​Mindfulness at School: Benefits for Both Teachers and Students

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

The objective of Mindfulness in the educational context is that participants acquire a state of consciousness and calm that helps them self-regulate their behavior and know themselves better in addition to creating an environment conducive to learning.

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

Mindfulness is increasingly popular in schools

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

Scientific studies show that Regular Mindfulness practitioners have more neuronal density, greater well-being, are more efficient at their work, and are less likely to suffer depression or anxiety. In recent years, Google has provided Mindfulness training to its employees with the program Search Inside Yourselfand many leading companies have followed in their footsteps.

In the educational context, Mindfulness has also been put into practice in many schools and institutes. In Spain, there are several autonomies that are participating in the development of this practice. The Government of the Canary Islands implemented for the first time a mandatory subject called Emotional Education, and 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 on Emotional Intelligence through Mindfulness for trainers in collaboration with the Government of Andalusia. 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 consciously

Teachers are people who play a fundamental role within society, since they are responsible for the important function of educating future generations. Their work is not only focused on teaching theoretical knowledge, but also They are also responsible for 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 great demands that come with being a teacher can cause chronic stress, emotional fatigue, and relationship problems with students. Mindfulness has proven effective in these situations. For example, reducing teaching stress, sick leave, depression, anxiety or Burnout.

The regular practice of Mindfulness provides teachers with tools that allow them to face 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, which creates an optimal educational environment for learning.

Benefits of Mindfulness for teachers

Some of the benefits that Mindfulness brings to teachers are the following:

• Improves classroom climate and fosters an optimal learning environment

• Promotes general well-being and self-esteem

Benefits of Mindfulness in students

The ability to reflect on one’s own inner world, and on one’s own emotions and thoughts with an attitude of compassion towards oneself provides 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, and in which 270,000 students of all academic stages participated, concluded that those students who had completed social-emotional education programs in primary school not only showed significant improvements as adolescents in behavioral issues (for example, example, by being less violent), but They also obtained an improvement in their academic results compared to those who did not receive this training

But not only emotional regulation is an essential part of Mindfulness training, and there are many studies that have contributed 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 essential for good personal and academic performance.

Regular mindfulness practice is beneficial for students for many reasons. Below are the benefits that Mindfulness brings to students:

• Improves academic performance

• Improves self-concept

• Reduces aggression and violence

• Increase creativity

• Improves participation in the classroom by promoting impulse control

• Boost memory

• Improve concentration and attention

• Reduces exam anxiety

• Promotes the willingness to learn

• Encourages self-reflection and self-soothing

• Enhance empathy and understanding towards others

• Promotes prosocial behaviors and healthy interpersonal relationships

• Improves social and emotional learning

• Improve overall health

• Durlak, JA, Weissberg, RP, Dymnicki, AB, Taylor, RD & Schellinger, KB (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 and Chambers, Richard (2014). Mindful learning: reduce stress and improve brain performance for effective learning. Exisle Publishing.