Vipassana meditation in educational settings for enhancing attention and academic performance: neurological mechanisms and implementation strategies
Bishal Joshi
Cogent Education September 25, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/2331186x.2025.2563703 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Vipassana |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key points | Proposes a six-phase implementation model for integrating Vipassana into educational settings to improve attention, emotional well-being, and academic performance. |
Abstract
Abstract Vipassana, an ancient mindfulness practice with its origin in Buddhism, has come out as a valuable approach for enhancing attention and emotional well-being. The applications of Vipassana in academia, particularly in enhancing attention and improving academic performances in students, have been explored in this paper. This conceptual articlesynthesizes an integrated literature from Buddhist philosophy, cognitive psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness based educational philosophy and propose a systematic framework for implementation of Vipassana in educational settings. A six-phase implementation model is presented in this article, beginning with institutional readiness, resource and coordinator allocation, followed by developing the settings and conducting student teacher workshops, leading to a smooth implementation among the students with timely checkpoints and assessment measures and finally ‘Review and Adapt’ cycles to refine the technique. Although the cultural differences, logistic constraints and limited research pose challenges to implementing Vipassana in educational settings, integrating it into curriculum and daily activities can be highly rewarding, fostering holistic development along with academic benefits.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 14
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Linking Out-of-Body Experience and Self Processing to Mental Own-Body Imagery at the Temporoparietal Junction Journal of Neuroscience January 19, 2005
and 9 more in the library