What’s the point of school? It’s aquestion most pupils will haveasked themselves at one time or

another. And it’s one that parents, teachersand government ministers ponder too,though not always for the same reasons.The answer might seem straightforward:to provide children with an education inthe traditional sense of impartingknowledge and understanding to students,so that they can pass exams and enter theworkplace or further education with theintellectual tools to get them ahead in life.

Guy Claxton, Professor of LearningSciences at Winchester College, UK, haswritten a rather different book-lengthanswer to what the point of schools shouldbe (Claxton, 2008). ‘There’s an increasingrecognition that there is a broader range ofmental and emotional skills that are usefulto cultivate, whether you’re going to readmedicine at Cambridge or do an NVQ inhairdressing,’ says Claxton.

And these skills are not just bodies ofknowledge, but ‘habits of mind’ that guidehow we learn and develop. Indeed, LaurenResnick, an educational psychologist at theUniversity of Pittsburgh and formerPresident of the American EducationalResearch Association, argues that ‘ourintelligence is merely the sum total of ourhabits of mind’. As Claxton points out,‘This isn’t to deny intellectual skills, but it’sa new way of bringing psychology to bearon education, in terms of understandingwhat those habits are – and how thosehabits could be trained and changed innormal school lessons.’

A major development in this directionwas the introduction of Social andEmotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) to schools under the previous Labourgovernment. The goals of SEAL are toencourage self-awareness, ‘emotionalintelligence’, and motivation, and tonurture social skills and empathy. SEAL is not a neatly defined syllabus nor amandatory content-specific course –schools pursue SEAL in highly variedways. Nonetheless, published SEALguidance documents do provide aframework for achieving these expandedgoals. ‘When SEAL is implemented aswritten, it has a big impact on outcomes,’says Katherine Weare, Professor ofEducation at the University ofSouthampton. Today, SEAL is pursued in90 per cent of primary schools, and 70 percent of secondary schools, and they like it,says Weare.

Yet educationalists may haveoverlooked a powerful and cheap tool that can help deliver on SEAL objectives – ‘mindfulness’ training. Mindfulness is a ‘mode of being’ that is rooted in payingattention, non-judgementally, to thepresent moment, to our current consciousexperience of the world. It’s a mode ofbeing that can be taught, typically as aseries of simple meditation-style exercises.Mindfulness exercises increase awarenessof the contents of our minds, and provideways to respond to our thoughts andfeelings ‘skilfully’, such that they are lesslikely to lead to emotional distress orharmful behaviours. ‘Mindfulness could

really help teachers get to the heart of theskills SEAL tries to nurture, and achievewhat they want to,’ says Weare.

What is mindfulness?Mindfulness is not an abstract or remote body of knowledge, like physicsor history. It’s more of a practical skill,like being able to ride a bike or play thepiano. To get a handle on what thismeans, you have to look at howmindfulness is actually practised.

A commonly used way to get into a mindful state is to simply sit on a chair,close your eyes, and begin to focus onyour breath. As you sit still – relaxed, butalert – you direct your attention to thesensation of each inhalation andexhalation: perhaps the gentle rise and fall of your chest, or the feeling of air as it enters and leaves your nostrils.

While doing this, other thoughts willenter your mind unbidden: ‘I must paythat gas bill later’, ‘Did I come off as stupidin the meeting earlier?’ or even ‘I keeplosing track of my breath and thinkingabout other things – I’m rubbish at this!’.These intrusions of thought don’t meanthat you’re failing to be mindful; whatmatters is how you respond to thesethoughts. The idea in a mindfulnesssession is to merely note these thoughts,without judgement, and to let them pass.You then return to focusing on thebreath – and then, as further thoughtsenter your mind of their own accord, you simply note them, and move on.

