Implementation of a Whole-School Mindfulness Curriculum in an Urban Elementary School: Tier 1 through Tier 3

Abstract

Mindful education (ME) in schools can address student well-being and stressors, as well as improve the overall school environment. Implementing a whole-school mindfulness curriculum can be challenging, especially when serving students in both general education and emotional behavioral disorder (EBD) settings. We investigated the feasibility, implementation, and benefits of a whole-school mindfulness curriculum (MindUP) in an urban elementary school. This study is unique in that it investigated how to implement mindfulness curriculum within both general education and EBD student populations. Participants included 55 staff and 436 students. This study used a concurrent mixed methods design. The qualitative data included interviews, informal focus groups, and participant feedback, and the quantitative data included participant satisfaction surveys and teacher assessment of student behaviors before/after the curriculum. While implementing MindUP, teacher feedback was incorporated to adapt the program (e.g., decrease lesson length, provide supplemental child-friendly breathing activities). Qualitative data indicated the adapted MindUP program improved school climate and aided teachers with teaching coping skills, especially breathing techniques, to help their students self-regulate when stressed. Data indicated students in regular education improved in their aggression/disruptive behaviors, concentration/attention, and social/emotional competence, whereas students in the EBD program only improved in their aggression/disruptiveness (effect sizes 0.15 to 0.51). An adapted MindUP curriculum was accepted, implemented, effective, and sustainable in both the general education and EBD settings. The program helped students learn mindfulness-based coping strategies with breathing being the most beneficial mindfulness intervention for managing and reducing student stress and for creating a calmer school climate.