What has MiSP learned from published research on its programmes?

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.

Conclusions about MiSP’s curricula

MiSP’s programmes generally show promising results.

The programmes have impacted positively on mental health and wellbeing showing between medium and small impacts overall.

More recently, programmes have been tested for impacts on learning and cognition, showing positive results. This is a novel area which has the potential to move mindfulness into the heart of learning.

Programmes are effective for mainstream primary and secondary students, for students with special needs and challenges, and teachers.

There is a consistent relationship between how often students practice and the positive impact of the programmes in the here and now.

Not all interventions have shown positive effects. This is to be expected. As such a young field, more experimentation is needed and there is much still to learn.

Less successful interventions are still useful for deepening our understanding of the factors that may have affected the results and suggesting what to try in future.

How a curriculum is implemented, including factors such as staffing, levels of support, resources available, teacher competence, and level of training has a major influence on its effectiveness.

What has MiSP learned from published research on its programmes?

The research into school-based mindfulness

Explore the research

.b research

Paws b research

.b Foundations research

Conclusions about MiSP’s curricula