Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 2025
Mindfulness programs have been adapted to the school environment to
facilitate learning and reduc... more Mindfulness programs have been adapted to the school environment to
facilitate learning and reduce failure. We aimed to test the effectiveness of
a 12-week mindfulness program on academic performance and executive
functions for K-12 students from public elementary and high schools in Spain
and Italy (N = 207). A quasi-experimental repeated measures design was used
for two nonrandomized groups (mindfulness vs. control). Within-subjects
outcomes were mean scores in language and mathematics, and scores on
the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) for three measurement points (pretest, posttest, follow-up). The between-subjects variables were intervention (mindfulness vs. control), country (Spain vs. Italy),
and educational stage (elementary vs. high school). The mindfulness group
improved academic performance and, albeit slightly, executive functions.
The positive impact on academic performance was found to be greater
among K-8 students, while a greater improvement was observed in executive
functions among high school students. After the program, the greatest
changes in executive functions were reported on the Behavioral Regulation
Index, Inhibition, and Working Memory subscales. Mindfulness in schools
could effectively improve academic achievement and executive functions
among students in grades K-12. However, future research is needed to
confirm these findings.
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facilitate learning and reduce failure. We aimed to test the effectiveness of
a 12-week mindfulness program on academic performance and executive
functions for K-12 students from public elementary and high schools in Spain
and Italy (N = 207). A quasi-experimental repeated measures design was used
for two nonrandomized groups (mindfulness vs. control). Within-subjects
outcomes were mean scores in language and mathematics, and scores on
the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) for three measurement points (pretest, posttest, follow-up). The between-subjects variables were intervention (mindfulness vs. control), country (Spain vs. Italy),
and educational stage (elementary vs. high school). The mindfulness group
improved academic performance and, albeit slightly, executive functions.
The positive impact on academic performance was found to be greater
among K-8 students, while a greater improvement was observed in executive
functions among high school students. After the program, the greatest
changes in executive functions were reported on the Behavioral Regulation
Index, Inhibition, and Working Memory subscales. Mindfulness in schools
could effectively improve academic achievement and executive functions
among students in grades K-12. However, future research is needed to
confirm these findings.
The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the school-based program of mindful practices Mindful Schools in a quasi-experimental controlled study on 207 Spanish and Italian state schools’ students ages 8-9 and 13-14 years. Academic grades have been collected from the teacher's reports; questionnaires have been completed by parents assessing children’s executive functions and by students, assessing mindfulness and emotional intelligence before, after and after 5 months from the end of the program.
Data analysis indicates some improvements on mindfulness level, academic achievements, executive functions (especially emotional control and behavioral regulation) and emotional intelligence (mostly in stress management and interpersonal ability) for middle schools’ and Italian students. Literature supports these findings and the effectiveness of mindfulness programs in schools’ settings during adolescence, considered the most favorable period for mindfulness acquisition thanks to the greater brain plasticity. The mediation analysis of mindfulness level in the postest on the other variables, was not significant. This kind of analysis are rare in other studies in school settings. The moderation analysis demonstrates that students with initial lowest Metacognition Index (executive function difficulties) increased their level of mindfulness more than others. These results indicate a stronger effect of Mindful School program on students with executive function difficulties. With these results we can affirm that Mindful School program can be useful for adolescent students to have better awareness level, academic achievements, executive functions and emotional intelligence but more scientific studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Future works should have active control groups and can be longitudinal studies to observe how students react recieving mindfulness program in adolescence if they already received mindfulness programs in their childhood; moderation analysis can be conducted to identify which students’ characteristics can improve with mindfulness programs. It would be interesting to have more studies with mediation analysis to understand if the mindfulness level influences other variables. Moderators as gender, doses of mindfulness classes, instructor experience, main characteristics of programs also can be studied.
Resumen
Recientemente, las escuelas han empezado a buscar formas innovadoras de apoyar los estudiantes que experimentan desafíos académicos, conductuales y emocionales en las aulas. Las intervenciones de mindfulness en las escuelas surgieron como una solución potencial para los estudiantes, después de que la eficacia de las intervenciones basadas en mindfulness para adultos se haya demostrado científicamente en los últimos años. Todavía son escasos los ensayos controlados que evalúan la eficacia de las intervenciones en mindfulness entre los jóvenes en el ámbito escolar.
El propósito del presente estudio fue evaluar el programa escolar de prácticas de mindfulness Mindful Schools en un estudio controlado cuasi- experimental en 207 estudiantes de escuelas publicas españolas e italianas de 8-9 y 13-14 años. Las calificaciones académicas se han recogido a partir de los informes de los profesores; cuestionarios han sido completados por los padres evaluando las funciones ejecutivas de los hijos y por los alumnos, evaluando el mindfulness y la inteligencia emocional antes, después y al cabo de 5 meses de la finalización del programa.
El análisis de datos indica algunas mejoras en el nivel de mindfulness, los logros académicos, las funciones ejecutivas (especialmente el control emocional y la regulación del comportamiento) y la inteligencia emocional (sobre todo en la gestión del estrés y la capacidad interpersonal) sobre todo para los estudiantes de secundaria y de Italia. La literatura apoya estos hallazgos y la eficacia de los programas de mindfulness en el entorno escolar durante la adolescencia, considerada el periodo más favorable para la adquisición de mindfulness gracias a la mayor plasticidad del cerebro. El análisis de mediación del nivel de mindfulness en el postest sobre las demás variables no fue significativo. Este tipo de análisis son poco frecuentes en otros estudios. El análisis de moderación demuestra que los estudiantes con el Índice de Metacognición inicial más bajo (dificultades en la función ejecutiva) aumentaron su nivel de mindfulness más que los otros. Estos resultados indican un mayor efecto del programa Mindful School en los alumnos con dificultades en las funciones ejecutivas. Con estos resultados podemos afirmar que el programa Mindful School puede ser útil para que los estudiantes adolescentes tengan un mejor nivel de conciencia, logros académicos, funciones ejecutivas e inteligencia emocional, pero se necesitan más estudios científicos para confirmar estos hallazgos.
Los futuros trabajos deberían contar con grupos de control activos y podrian ser estudios longitudinales para observar cómo reaccionan los estudiantes recibiendo programas de mindfulness en adolescencia si ya recibieron programas de mindfulness en su infancia; se pueden realizar análisis de moderación para identificar qué características pueden mejorar los estudiantes con los programas de mindfulness. Sería interesante contar con más estudios con análisis de mediación para entender si el nivel de mindfulness influye en otras variables. También pueden estudiarse moderadores como el género, las dosis de clases de mindfulness, la experiencia del instructor y las características principales de los programas.