Study Information. 3

Overview of Research & Significance. 3

Program Description. 3

Research Objective. 4

Evaluation Report Part 1 – Quantitative. 5

Purpose. 5

Participants. 5

Recruitment. 5

Inclusionary criteria. 5

Measures. 6

(1) Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM; Greco et al., 2011). 6

(2) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988). 6

(3) Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). 6

Data Analysis. 6

Quantitative Findings. 7

Coal Mountain Elementary School 7

Lakeside Middle School 7

Denmark High School 9

Evaluation Report Part 2 – Qualitative. 11

Purpose. 11

Participants. 11

Data Source. 11

Data Analysis. 11

Qualitative Findings. 11

Theme 1: Reason for Interest and/or Participation. 12

Theme 2: Prior Experience/Perspectives. 13

Theme 3: Program Content. 15

Theme 4: Applications of Strategies. 17

Theme 5: Impact of Program.. 19

Theme 6: Importance of Program.. 23

Theme 7: Implementation Barriers and Challenges. 24

Theme 8: Access to Information/Findings. 25

Theme 9: Recommendations and Feedback. 25

References 28

General Study Information

Overview of Research & Significance

Learning and practicing mindfulness have been shown to benefit people of all ages, especially individuals needing help with attention, anxiety, or emotional regulation (Broderick & Jennings, 2012; Broderick & Metz, 2009; Perry-Parrish et al., 2016). In recent years, there has been an upsurge in the application of mindfulness-based interventions to promote psychological health and wellness in children and adolescents. Approaches with significant empirical support include dialectical behavior therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT; Segal et al., 2002).

Youth who are at risk of experiencing stressors may rely on effective coping strategies to manage negative emotions. As such, mindfulness practices have been found to reduce stress and facilitate self-regulation by redirecting the individual’s awareness towards his or her thoughts, emotions, and body states (Broderick & Metz, 2009; Zylowska et al., 2008). More specifically, several studies suggested that adolescents who participated in a mindfulness curriculum demonstrated improvement in emotional regulation (Broderick & Metz, 2009), in ADHD symptoms (Zylowska et al., 2008), and in the prevention of risky behaviors (Broderick & Jennings, 2012).

Program Description

The Mindful Breathing Program (MBP) is a school-based curriculum that teaches elementary through high school students the skills they need to help them develop and improve their attention and focus, as well as provide other cognitive, social, and emotional benefits. Students from three schools in the Forsyth County School District were given the option to participate in the program as an elective. During the 2020 Fall Semester (August to December), classes were offered to students at Lakeside Middle School during 90-minute blocks, two to three times a week. During the 2021 Spring Semester (January to May), classes were offered to students at Denmark High School in a similar format as those at the middle school level. Due to scheduling differences at the elementary level, fourth and fifth-graders at Coal Mountain Elementary participated in the program five days a week for 20 minutes per session.

The framework for MBP was based on Daniel Rechtschaffen’s book, The Way of Mindful Education: Cultivating Well-Being in Teachers and Students. The district’s Health and Wellness Coach, who implemented the MBP, was trained on Rechtschaffen’s method at the Omega Institute in New York. In addition to mindfulness instruction, breathing techniques, exercises, group discussions, other social-emotional learning components related to the physical, mental, emotional, social, and global well-being were incorporated.

Regardless of the participants’ age group, the instructor adhered to the ABC (Action, Breath, Connection) format for every session. Each class began with a “check in” called Flow and Tell during which each person had the option to verbalize to the group, “In this present moment, I feel________.” The individual would share his/her/their state of emotion, mood for the day, and/or the reason. According to the instructor, this exercise allowed class participants to accept one another and to acknowledge the state of their emotions. Next, the instructor led the students to do a movement to get them “in their bodies”. This exercise may range from a mindful movement, a deep stretch, an active breath, or a yoga pose. Following the movement was a five-minute “Mindful Sit” or breathwork, a form of meditation. Thereafter, through the use of connective language, the instructor led a class discussion about how the movement made them feel or what they noticed during the “Mindful Sit”. Every Friday, the instructor ended the week with a 30-minute guided meditation or Yoga Nidra during which students laid down with blankets and eye pillows.

Additionally, students learned different meditation techniques such as Loving Kindness, body scans, bell listening, counting of the breath, and meditation of the senses. In addition, they also learned different kinds of breath and breath work, such as Animal breaths (movement connected to the alphabet and animals), Breath of Joy, Ha Breath, Bellows Breath, Square Breathing, and Arrow Breathing.

Beyond the ABC class format, the instructor incorporated lessons about the science supporting mindfulness, the brain, and the benefits of mindfulness on the brain. Other lessons included understanding different emotions, how the body responded to these emotions, and strategies for managing anxiety. Further, students learned and practiced mindfulness through a variety of activities, such as Mindful Walking, Mindful Movement, Mindful Coloring, Mindful Eating, and Mindfulness in nature. In addition to these activities, games such as Diversity of Thought, Dr. Distraction, mindfulness-attention games, and memory games were incorporated.

Research Objective

This was a two-part study which included access to a body of quantitative data and qualitative data collection. The purpose of the quantitative component of the study (Evaluation Part 1) was to evaluate whether participation in the MBP resulted in improved student outcomes related to mental health and social-emotional functioning. The purpose of the qualitative component of the study (Evaluation Part 2) was to evaluate whether students, parents/caregivers, and educators perceived the MBP as acceptable, meaningful, and effective.

Evaluation Report Part 1 – Quantitative

The Impact on Mental Health and Social-emotional Functioning

Purpose

The purpose of the quantitative component of the study was to evaluate whether participation in the MBP resulted in improved student outcomes related to mental health and social-emotional functioning.

The quantitative research question to be addressed in this part of the study was:

1. Does participation in the MBP result in improved social-emotional functioning?

Participants

Participants in this study were elementary, middle, and high school students from one school district in the state. These students voluntarily chose to participate in the MBP at their schools. Other participants in the study included teachers and parents whose students/children participated in the MBP. At the elementary school-level, a total of 12 students completed two outcome measures, Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM; Greco et al., 2011) and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988). At the middle school-level, a total of 21 students completed the CAMM (Greco et al., 2011), PANAS (Watson et al., 1988), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). At the high school level, a total of nine students completed the CAMM, PANAS, and SDQ.

