Peaceful change: mindfulness is being taught in more schools here and overseas.
Peaceful change: mindfulness is being taught in more schools here and overseas. 
Photo: Simone De Peak

What is happening?
Mindfulness meditation – the practice of quietening the mind to bring awareness and attention to the present moment – is increasingly being used in schools around the world as a tool to improve student wellbeing and enhance academic performance. Although originating in Buddhist religious tradition, it is a secular form of the practice that has become popular in classrooms and workplaces. 
One particular program making headway on an international scale is the Britain-based Mindfulness in Schools Project. It provides two main courses designed specifically by teachers for use in the classroom: ".b" – pronounced "dot-be" (Stop, Breathe and Be) – aimed at older children, and "Paws-be" geared towards 7  to 11 year olds. Now taught in more than 20 countries with a curriculum translated into numerous languages, co-founder Richard Burnett hopes that mindfulness meditation will one day be taught in all schools "just like reading and writing".
Why is it happening?
In recent years, mindfulness training has been incorporated into workplaces around the world, including government organisations, companies, hospitals and prisons. Research has overwhelmingly highlighted the many benefits of the practice in adult populations, including enhanced performance, improved emotional management and reduced workplace stress; inspiring even more workplaces to implement mindfulness training programs.

These favourable results have led educators to consider the potential value of mindfulness meditation in schools to improve student concentration and overall wellbeing; particularly given the myriad multimedia distractions they face and the rising incidence of anxiety and depression. 

Where is it happening?
This year, the Mindfulness in Schools Project has scheduled teacher training in Scotland, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Finland, Thailand, the Netherlands and Australia. Its ".b" curriculum has been translated into Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, French, German and Spanish, indicating its growing international appeal. However, it is just one of many mindfulness programs currently in operation.
In the United States, for example, the MindUP initiative, which incorporates "brain breaks" several times a day, has been operating for 12 years. Another program, known as Quiet Time has been credited with improving school attendance and halving suspensions in a troubled school in San Francisco. Wake Up Schools is another initiative, with centres in France and the United States, which has also provided mindfulness training in India.

Is mindfulness taught in Australian schools?
Mindfulness meditation has been growing in Australian schools for some time. For example, Methodist Ladies College provides mindfulness training within its wellbeing program, and the practice is promoted at Geelong Grammar as part of its "Positive Education" strategy. The Mindfulness in Schools Project will introduce its "Teach.b" course in Australia for the first time on April 15.

An Australian not-for-profit organisation, Smiling Mind launched its unique web and application-based program in 2012. Designed to support resilience and emotional wellbeing in young people, the free app has been downloaded more than 350,000 times, boasts more than 5000 education program participants, and is used by companies such as Google and IBM Australia. Recent funding from the Victorian Government has enabled the program's evaluation to take place in numerous government schools. The organisation hopes that the trial will produce evidence of Smiling Mind's mental health benefits for students and lead to its inclusion in the Australian Curriculum by 2020.

What do proponents say?
Advocates consider mindfulness to be an important life skill that enhances mental health and wellbeing, concentration, resilience, problem solving, empathy and academic performance. Many teachers who have been trained in mindfulness report calmer classrooms, more attentive students and more effective learning. Evidence from the studies of adult populations shows that regular mindfulness practice improves concentration and focus, reduces stress and anxiety, and fosters conflict resolution skills. 

While there is less evidence, to date, regarding the effectiveness of mindfulness training in schools specifically, students themselves report that it calms them down, helps them resist focus on negative emotions, improves their capacity to pay attention and enhances the mood of the school.

What do critics say?
Despite assurances to the contrary, some say mindfulness education in schools is akin to bringing religion into the classroom: in the United States, one program was shut down amid complaints from parents about its perceived Buddhist overtones. Others say class time devoted to the practice could be better spent, calling for more research to determine its true value within school settings. Some teachers complain about taking on additional tasks when their work schedules are already overloaded.

Some label mindfulness meditation "corporatised McMindfulness" and declare it to be a passing fad that is merely another marketed commodity to be sold. Others disapprove of it on philosophical grounds. They assert that mindfulness meditation calls on us to "adapt" to the world as it is, when, they argue, it is our lives that must fundamentally change if we are to truly address the causes of stress and improve our mental wellbeing.

In conclusion
According to its website, the Mindfulness in Schools Project has put its energies into producing a program that is "relevant to school life"; providing strategies to assist students facing potentially stressful situations such as examinations, sporting or musical performances, and bullying in the playground.
With the World Health Organisation having predicted that mental health issues are likely to form the biggest burden on healthcare resources by 2030, many consider mindfulness meditation to be part of the solution and an effective antidote to the pressures of modern life.