How is mindfulness beneficial?At first, achieving mindfulness can seemdifficult, even pointless – much likepractising scales on a piano. Butperseverance pays off. Over the past 20years, dozens of studies have demonstratedthat mindfulness provides benefits in arange of clinical settings, from painmanagement and stress to depression, as well as in non-clinical groups (Baer,2003; Greeson, 2009). The vast majority of studies on mindfulness, as both a

736 vol 24 no 10 october 2011

Mindfulness in schoolsDan Jones investigates whether ‘habits of mind’ can boost the well-being andresilience of the nation’s children

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Baer, R.A. (2003). Mindfulness training asa clinical intervention: A conceptualand empirical review. ClinicalPsychology: Science and Practice 10(2),125–143.

Biegel, G.M. & Brown, K.W. (2010).Assessing the efficacy of an adaptedin-class mindfulness-based trainingprogram for school-age children: Apilot study. White Paper [pdf availableat tinyurl.com/6ftayyx]

Burke, C.A. (2010). Mindfulness-basedapproaches with children andadolescents: A preliminary review ofcurrent research in an emergentfield. Journal of Child and FamilyStudies, 19, 133–144.

Claxton, G. (2008). What’s the point ofschool? Rediscovering the heart ofeducation. Oxford: OneWorld.

Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity –Groundbreaking research to release

your inner optimist and thrive. Oxford:OneWorld.

Greeson, J.M. (2009). Mindfulnessresearch update 2008.Complementary Health PracticeReview, 14(1), 10–18.

Huppert, F.A. & Johnson, D.M. (2010). Acontrolled trial of mindfulnesstraining in schools: The importance ofpractice for an impact on well-being.Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(4),

264–274.Jennings, P.A. & Greenberg, M.T. (2009).

The prosocial classroom: Teachersocial and emotional competence inrelation to student and classroomoutcomes. Review of EducationalResearch 79, 491–525.

Visu-Petra, L., Cheie, L., Benga, O. &Miclea, M. (2011). Cognitive controlgoes to school. Procedia – Social andBehavioral Sciences 11, 240–244.

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therapeutic intervention and as a tool toaid everyday well-being, have been donewith adults, but in recent years researchershave begun to explore how it might beapplied to teenagers and even to veryyoung, pre-school children. The results to date in this emerging field suggest thatmindfulness training is both feasible andbeneficial for children across a wide rangeof ages and contexts (Burke, 2010).

Mindfulness training has at least fivebroad beneficial effects, according toFelicia Huppert, Professor of Psychology of the University ofCambridge’s Well-BeingInstitute. Specifically,mindfulness promotes:I increased sensory

awareness;I greater cognitive

control;I enhanced regulation

of emotions;I acceptance of transient

thoughts and feelings;and

I the capacity to regulateattention.

Sensory awareness Mindful practices nurturethe capacity to bring ourcurrent sensory experienceto the forefront ofconsciousness. In doingso, they create the mentalspace to ‘stop and smellthe roses’, to be charmedby a child’s smile or movedby a dramatic sunset. ‘InWestern societies, most ofus, most of the time, areon autopilot, and what’sgoing on in our heads ismostly about the past andthe future,’ says Huppert. ‘We spend solittle time in the moment.’ Being in themoment, and appreciating positive sensoryexperiences, is not only intrinsicallyenjoyable, but also elicits positive emotionsthat feed into overall well-being.Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson of theUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,has demonstrated that recurrentlyexperiencing positive emotionssimultaneously broadens our sensoryawareness – creating further opportunitiesfor sensory savouring – and also buildspsychological and emotional resilience(Fredrickson, 2009).

Cognitive controlUnlike some forms of meditation, the goalof mindfulness is not to clear one’s mind ofall thoughts and feelings, but to anchoroneself to current sensory experiences and

to allow thoughts to enter the mind freely.The key is to note these passing thoughtsnon-judgementally, without analysingthem or elaborating on their contents.Perhaps you think, ‘I keep losing focus on my breath and keep thinking about myto-do list!’. In a mindful state, you don’texpand on this thought and start asking‘Does this mean I can’t do mindfulness?Am I doing it wrong?’ – you simplyacknowledge the thought and bring yourfocus back to your breath. In this way,mindfulness promotes a ‘decentred’

perspective on our teeming thoughts, andcreates some distance between thoughtsthat arise and our cognitive reactions tothem. ‘The idea is that thoughts come andgo like clouds,’ says Huppert. ‘Just becauseyou’re having a thought doesn’t mean youhave to act on it, or even that it reflectsanything about reality, or you. It’s just athought.’

