Mindfulness at school: benefits for both teachers and students

How can we apply the philosophy of Mindfulness in the classroom?

The practice of Mindfulness or Mindfulness, more than a set of techniques to be in the present moment, is an attitude towards life. It is a coping style that boosts personal strengths, and within the classroom, it brings benefits for both students and teachers.

The aim of Mindfulness in the educational context is to participants to acquire a state of mindfulness and calm that helps them to self-regulate their behavior and to know themselves better, as well as to create an environment conducive to the learning process.and create an environment conducive to learning.

Teaching with Mindfulness fosters a learning community, in which students flourish academically, emotionally and socially; and in which teachers make the most of the climate that is created within this educational environment.. Mindfulness is a conscious and intentional way of tuning in to what is happening within and around us, and allows us to unmask automatisms and promote integral development.

Mindfulness is becoming increasingly popular in schools.

Mindfulness became popular in the West thanks to the physician Jon Kabat-Zinn, of the University of Massachusetts, who in 1978 began using Mindfulness with patients suffering from chronic stress. Since then, Mindfulness has been applied in different fields, such as clinical, work or sports.

Scientific studies show that regular practitioners of Mindfulness have more neuronal density, greater well-being, are more efficient in their work and are less prone to suffer from depression or anxiety. In recent years, Google has been providing Mindfulness training for its employees with the program Search Inside Yourselfprogram, and many leading companies have followed in its footsteps.

In the educational context, Mindfulness has also been implemented in many schools and institutes. In Spain, several autonomous regions are participating in the development of this practice. The Government of the Canary Islands introduced for the first time a compulsory subject called Emotional Education, which includes Mindfulness as part of its syllabus. In Andalusia, the trainer and researcher in the field of Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence, Olivia Recondo, teaches courses of Emotional Intelligence through Mindfulness for trainers in collaboration with the Andalusian Government. In Aragon the Happy Classrooms Program is carried out, in Catalonia the Treva Program, and in the Valencian Community the Conscious Schools Program.

Only a conscious educator can educate in a conscious way.

Teachers are people who play a fundamental role in society, since they are in charge of the important function of educating future generations. Their work is not only focused on teaching theoretical knowledge, but they are also in charge of They are also in charge of promoting a series of values and skills in students for their development within society.. 

Being a teacher is not always an easy task, and the high demands of being a teacher can lead to chronic stress, emotional fatigue and relationship problems with students. Mindfulness has proven to be effective in these situations. For example, reducing teacher stress, sick leave, depression, anxiety and burnout. Burnout.

The regular practice of Mindfulness equips teachers with tools that enable them to cope with problematic situations and help improve their quality of life and well-being. This, in turn, has an impact on their performance and their relationship with their students, resulting in an optimal educational environment for learning.

Benefits of Mindfulness for teachers

Some of the benefits of Mindfulness for teachers are as follows:

• Improves attentional focus and awareness.

• Increases responsiveness to students' needs

• Promotes emotional balance

• Supports stress management and stress reduction

• Supports healthy personal relationships in the workplace

• Improves classroom climate and fosters an optimal learning environment

• Supports general well-being and self-esteem

Benefits of Mindfulness for students

The ability to reflect on one's inner world, emotions and thoughts with an attitude of compassion towards oneself brings benefits for the well-being of students, and is an essential part of Mindfulness training.

A meta-analysis carried out in 2011 by Joseph Durlak, involving 270,000 students of all academic stages, concluded that those students who had undertaken social-emotional education programs in primary school not only showed significant improvements as adolescents in behavioral issues (e.g., by being less violent), but also obtained an improvement in their academic results with respect to those who did not receive such training..

But not only emotional regulation is an essential part of Mindfulness training, and there are many studies that have contributed to the development of Mindfulness training. scientific evidence on the positive influence of Mindfulness on the so-called executive functions of the brain, such as attention, memory or mental flexibility, all of which are essential for good personal and academic performance.such as attention, memory or mental flexibility, all of which are essential for good personal and academic performance.

The regular practice of mindfulness is beneficial for students for many reasons. Below are the benefits of Mindfulness for students:

• Improves academic performance

• Improves self-concept

• Reduces aggression and violence

• Increases creativity

• Improves classroom participation by promoting impulse control.

• Enhances memory

• Improves concentration and attention

• Reduces test anxiety

• Promotes willingness to learn

• Encourages self-reflection and self-reliance

• Enhances empathy and understanding of others

• Promotes prosocial behaviors and healthy interpersonal relationships.

• Mejora el aprendizaje social y emocional

• Mejorar de forma general la salud

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D. & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1): 405–432.
• Frank J. et al. (2015): “The effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction on educator stress and well-being: results from a pilot study”. Mindfulness 6, 208-216.
• Hassed Craig y Chambers, Richard (2014). Mindful learning: reduce stress and improve brain performance for effective learning. Exisle Publishing.