Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) curricula are among the most researched school-based mindfulness programmes in the world. Below is a summary of findings from 7 key papers published over the last decade and what MiSP learned from them.
The MYRIAD project is discussed separately.
The research into school-based mindfulness
- Most of the research has been focussed on the .b curriculum, with one study each on Paws B and .b Foundations.
- The papers were all published in highly respected scientific peer-reviewed journals.
- They include research on outcomes of the programmes looking at various indicators of mental health and wellbeing, usually using self-report/ questionnaire methods.
- Several were controlled trials (where one group receives the teaching and a parallel group does not) which is a high standard of evidence.
- Two recent papers explored the underlying neuroscientific mechanisms behind the changes and included an assessment of the impacts on cognition, particularly attention and impulsivity.
- One paper looked at the process of implementation rather than at outcomes, which gives a steer as to what may help and hinder the process.