Emotion regulationMany of our intrusive thoughts come with an emotional flavour. Often these arenegative – we suddenly remember a recentargument, which makes us angry, or thetime we embarrassed ourselves in front ofthe boss. It’s all too easy to get caught upby these intrusive emotional thoughts, and to ruminate on them at length. Again,mindfulness encourages a more decentredperspective on these feelings: they should

be noted, and let pass. ‘Simply recognisingyour feelings gives you a choice in howyou’re going to respond, rather thanreacting automatically in ways that lead to trouble,’ says Huppert.

AcceptanceThe non-judgemental, detachedperspective on our thoughts and feelingsencouraged by mindfulness training isanother way of talking about acceptance of these thoughts and feelings. ‘That’s a huge thing,’ says Huppert. ‘You’re notbeating yourself up for having this thoughtor that feeling. You’re learning to be kindto yourself – and it’s believed that this hasknock-on effects for being kind to others,though the evidence is not yet as clear aswe would like.’

Attention regulationMindfulness doesn’t demand that you clear your mind of all thoughts andfeelings, but that you allow them to floatby without being caught up in them, andreturn your focus of attention to whatevermindful practice you are engaged in. Inother words, it provides training in how toregulate and direct, at will, your attention.In his 1890 classic The Principles ofPsychology, William James celebrated theimportance of this skill:

The faculty of voluntarily bringingback a wandering attention over and over again, is the very root ofjudgement, character and will. No one is compus sui if he have it not.An education which should improvethis faculty would be the educationpar excellence. But it is easier todefine this ideal than to give practicalinstructions for bringing it about.

From clinics to schoolsHistorically, mindfulness has mainly beenused in the clinical context of treatingmental health problems such as stress anddepression. ‘But we now realise that wehad neglected its potentially preventativeapplications, and the possible benefits ofmindfulness for children in the non-clinical context of schools,’ sayspsychotherapist Jini Lavelle, who hastaught mindfulness in schools aroundOxfordshire in recent years. ‘We need this in schools so that rather than havingpeople come to learn mindfulness asadults to deal with stress and depression,we teach these skills as children grow up.’

This perspective stresses that thebenefits of mindfulness training forchildren and adolescents are noteducation-specific, nor limited to theclassroom. Yet they do have a remarkabledegree of overlap with the SEAL objectives

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of self-awareness, emotional intelligence,motivation and social skills. ‘For all of theSEAL outcomes, there are good reasons tothink that mindfulness helps,’ says Weare.Mindfulness inherently increases self-awareness, and nurtures the capacity toregulate automatic emotional reactions to life’s slings and arrows. This is not justbeneficial for the mindful individual, butalso for those around them. ‘If you manageyour impulses better, you can avoidwrangles with other people, and listen to them and see their point of view,’ saysWeare.

The evidence for the benefits ofmindfulness and related practices in schoolsettings has been a long time coming.About 15 years ago, a PhD student ofClaxton’s, Caroline Mann, took meditationpractices to classes of Year 8 students (12- and 13-year-olds). Pupils reportedthat meditation was useful in terms ofmaintaining psychological equanimity andcoping with stress and incidents in theplayground, and Mann also found thatmeditation improved performance onmemory tests.

Now there is increasing evidence thatmindfulness really does make a differencewhen delivered in the classroom. Last year,

private-practice psychotherapistGina Biegel and psychologist KirkWarren Brown of VirginiaCommonwealth University releaseda ‘White Paper’ (not a peer-reviewedpublication) reporting the results ofa pilot, school-based mindfulnessprogramme in young children(Biegel & Brown, 2010). This studyexplored whether mindfulnesstraining could improve academicachievement, powers of attention,social skills, behavioural problemsand engagement with academicstudies among 2nd and 3rd gradepupils (= Years 3 and 4 in the UK).

