A case study of mindfulness practices for students in elementary schools in British Columbia
Subject
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences and perspectives of classroom teachers, resource teachers, and school counselors regarding mindfulness practices with elementary school-aged students in British Columbia. This research explored how school personnel implement mindfulness practices in the classroom with emphasis on exploring professional development for mindfulness skills, the use of strategies and facilitating techniques, as well as identifying the benefits and challenges associated with incorporating mindfulness practices with elementary school-aged students. This research study used a qualitative case study approach, which included a semi-structured interview to collect the data from four school-based personnel (two classroom teachers, one resource teacher, one counsellor) who had experiences using mindfulness practices with their students. The results of this research highlight that school-based personnel use mindfulness practices with their students in a variety of ways to support diverse groups of students. This research emphasized the importance of having a set process for implementing mindfulness practices in both classrooms and schools, as well as the importance of professional development for school personnel in mindfulness skills development. In addition, the findings support the need for ongoing support for mindfulness implementation in schools, and this was seen as a fundamental requirement to sustain mindfulness practices from year to year.