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Educational Issue Inquiry Project Template

Oriana Amaya and Kassy Pointer


Topic: Mindfulness in Schools
ED 2500
March 1st, 2018

“In what ways can the regular implementation of mindful practice in a classroom be
beneficial to the mental health of students and teachers?”
Essential Question #1: What types of practices promote mindfulness in and outside of the
classroom?
As topics regarding mental health and well-being (and the potential detrimental and wide-ranging

effects of such), have become increasingly more prevalent in present society (Ronis, S.T. et al. 2017: 956;

Kutcher, S., Bagnell, A., & Wei, Y., 2015), it is becoming apparent that the implementation of innovative

strategies to understand and properly promote a healthy mental health state are paramount. In particular,

these skills and strategies should be taught throughout the entirety of young students’ education in order

to ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to deal with current and later mental health

issues (Manion, I.G. 2010). One such innovative strategy has been proven beneficial within a classroom

setting, is the concept of mindfulness.

Mindfulness refers to “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the

present moment, non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, J. as cited in Gerszberg, O. 2017). Types of mindful

meditation may include activities such as breathing exercises, body scanning, loving-kindness meditation,

and thought observance meditation (Newman, 2016). The incentive and application of this practice is to

regulate feelings of stress and anxiety, encourage attention, enhance academic learning, promote the

increase of positive emotions, vitality, and focus, and among other benefits in order to develop healthy

and effective coping methods. This ultimately ensures a better quality of mental, emotional, and physical

health for the individual who practices regularly. As has been demonstrated, mindfulness can be used as a

“potential construct to manage stress and enhance academic success” (Mcconville, J., Mcaleer, R., &

Hahne., A. 2017: 26).

Mindful practice is like a seed that is planted within students; ultimately, it is their decision if

they would like to nourish that “seed” and let it grow to become a more prominent presence in their life

within and outside of the classroom. Regardless, students are equipped with the fundamental knowledge

and skills as to how to better improve their mental health

Essential Question #2: What could be potential benefits of practicing mindfulness in a classroom
setting?
“As approximately 14-25% of Canadian children and youth have a diagnosable mental disorder”

(of which only 25% will receive treatment) (Manion, I.G. 2010: 50) and a further “29.1% of Canadians

aged 13-19 years have mental health problems” (956), yet only 43.3% of high-school aged youth felt that

they have a high level of coping skills (Centre for Chronic D.P., 2017), it is apparent that many youth are

struggling to deal with mental health. Furthermore, in a Canadian study, 24% of students perceive school

as very stressful and 60% find school moderately stressful (Gouda et al. 2016: 2). These stresses that

students face and the “emotional dysregulation that accompanies those stresses can interfere with

students’ happiness, learning and socialization within the classroom” (Killoran 2017: 99). These findings

suggest that many school-aged youth lack the support, knowledge, and innovative resources needed to

effectively manage stress and mental health issues.

Mindfulness practices have been shown to “improve people’s ability to tolerate and cope with

negative emotional states, by extinguishing responses and avoidance behaviours” (Meland et al. 205:

192). These practices have also been shown to increase overall awareness and acceptance ( Dragon, N.

2015). In terms of physiological effects, mindful practices “may lead to decreased physiological arousal

and better autonomic regulation (e.g., parasympathetic cardiac control and respiration)” (Crescentini, C.

2016: 313). Overall, mindful practices can be extremely beneficial to students in and outside of the

classroom in aiding them to cope with the emotional and physiological effects of stress. By teaching

students about mental health from a young age, in a non-judgmental and supportive manner, a

theoretically reduced level of de-stigmatization can be achieved. This can be extremely beneficial as up to

63% of youth have indicated that “embarrassment, fear, peer pressure, and/or stigma were the major

barriers to young people seeking help for mental health problems” (Manion, I.G. 2010: 51). By

destigmatizing negative mental health and teaching students the skills necessary to effectively manage

stress and maintain positive mental health in a wide variety of practices and applications, students could

become less afraid to seek help for mental health issues and can become capable of managing stresses in

and out of the school environment. In addition to aiding students, mindfulness in classrooms can greatly

benefit educators. As it is well known, teachers have a demanding profession; the result of which is that it
is estimated that nearly half of teachers are at risk for burnout and severe stress (Gouda et al. 2016: 3). By

understanding the “ways that teachers manage job-related stress has implications for their health and well-

being, as well as their effectiveness on the job in the classroom” (Taylor, C. et al 2015: 115). In a

comparable study, emergency room nurses were taught a variety of mindful practices which were to be

used daily. By the end of the pilot study, many nurses reported they felt more confident, focused, relaxed,

and were able to “have more emotional energy to give to patients” (McIntosh, T. 2014: 73). This pilot

study can theoretically be applied to teachers as well, whereby teachers can partake in mindful practices

along with their students, to achieve similar outcomes as their students.

