Mindfulness Training Enhances Students' Executive Functioning and Social Emotional Skills.
Lisa Flook, Matthew J Hirshberg, Lori Gustafson, Chad Mcgehee, Cara Knoeppel, Lawrence Y Tello, Daniel M Bolt, Richard J Davidson
Applied developmental science January 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/10888691.2023.2297026 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractFifth graders who completed an 8-week school-based mindfulness training showed significant improvements on a computerized measure of cognitive flexibility and received higher end-of-year social-emotional learning grades compared to a wait-list control group, after accounting for prior-year grades. The 292 students from 21 classrooms were randomly assigned to either the mindfulness program or a control condition. Teacher-rated social-emotional competence did not differ between groups. The results suggest that a brief mindfulness intervention can bolster cognitive and social-emotional skills during the transitional pre-adolescent period.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 292 |
| Population | 5th graders from 21 elementary school classrooms |
| Intervention | Mindfulness training |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, end of year follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Emotional regulation Executive function Intervention Prosocial behavior |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key finding | Students who received mindfulness training showed significant gains in cognitive flexibility and end-of-year social-emotional learning grades, but not in teacher-rated social-emotional competence. |
Abstract
More research is needed to understand the effects of school-based mindfulness programs in the years before adolescence, which represent a critical juncture and transitional period of development. The present study investigated mindfulness with elementary school students using random assignment and objective measures. The sample included 292 5th graders from 21 classrooms randomly assigned to an 8-week mindfulness training or wait-list control group. Students were assessed at pre- and post-intervention on behavioral measures of executive functioning and teacher-rated social emotional competence, along with end of year social-emotional learning report card grades. Analyses using hierarchal linear modeling found that students in the intervention group demonstrated significant gains on a computerized task of cognitive flexibility, and end of year social-emotional learning grades controlling for prior year grades, but not teacher reported social emotional competence. Taken together these findings point to a simple, yet promising method for bolstering students' cognitive and social emotional skills.