A subsequent systematic review of mindfulness-based intervention in schools identified only one additional study that extended down to kindergarten-aged students (Felver et al. ( 2014) meta-analysis, there has been a growing body of published research, although many of these studies continue to utilize small sample sizes and focus on older children. The study that included younger children found that a 24-week mindfulness intervention program led to benefits in attention among first- to third-grade students (Napoli et al. In addition, most of the included studies were for children in grades 3 and older, with only one study including students in first grade (Napoli et al. ( 2014) meta-analysis was a call for larger and more robust intervention studies in this area. The authors concluded that the field was still in its infancy and that the variability across studies (i.e., inconsistencies in findings) and small sample sizes precluded clear conclusions. The same meta-analysis did not find an overall effect on emotional problems. A systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based programs concluded that such approaches hold promise and may provide benefits in the areas of cognition performance, stress, and resilience (Zenner et al. Despite an explosion in popularity, there are relatively few evaluations, particularly with younger students (Maynard et al. Mindfulness-informed programs are a more recent addition to school-based programming for children.

Third, although overall, immediate effects have been found to be stronger than delayed effects, there is evidence that the benefits conferred by these programs can be long-lasting (Taylor et al. Meta-analysis findings revealed that SEL universal programming has a significant positive impact on social and emotional skills, attitudes toward self and others, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and academic achievement (Durlak et al. Second, well-implemented programs have been shown to lead to a range of benefits versus single problem behavior targeted programs. Therefore, rather than being an add-on to classroom instruction, they can be integrated into the curriculum. First, many can be integrated into the daily teaching practice of educators (Greenberg et al. The popularity of these approaches likely stems from several factors. Enhancing social and emotional competencies in children through universal programming within classrooms has been a growing area of school-based program development, and in turn, a significant body of evaluation studies (including meta-analyses) has emerged (Durlak et al. Over the past nearly two decades, there has been a growing recognition that to succeed in the twenty-first century, children need to be taught not only academic skills, but also social and emotional skills. The study suggests that mindfulness-based SEL intervention can improve psychosocial and behavioral outcomes in young children. There were no gender differences regarding changes in any of the five study outcomes.

Additionally, there was a significant decrease in executive functioning deficits among students who participated in MindUP.

Students who received the intervention demonstrated an improvement in adaptive skills and reduction in behavioral symptoms, internalizing composite, and externalizing composite outcomes. Teachers assessed the behavior of students ( N = 584 intervention n = 261 comparison n = 323) both pre- and post-intervention with two measures: the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition, Teacher Rating Scales (BASC-3 TRS) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool and Child Version (BRIEF-P BRIEF-2). MethodsĪ total of 23 classrooms were assigned to the intervention group, in which the teachers implemented MindUP, and 19 classrooms were assigned to the comparison group, in which the teachers delivered their classes as usual. We evaluated the impacts of a mindfulness-based social and emotional learning (SEL) program on behavioral problems, adaptive skills, and executive functioning among kindergarten students.

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