A Qualitative Study of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention in Educational Contexts in Chile: An Approach Based on Adolescents' Voices.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health September 22, 2020 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17186927 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Adolescents in a school in Chile |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Argues that pedagogy is a highly relevant consideration in implementing and evaluating school-based mindfulness interventions, proposing that structure, content, practices, and teacher expertise form a "pedagogical-relational framework" needed for students to develop mindfulness skills. Students linked the program's cognitive, emotional, and somatic effects to self-regulation strategies based on kind, curious attention to somatic experience as an "attentional anchor". |
Abstract
The application of mindfulness-based interventions in school settings has increased considerably in recent years, showing that differences between the characteristics of programmes can impact on the receptivity and effectiveness of mindfulness training. However, few studies have explored the learning process from the perspective of the children and adolescents who participate in mindfulness practice. The goal of this paper is to analyse the subjective experience of a group of adolescents following the completion of a mindfulness-based intervention developed for schools in Chile. The intervention studied is the ".b curriculum", which is part of the Mindfulness in School Project (MiSP) developed in the UK. Twenty adolescents participated in semi-structured interviews within their school, in which three key areas were explored: pedagogy, perceived effects, and mechanisms of action, each of them being analysed from the perspective of thematic analysis. The results support the view that pedagogy is a very relevant consideration in the implementation, development, and efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions within the school context. We propose that the inclusion of structure, contents, process/mindful practices, and teachers' expertise provides the pedagogical-relational framework required for students to successfully develop mindfulness skills, which enables them to experience their cognitive, emotional, and somatic effects. These effects are linked to self-regulation strategies, based on paying attention to one's somatic experience with kindness and curiosity, which works as an attentional anchor. It is hoped that these results will contribute to the spread of mindfulness research in adolescents in Latin America, thus facilitating cross-cultural and international comparisons.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- A Research on the Effect of Mindfulness Exercises on the Disruptive Behaviors of Young EFL Learners in Türkiye Education Sciences October 24, 2025
- Conceptualizing and Measuring Mindfulness in School Settings: A Mixed Methods Study and Development of Mindfulness in School Scale Journal of Intelligence September 1, 2026
- Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on neuropsychiatric symptoms and psychological well-being on people with subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry August 1, 2023
- Saudi Arabian Primigravid Women's Experiences of Mindfulness to Reduce Childbirth Stress: A Qualitative Study. SAGE Open Nursing 2023
Cites 13
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Defining mindfulness by how poorly I think I pay attention during everyday awareness and other intractable problems for psychology's (re)invention of mindfulness: Comment on Brown et al. (2011). Psychological Assessment 2011
- On some definitions of mindfulness Contemporary Buddhism May 1, 2011
- Editorial: Interoception, Contemplative Practice, and Health Frontiers in Psychology December 1, 2016
and 8 more in the library