Recruitment

Researchers recruited participants through the school district’s MBP Health & Wellness Instructor. A flyer describing the study was sent to each family whose child was a participant in the MBP, as well as to teachers whose student was a participant in the MBP. Individuals who were interested in participating in the study were provided with researchers’ contact information. Contact between potential participants and researchers occurred via email and/or phone. Individuals who responded were asked to participate in consent and assent procedures.

Inclusionary criteria

Inclusion criteria for student participants were: 1) Enrolled in elementary, middle, or high school, 2) Participated in the MBP, and 3) Whose parents/caregivers had given consent for participation in study.

Inclusion criteria for teacher participants were: 1) Taught and/or mentored a student who participated in the MBP and 2) Taught/mentored at the same school as his/her/their student.

Inclusion criteria for parents/caregivers was: 1) Had a child who participated in the MBP.

Measures

Researchers sought consent from all participants to be granted access to district-collected data on the described measures below. Quantitative data were collected by the school district as part of the MBP from participating students on all three of the following measures:

(1) Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM; Greco et al., 2011)

The CAMM is a unidimensional measure of mindfulness (Kuby et al., 2015). Data from the CAMM were collected prior to MBP participation and at the conclusion of the program from participating students.

We hypothesized an increase in CAMM scores after participation in the Mindful Breathing Program.

(2) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988)

The PANAS comprises of two scales: one scale measures positive affect and a second measures negative affect. Data from the PANAS were collected prior to MBP participation and at the conclusion of the program from participating students.

We hypothesized an increase in scores on the Positive Affect scale, an indication of more positive emotions (e.g., joy) following participation in the MBP (Riopel, 2021). With regard to scores on the Negative Affect scale, we hypothesized a decrease following MBP participation which would suggest fewer negative emotions (e.g., anger or sadness) (Riopel, 2021).

(3) Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997)

The SDQ is a brief screening questionnaire that includes five subscales: Emotional Symptoms, Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity/inattention, Peer Relationship Problems, and Prosocial Behaviors. The first four subscales (Emotional, Conduct, Hyperactivity, and Peer) are combined to form the “Total Difficulties” subscale. Data from the SDQ were collected prior to MBP participation and at the conclusion of the program from participating students.

We hypothesized a decrease in the Total Difficulties, Emotional, Conduct, Hyperactivity, and Peer subscales scores and an increase in Prosocial scores following MBP participation.

Data Analysis

School-wide data were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests to ascertain if there was significant change over time (before and after the program implementation). Excel was used to calculate all t-tests.

Quantitative Findings

Data were collected prior to analysis using quantitative research. The results are shown and organized below by school-level.

Coal Mountain Elementary School data were collected in January 2021 (pre) and April 2021 (post) for the following two measures:

1. CAMM (N = 12)
   1. The mean CAMM score in January was 18.67, and the mean CAMM score in April was 27.25, showing an increase in pre- vs. post-scores. The increase in scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₁ = -3.24, p = 0.004).
   2. PANAS (N = 12)
      1. Positive Affect: The mean PANAS score in January was 32.17 and the mean PANAS score in April was 37.33, showing an increase in pre- vs. post-scores. The difference in positive affect scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₁ = -2.82, p = 0.008).
      2. Negative Affect: The mean PANAS score in January was 26.92 and the mean PANAS score in April was 18.08, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. There was a significant difference in negative affect scores (t₁₁ = 5.94, p < 0.001).

Lakeside Middle School data were collected in August 2020 (pre) and December 2020 (post) for the following three measures:

1. CAMM (N = 18)
   1. Three of the 21 students from Lakeside Middle School did not complete the post-questionnaire, therefore, only 18 students were included in this analysis. The mean CAMM score in August was 19.56 and the mean CAMM score in December was 27.72, showing an increase in pre- vs. post-scores. The increase in scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₇ = -3.72, p = 0.0009).
   2. PANAS (N = 19)
      1. a. Positive Affect: Two of the 21 students from Lakeside Middle School did not complete the post-questionnaire, therefore, only 19 students were included in this analysis. The mean PANAS score in August was 28.11 and the mean PANAS score in December was 36.89, showing an increase in pre- vs. post-scores. The increase in scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₈ = -4.79, p < 0.001).
      2. Negative Affect: Two of the 21 students from Lakeside Middle School did not complete the post-questionnaire, therefore, only 19 students were included in this analysis. The mean PANAS score in August was 24.26 and the mean PANAS score in December was 16.11, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₈ = 5.20, p < 0.001).
      3. SDQ (Some participants were excluded from this analysis because they did not complete the post-questionnaire; however, other students were excluded from only a few subscales because they did not complete all questions within those subscales. The number of participants is shown below beside the subscale.)
         1. Total Difficulties (N = 16)

i. The mean Total Difficulties score in August was 19.06 and the mean Total Difficulties score in December was 10.06, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in Total Difficulties scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₅ = 5.51, p < 0.001).

1. Emotional (N = 16)

i. The mean Emotional score in August was 5.81 and the mean Emotional score in December was 2.56, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in Emotional scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₅ = 5.17, p < 0.001).

1. Conduct (N = 17)

i. The mean Conduct score in August was 3.00 and the mean Conduct score in December was 1.29, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in Conduct scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₆ = 3.37, p = 0.002).

1. Hyperactivity (N = 16)

i. The mean Hyperactivity score in August was 6.81 and the mean Hyperactivity score in December was 3.69, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in Hyperactivity scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₅ = 4.71, p = 0.0001).

1. Peer (N = 17)

i. The mean Peer score in August was 3.35 and the mean Peer score in December was 2.59, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. However, the difference in Peer scores was not statistically significant (t₁₆ = 1.70, p = 0.054).

1. Prosocial (N = 17)

i. The mean Prosocial score in August was 7.65 and the mean Prosocial score in December was 8.88, showing an increase in pre- vs. post-scores. The increase in Prosocial scores was found to be statistically significant (t₁₆ = -2.18, p = 0.022).