This pilot study enrolled 79children at Berkley MaynardAcademy, an elementary school inOakland, California, for a five-weekcourse in mindfulness. The programmecomprised three 15-minute sessions aweek, which both teachers and studentsattended. The 15 sessions involved a rangeof mindful activities, including listening,breathing, movement, walking and eating,as well as lessons on the promotion ofkindness and caring. Students wereassessed using a number of quantitativemeasures immediately before and after the

mindfulness course, and then three monthslater to see what effects the course had.

Biegel and Brown report that thisprogramme was generally well toleratedwithout any adverse side-effects, and alsoimproved attention and teacher-ratedsocial skills among students. Theattentional capacities of children weremeasured using the Attention NetworkTask-Child Version (ANT-C). A

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mindfulness in schools

CHAIR OF THE PROFESSIONALPRACTICE BOARD 2011/14

Call for nominations

● Could you lead the Board’s strategic vision and take a lead for the Board as a whole in achieving the aims and objectives

of promoting professional practice?

● Could you manage the business of the Board effectively and expeditiously?

● Could you encourage the full participation of the members of the Board in its business?

● Could you contribute to the development and implementation of the corporate policies of the Society, as a member of

the Board of Trustees and Representative Council?

● Could you be the next Chair of the Society’s Professional Practice Board?

If you would like to know more then please contact Nigel Atter, Policy Advisor, Professional Practice.

For an information pack and a Statement of Interest form, email nigel.atter@bps.org.uk or tel: 0116 252 9901.

Closing date for receipt of statements of interest is Friday 14 October 2011.

Biegel and Brown’s study explored whether mindfulnesstraining could improve academic achievement

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particularly importantaspect of attentiontapped by the ANT-C isthe capacity forexecutive or cognitivecontrol –the ability to overrideimpulses and focusattention on salientsensory information,which enables goal-directed behaviour and creates cognitiveflexibility. Cognitivecontrol is crucial todecision making and is

correlated with academicsuccess (Visu-Petra et al.,

2011). Overall, between the beginning andend of the five-week course, 64 per cent ofchildren improved their scores on ANT-Ccognitive control – an effect that persistedat three-month follow-up. At thebeginning and end of the study teachersalso completed the Social Skills RatingSystem (SSRS) to assess students’ socialbehaviours. Biegel and Brown report thattheir mindfulness programme improvedteacher-rated social skills over the courseof the intervention, which, like the effectson attention, remained evident threemonths later.

Last year also saw the publication ofthe first peer-reviewed, controlled study onmindfulness in schools. This was carriedout by Felicia Huppert and Daniel Johnsonfrom the Cambridge Well-Being Institute,working with teachers Richard Burnett ofTonbridge School and Chris Cullen ofHampton School, both of whom aremindfulness practitioners (Huppert &Johnson, 2010).

Drawing on the practical experience ofCullen and Burnett (who wrote a master’sthesis on mindfulness in schools), theteam drew up a four-week syllabus for use in Tonbridge and Hampton (bothindependent, fee-paying boys’ schools)among 14- and 15-year-olds. The courseconsisted of four 40-minute classes, takenonce a week, in which students wereintroduced to the principles and practice of mindfulness meditation. In addition,students were encouraged to practisemindfulness daily with the aid of shortaudio files that talked them through whatthey should do (these were recorded byMichael Chaskalson, an experiencedCambridge-based mindfulness trainer).

