Effects of a School-Based Mindfulness Program for Young Children.
Mark J Sciutto, Denise A Veres, Tovia L Marinstein, Brooke F Bailey, Sarah K Cehelyk
Journal of Child and Family Studies April 15, 2021 DOI: 10.1007/s10826-021-01955-x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental delayed-intervention control group design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Young children in kindergarten through second grade across 8 classrooms |
| Intervention | school-based mindfulness program |
| Duration | 8-week (16 session) program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Education Prosocial behavior Externalizing behavior Implementation fidelity School-based mindfulness |
| Key findings | The mindfulness program was associated with significant improvements in teacher ratings of externalizing and prosocial behaviors. Outcomes were not associated with child sex or race/ethnicity but did vary by grade, and descriptive analyses suggest outcomes tended to be more positive in classrooms with higher teacher and student engagement. |
Abstract
Schools are an attractive setting for implementation of mindfulness-based programs because mindfulness practices, by their very nature, align with a wide range of core educational goals. The present study investigated the effects of an 8-week (16 session) school-based mindfulness program for young children across 8 classrooms (K through 2) using a quasi-experimental delayed-intervention control group design. Results indicated that the mindfulness program was associated with significant improvements in teacher ratings of externalizing and prosocial behaviors. Program outcomes were not associated with child sex or race/ethnicity, but did vary by grade. Descriptive analyses suggest that outcomes tended to be more positive in classrooms with higher levels of teacher and student engagement. Results of the present study add to the growing knowledge base on the positive effects of school-based mindfulness programs and point to a need for more rigorous inquiry into the extent to which students and teachers are engaged with mindfulness programs both during the program itself and in their day to day functioning.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- School-based mindfulness: Application of the PARiHS framework to contextualize implementation. Journal of school psychology April 1, 2025
- Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Anxiety of Young Students in India: A Meta-Analysis MIER Journal of Educational Studies Trends & Practices November 1, 2025
- The predictive values of state and trait mindfulness on emotion understanding in primary school children Frontiers in Psychology July 10, 2026
- The Effect of a Mindfulness-Based Psychoeducational Program on Digital Well-being and Digital Addiction of University Students Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi dergisi/Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi dergisi April 24, 2026
- Evaluation of a PILOT School-Based Mindfulness Program in Primary Education Education Sciences August 22, 2025
and 2 more in the library
Cites 16
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Research Review: The effects of mindfulness‐based interventions on cognition and mental health in children and adolescents – a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry October 22, 2018
- Promoting prosocial behavior and self-regulatory skills in preschool children through a mindfulness-based kindness curriculum. Developmental Psychology November 10, 2014
and 11 more in the library