Denmark High School data were collected in January 2021 (pre) and April 2021 (post) for the following three measures:

1. CAMM (N = 9)
   1. The mean CAMM score in January was 12.56 and the mean CAMM score in April was 26.56, showing an increase in pre- vs. post-scores. The increase in scores was found to be statistically significant (t₈ = -4.03, p = 0.002).
   2. PANAS (N = 8)
      1. Positive Affect: One of the nine students from Denmark High School did not complete the post-questionnaire, therefore, only eight students were included in this analysis. The mean PANAS score in January was 24.50 and the mean PANAS score in April was 37.25, showing an increase in pre- vs. post-scores. The increase in scores was found to be statistically significant (t₇ = -6.35, p = 0.0002).
      2. Negative Affect: One of the nine students from Denmark High School did not complete the post-questionnaire, therefore, only eight students were included in this analysis. The mean PANAS score in January was 31.13 and the mean PANAS score in April was 18.63, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in scores was found to be statistically significant (t₇ = 5.78, p = 0.0003).

1. 3. SDQ (Some participants were excluded from this analysis because they did not complete the post-questionnaire; however, other students were excluded from only a few subscales because they either did not complete all questions or circled/chose multiple answer choices within those subscales. The number of participants is shown below beside the subscale.)

1. Total Difficulties (N = 7)

i. The mean Total Difficulties score in January was 18.71 and the mean Total Difficulties score in April was 8.86, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in Total Difficulties scores was found to be statistically significant (t₆ = 3.50, p = 0.006).

1. Emotional (N = 8)

i. The mean Emotional score in January was 7.38 and the mean Emotional score in April was 2.88, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in Emotional scores was found to be statistically significant (t₇ = 5.08, p = 0.0007).

1. Conduct (N = 8)

i. The mean Conduct score in January was 1.38 and the mean Conduct score in April was 1.00, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in Conduct scores was found to be statistically significant (t₇ = 2.05, p = 0.04).

1. Hyperactivity (N = 7)

i. The mean Hyperactivity score in January was 6.86 and the mean Hyperactivity score in April was 2.71, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. The decrease in Hyperactivity scores was found to be statistically significant (t₆ = 3.92, p = 0.004).

1. Peer (N = 8)

i. The mean Peer score in January was 3.63 and the mean Peer score in April was 2.88, showing a decrease in pre- vs. post-scores. However, there was no statistical difference in Peer scores (t₇ = 1.11, p = 0.152).

1. Prosocial (N = 7)

i. The mean Prosocial score in January was 7.86 and the mean Prosocial score in April was 7.86, showing no difference in pre- vs. post-scores. No statistical difference found in Prosocial scores (t₆ = 0, p = 0.5).

Evaluation Report Part 2 – Qualitative

Perception of the Mindful Breathing Program

Purpose

The purpose of the qualitative component of the study was to evaluate whether students, parents/caregivers, and educators perceived the MBP as acceptable, meaningful, and effective.

The qualitative research question to be addressed in this part of the study was:

1. Do students, parents/caregivers, and educators perceive the MBP as acceptable, meaningful, and effective?

Participants

All participants from the quantitative Part 1 of the study were recruited for phone interviews during the qualitative Part 2 of the study. Of the participants recruited, seven students, six parents/caregivers, and one teacher consented to do the interview.

Data Source

Data collection involved conducting a series of phone interviews with participating students, their parents/caregivers, and their classroom teachers regarding their perceptions of the MBP and its impact. Interviews lasted between 10 to 45 minutes. The research staff asked the interview questions and followed up with additional questions as needed to clarify participants’ responses. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed prior to analysis using the consensual qualitative research methods.

Data Analysis

Consensual qualitative research (CQR) techniques were applied to analyze transcribed data from all interviews. The CQR process involves incorporating multiple perspectives, consensus among team members, and the continual return to the raw data throughout the process of determining broad domains, summarizing domain data into concise terms, and conducting cross-analysis to develop common patterns in the findings (Hill & Knox, 2021). Common themes from the discussion were drawn from the transcription and organized to help inform summary of themes and findings.

Qualitative Findings

Nine major themes emerged from the qualitative analysis. Two of the major themes comprised of subthemes. Major themes and subthemes are described and supported with participants’ quotations below. Sentence fillers (i.e., “um”, “like”, “you know”, and “kinda”) from quotations were removed to maximize clarity for the reader.

Theme 1: Reason for Interest and/or Participation

This first theme illustrated the impetus behind interviewees’ initial interest in learning more about the MBP and the reasons for program enrollment. One teacher whose students participated in MBP reported hearing about the program through another teacher. Student participants reported finding out about the MBP through their teachers or school counselors. Other students shared that their moms had initiated their interest in the program and discussed with them about enrolling in MBP. Parents/caregivers learned of the program from professionals who worked with their child or from student support teams. One parent, in particular, shared that her child was evaluated by the school psychologist, and it was from this evaluation that recommendations were made for her child to participate in some form of mindful practice. Another parent learned about the MBP through her child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Team. Several parents/caregivers taught at their children’s schools and learned of the program directly from the MBP instructor. It was through these professionals and administrators that these parents became interested in mindfulness and explored how MBP could benefit their child.

Both parent/caregiver and student interviewees revealed specific reasons for why they felt the MBP would be beneficial. Some participants shared that they had struggled with ADHD and inattention. Others revealed that they were looking for ways to manage their stress and anxiety, while others needed an outlet to cope with trauma and associated stress. One parent reported that her child was struggling in class and would react to his teacher’s directives with negativity and opposition. The parent had hoped that the MBP would help him regulate emotionally and learn strategies to adapt to classroom demands. Below are quotes from interviewees regarding their initial interest in MBP and what they hoped to gain from it.

“One of the reasons why I really wanted him to be in Mindfulness was for emotional regulation.”

“I was mainly looking for ways to cope with my anxiety and ADHD because I’ve struggled with that in recent years. I was talking to my counselor about it. She was like, Hey, we have this really cool program. I think it be great for you. You’re just the type of person that would need it and that would benefit from it. And I was interested, and that’s when I decided to join the class.”

“I guess we had gone through a rather traumatic family experience about two years ago, and so, there’s big emotions attached to that.”

“I really needed to focus on my focusing during school. I could tell that I was getting off topic easily and I wanted to help with that.”