Essential Question #3: How can this be an inclusive practice while acknowledging it may not be as
beneficial for certain students?
Maintaining inclusivity within a classroom is a dynamic and ever-evolving task, and the

incorporation of mindful practices must not become static because the dynamics of a classroom

continually change from year to year and from student to student. That being said, the act of giving

students “choice is a consistent characteristic of mindful teaching” (Sherretz, C. 2011: 84). Teachers must

regularly incorporate a variety of choices and opportunities for students in order to reflect the fact that

“learning is not always a linear process” and that the flexibility of mindful practices encourage

individuals “to view the information from several different perspectives instead of from one constructed

category” (Sherretz, C. 2011: 91). By ensuring a variety of practices are available in multiple forms to all

students, students play a major role in deciding which practice is most effective for them.. Furthermore,

mindful practice is not restricted to able-bodied individuals, those of differing socio-economic standing,

ethnicity, cultural background, gender identity, age, physical fitness, or any other differences. Mindful

practice is genuinely universal.

However, some students may not be as eager to participate, or may take advantage of certain

opportunities, such as meditation, in order to pursue more leisurely activities. Ultimately, mindful practice

can be universally beneficial, provided that the learner is willing to become an active participant in their

own practice.
Regardless, the implementation of mindful practice may be faced with financial backlash. In

particular, in Canada we are “dealing with a fragmented, [and] underresourced mental health system” that

is “compounded by an uneven distribution of existing resources across geographic regions” (Manion, I.G.

2010: 51). A similar financial situation can be compared to the current and past educational systems on a

provincial and federal level. Nevertheless, mindful practice can be implemented in a classroom without

the addition of material items, and teachers can learn mindful practice alongside their students and do not

necessarily require additional certification in order to teach mindful practice. Nonetheless, it is up to the

school and the teacher as to the extent to which they would like to add mindful practice to their

classroom, in order to benefit all students.

Reference Cited

Crescentini, C., Chittaro, L., Capurso, V., Riccardo, S., Fabbro, F., (2016) Psychological and

physiological responses to stressful situations in immersive virtual reality: Differences between

users who practice mindfulness meditation and controls.Computers in Human Behaviour. 59, 304-316.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.02.031
Centre for Chronic, D. P., (2017). Positive Mental Health Surveillance Indicator Framework: Quick Stats,

Youth (12 to 17 Years of Age), Canada, 2017 Edition.rChronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada, 37(4)

Retrieved from https://search- proquest-com.ezproxy.uleth.ca/docview/1899178712?accountid=12063

Dragon, N., (2015). Mindfulness in Practice. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 23(3), 27.

Gouda, S., et al. (2016) "Students and Teachers Benefit from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in a

School-Embedded Pilot Study." Frontiers in Psychology. Health Reference Center Academic

Killoran, I., (2017) Mindfulness in Education: Using and Teaching Mindfulness in Schools, Childhood

Education, 93:2, 99-99, DOI:10.1080/00094056.2017.1300042

Kutcher, S., Bagnell, A., & Wei, Y., (2015). Mental health literacy in secondary schools: A Canadian

Approach. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 24(2), 233.

Manion, I. G., (2010). Provoking Evolution In Child And Youth Mental Health In Canada. Canadian

Psychology, 51(1), 50-57. Retrieved from https://search- proquest-

com.ezproxy.uleth.ca/docview/607299578?accountid=12063

Mcconville, J., Mcaleer, R., & Hahne, A., (2017). Mindfulness Training for Health Profession Students—

The Effect of Mindfulness Training on Psychological Well-Being, Learning and Clinical Performance of

Health Professional Students: ASystematic Review of Randomized and Non-randomized Controlled

Trials. The Journal of Science and Healing, 13(1), 26-45.

McIntosh, T., (2017). Mindfulness. Nursing Standard (2014+), 31(34), 72.

http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.uleth.ca/10.7748/ns.31.34.72.s48
Meland, A.,, Ishimatsu, K., Pensgaard, A.M., Wagstaff, A., Fonne, V., Garde, A.H., & Harris. A.

(2015). Impact of Mindfulness Training on Physiological Measures of Stress and Objective Measures of

Attention Control in a Military Helicopter Unit. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 25 (¾),

191-208. Doi:10.1080/10508414.2015.1162639

Newman, K.M., (2016) How to Choose a Type of Mindfulness Meditation. Mindful,Mindful,

www.mindful.org/choose-type-mindfulness-meditation.

Gerszberg, O.C., (2017) “The Future of Education: Mindful Classrooms.” Mindful, 14,

www.mindfulness.org/mindfulness-in-education/

Ronis, S.T., Slaunwhite, A.K. & Malcom, K.E., (2017) Comparing Strategies for Providing Child and

Youth Mental Health Care Services in Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands. Journal of

Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 44:6 955-966

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0808-z

Sherretz, C. (2011). Mindfulness in Education: Case Studies of Mindful Teachers and Their Teaching

Practices. Journal of Thought, 46(3-4), 79-96.doi:10.2307/jthought.46.3-4.79

Taylor, C., Harrison, J., Haimovitz, K., Oberle, E., Thomson, K., Schonert-Reichi, K., (2016) Examining

Ways That a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Reduces Stress in Public School Teachers: A Mixed-

Methods Study. Mindfulness. 7: 115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0425-4

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