Contemplative Practices and Mental Training: Prospects for American Education
Child Development Perspectives April 23, 2012 Richard J Davidson, John Dunne, Jacquelynne S Eccles et al. 320 citations
A set of mental skills and socio-emotional dispositions—including self-regulation of emotion and attention, self-representations, and prosocial traits like empathy and compassion—are central to 21st-century education. These qualities can be strengthened through systematic contemplative practice, which induces plastic changes in brain function and structure, supporting prosocial behavior and academic success in young people. The authors call for focused programmatic research to determine which forms and frequencies of practice are most efficacious for which children and adolescents, and to document the neural changes induced.