“I was just hoping to get out of it…. a strategy of how to calm myself down. Like if I had a panic attack or an anxiety attack of how just to bring myself down instead of working myself more up.”

Theme 2: Prior Experience/Perspectives

The second theme focused on interviewees’ familiarity and experiences with mindfulness prior to their involvement as well as their current involvement with MBP. It also assessed whether the MBP impacted their opinion or perspective about mindfulness.

Subtheme 2a: Experience, Knowledge, & Involvement

In general, student participants reported having very little to no experience with mindfulness before enrolling in MBP. Those with limited knowledge about mindfulness shared that they either learned about mindfulness vaguely from a friend or had practiced yoga at home with a parent. A few students, on the other hand, shared that they had participated in the MBP the year before with the same instructor, and from this class had learned about mindfulness.

“I heard of yoga. I’ve done a little bit of yoga with my mom, but never really anything that’s actually like mindfulness and breathing and stuff like that.”

“I personally didn’t know about it. I had heard from a friend that did it last year…, but I didn’t even really know what it was.”

“Well, I did it last year in fourth grade. So, I think I did it before that. It was with the same instructor….”

Parent interviewees shared that their knowledge and/or experience with mindfulness were related. For example, several reported having done guided meditation exercises via videos or having heard about mindfulness through their child’s social-emotional learning (SEL)curriculum from school. Other parents, however, revealed teaching their child grounding techniques to manage inattention and self-regulate.

“I have video fitness on demand type thing, and they would have mindfulness, exercises are guided meditation things. Just a very general, magazine article kind of…exposure to it.”

“We would talk about when you feel really out of control, or if you feel like you’re losing it in class. We talked about, like name three things that were near you. So, it would be like my pencil in my hand, my feet on the ground, you know, and my butt in my chair. So, it’s kind of like that grounding.”

Some parents who were teachers in the district reported that they were familiar with breathing techniques from their personal yoga practice and had incorporated these breathing exercises to help their students during class. Others shared that they had attended a two-week training on mindfulness and wanted to incorporate the techniques in their classrooms. One parent/teacher shared that she had used strategies from prior training on brain-based education and research to inform her about mindfulness and its benefits.

“Just having practiced it myself, I know having done- I haven’t done specifically mindfulness breathing, but I’ve done, like yoga breathing, and been in a yoga classroom, and just felt that piece of serenity around me. I know having done some yoga myself when I have a kid that’s extremely stress, I help them implement those breathing practices.”

“I knew that mindfulness incorporated breathing as well. And I thought, ‘Wow, well that movement piece.’ Your brain is learning was really interesting to me. And it was all based on understanding the brain. Then the breathing piece was like, ‘Huh, this is intriguing.’ I think I might have done a little bit of research. I think I found whatever that website called…. I think Mindfulness.org or something.”

“I went to a virtual training for two weeks. It wasn’t a particular plan for teachers to implement mindfulness. It was more like… Gosh, it was intense. It was more like what movements and what breath happen to these parts of the brain, and, you know, how this can reverse the amygdala response to this, that, or the other thing. Okay. So, after my training last year, starting making those connections between the movement and breath that I learned how it effects everything. I started connecting it to the classroom in certain areas as need.”

Subtheme 2b: Perspectives

With regard to change in perspectives about mindfulness, one parent reported no change while another said she believed it was important to incorporate mindfulness into daily activities for children. Parents who also taught at their children’s schools noticed observable changes in their children. They themselves participated in classes from the MBP instructor and became completely bought-in. In addition, they voiced the need for their schools to make the program accessible for all students. Several students professed that at first they were skeptical of the program but once they continued to participate, they realized how much it had helped them.

“I think….it should be part of their daily activities.”

“Yes, it has. I mean, I- I thought of it as kind of like something that existed, you know, far on the horizon. Like, wow, this can be really cool if we could introduce this in schools because I was seeing changes in my child doing it in school. Again, it intrigued me. And the instructor started teaching after school yoga classes for the teachers…...and once I got to know it a little bit better, I was like, ‘This is really cool…. how do I do this?”

“So, seeing that he was gaining that personal connection and also building that personal connection between school and home showed me it was a really powerful thing. So, then I really bought in. And I told my principal I was interested.

“At first, I didn’t really think that it would. But once I did it for a longer time period, it really showed that it helped.”

Theme 3: Program Content

Subtheme 3a: Program Description

The program was offered as an elective or a “Connections” class comprised of a small group of students. For students on a semester-based schedule, those who took the class during the first semester received instruction on foundational skills and concepts. In the second semester, students received more in-depth instruction and learned to engage in deep relaxation exercises as well as build on their knowledge from the first semester. Participants described the class as a combination of mindful movements that were similar to yoga poses, different breathing techniques, guided meditations, guided readings, journaling, and games. Each student had his/her/their own physical space in which to perform mindful movements. They had the option to lie down or sit up during meditative exercises. Further, they described the guided meditation programs as targeted for specific conditions such as anxiety, depression, or sleep difficulties. One parent reported that her son had shared with her that he learned to shift his energy field by recognizing a negative thought and replacing it with a positive thought. When weather permitted, classes took place outside.

“She has us sit in our own little space and…. get into mindfulness and into the present moment…. then she walks us through what we needed to do.”

“She would put on this mindfulness program, and there were days that’s meant for anxiety, or depression, or sleep. And we would listen to those, and we lay down, sit-up with our eyes closed, and we would just be there listening to what it would say.”

“He journaled about something…..It just kind of opened up communication with him that we wouldn’t have tapped into.”

“Well, we did a lot of movement…...We did like warrior pose, and we do square breathing, and we do mindful sit.

Subtheme 3b: Positive Aspects of Program

Representing this theme is the summary of program components deemed as positive, beneficial, and/or most favored by interviewees. Several students and their parents stated that the MBP taught students different strategies to address difficulties with focus, sleep, or anxiety. Additionally, the program empowered students to take control of their situations by giving them the tools to problem-solve and manage issues as they arose. Many shared that they were able to utilize the strategies during real-life situations because the techniques were very subtle and unobtrusive. This was a positive aspect of the program since it allowed participants to tap into these tools without drawing attention from others nearby. Further, participants discussed learning to breathe, meditate, and focus on the present moment as a tremendous benefit to their mental health. They reported that the learning environment of MBP was safe, non-threatening, and fun. Everyone learned to become more self-aware of their minds and bodies. Further, they believed MBP helped them to strengthen different parts of their brain and taught them to not overreact to environmental triggers/situations. Finally, the majority of participants perceived the instructor to be patient, helpful, and kind in her approach to teaching students about mindfulness and ways to apply them in everyday life.

