The Impact of Delivering Mindfulness-Based Programmes in Schools: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

There has been an increased interest in the delivery of Mindfulness-Based Programmes (MBPs) in schools yet little is known about how people who deliver MBPs in schools carry out and experience implementation. In this qualitative study, we aimed to examine the experiences of school staff who have a personal mindfulness practice, and who also deliver MBPs to their students. We recruited eight school staff (age range 34-64) who taught students mindfulness, and carried out semi-structured interviews focusing on investigating their positive and negative experiences of delivering mindfulness in schools, how practicing and delivering mindfulness affected their work-life, and their experiences of implementing school-based MBPs. School staff reported that delivering MBPs deepened their own mindfulness practice. The practice enabled them to feel better attuned to others, increased compassion for both themselves and students, helped their emotional regulation, and enhanced resilience to stress. Unexpectedly, half of the participants reported making changes to their work roles and several explicitly linked these changes to the increased self-compassion developed through mindfulness practice. They reported enjoying teaching school students MBPs (and noted that some students embraced mindfulness, and some were reluctant to engage) and sometimes found driving the implementation of MBPs in their school challenging. There appear to be numerous benefits of a personal mindfulness practice for school staff and delivering school-based MBPs can increase feelings of personal accomplishment. Future research is needed into whether MBPs can improve student-teacher relationships, and how some schools have successfully implemented MBPs.

(Re)Envisioning Mindfulness for Leadership Retention

“…Research has shown that support from a mentor or peer can encourage the support of establishing MBI practices (Vitolo, 2018). Without peer support, educators are often reluctant to try, or sustain, new practices (Norton and Griffith, 2020).…”

“…Districts are often unlikely to support MBI protocols because the proposed benefits are not immediately apparent or are unrelated to direct and measurable or short-return-on-investment outcomes (Klocko and Wells, 2015). There can be tension between the core principles of mindfulness approaches and "being expected to "sell" MBPs to schools" (Norton andGriffith, 2020, p. 2631).…”

“…For example, research has shown that teachers have a hard time coming around to mindfulness practices. Many teachers simply see any professional program as interfering with getting their own work done (Gonzales, 2018; Klocko & Wells, 2015; Mitani, 2018; Smith et al, 2020), while others may misunderstand MBIs or have no interest in learning about them (Norton & Griffith, 2020). This is particularly the case if it also involves renegotiating what the school system has already established for professional development (Gonzales, 2018).…”

“…The tension between performance oriented working culture and mindfulness practices also extends to organizational features of the school. Beyond common organizational barriers to change (e.g., time, space, budgets, training, mentoring (Biskner, 2019; Gonzales, 2018; Kim, 2020; Norton & Griffith, 2020; Smith et al, 2020)), mindfulness programs face additional organizational hurdles based on the indirect nature of the practice. Even with organizational buy-in, MBI programs may be difficult to implement and oversee because they do not align neatly with organizational goals, and the administration of the program often requires special duties that may not map on to existing administrative programs and teams (Collie et al, 2020; Gonzales, 2018; Merwe & Parsotam, 2011; Norton & Griffith, 2020).…”

Effectiveness of the Nurturing Program for Parents and their Children with Special Needs and their Health Challenges on the Perceived Energy for Parenting and Mindfulness

“…Mindfulness is another important issue that can be considered in relation to parents of children with special needs and the children themselves. One of the most characteristic definitions of mindfulness includes awareness arising from purposeful, instantaneous and non-biased attention (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Petcharat and Liehr (20) associate mindful parenting with lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, and higher levels of psychological well-being in the parents of children with special needs.…”