The Impact of Mindfulness on the Social-Emotional Well-Being of Elementary School Children
Positive social-emotional well-being is crucial to student success. It is increasingly apparent that many students lack self-regulation skills and are unable to manage their emotions appropriately. It is difficult for teachers to provide a safe learning environment when many students struggle with social-emotional issues. Academic learning becomes secondary when emotional needs are not met. To promote student achievement, it is essential for educators to place a greater emphasis on teaching social-emotional skills, such as mindfulness, in the elementary school setting. Mindfulness is defined as “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis” (“Mindfulness,” n.d.). The focus of this research is how implementing
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In a study conducted by Vickery and Dorjee (2016), elementary school students from North Wales, aged 7-9 years old, participated in a mindfulness program called Paws b. The students, teachers, and parents involved in the study completed self-reports before and after the twelve Paws b lessons, and then again at a follow up session (Vickery & Dorjee, 2016). The results of the self-reports indicated that students who received the Paws b mindfulness training, compared to the control group who did not receive the mindfulness training, improved their ability to understand and recognize their own thought processes. The reports also revealed a decrease in students’ negative social-emotional behavior (Vickery & Dorjee, 2016). Providing students with life skills that promote positive social-emotional behavior through mindfulness training fosters resilience and protects students’ mental health (Vickery & Dorjee,
A parent might walk into a classroom in the middle of mindfulness moments and weep for joy. An entire classroom filled with silent, still, and reflecting teenagers might seem like a miracle, but that is far from how the students perceive it.
Mental, emotional, and social health is defined as, “The area of health education that includes the ability to express needs, wants, and emotions in positive ways; to manage anger and conflict; and to deal with frustrations. This area involves practicing life skills, making responsible decisions, developing good character, following a plan to manage stress, and being resilient during difficult times” (Health, 2009). There are four essential concept standards in third grade about mental, social, and emotional health. 1.1.M Describe examples of healthy social behaviors. According to Jennifer O’brien’s power point notes on Mental Health, “socially healthy people can listen & express themselves, form healthy
This paper is about my experience with mindfulness based meditation and scientific inquiry of these experiences. Mindfulness based meditation is describes as technique used to cultivate nonreactive, non-judgmental and stable awareness of the present moment (Garland and Gaylord, 2009). The end goal is to sustain this meta-cognitive state for a long period of time. I practiced non-denominational form of mindfulness based meditation for the first time in my psychology class, which was devoted towards intellectual and experiential examination of meditation. The practice was conducted in a group it was instructed by our own professor and it begun at the end of class. There was one sessions per week and each session was structured meaning it was
Preparing students for life success, requires a balanced education that includes social and emotional education. It is important that families, schools and communities come together to achieve this. This article is researching the positive effects, of social and emotional learning of students in kindergarten to eighth grade. This article summarizes three reviews of research on the impact of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on elementary school and middle age school students. These programs promote social and emotional skills (Weissberg, Taylor, Schellinger, Payton, Pachan, Dymcicki and Durlak, 2008). The SEL programs showed many benefits in both school and after-school settings for students with and without behavioral and
Mindfulness practice has received immense attention in recent years. Specifically, mindfulness practice has been explored by professional athletes, from organizations attempting to improve productivity, and even politicians for stress reduction. Nevertheless, educators have begun to explore mindfulness practice effectiveness for enhancing educational, emotional, and behavioral outcomes for students. Fundamentally, mindfulness practice is established on spirituality principles that teach attention focusing. Moreover, the technique facilitates open communication regarding emotions and feelings. Thus, mindfulness practice aims to silence distractions of the mind while enhancing awareness. As a relatively new practice, it is
Almost everyone is preoccupied with happiness but yet the population seems to be increasingly unhappy. As society and human experience changes we can’t help but ask ourselves how can we fix an increasingly unhappy and dissatisfied society? Mindfulness meditation is a progressively popular solution to this issue. Mindfulness meditation stems from Buddhist tradition and is a practice that includes focusing one’s attention. Does mindfulness meditation have real psychological effects? And if so can they help improve quality of life? Many studies have been conducted proving that mindfulness meditation does have real psychological effects and can help individuals live a more meaningful and happy life. This can be proven through research related to neuroscience, depression and happiness.