“Just overall, the class strengthens different parts of your brain. It helps your control centers to not overreact with situations. Also, there are multiple techniques that I can use when I’m having a hard time focusing or even having a hard time, like sleeping.”

“We practiced breathing and calming ourselves down. And we also focused on the here and now, which is the present moment.… I’m trying to find the right words. It’s like when you focus on what you’re doing in, like this moment and you don’t really think about the past or the present.”

“You breathe as you go up and then you breath out as you go down. And it really helps me focus and come back, and it helps me calm down too. Yeah. And, also, because it’s very subtle, I feel like nobody’s watching me do it. It makes me feel much better about doing it.”

“My meditation, it helped me zone in and just get super focused, super calm. And sometimes we even got to just relax, and it was really fun. But at the same time, it was teaching you something.”

“I would think the most positive parts that comes to my mind first is that it gives kids tools to use when there are.… basically, with anything. And they can go to the bathroom and use these tools. They can breathe. It’s so accessible, easy. It’s noninvasive. It’s not intimidating.”

“I think just her realizing that she can take care of herself in stressful situations. So, like when she is feeling that anxiety, there are things that she can do for herself to help ease the anxiety and help her get back to baseline.”

Subtheme 3c: Negative Aspects of Program

The theme centered around what interviewees perceived to be their least favorite aspect of the program as well as suggestions for program improvement. Overall, interviewees reported that there was nothing specific about the program that they did not like. In fact, many professed that they had nothing negative to report on. One participant noted that she did not like doing movements at the front of the class since she was feeling self-conscious and anxious. However, the instructor gave her the option to move to another part of the room. Another reported feeling initially skeptical, but soon after discovered that MBP was helpful to him. With regard to class dynamics, one student shared that some of her classmates were challenging since they would talk or use their phones which posed as a tremendous distraction to others during class. In terms of areas for improvement, many believed that to benefit more students, MBP should become a permanent fixture at their school, be accessible to all students, be offered more frequently during the week, and be expanded into longer class periods.

“…. there isn’t really anything bad I can say about mindfulness.”

“I would say that there are no negative to it. There are only positives. And that everyone needs a strategy or a tool to help them deal or cope with any problems or any curve ball that comes their way. And I don’t see any negatives to it, so.”

“It really just depends on the people. ‘Cause you can have some people where you’re meditating, and then they just start talking. And you’re like, ‘Okay,’ like bring the mind back but that’s what we’re learning….so all this depends on the group, of people…. some people don’t wanna learn it. They’re like in the mindset of not wanting to try something.”

“I wish that this wasn’t just a connections class, and that four or five people got into. I seriously think it would be incredibly beneficial if everyone had the option or ability to take this class. I think everyone would benefit from it with grades at school…. I think generally, the only thing I would say was just making the class a bigger class…. more accessible to everybody.”

Theme 4: Applications of Strategies

This theme examined how strategies and lessons taught in the MBP classes were utilized in settings and situations beyond the classroom. Parent interviewees spoke about observing their children applying breathing techniques to manage anxiety at home and during extracurricular activities. One parent reported seeing her daughter teach the younger sibling ways to calm before bedtime. Another parent shared that when she noticed her son becoming irritable or having an argument with his sibling, she would queue him to use his breathing strategies to help him regulate. Finally, several parents reported that although they might not directly observe their children applying MBP techniques at home, they would hear about their kids using certain strategies on their own at home or during activities outside of school. Finally, the MBP breathing strategies were described as easy, accessible, and effective which enhanced their applicability for the students.

“I think one of the biggest things is in the evenings when she’s having almost an anxiety cycle, where she’s starting to have an anxiety attack or a panic attack. She has started doing mindfulness stuff on her own. She’ll go in and color and listen to the music. And I can watch her do the breathing techniques, and she just totally calms herself down. It’s just been really cool to watch her take control of herself, at 13-years-old.”

“I’ve also heard when she is with the Girl Scout troop and maybe things get hyper, and she gets a little overwhelmed….and impulse becomes a problem, her leaders have told me that she’ll disengage- and go off by herself. Maybe find a coloring book, and she’ll go do that for a few minutes and calm down. Then, she’ll come back to the group.”

“She actually would come home with new techniques and teach us at home about what she was learning. At night, when they… because they share a room, and her sister’s 10… in the fifth grade. She’s been teaching her how to slow her breathing, and listen to music, and match pace with the music… to kind of settle down, and relax, and be able to go to sleep.”

“Oh, since he’s really irritated, and I just queue him. ‘Okay. Let’s just stop here and just take a couple of breaths. Let’s pause.’ You know, breath, and he will. Of course, when he’s having an argument with his brother or he’s upset about something that didn’t go the way that he was hoping it would go, I can queue him.”

Students who participated in the MBP shared using breathing techniques (i.e., Square Breathing and Mountain Breathing) to help them calm their nerves before taking a test, to help them concentrate during class instruction, or to perform academic tasks with greater awareness. Outside of the school setting, some reported using mindfulness to keep their mind occupied, to combat boredom, and to have a better handle on conflicts with friends or disagreements with family members. Several students noted that they felt comfortable using the breathing techniques in class or in other situations because the techniques were subtle and did not draw attention to themselves.

“I get anxiety and ADHD sometimes when I’m taking a test. And this thing called mountain breath. That’s pretty much where your hand- hold out your hand, you cross your fingers over, over your fingers on the other hand, like a mountain. You breathe as you go up and then you breath out as you go down. And it really helps me focus and come back, and it helps me calm down too.”

“In class, I can kind of drift off and get distracted. And then, I’ll realize, “Oh, wait, I’m distracted,” and then I’ll return my focus to whatever I’m doing, and it really helps. And, I actually had straight A’s for quite a while now because of mindfulness.”

