Exploring Mindfulness and Meditation for the Elementary Classroom: Intersections Across Current Multidisciplinary Research

Abstract

Mindfulness and meditation programs, and their associated benefits for education, can be examined within three related disciplines: psychology, elementary education, and exceptional education. A review of psychology research provides evidence that meditation and mindfulness work to balance the often negative effects of students' social-emotional environments, stress, anxiety, and even poverty. Elementary education research documents positive outcomes of mindfulness meditation with elementary students. Finally, the discipline of exceptional education highlights the positive benefits of mindfulness and meditation programs on students with learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. Overall, the advantages as corroborated across disciplines encourage use of mindfulness and meditation exercises or schoolwide programs to achieve improved student behavior and academic benefits.