In total, 173 students were enrolled inthe study. Mindfulness was taught duringreligious education classes, with eachstudent being in one of 11 classes at thetwo schools. Six classes took normalclasses to provide a control group, whilethe other five undertook mindfulness

training. At the beginning and the end of the study, students completed a series of online questionnaires to assess theirpsychological well-being, resilience andself-reported mindfulness. (These weremeasured using the Warwick-EdinburghMental Well-Being Scale, the EgoResiliency Scale, and the Cognitive andAffective Mindfulness Scale-Revised,respectively.) Students also completed theTen-Item Personality Inventory so thatpersonality differences could be exploredin the context of mindfulness training.

At the beginning of the study, thestudents in these schools tended to fall in the middle or upper range of the well-being, resilience and mindfulness scales.These baseline measures in part dependedon the personality styles of the students:those who scored highly onconscientiousness and emotional stabilitytended to show greater well-being,resilience and mindfulness. In addition,high extraversion was an additionalpredictor of greater resilience and well-being, and openness to experience waspositively correlated with well-being.

Overall, there was a significant increasein well-being among the students whoreceived mindfulness training. But perhapsmore importantly, these effects on well-being were dose-dependent. Not allstudents practised mindfulness equally –some practised at least three times a week,others did not practise at all – but themore practice they did, the more benefitthey gained. Interestingly, students low in emotional stability (i.e. anxious orneurotic) derived particular benefit – andthese are arguably the students most inneed of an intervention promoting mentalwell-being.

In this short trial mindfulness did notshow any significant benefits on resilience.‘It could be that you get an effect on well-being sooner than you get one onresilience,’ says Huppert. Alternatively, thisresult may turn on the resilience measureused. ‘It was the best we could find at thetime, but it’s not the measure I’d use now,’says Huppert.

Since completing this pilot study,Huppert, Burnett and Cullen have workedwith other colleagues to create anexpanded eight-week course that iscurrently being trialled in a number ofstate schools around the UK, and in someother European countries. Although notyet part of a controlled study, the aim is getfeedback on the course from teachers andstudents so that it can be refined andtweaked to optimise its use in theclassroom, with the aim of runninganother randomised controlled trial in the 2012/2013 academic year. At the sametime, Lavelle’s research assistant Sarah

Hennelly is currently completing a master’sdegree at Oxford Brookes Universitylooking at mindfulness in schools. Resultsfrom this are expected later this year.

The future of mindfulness inschoolsDespite widespread recognition of thebenefits of mindfulness training, there area number of challenges in getting it intoschools. Some parents and teachers mightworry that mindfulness training is part ofa broader tendency to label kids withhaving problems that need fixing, as inthe case of medical treatments ofattention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Yet this is not how most mindfulnesspractitioners see it being applied. ‘Inschools it’s quite important that it’s takenout of therapeutic box and put squarely inthe territory of flourishing,’ says Burnett.‘Mindfulness is about helping young mindsflourish in the broadest sense.’ Cullenagrees: ‘For some kids mindfulness may beabout managing stress or anxiety, but forothers it’s about how they play on thesports field, practise music, dance ordrama, or maintain concentration duringhomework.’

Another major challenge of bringingmindfulness to schools is the dearth ofteachers trained in the relevant practices.Just as teaching someone to play the pianoor football requires some practicalexperience in these skills, so too formindfulness. ‘You don’t have to be a Zenmaster, but you can’t train kids in theclassroom if you don’t have your ownmindfulness practice,’ says Burnett.

This suggests that there may be a placefor mindfulness training in teachertraining. ‘I feel very strongly that it shouldbe part of teacher training, because apartfrom anything else it will benefit thetrainee teachers enormously – and thenthey can use it in their schools,’ saysLavelle. Accumulating evidence suggeststhat the social and emotional competenceof teachers is a key factor in establishinghealthy student–teacher relationships,managing the classroom, and teachingsocial and emotional aspects of learning –creating what Patricia Jennings and MarkGreenberg call the ‘prosocial classroom’(Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). Claxtonagrees that mindfulness would be hugelybeneficial for both teachers and students:‘If I ruled the world I would make itmandatory – there is no downside risk,and the evidence shows these things work.’

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I Dan Jones is a freelance writer based inBrightondan.jones@multipledrafts.com

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