The number of research projects investigating mindfulness has grown exponentially over the last decade, and there is now good evidence demonstrating its benefits and applications.
In this section you will find links to much of the research evidence available, and we suggest you start with the Overview papers which summarise the research around mindfulness in education to date. We also include the research projects specifically investigating the effects of MiSP programmes on pupils and teachers. While most of these studies are small and do not have long term follow-ups, they indicate that the programmes are acceptable and that they have potential to improve psychological wellbeing and attention. Finally, we have included some papers on the effects of mindfulness on teachers, and the benefits that have been identified so far.
These studies have measured changes using self-reported scores on questionnaires, computer-based attention tests, neurological tests, and feedback from school staff and parents, and some have involved control groups.
We welcome new research and invite research projects to meet the highest standards of research integrity and ethical academic enquiry. We are happy to provide researchers with our support and share our expertise and experience to promote high quality research where we can. In particular, we hope that future research projects will include: more randomised-control-trials (RCTs); less overlap between developer and researcher; more replication and short follow-ups; more use of measures specifically for young people and multi-informant measures; more research on the experience of programme participants – all areas identified by Professor Katherine Weare (2018) to improve the breadth, depth and reliability of the evidence base.
This areas of our website aims to highlight some of the key studies undertaken most relevant to our work.