“When my friends say something bad about me or someone else, I get high anxiety and I start feeling closed in. And I just think about mindfulness, and I do the five breaths, and I’m all good to go.”

“Whether we’re having an argument and it’s kind of pointless, I’ll just backdown and be like, “Hey, like this is really not worth fighting about. This is not worth our energy. We can just calm down. Let’s relook at the situation with a calm mindset……and see if we can figure something out. That’s really helpful. But overall, just realizing how I feel, whether that be a friendship, a relationship, or even just myself.”

“…. it’s mostly just in class when I used it the most. I just do some of the less obvious breathing techniques that we did. Yeah, it was more subtle.”

Theme 5: Impact of Program

This theme summarized the impact of the MBP on participants’ social-emotional skills, attention and learning, and resilience. With regard to social-emotional skills, participants and their parents reported improved behavior in school and at home. Further, the MBP appeared to confer a host of other benefits such as slowed, reflective responses to emotional triggers, strengthened compassion for others, and improved interpersonal relationships. For example, participants described using some of the breathing techniques to slow down their reaction during stressful social situations, to stay calm, to empathize with others by having the capacity to perceive multiple perspectives, and to constructively achieve a resolution.

“Just overall, the class strengthens different parts of your brain. It helps your control centers to not overreact with situations.”

“He was gaining that personal connection and also building that personal connection between school and home …. It showed me it was a really powerful thing. He’s a little more attentive, a little more attune to what his friends are trying to tell him or communicate to him.”

“…. when my friends say something bad about me or someone else, I get high anxiety and I start feeling closed in. And I just think about mindfulness, and I do the five breaths, and then I’m all good to go.”

“He would get really angry as a little kid. If it was something that he didn’t like, he would just get angry. It kind of went away for a while, and it came back again…towards the end of his third-grade year. He exhibited that kind of anger, and I guess it was stemming from anxiety. But that started to just ebb as he was going through mindfulness in the second half of fourth grade. So, he just doesn’t get as angry as much as he used to.”

“I definitely think he thinks a little bit before he reacts. Where I think in the past he was more of like a quick reactor. So, I think he definitely stops and thinks about something and probably does his breathing before he flips out on a sibling or a friend. So, he doesn’t flip out as easily, but he’s done it… I think he now notices because of what he went through when his dad or I are stressed out, and we need help with something is when he jumps in now and says, ‘Well, what can I help you with?’ For example, like we just moved into a new house yesterday. And last night he can just look at me and said, ‘Well, what can I do?’ And I said, ‘Well, you can go unpack your sister’s room with her. And he’s like, ‘Okay.’ But months ago, he would never. He would’ve just gone to his room and done whatever he wanted to do. So, I think it’s that realization of, ‘Oh, I can see that they maybe need some help or they’re stressed out so what can I do to relieve that?’ Yeah. So, it’s almost like he’s taking a perspective other than his own perspective”

“So, if we had a conflict. Instead of me thinking, ‘They’re not thinking this. They’re not thinking about that.’ I’m more like, ‘Okay, they have their opinion.’ It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong, and I just need to respect their opinion and understand that I need to calmly talk about it and see how to get them to see how I see things and see how – Not how I see things but have them understand how I comprehend the subject. And then go in their shoes and see how they do it.”

“Yes, it definitely has been beneficial for him. It has slowed his response time dramatically. Whereas a split-second response is what just a straight up reaction. Now, he takes a couple of moments to process what’s going on. I don’t know what those internal thoughts are or anything. But I can tell by his responses, it’s not just a flat-out reaction…”

“I think in general, I’ve become more aware of my emotions and that is very helpful to realize when I’m not in a great situation with a friend. Whether that just be, like we’re having an argument and it’s kind of pointless, I’ll just backdown and be like, “Hey, like this is really not worth fighting about. This is not worth our energy. We can just calm down. Let’s relook at the situation with a calm mindset…… and see if we can figure something out. That’s really helpful. But just overall, just realizing how I feel, whether that be a friendship, a relationship, or even just by myself. I think it’s really important to be mentally aware of what you’re feeling, why you’re feeling that way, and how you can help yourself find a different way to think about it. I think that it’s generally what helps, me. Like the mindfulness class helped me with just be more aware of myself.”

Another area examined was the impact of MBP on attention and learning. Participants who professed to having ADHD and/or difficulties with maintaining sustained attention during class, reported having an increased awareness of their level of focus and using strategies to bring their attention back to the task at hand or class instruction. By focusing their attention on the moment, these participants reported that they were able to fully focus on classroom activities and to stay on task. This ability to self-monitor and to re-center one’s focus appeared to positively enhance participants’ learning in the classroom as well as when they were doing schoolwork at home.

“I could tell a difference in her focus, and somewhat in her grades, and then, you know, that- when she would share with me or talk about things in that class.”

“…. I think you’re struggling. Do you think you’re out of control? Do you need to take some time to refocus?” And she will say, “Yes.” I mean she totally gets it. She thinks about herself, and she’ll go off. And now, I see her using the mindfulness techniques…. She listens to music. She’ll do the deep breathing. She does all that stuff on her own. And then, she’ll refocus, and then, she comes back, and she’ll rejoin our group…...”

“I’ve noticed that he is able to attend a lot better. He can sit still and look at somebody and appear as if he is listening, but he is also listening.”

“So, I’ve learned we’re in class if let’s say the teacher is talking about a presentation and my mind drifts off. Normally I would be like, ‘Oh, crap, I should be paying attention,’ and then freaking out ‘cause I think I missed something or things like that. I’m able to calm down, bring myself back to where I’m supposed to be, and stay more focused in that general area instead of just having my head wonder everywhere.”

“…...in class, I can kind of just drift off and get distracted. And then, I’ll realize, “Oh, wait, I’m distracted,” and then I’ll return my focus to whatever I’m doing, and it really helps. I actually had straight A’s for quite a while now because of mindfulness.”

“It helped me stay on task more……before we did it, I couldn’t remember what the homework for every night was. And just learning how to be in the present moment helped me listen to my teacher and what the homework was.”