As a parent, I can say I am not perfect and with a lot of new situations I kind of just play it by ear. After reading this topic I decided I wanted to do things differently. Mindful parenting plans can help children avoid depression, anxiety, acting out, and drug use.(Scott, S. 2017). The most important characteristics of a mindful parent are being attentive, non-judging, and non-reacting. By practicing unconditional love and setting limits instead of using corporal punishment you can increase positive behavior. One of the great aspects of this plan is that it allows you to be human. No one is perfect, but setting a plan can help minimize the times you as a parent are reactive. My biggest take away point is to take a break when I’m angry before responding. I have been stressed with work, school, and the house and sometimes my responses are not as loving as they should be. By practicing this habit, I can not only help my peace, but help my children too. My plan is to change my approach from reactive to responsive approach to help my child be
negative effect on my ability to do well in school and other areas. I also found it interesting that
In this chapter, the most important concept for me is what to do about hindrances. Needless to say, all of us will face some hindrances in our life, it could be very serious or unworthy of being mentioned. The key point never is hindrances itself, we should look ahead. I think there is no hindrances that we cannot overcome.
What do CEOs, inner city school children, returning military personnel, prisoner inmates, MBA players, doctors, and nurses all have in common? Would you guess the answer is meditation? While there are many paths to meditation mindful meditation has become the most common. In recent years there has been a growing population of people who are finding meditation helpful to reduce stress, improve productivity, and relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression. Due to the increasing popularity there is now more money than ever going towards funding scientific studies to help understand the effects mediation and mindfulness have on the body and the mind. Carolyn Gregoir, at The Huffington Post writes “It’s undeniable
You have probably heard the phrase “to be mindful” at least once or twice in your lifetime. As familiar as it sounds, mindfulness is a concept many people seem to overlook despite it being an attribute they should seek. In everyday tasks, therein lies an array of small, subtle technicalities that highlight a significant moment. When we are unaware of the meaning of mindfulness is when we need to be mindful the most, because to be mindful is to be aware of all thoughts, all actions, all of the world— and if you are aware then you are able to view the world with vigor and perspective, encourage study and knowledge, and experience bliss and wonder.
Use of the “Mindful Moment Room” includes yoga, stretches, and deep breathing practices. Students also begin and end each day with a 15-minute guided meditation and are encouraged to stay after school for a yoga practice to help decompress from the school day. After using the room, students report that when their emotions start to overwhelm them, they can refer to their breathing techniques, tune out the distracting stimuli, and refocus on their work. Others report a boost in their self-confidence as well as reduced stress and symptoms of depression (Bloom, 2016). Additionally, after an eight-week program called Move-Into-Learning introduced in the Midwest, teachers not only reported a significant drop in hyperactive behavior and inattentiveness among their students, but that these finding were maintained and even improved upon in the following months (Campbell,
Social-emotional learning should be required in every classroom because it is important to teach students how to recognize and manage their emotions. This view is shared by Durlak, Dymnicki, Taylor, Weissberg, and Schellinger (2011), who found that school-based efforts to support students' social and emotional learning (SEL) had a positive impact on children’s success in school. Adding to this focus, McCormick, Cappella, O’Connor, and McClowry (2015) found that SEL programs are beneficial for academic performance because they target interpersonal skills such as “appreciating others’ perspectives, initiating and maintaining positive relationships, and using critical thinking skills to make responsible decisions” (pg. 2). The classroom should be a place where students are able to practice both the academic and social-emotional strategies that are necessary to thrive and prosper in the modern world. Recent research has demonstrated that social-emotional learning strategies provide students with the opportunity to learn how to cope with stress, develop empathy, and increase academic achievement.
Mindfulness practices as a treatment for depression and anxiety in adults is a popular field that has showed promising results, while research into mindfulness as a treatment and/or preventative measure in adolescents is a newer, and still developing field of study (Ames, Richardson, Payne, Smith, & Leigh, 2013; Biegel, Brown, Shapiro, & Schubert, 2009; Bluth & Blanton, 2013; Britton et al., 2014). The research that is currently available generally provides support for a connection between a reduction in mental health issues including depression and anxiety in youth who practice mindfulness; although researchers note that more studies are needed in this field before implementing
Being aware of your surroundings both in a physical and mental sense can help bring out natural responses in humans. These responses can be emotional, physical and psychological and can be applied to many everyday life situations but one of the most interesting is the college setting. While in college, most students encounter multiple tests, quizzes, and a variety of other stressful assignments. Mindfulness can be defined as being mentally and situationally aware of what is going on in a person’s surroundings (Brown & Ryan 2003). Research has proven that the students who are mindful tend to have a reduced level of anxiety and stress than people who aren’t mindful. Situational