Research
As mindfulness becomes more mainstream evidence is building for its effectiveness. A number of universities have participated in research projects to measure the impact of mindfulness teaching on the wellbeing of young people. These include the universities of Oxford, Exeter, Coventry, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Bangor and Queen's University Belfast.
A major piece of evidence relating to the scientifically-measured impact of the .b course developed by The Mindfulness in Schools Project was published in April 2012. Written by Katherine Weare, Emeritus Professor of the Universities of Exeter and Southampton, the full report can be read, along with the collected research, here on the MiSP website. A current MYRIAD study is underway aiming to answer more questions about the effects of teaching .b.
Interdisciplinary findings within the fields of neuroscience and mindfulness have been exciting - helping us to understand better the mind and the body and how they interact. Meditators have been studied using MRI scanners and their brain functions inform us all. When introducing young people to mindfulness they are encouraged to see their brains like a gym: working out certain parts of the brain can strengthen it in ways they may never have thought about - and gain them advantages they could be glad of.
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The Paws b course for primary school children features "Team Brain" as a key theme. Children come away with a clear understanding about how key areas of the brain (the amygdala, hippocampus, insular and prefrontal cortex) work together and can be developed.
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The key findings of the 2012 research document "Developing Mindfulness with Children and Young People: a review of the evidence and policy context" are:
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Mindfulness work is popular with staff and students
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The presence of mindfulness in schools can be effective in promoting a wide range of outcomes
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When well taught and practised regularly it has been shown capable of improving mental health and wellbeing, mood, self esteem, self regulation, positive behaviour and academic learning
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Mindfulness has a promising place within mainstream education to improve social and emotional learning and subject based work
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Engaging in mindfulness is likely to show beneficial results for schools while being relatively cheap to introduce, and with sustained benefits that are likely to have a fairly quick impact.
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There is much more detail in the full report about the growing body of evidence emphasising the effects of mindfulness practice on memory, learning and executive functioning.
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The founder of modern psychology, William James, considered the education system in this way:
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"...an education which should improve this faculty [of attention, as developed during mindfulness] would be the education par excellence. But it is easier to define this ideal that to give practical directions for bringing it about."
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Luckily the Mindfulness in Schools Project has taken up the challenge and the results are unequivocal!
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