“So, the grades didn’t change, but the behaviors surrounding, like doing the assignments and doing her work changed. I think just not being so intimidated or feeling overwhelmed or feeling like it has to be perfect. Like that part of it has changed …”

“It actually has helped with my grades, a lot, not just my grades but my concentration level in classes. I’ve struggled with being able to focus and sit down for long periods of time in class, especially this year with blocked scheduling. It’s even more difficult, but I saw a significant difference in all of my classes. Like on a normal day, I would have to get up and walk around. But on a day that I did mindfulness, I’d be able to sit down and focus and really take in all the information that I needed.”

“…...If we have a social studies test and I have to study for it, and I have to write note cards, it gets annoying because it’s not fun to do that. So, I just tried to do one of the breathing styles that I learned, and it helped a lot.”

In addition, participants shared that they used breathing techniques from the MBP to alleviate the negative effects of environmental stressors (i.e., taking a test, worrying about grades). Specifically, several described using specific types of breathing to ward off performance anxiety before taking tests. In doing so, they were able to decrease their stress level which enabled them to perform at their optimum.

“During tests, I would do five breaths or three before I start so I could be ready and prepared for it. And then, I breeze through it really easily. And it’s helped me not be stressed about my grades and stuff.”

“I get anxiety and ADHD sometimes when I’m taking a test. And this thing called mountain breath. That’s pretty much where you hold out your hand, you cross your fingers over, over your fingers on the other hand, like a mountain. You breathe as you go up and then you breathe out as you go down. And it really helps me focus and come back, and it helps me calm down too.”

“Throughout school, I have personally experienced a lot of stress and anxiety and even some focus issues, and I think this mindfulness class is really, really helpful, especially with school and even outside of school, such as sports. I’ve done two sports throughout the mindfulness, and both of the coaches were really involved, and we got to go to the mindfulness class to calm our nerves if we had a game or even just a rough practice.”

Lastly, MBP appeared to have a positive impact on participants’ resilience in that the majority discussed having greater control in their emotional regulation. In addition, participants and their parents reported on the benefits of MBP strategies on reducing anxiety and stress, increasing capacity to handle challenging situations, and coping with boredom and loneliness.

“I think it helps me more with anxiety and worrying…..and I’m more calmer in high stress-like situations…”

“…. also, it just makes you feel better about yourself, knowing that you can really control your emotions. Because me personally, when I feel uncertain and I feel like I’m out of control with myself, I seem to get frustrated.”

“It’s definitely changed his mindset a little bit. It – well, a lot actually. It changed his mindset. He’s learned some techniques that can help him in any situation……I would say that there are no negative to it. There is only positives. And that everyone needs a strategy or a tool to help them deal or cope with any problems or any curve ball that comes their way.”

“I have OCD, so it’s not like the regular OCD where you move something, and I freak out. It’s more of if I make a plan for today, and it changes out of nowhere. I’m fixated. And it ruins my whole day for me. So, and then of course not only does that affect me, but it affects my whole family. Cause then that’s their schedule too. So, with mindfulness, it really helps me understand, ‘Okay. This changed. No need to… Things happen like that. No need to express any anger or confusion with your parents. Okay. Accept it and try to move on.”

“…...I get very sensitive to crowds and people. So, eighth grade I did all online. So, when I came in ninth grade, I kept freaking out. And after learning it and to now, I can go in classes where are normally aren’t comfortable going in. And just be able to breathe and remind myself that there’s no judgement. People can judge you. But at the end of the day, what matters is what you think. And how to bring yourself down and think of situations differently and not overthink. So, in classrooms I’m able to focus more because I don’t think so many people are judging.”

“And then I ride horses. So sometimes I get nervous when I ride. And I freak myself out and like just can’t do it. Before I do whatever I’m nervous about, I do the breathing techniques that she’s given us. And it calms me down, and I’m able to get more control.”

“…...Being home alone a lot…. gets kind of boring…… and exhausting, so, I just go and do some mindfulness poses to keep my mind occupied and help with stress of being home all day.”

“….I get more grateful for the things I have. Because you’re able to live in the present moment other than the past where you’re like, ‘Oh, this happened, but at least this is a little better.’ Instead, you’re like, ‘This is way better. This is a good life.’ And like that stuff in general. And it just helped my life a lot. And I’m thankful for that program and the school being offered. Just because all of it is just so calming.”

Theme 6: Importance of Program

This theme offered a summary of participants’, parents’, and teachers’ perception on the importance of having the MBP in schools. All interviewees concurred that it was important to have the MBP in their schools, if not, in all schools due to the wide array of benefits that they had witnessed. The reasons for its importance included providing students tools to use on the spot, giving students an outlet to break away from their cycle of unhealthy habits, offering an alternative to help kids make good choices academically, socially, and emotionally. Finally, the MBP was described as an important asset for all stakeholders, and one student highlighted the importance of mindfulness especially during the pandemic.

“I think in this day and time where these kids have so much more going on in their lives between technology, and activities and, all of the social stressors that come with all of those things…..I think mindfulness, teaching that to these kids would be so beneficial to them, so that they have the ability, and the tools, and the resources to……be able to take a step back and say, “Well, I’m out of control,” or “I need a break, and this is what I can do to control my own setting and my own experience.”

“I do think it’s important. And I think having that quiet space where you can just stop, and sit, and think, and be aware of what’s going on in the world around you, and just learn how to let things go. I think that’s extremely important for our kids, because they hold onto things very, very tightly.”

“There’s so many different stimuli that kids get thrown into at school that they have these tools that can work for them on the spot.”

“I think it’s extremely important to have in schools. I think that… I don’t really think, I know this. Students today because I’ve been teaching for sixteen years now. And it’s amazing how our culture and customs have changed when it comes to children’s lives. Their activities, their out of school engagements. I see a lot of gaming for hours. I see a lot of phones being used. I see a lot of quicker tempers within the past two years. And knowing that mindfulness can set kids into their bodies and give them a way to make better choices. I think that it could help a lot of these kids who are—they are struggling but don’t realize their struggling.”

“I think it’s important for teachers. I think it’s important for the kids. I think it will be important for families too. I think all stakeholders it would be important for.”

“I think that now more than ever, we need it, so…. well, I meant…. mostly because there’s a giant pandemic and people are worried about that as well. Because even if some people don’t show it, they can still feel really nervous. So, I’d probably recommend it for a lot of people.”

