A Research Paper on Implementing Meditation in Schools

Abstract

According to a survey conducted in Australia, 14 percent of children and teenagers have a big mental health problem, which is 12 percent relative to global prevalence estimates. It has been proposed that children be taught mindfulness meditation methods to improve their mental health. The guidelines are, however, largely focused on efficacy of adult clinical trials and inadequately based on research of children and teenagers in a classroom environment. This meditation pilot project involved educating teachers at two primary schools in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, to provide students in grades 5 and 6 with a ten-week mindfulness programme and optional everyday mindfulness activities (ages 10 to 12). Students completed the Talents and Challenges Questionnaire (SDQ) and an updated version of the Children's Depression Inventory prior to and during the programme (CDI). The total average score and the number of children in the diagnostic categories, 25.6 percent scoring in the borderline or diagnostic category for the pre-program SDQ and 16.3 percent post-program is substantially decreased on all scales. It was 25.8 percent pre- and 21.6 percent post- for the CDI. The research is constrained by its use without a reference category with a pre-post nature. Qualitative instructor outcomes, however, aid in discerning key subjects, and this pilot research indicates the potential for more formal systematic mindfulness training.