Skip to content

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Initial Effects of the Quiet Time transcendental meditation program: Evidence from two school pilots

Veruska Oppedisano, Orla Doyle, Pasco Fearon, Gabriella Conti

preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/fb4uk (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Pilot study
Sample size 189
Population Primary school children in London, UK and Donegal, Ireland
Intervention Headspace application
Topics Meditation
Key points The intervention improved working memory in both pilots, and in the Irish pilot, improved executive functioning and emotional skills in girls.

Abstract

This paper assesses for the first time the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary impacts of Quiet Time (QT), a classroom-based Transcendental Meditation intervention that has been shown to be effective in other settings, in the UK and Ireland. The first study, implemented in a London primary school, included 89 children: those in sixth grade received the QT intervention, while those in fifth grade practiced meditation using the Headspace application. The second study, implemented in Donegal, included 100 fifth- and sixth-grade children from two schools: one received the QT intervention, the other served as a control. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment, programme delivery, and data collection at two timepoints. Acceptability outcomes included satisfaction reports. Outcomes at baseline and follow-up included measures of social skills and preferences, executive function, mental health and socio-emotional well-being, and academic achievement. Recruitment and retention rates were high in both pilots, and the results indicate that the intervention, when implemented with fidelity, is feasible and accepted by children, parents and teachers. Implementation fidelity was lower in the London pilot where delivery started later in the school year and the practice was affected by preparation for the Standard Assessment Tests. We find suggestive evidence that the intervention affected certain dimensions of children’s skills. The children who practiced QT showed improved working memory in both pilots. In the Irish pilot, pupils in the QT group had improved executive functioning; and girls showed improved emotional skills. These results suggest that QT may be feasibly delivered in school settings, it is well accepted, and may yield attention and emotional benefits, especially for girls, when implemented on a regular basis by trained teachers.

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients 2003 Pre-post intervention study n = 59
Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample 2010 Pre-post intervention study
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students 2003 Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study n = 302
Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls 2011 Controlled trial with wait-list control group n = 60
The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents 2011 Within-group waitlist controlled trial n = 22

Citations in the library

Cited by 1

Cites 11

and 6 more in the library

Related reading

Explore topics

Meditation