Theme 7: Implementation Barriers and Challenges

The focus of this theme centered around potential barriers and challenges of implementing the MBP in schools. One of the major findings was the stigma surrounding mental health. Several of the interviewees professed that it might be challenging to obtain parental consent for students to participate since there was still a high level of discomfort with regard to mental health compared to physical health. They went on to say that people often feel more vulnerable when addressing and discussing mental health issues. For this reason, they were less likely to accept programs that tap into improving mental and emotional health. One parent who was also a teacher described wanting to implement the MBP program in her classroom after she attended the training, but due to COVID-19 social distancing and mask mandates, she had to put her plan on hold. Another barrier included not having the time within the school day for program implementation so that all students could access to it. Finally, implementing a program as such on a school-wide scale would require additional trained staff and funding.

“I think that parents can sometimes be leery of things that deal with mental health, and it takes some convincing to get them to be willing to participate. Some parents have jumped at it, and I know a couple of parents have been like, “I don’t know what this is.”

“So probably I would just say getting over that stigma is probably going to be the most difficult challenge in convincing them that its worth their while.”

“I didn’t have anybody else on my team sort of speak. You know to help me with that. Our school psychologist had gone to the same training. But she and I live in literally different worlds from the school building… I know it’s gonna take a team first of all…”

“I guess, one of the biggest issues in schools with teachers is time…. Like how we can get this into their day while their doing their day. I think that would be the number one obstacle… for teachers and getting it to students.”

Theme 8: Access to Information/Findings

Representing this theme is an examination of what information parents/caregivers wished they were provided about the MBP and mindfulness in general. For the majority of the parents/caregivers, they did not attest to wanting additional information. However, one parent specifically wished she had received more literature about the program, the details about lessons her child was receiving weekly, and direct communication from the instructor. Another parent requested to have access to the findings from this study in aggregate form.

“I definitely would’ve liked more information…. maybe to come home from the instructor or the teacher. I like to make sure that at home she’s getting the same information that she gets at school. So, in that instance, I would’ve really liked to have known what they were teaching…. I love literature, so any kind of literature about what’s going on, an e-mail, or anything like that.”

“I’d like to see the results if it’s possible. I don’t know if you have data to share or anything like that. I think it would be pretty neat to see…… I was just curious if you had overall aggregate data that comes from your report. That would be cool to see.”

Theme 9: Recommendations and Feedback

Theme 9 summarized interviewees’ recommendations regarding future implementations of the MBP, their perceptions and feedback about the current program, and suggestions on how to increase buy-in with others who were reluctant to participate. All interviewees wished for the continuation of the MBP in their schools. In fact, the majority suggested that the program be expanded so that all students would have the opportunity to participate. To promote school-wide implementation, one parent suggested incorporating mindfulness education in news programs and/or during morning announcements. As a teacher, this parent believed it was important to invest in time and training for teachers so they could implement and support students in their classrooms. With regard to the challenge of finding time during a hectic school day, she recommended starting with five to ten minutes a day. Others believed one of the ways to promote buy-in for hesitant individuals was to offer the class as an elective and allow students the option to sign-up for a trial period. The rationale was to allow people the option to exit the class without feeling forced to continue with if they did not believe it was appropriate for them.

“I definitely think they should continue to offer it, and if it’s possible to broaden it…... I think that would be amazing. I don’t know if part of the success of the program the instructor and her knowledge and rapport with the kids was. I think that probably is what made it so successful for my child…...It would be important for the success of a program if it were to be broadened.”

“Oh, yeah. I think it’s definitely a great program. I think all students should be exposed to it…...and see the actual benefit of it once they take it seriously.”

“I think because we have morning announcements every morning. If we can talk about character education. As has happened in education for so long. I think we can talk about mindfulness education too. Because it doesn’t take that long. So, it can – I think it could occur on all different levels. I think it could occur school-wide in that very simple way of just the – getting it to the whole school through announcements or whatever news program schools do. But I also think it could be given to teachers to take back to the classroom if they’re interested and use it on a daily basis. I also think they need teachers who – They need teachers to teach the teachers.”

“The time that you have to put in on like the frontloading time, the training time. The time to get into a practice of your own. Implementing it wouldn’t take any time at all…. It could take five to ten minutes a day if that. Some days less, some days more with students.”

When asked what they would say to convince others to sign up for the MBP, interviewees shared the following about MBP: 1) The instructor was nice, 2) Students in the MBP learned many stress-relieving strategies to calm their minds, 3) The class provided students with tools and resources to help them take control when feeling stressed, anxious, or unfocused, 4) Participation in MBP had been beneficial to many students in various aspects of their lives, and 5) This would be an excellent class to help juniors and seniors manage stress/anxiety related to the college application process.

“If your child has issues with these things wanting to address the focus, emotions, and things like that, I found it very beneficial for my child.”

“I just think it’s so, so beneficial…... and even if it doesn’t necessarily help every single student, I think that it will help enough students. I think the kids who are feeling restless, it’s good to do the yoga exercises ‘cause there’s movement and stuff like that……and then the kids who are struggling with anxiety or struggling with high emotion. There are just good exercises to learn to self-regulate.”

“I would probably say that I noticed a benefit with my child, and she loves the class, loves the teacher, and learned a lot of stress relieving mindfulness strategies that really helped her out.”

“…. Just to try it if they’re hesitant. Then I’d probably tell them about my own personal child. This is the progression that I saw with him. And this is how it affected his school life, his family life, his sports life, his friend life. I would probably just share those experiences. Because I think a lot of times that’s all parents really want to know.”

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Learning Objective 1

Understand What Mindfulness Is

Learning Objective 2

understand the benefits of why they want to practice mindfulness.

Learning Objective 3

walk away with short practices on how to begin implementing mindfulness as a daily practice.

Keyword Descriptors

mindfulness, self-care, focus, community, resilience, empowerment, communication, wellness, movement, breathing

Presentation Year

2022

Start Date

3-8-2022 2:45 PM

End Date

3-8-2022 4:00 PM

Recommended Citation

Baer, Ashley L., "Mindfulness in Education: What it is, How to do it, and Why every school should be doing this." (2022). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 70.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2022/2022/70