Mindfulness
March 1, 2026
Alireza Zareian Jahromi, Joshua L. Brown, Patricia A. Jennings
This systematic review examined previous findings on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on pre-service and in-service K-12 teachers’ general mindfulness, mindful teaching (i.e., intra- and interpersonal mindfulness), and self-efficacy. In addition, we used the treatment fidelity tool for MBIs to descriptively examine the associations between implementation fidelity and...
February 16, 2026
Pooja Sahni, Chirag Hareshkumar Rajyaguru, Ashita Allam Raju et al.
This chapter explores the integration of contemplative practices and ecological learning in early childhood education as a holistic approach to fostering child development and advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Drawing on insights from research and science, we examine how mindfulness, meditation, and immersive natural experiences synergistically enhance cognitive, emotional, and...
Education and Human Development
September 8, 2025
Patricia A. Jennings
This chapter introduces mindful metacognition as a critical biohack for the twenty-first century—a powerful, evidence-based approach to addressing chronic stress, emotional reactivity, cognitive overload, and social fragmentation. Drawing from evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and contemplative traditions, the chapter explores how modern life activates maladaptive threat responses,...
Progress in Brain Research
2019
Aviva Berkovich-Ohana, Patricia A. Jennings, Shiri Lavy
Accumulating research in education shows that contemplative practices contribute to and foster well-being of individuals in sustainable ways. This bears special importance for teachers, as it affects not only them but also their students. Based on accumulating behavioral and neuroscientific findings, it has been suggested that a key process by which mindfulness meditation enhances...
Child Development Perspectives
April 23, 2012
Richard J. Davidson, John D. Dunne, Jacquelynne S Eccles et al.
320 citations
Drawing upon research in neuroscience, cognitive science, developmental psychology and education, as well as scholarship from contemplative traditions concerning the cultivation of positive development, we highlight a set of mental skills and socio-emotional dispositions that we believe are central to the aims of education in the 21(st) century. These include self-regulatory skills associated...
The International Journal of Aging and Human Development
March 1, 2005
Michael R. Levenson, Patricia A. Jennings, Carolyn M. Aldwin et al.
451 citations
Self-transcendence has been hypothesized to be a critical component of wisdom (Curnow, 1999) and adaptation in later life (Tornstam, 1994). It reflects a decreasing reliance on externals for definition of the self, increasing interiority and spirituality, and a greater sense of connectedness with past and future generations. The Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory was administered to 351...