Mindfulness Training Enhances Students' Executive Functioning and Social Emotional Skills.
Lisa Flook, Matthew J. Hirshberg, Lori Gustafson, Chad Mcgehee, Cara Knoeppel, Lawrence Y. Tello, Daniel M. Bolt, Richard J. Davidson
Applied developmental science 2025 DOI: 10.1080/10888691.2023.2297026 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 292 |
| Population | 5th graders from 21 elementary school classrooms |
| Intervention | Mindfulness training |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, end of year follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Emotional regulation Executive function Intervention Prosocial behavior Social emotional skills |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key findings | Students who received mindfulness training showed significant gains in cognitive flexibility and end-of-year social-emotional learning grades, but not in teacher-rated social-emotional competence. |
Abstract
More research is needed to understand the effects of school-based mindfulness programs in the years before adolescence, which represent a critical juncture and transitional period of development. The present study investigated mindfulness with elementary school students using random assignment and objective measures. The sample included 292 5th graders from 21 classrooms randomly assigned to an 8-week mindfulness training or wait-list control group. Students were assessed at pre- and post-intervention on behavioral measures of executive functioning and teacher-rated social emotional competence, along with end of year social-emotional learning report card grades. Analyses using hierarchal linear modeling found that students in the intervention group demonstrated significant gains on a computerized task of cognitive flexibility, and end of year social-emotional learning grades controlling for prior year grades, but not teacher reported social emotional competence. Taken together these findings point to a simple, yet promising method for bolstering students' cognitive and social emotional skills.