Mindfulness in Education: Critical Debates and Pragmatic Considerations
Winky Wing Kay Lee, Christopher T. Mccaw, Nicholas T. van Dam
March 19, 2024 DOI: 10.35542/osf.io/ua49r (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Argues that academic critiques of school mindfulness, including concerns about its commodification, instrumentalization, and compatibility with neoliberal schooling, should be translated into practical guidance so educators and policymakers can make context-sensitive judgments about promoting and integrating mindfulness, including attention to developmental needs and possible adverse effects. |
Abstract
Mindfulness has all but become a mainstay in modern education.Yet, despite the incredible enthusiasm and increased application inschools, there remains significant divergence between advocatesand critics. Advocates assert that mindfulness practice promotesindividual and societal health and well-being. Meanwhile, criticsquestion the intention, and the social and political implications ofpromoting these ancient practices in schools, arguing that theBuddhist ethics underlying mindfulness remain incompatible withneoliberal ideology and instrumentalism of contemporary schooling.As mindfulness has been commodified, instrumentalised, and usedas a therapeutic tool for acute coping, its broader potential for humangrowth and development may be undermined. Furthermore, scholarscaution that the fledging nature of mindfulness research leavescritical questions unanswered, especially the potential of adverseeffects. The work herein examines these critiques and articulateshow they translate into practical considerations for education. Wepresent here a discussion of how largely academic concerns relatingto modern mindfulness may translate to pragmatic considerationsfor educational leaders, policy makers, and stakeholders. We aim toempower educators and others to make judgments about thepromotion and integration of mindfulness into educational settings,considering context-specific factors such as developmental needsand capacities, as well as recommendations to support effective andethical practice of mindfulness in education.
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 40
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft Psychological Medicine December 29, 2016
and 35 more in the library