preview

Elementary School Mindfulness Research Paper

Better Essays

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 …show more content…

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,

Get Access