Interest in, and enthusiasm for, implementing mindfulness-based curricula in school settings has been growing rapidly over the last decade. Research has begun to document the critical importance of social and emotional skills for student achievement and how these skills can be effectively nurtured through mindfulness-based skills training. In the mid 1990s, a forward-thinking teacher implemented a curriculum with mindfulness-based learning (MBL) in her grade-four and grade-five classrooms. A team of researchers has been studying this student population to investigate potential short- and long-term impacts of early exposure (elementary school) to MBL. The preliminary results of this retrospective multiple-methods study will be presented and discussed. The aims are to explore: (1) the potential long-term impacts of MBL on indicators of health, well-being, cognitive performance, and demographics; (2) the short-term qualitative experience of such a program; and (3) the potential of multiple and mixed-methods research approaches for helping to advance the field of contemplative studies.

Julianne Cheek

Østfold University College, Norway

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Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD

University of Massachusetts

Fellow, Founding Steward

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (in 1995), … MORE

David Lipschitz

University of Utah

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Yoshio Nakamura, PhD

University of Utah School of Medicine

Planning Committee Member

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David Vago, PhD

Vanderbilt University

Convening Faculty, Fellow, Grantee, Planning Committee Member, Reviewer

Dr. David Vago is Research Associate Professor and Director of the Contemplative Neuroscience and Mind-Body (CNMB) Research Laboratory in the Department of Psychology at Vanderbilt University. He is core training … MORE