The first year of teaching can be extremely challenging. Novice teachers face a wide-range of worries and disappointments, which can sap motivation, and lead to burnout and exiting the profession. The current research seeks to design and evaluate contemplative exercises that curb this “burnout cascade” during the transition into teaching. We propose that a brief …
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Tracking the longitudinal real-world socioemotional benefits of mindfulness meditation training in youth
Mindfulness meditation (MM) is the process of purposefully regulating attention, bringing awareness to one’s current experience, and relating to that experience in an open and accepting way (Semple, Lee, Rosa, & Miller, 2009). Previous studies have demonstrated benefits of MM training across many domains (cognitive, physiological, socio-emotional) that support children’s academic achievement; but these effects …
Self-compassion in adolescence: Validation and neural correlates
Before we move to examining the impact of contemplative practice on self-compassion in youth, we need an established, validated measure of self-compassion. This study will validate the Youth Self Compassion Inventory (YSCI) with multi-modal assessment of neural correlates of self-compassion using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in a study of one hundred and thirty-two male and female …
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Heartfulness in education: The effects of mindful self-compassion training on teachers’ wellbeing, student-teacher relationships, and school climate
Our society’s future and growth depends on high-quality education. On a daily basis, this notion translates into teachers’ ability to compassionately nourish young people’s minds and hearts, especially during challenging times. Given the current worldwide instabilities, teaching profession is increasingly more demanding on teachers’ capacity to preserve supportive and learning-conducive classroom environment. Unfortunately, teachers’ stress …
Evaluation of school-based mindfulness curriculum “Learning to BREATHE”
Youth raised in high poverty neighborhoods are frequently exposed to stressful situations, such as community violence and family conflict, that adversely affect their well-being and academic performance. School-based mindfulness programming may support student functioning, however the existing research contains several limitations (e.g., lack of intervention replication and weak experimental designs). The goal of this project …
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Mind/body awareness workshop for teachers living in post-conflict Northern Uganda
Between 1986 and 2006, northern Uganda was locked in a civil conflict where the local people experienced and/or witnessed poverty, rapes, beatings, and murders. Recently, yoga has been used in therapy to treat those who have suffered trauma (Emerson, 2015). Called trauma-sensitive yoga (TSY), TSY is a form of body-based therapy where yoga movement is …
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The impact of mindfulness meditation training on social integration and well-being in first-semester college students
Recently, the literature on the positive impact of social integration on health and well-being, as well as academic success, has been growing. Students entering their first semester of college are at a crucial time for cementing social relationships among their peers. As such, early-college interventions that help students to feel more integrated and connected to …
Impacts of yoga on self-regulation and emotion regulation in preschool education
Yoga generally involves movement sequences, breath regulation, and various techniques to improve attention. Yoga has helped adults and youth with low self-regulation (SR) and emotional regulation (ER) significantly improve in their ability to confront adversity with greater resilience. It has been postulated to exercise the neural connections involved in having children more efficiently engage in …
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(Epi)genetic biomarkers of a school-based mindfulness program
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are programs designed to improve psychological well-being, based on the practice of mindful awareness. One such MBI is the MindUP program, which is a school-based program designed for middle school students implemented by classroom teachers. MindUP has been shown to enhance indices of psychological well-being. Our team is interested in understanding how …
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2009 Mind & Life Dialogue XIX
How can our educational system evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century? How will we educate people to be compassionate, competent, ethical, and engaged citizens in an increasingly complex and interconnected world? The urgent challenges of a globalized and interdependent world demand a new vision of world citizenship that is not confined to …
